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How can the word "غير" be parsed in the hadith "موضوعة تحت قدمي هاتين غير السقاية والسدانة" (placed under these two feet of mine, other than the giving of water and the custodianship of the Kaaba)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The aforementioned hadith, "There is no god but Allah alone. He fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and defeated the confederates alone. Indeed, every prideful deed is beneath these two feet of mine, except for the guardianship of the Kaaba and the provision of water to pilgrims," does not contain the word "غير" (ghayr - other than/except). Rather, the particle of exception used is "إلا" (illa - except), and "السدانة" (al-sidanah - guardianship of the Kaaba) is in the accusative case because of it. If the word "غير" had been present instead of "إلا" in the hadith, it would undoubtedly be in the accusative case. However, the manner of its accusative case (whether as an exception, a circumstantial adverb, or a resemblance to a locative adverb) is a matter of grammatical dispute, which can be found in detailed grammar books.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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