What is the grammatical analysis (إعراب) of the word "wa-ka'anna" (ويكأن) as it appears in Surat Al-Qasas?
The parsing of the word (وَيْكَأَنَّ) is a matter of disagreement. Some say it is composed of (وَيْ), for wonder, and (كَأَنَّ), for similitude, and the meaning is: "How similar is the matter to the abundance of provision." Others say it is (وَيْكَ) meaning "woe to you" and (أَنَّ), and its estimation is: "Woe to you, know that Allah." Others say it is composed of (وَيْ), a verb-noun meaning "I wonder," and (الْكَافُ) for address, and (أَنَّ) the مصدرية particle. Still others say it is composed of four words: (وَيْلٌ) (woe), (الْكَافُ) (you), (اعْلَمْ) (know), and (أَنَّ) (that). The meaning of the verse, according to all these interpretations, is: those who wished for Qarun's status regretted it, marveled at the hidden ways of Allah's actions in His creation, and realized the necessity of being content with the decreed provision.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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