Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
مَـٰلِكِ
(Sovereign…)
Root ملك — to possess, to rule; sovereignty, kingship, angels · 206 times in the Quran
مَـٰلِكِword 1
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. مَـٰلِكِ names the One who possesses and rules — the Master — from the root ملك: to possess, to rule; sovereignty, kingship. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun, treated as 'he'. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is a noun ending shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter — and مَـٰلِكِ ends with exactly that mark. Its genitive comes from matching ٱللَّهِ, the One it renames ('praise is to Allah… the Master'), whose name stands in the genitive after the little word لِ ('to/for') — not from the 'of' chain that follows it, since being the first word of 'Master of the Day' would never cause a genitive. L2 · R12
Apposition (Badal) · بدلAn apposition is a second noun (naming word) that renames the one before it to make it clearer, matching it in case ending. مَـٰلِكِ renames ٱللَّهِ — the One praised is the Master of the Day of Recompense — and so it wears the same genitive kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter). L7 · R4
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a noun built from a root's letters on the mold فَاعِل to name the doer of the action. مَـٰلِكِ sits on exactly that mold, built from the root ملك — to possess, to rule — naming the one who possesses: the Master, the Sovereign. L11 · R1
Allah is the True Owner of everything and everyone; on the Day of Judgment He will grasp the earth, fold up the heavens, and proclaim: 'I am the King! Where are the kings of the earth?'
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:4
يَوْمِ
(…of the Day…)
Root يوم — day, time, period · 405 times in the Quran
يَوْمِword 2
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, idea, or time. يَوْمِ names a time — the Day — from the root يوم: day, time, period. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرEvery Arabic noun — every naming word — is treated as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة, so it is the default: a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes as the owner in an 'of' phrase, marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. 'Master' and 'Day' form the pair 'Master of the Day', and as the owner-word of that pair, يَوْمِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L2 · R12
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic says 'of' by chaining nouns (naming words) together, and the chains can nest: مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ reads 'Master — of the Day — of the Recompense'. يَوْمِ is the owner-word of the first pair, so it takes the genitive kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter), and at the same time it heads the second pair, 'Day of the Recompense'. L5 · R7
On that Day no one will own anything they used to own in the world, and no one will speak except by His permission.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:4
ٱلدِّينِ
(…of Recompense.)
Root دين — to judge, religion, debt · 101 times in the Quran
ٱلدِّينِword 3
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word) means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter د is one of the fourteen 'solar' letters — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself — the ل of the prefix melts into it and the د is doubled, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلدِّينِ, ad-dīn. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ال ('the') is a noun — a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. This word carries that prefix and names an idea: the Judgment, the Recompense, from the root دين — to judge. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word has no feminine marker such as a ة, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes as the owner in an 'of' phrase, marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. 'Day' and 'the Judgment' form the pair 'Day of the Judgment', and as its owner-word, ٱلدِّينِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L2 · R12
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic says 'of' by chaining two nouns — two naming words — directly together: يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ reads 'Day — of the Judgment'. The second word of such a chain, the owner, always stands in the genitive (the after-'of' ending, the kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the letter) and is typically definite — and this one carries the definite prefix ٱل ('the'). L5 · R5
Ad-Dīn means the reckoning — the reward or punishment; Ibn ʿAbbās said Yawm ad-Dīn is the Day of Recompense, when Allah will reckon the creation for their deeds — evil for evil, good for good — except those He pardons.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:4
So far: “Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.”