23/09/2025
1. Definition
Ḥurūf al-jarr (حروف الجرّ) are particles (حروف) that come before nouns only (not verbs or particles).
They cause the following noun (ism) to be in the genitive case (majrūr – مجرور).
The majrūr noun will either:
Take a kasrah (ـِ),
Or kasratayn (ـٍ) if it is indefinite,
Or show its majrūr sign depending on whether it is singular, dual, sound plural, diptote, etc.
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2. The Effect
Every ḥarf jarr does two things:
1. Attaches to a noun (ism).
2. Makes that noun majrūr (genitive).
➡️ Example:
في البيتِ
fī al-bayti = "in the house"
Here: fī = ḥarf jarr, al-bayt = ism majrūr (with kasrah).
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3. List of Ḥurūf al-Jarr
The scholars usually list around 17 to 20 common ones:
1. مِنْ (min) – from
2. إِلَى (ilā) – to, towards
3. عَنْ (ʿan) – about, from, concerning
4. عَلَى (ʿalā) – on, upon
5. فِي (fī) – in
6. رُبَّ (rubba) – perhaps, many a…
7. بِـ (bi) – by, with, in
8. كَـ (ka) – like, as
9. لِـ (li) – for, to, belonging to
10. حَتَّى (ḥattā) – until (when governing nouns)
11. مُذْ (muth) – since (time)
12. مُنْذُ (mundhu) – since, ago (time)
13. خَلَا (khalā) – except
14. عَدَا (ʿadā) – except
15. حَاشَا (ḥāshā) – except
16. وَاو القسم (waaw al-qasam) – by (swearing oath)
17. تَاء القسم (tāʾ al-qasam) – by (swearing oath)
18. بَاء القسم (bāʾ al-qasam) – by (swearing oath)
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4. Special Notes
Some words like حتى and منذ can sometimes act like other parts of speech (depending on context).
Oath prepositions (بـ، و، تـ) only occur in oaths.
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5. Detailed Examples
1. مِنْ (min) – "from"
جئتُ من المدرسةِ
jiʾtu min al-madrasa(ti) = I came from the school.
al-madrasa: majrūr because of min.
2. إِلَى (ilā) – "to"
ذهبتُ إلى السوقِ
dhahabtu ilā as-sūqi = I went to the market.
3. عَلَى (ʿalā) – "on"
الكتابُ على الطاولةِ
al-kitābu ʿalā aṭ-ṭāwilah = The book is on the table.
4. فِي (fī) – "in"
الماءُ في الكوبِ
al-māʾu fī al-kūbi = The water is in the cup.
5. بِـ (bi) – "with / by"
كتبتُ بالقلمِ
katabtu bi-l-qalami = I wrote with the pen.
6. لِـ (li) – "for / belonging to"
الكتابُ لِمحمّدٍ
al-kitābu li-Muḥammadin = The book is for Muhammad.
7. حَتَّى (ḥattā) – "until"
أكلتُ السمكةَ حتى رأسِها
akaltu as-samakata ḥattā raʾsihā = I ate the fish up to its head.
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6. Compound Concept
The ḥarf al-jarr + the majrūr noun together form a jār-wa-majrūr (جار ومجرور) phrase.
This phrase often works as a modifier (شبه جملة), either describing a verb (adverbial phrase) or a noun.
➡️ Example:
جلستُ في المسجدِ. (I sat in the mosque.)
"في المسجد" = jār wa majrūr, connected to the verb "جلست".
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7. Parsing (iʿrāb) Rule
Whenever you parse:
في: حرف جر
البيت: اسم مجرور بـ (في) وعلامة جره الكسرة
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8. Why They Are Called "Ḥurūf al-Jarr"
Jarr (جرّ) means “to pull / drag down.”
They are called this because they drag down the case ending of a noun to majrūr (kasrah state).
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