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. مَٰلِكِ names such a thing: '(The) Master', from the root ملك: to possess, to rule; sovereignty, kingship, angels. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. مَـٰلِكِ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. 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, or idea. يَوْمِ names such a thing: '(of the) Day', from the root يوم: day, time, period. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. يَوْمِ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': 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. مَـٰلِكِ and يَوْمِ form such a pair, '(The) 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 two nouns — two naming words — directly together: مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ reads '(The) Master — (of the) Day'. The second word of such a chain, the owner, always takes the genitive — the after-'of' ending, shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the letter — and يَوْمِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L5 · R5
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 definite article is the prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter, د, is one of the fourteen 'sun-letters' — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — the ل of the prefix melts into it and doubles it, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلدِّينِ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. دِّينِ names such a thing: '(of the) Judgment', from the root دين: to judge, religion, debt. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ٱلدِّينِ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': 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. يَوْمِ and ٱلدِّينِ form such a pair, '(of the) Day (of the) Judgment', and as the owner-word of that pair, 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 '(of the) Day — (of the) Judgment'. The second word of such a chain, the owner, always takes the genitive — the after-'of' ending, shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the letter — and ٱلدِّينِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. 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.”