Arabic Prepositions: A List With Qur'an Examples

Arabic prepositions (huruf al-jarr) are small words such as min (from), fi (in) and 'ala (on) that link a noun to the rest of the sentence. The noun you read after one takes the jarr ending, usually a kasra. In the mushaf, al-Fatiha opens with two of them: the bi in Bismillah and the li in al-hamdu lillah.

You recite al-Fatiha in every rak'ah, and it has four prepositions, counting the bi of Bismillah (numbered 1:1 in the mushaf). If you can read the Qur'an but the small words still blur past, this page is for you. It covers ten prepositions you'll hear in the short surahs, the ending they put on the next word, how they join pronouns like -hu and -kum, and a practice for the surahs you pray with.

What are the prepositions in Arabic?

The prepositions in Arabic are a small, fixed group of words that grammar books call huruf al-jarr. Huruf is the plural of harf, a particle, which is one of the three kinds of Arabic word along with nouns and verbs. Jarr is the name of the case they put on the next word. Ibn Malik's Alfiyyah, a classic grammar poem, lists twenty prepositions in two lines, and some books make it twenty-one by adding a rare one, lawla.

You don't need all twenty to start. Three of them (khala, 'ada and hasha) are used in sentences of exception, and two (mudh and mundhu) only with words of time. The ten in this table all appear in al-Fatiha or in Juz 'Amma, the last thirtieth of the Qur'an, where the short surahs are.

Five of these are among the most frequent words in the Qur'an. The Quranic Arabic Corpus counts min 3,226 times, fi 1,701, 'ala 1,445, ila 742 and 'an 465. Bi, li and ka are single letters joined to the next word, so the corpus search can't count them, but you've already met bi and li in the first two ayat of al-Fatiha. That's why our list of the most common words in the Qur'an puts small words like these first.

What does a preposition do to the next word?

A preposition puts the next word into the jarr case, so a noun after it usually ends in a kasra. That's why Bismillah starts bismi. The kasra sits under the m, and Allah in lillahi ends in a kasra too. Grammar books call the pair jar wa majrur: the jar is the preposition, and the majrur is the word it acts on. Jarr is one of the three cases of i'rab, the system of Arabic word endings. Al-Ajurrumiyyah, the short classic for beginners, calls the same case khafd.

Ju'in (hunger) and khawfin (fear) both end in a kasra with tanween, because each one comes straight after min. Not every word shows jarr with a kasra, though. Plurals and duals have their own endings, and one group of nouns takes a fatha.

The last row catches people out. Some nouns, like masabih (lamps), don't take the usual tanween, and after a preposition they end in a fatha, as long as they have no al- and no word joined after them. Our guide to Arabic plurals explains which plurals work this way. Pronouns are different: a pronoun after a preposition takes no ending at all and simply joins on, which is the next thing to learn.

How do Arabic prepositions join pronouns?

Arabic prepositions join pronouns by taking the pronoun as an ending, so 'upon them' is one word, 'alayhim. You say it twice in al-Fatiha (1:7). Most prepositions change a little when a pronoun joins them, and every form in this table comes from an ayah.

Three small changes are worth knowing. 'Ala and ila end in a long a, and before a pronoun it becomes -ay: 'alayhim, ilayhi. Li turns into la before a pronoun (lahu, lakum), but it stays li before -ya, 'me', as in wa liya din, 'and for me is my religion'. And the pronoun -hu or -hum is usually said -hi or -him after an i sound or a y, which is why you read fihi and 'alayhim but lahu. Our chart of Arabic pronouns has every attached ending.

Why does one Arabic preposition have several meanings?

One Arabic preposition can carry several meanings, and English often needs a different word for each. Take bi. Saheeh International gives it as 'in' in Bismillah, 'In the name of Allah' (1:1), and as 'to' in al-'Asr, 'advised each other to truth' (103:3). Grammar books list many meanings for bi, among them attachment, means ('by means of'), cause and company.

Li works the same way. Al-hamdu lillah is 'praise is [due] to Allah' (1:2), and lakum in 109:6 is 'for you'. In 2:156 it's 'we belong to Allah'. Grammar books give belonging and reason as two of its main jobs, along with others.

Two prepositions carry this line: lillahi, 'to Allah', and ilayhi, 'to Him'. Once you hear them, the line falls into two halves: belonging to Allah, and returning to Him.

How does a preposition change the meaning of a verb?

A preposition can change the meaning of the verb it goes with, so Arabic verbs are best learned together with the preposition they take. The verb raghiba shows this in two ayat. With ila, Saheeh International translates it as directing your longing to your Lord (94:8). With 'an, it becomes 'averse to' (2:130).

Both verbs come from the same root, ر غ ب. Only the preposition paired with the verb changed (in 94:8 it comes first), and the meaning turned round. So a word list that gives raghiba as 'to desire' won't help you much in 2:130. Learn verbs with their prepositions, like 'look for' and 'look after' in English.

Which mistakes do learners make with Arabic prepositions?

The mistakes learners make with Arabic prepositions mostly come from look-alikes: short words that share letters with a preposition but do another job. Al-'Asr has two of them in its three ayat.

Which prepositions are in al-Fatiha and the short surahs?

Al-Fatiha has four prepositions, counting Bismillah: bi, li, and 'ala twice. Al-Falaq has six. We checked every word of the six surahs in this table against the Quranic Arabic Corpus, so each row lists all the prepositions in the Qur'an's text of that surah, in the order you recite them. Start with these prepositions in the Qur'an, because you already recite them.

A table shows you where the prepositions are. A teacher who hears you read can stop at min or 'ala, ask what it links, and show you the same word in the next ayah. If you'd like that, find a teacher of your choice and try up to 3 teachers free. You don't have to decide today.