The original word
The word masdar ( مَصْدَر ) linguistically means means "source" and from the perspective of Arabic linguistics it denotes the word which all other derived verbs and nouns originally came from . There has been a debate by Arabic linguists as whether this original word was in fact the verbal noun or the verb The verbal noun is a noun that denotes an action devoid of a time frame For example: eating, sleeping, reading, writing are all considered verbal nouns. If we say " Eating adequate fruit and vegetables is essential for preventing a wide variety of health conditions". The word Eating denotes the act of eating without a specific time frame linked to it. In Surat Al Naba, Allah (Most High) says: وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَ كُمْ سُبَاتًا And made your sleep [a means for] rest Once again sleep denotes the act of sleeping without an associated time frame. A verb on the other hand denotes an action with a time frame. such as in the sentence نَامَتْ فَاطِم...