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القرآن
5 Formulas and refrains 3 / 17

Oaths on feminine participles: "by those that …"

Established rule 4 examples 1 min

Five suras open with a series of oaths on feminine plural participles standing without a noun: وَٱلْعَٰدِيَٰتِ, وَٱلْمُرْسَلَٰتِ, وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ, وَٱلذَّٰرِيَٰتِ, وَٱلصَّٰٓفَّٰتِ. The text does not say who they are; the translation keeps the feminine where the language allows and does not fill the gap: "By those that …".

The five openings are 37:1-3, 51:1-4, 77:1-5, 79:1-5 and 100:1-5. Each time the participle is feminine plural and has no noun to carry it: « وَٱلْعَٰدِيَٰتِ ضَبْحًۭا », "by those that cross the limits, panting". The reader knows what they do, not what they are.

Commentaries propose identities (horses, winds, angels), but the text names none of them. Translating "By the horses …" or "By the angels …" would add to the text what it chose to leave unsaid. The translation therefore keeps the form: a pronoun and a relative clause, "those that".

French, Spanish and Italian mark the feminine ("celles qui", "las que", "quelle che"); English has no gender ("those that / those who").

In the text

Example 100:1
وَٱلْعَٰدِيَٰتِ ضَبْحًۭا
“By those that cross the limits, panting”
The feminine "celles qui" in French, as in the other openings.
Example 37:1
وَٱلصَّٰٓفَّٰتِ صَفًّۭا
“By those that range themselves in ranks”
The feminine participle alone, with no noun added.
Example 77:1
وَٱلْمُرْسَلَٰتِ عُرْفًۭا
“By those sent forth in succession”
The text says what they do, not what they are.
Example 79:1
وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ غَرْقًۭا
“By those who tear away, submerging”
Same form, same rendering.