The Majrūrāt: Who Gets the Kasra? (المجرورات)

Arabic Nahw Masterclass Series

The Majrūrāt: Who Gets the Kasra? (المجرورات)

Mastering the Genitive Case (Jarr), Prepositions (Ḥurūf al-Jarr), and Possessive Construct Chains (Al-Iḍāfah) in Modern Standard Arabic

In our previous morphological and syntactic lessons, we thoroughly explored nouns in the nominative state marked by a Ḍammah (Marfūʿ) and the accusative state marked by a Fatḥah (Manṣūb). Today, we turn our full attention to the third and final core state of Arabic nouns: Al-Majrūrāt (المَجْرُورَات) — the Genitive Case. In the architecture of Arabic syntax (ʿIlm an-Naḥw), a noun takes a Kasra (ـِ) for only two specific foundational reasons. If you can accurately spot these two structural triggers, you have mastered the Genitive case completely!

The Majrurat Who Gets the Kasra Arabic Grammar Diagram

The Two Primary Paths to the Majrūr State

1. Al-Jarr bi al-Ḥarf (Prepositions / حُرُوفُ الْجَرّ)

This is by far the most frequent and intuitive way a noun enters the genitive case. Whenever a noun appears directly after a Ḥarf al-Jarr (Preposition), it is forcibly dragged into the Majrūr state, receiving a Kasra on its final letter.

فِي المَدْرَسَةِ

Fī al-madrasati

Literal Translation: "In the school." (فِي is the preposition, and الْمَدْرَسَةِ is Majrūr because of it).

To master Arabic syntax, you must memorize the core prepositions (حُرُوفُ الْجَرّ) that govern nouns:

مِنْ (Min) — From
إِلَى (Ilā) — To / Towards
عَنْ (ʿAn) — About / Away from
عَلَى (ʿAlá) — On / Upon
فِي (Fī) — In / Inside
الْبَاء (Bi-) — With / By (Attached prefix)
اللَّام (Li-) — For / Belonging to (Attached prefix)
الْكَاف (Ka-) — Like / As (Attached prefix)

2. Al-Iḍāfah (Possession / Relationship / الإِضَافَة)

The second pathway into the Majrūr state is through Al-Iḍāfah, the possessive or relationship construct. When two or more nouns are linked together to establish ownership, origin, or category (such as "The Book of Allah" or "The Key of the House"), the second noun in the pairing is always Majrūr. In Arabic grammatical terminology, this second noun is designated as the Muḍāf Ilayh (المُضَافُ إِلَيْه - the possessor), while the first noun is the Muḍāf (المُضَاف - the possessed).

كِتَابُ اللهِ

Kitābu Allāhi

Literal Translation: "The Book of Allah." (كِتَابُ takes a standard Ḍammah based on its position, whereas اللهِ takes a Kasra because it is the Muḍāf Ilayh).

The Anatomy of an Iḍāfah Chain

To avoid common beginner mistakes, remember two absolute golden rules when constructing an Iḍāfah phrase in Modern Standard Arabic:

The First Noun (Muḍāf) NEVER takes the definite article AL (الْـ): You cannot say الكتابُ اللهِ. Definiteness flows from the second noun to the first; therefore, the first noun remains bare of الْـ.
The First Noun (Muḍāf) NEVER takes Tanwīn: Because the possessive link binds the two words tightly, nunation (-un, -an, -in) is stripped away from the first noun. You write كِتَابُ, never كِتَابٌ.

The Majrūr Identification Checklist:

Whenever you are analyzing an Arabic sentence and trying to determine why a noun ends in a Kasra, run through this quick three-step verification checklist:

✅ Is there a Preposition (Ḥarf al-Jarr) sitting immediately before the noun?
✅ Is the noun functioning as the second part of an Iḍāfah (Muḍāf Ilayh) showing possession?
✅ Does its final letter bear a Kasra (or an allowable substitute like Fatha for Diptotes)?

If you answered yes to any of these, you have successfully identified a Majrūr noun!

The Majrūrāt: Who Gets the Kasra? (المجرورات)