Question

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

I have heard that nabr is not needed to distinguish the dual form of the past tense from the masculine singular (3 examples in Quran) as it is clear from the context of the verse and the ayahs before and after.  Is this correct? 

My further questions are: is there nabr for:

1. Singular masculine and feminine order form of the verb (eg. udkhul and udkhulee) since both sound the same when a sukuun follows (ie udkhuli).  Are there any examples from the Quran?

2. Past tense 'they (feminine plural) said - qulna' and 'we said - qulnaa' since both are read 'qulna' when followed by a sukuun.  Are there any examples from the Qur'an?

Jazakumullahu khayran

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh.

The nabr  (accent) is necessary in the case of a dual past tense verb followed by a sukoon so that it is clear to the listener that it is a dual form and not past singular.  For example in the phrase: , if there is no accent in our reading, the listener will not know if just Yusef raced to the door, of if he and the wife of the Egyptian 'azeez raced to the door.  The accent () on the fat-h of the letter  gives the needed indication that the two of them raced to the door. The same holds true for the other two incidents of the dual past followed by a sukoon, one being aayah 22 of surah Al-'Araaf, and the other aayah 15 of surah An-Naml, the meaning can be contrived two different ways, and the nabr helps indicate the duality of the action of the verb.   

Further answers:

1. There is only an example of each in the Qur'an, the first is the order to a female single in aayah 44 of surah an-naml:   

The order for a male singular that has a kasrah due it being followed by a sukoon is in aayah 26 in surah Ya Seen: .

The only reason for an accent in the kasrah of the word:  would be if there was a chance of confusing the meaning with the male singular.  The word  (to her) before the command form of the verb  (enter –you female) completely eliminates any possibility of misunderstanding the meaning, and therefore, no nabr is needed.

2.  There is, to the best of our knowledge, only two occurrences of the female plural past tense of "they said":  in two aayaat in the Qur'an, neither of them followed by a sukoon.  They occur in aayah 31 and 51 of surah Yusef: .  
There are more than one example of  followed by a sukoon in the Glorious Qur'an, but the context is clear that Allah is talking about his Glorious Self and no chance of confusing it with the feminine plural past tense, since there is no mention of any females in the aayaat, and therefore no need for a nabr.  One example is:
Al-Baqarah 58. 

And Allah knows best. 

Masha' Allah, those were good questions, may Allah increase you in knowledge and in understanding of tajweed. 

Wa iyyaakum wa-l-muslimeen.