The Semantic Significance of Verb-Nouns through the Qur’anic Text and al-Mutanabbī’s Dīwān

Abstract

Verb-nouns (Asmā’ al-Af‘āl) are lexical items that convey the meanings of verbs without accepting their grammatical markers. They do not follow verbal patterns, do not attach to pronouns, and are indeclinable rather than inflected. Their use provides semantic effects unattainable through verbs alone, such as emphasis, intensification, brevity, and immediacy. They are widely employed in the Noble Qur’an and in classical Arabic usage.