Assalamualikum

Today we will see 3rd property of ism - Number , before we have already seen Status and Gender in previous blogs

Words (ism) in arabic could be

  1. Singular ( مُفْرَدٌ )
  2. Pair - Dual ( مُثَنَّى )
  3. Plural ( جَمعٌ )

The singular and pair are standard and easy to recognize. They are the first and second columns of the مسلم chart that we memorized.

In plural there are different types :

  1. Sound Masculine Plural - جمع المُذَكَّرُ السالِمُ
  2. Sound Feminine Plural - جمع المُؤَنَّثُ السالِمُ
  3. Broken Plural - جمع تَكْسِيْرً
  4. Plural by Meaning - اسْمُ جَمْعٍ

1. The Sound Masculine Plural

The sound masculine plural is used exclusively for beings of intellect (humans, angels, jinn). Though called “masculine,” it is also used for mixed groups of men and women.

Form: The plural is made by adding ون (nominative) or ين (accusative/genitive) to the singular noun without altering the original form. Example: مُسْلِمُوْنَ (Muslims in nominative) and مُسْلِمِيْنَ (in accusative/genitive).

2. The Sound Feminine Plural

The sound feminine plural is used for both beings of intellect and inanimate objects. It cannot be used for mixed groups.

Form: Created by adding ات to the singular form without changing its structure. Example: مُسْلِمَات (Muslim women).

3. Broken Plurals

Broken plurals change the internal structure of the noun and are widely used for both humans and non-humans. This form does not follow a regular pattern, making it necessary to memorize plural forms.

Example: رَجُل (man) becomes رِجَال (men); كِتَاب (book) becomes كُتُب (books). Unlike sound plurals, broken plurals do not have a specific plural suffix, making them resemble singular words in form.

4. Plural by Meaning

Certain nouns appear singular in form but are treated as plural because they refer to a group or collective.

Example: قَوْم (a people), جُنُود (armies), أُمَّة (nation).

THE GRAMMATICAL TREATMENT OF PLURALS

All non-human plurals are treated as SINGULAR FEMININE

Everything else is treated “as is”