Noun for pre-eminence in Arabic - اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيلِ

When comparing two nouns in Arabic, the superior noun is termed as المُقَضَّلُ, indicating it has a greater quality, quantity, or relation than the second noun, termed as المُفَضَّلُ عَلَيْهِ. The particle مِنْ is used for the comparison. The typical sentence structure follows this pattern:

المُفَضَّلُ عَلَيْهِ + مِنْ + اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل + المُقَضَّلُ.

وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ

And fitnah is greater than killing. (2:217)

In Arabic comparative sentences, مِنْ is employed, analogous to the use of “than” in English.

The structure for the noun of pre-eminence – اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيلِ is:

• Singular masculine: أَفْعَلُ
• Singular feminine: فُعْلَى
• Dual masculine: اَفْعَلانِ
• Dual feminine: فَعْلَيَانِ
• Plural masculine: فُعْلٌ
• Plural feminine: فُعْلٌ

These nouns, typically derived from a tri-radical root, share a pattern consistent with colors and defects. Here are a few examples:

• From حَبِيْبٌ (beloved), we get أَحَبُّ meaning ‘dearer’ or ‘more beloved’.
• From كَبِيرٌ (great), we derive أَكْبَرُ, which means ‘greater’.

While the feminine form of أَفْعَلُ is فُعْلَى, the masculine form, أَفْعَلُ, is often employed for feminine comparative adjectives.

Example:  

إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلً

Indeed, the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence [of heart and tongue] and more suitable for words. (73:6)

When either المُفَضَّلُ or المُفَضَّلُ عَلَيهِ appear in a sentence, whether they are singular, dual, or plural, the comparative adjective – اِسْمُ المُقَارِن will remain singular, following the pattern of أَفْعَلُ. For instance:

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein (50:16)