مصدر is "maSdar", which means "source". It is a noun which corresponds to a verb, and represents the action that the verb describes. English students of Arabic normally call it a "verbal noun". Here are some examples: زِيَارَة (visit) - verbal noun for زَارَ (to visit) دُخُوْل (entrance) - verbal noun for دَخَلَ (to enter) تَعْلِيْم (teaching) - verbal noun for عَلَّمَ (to teach) You can use it in a lot of places where you need a noun to represent an action. In Arabic, you can use it in a lot of places where you would normally use the infinitive in English. Here are some examples: أُحِبُّ رُكُوب الخَيل ("I love riding horses" - literally "I love the riding (noun) of horse") أَحتَاجُ إلَى زِيَارَةِ أَبِي ("I need to visit my father" - literally "I need the visiting (noun) of my father") قِرَاءَة مُمتِع ("Reading is fun") مَمنُوْع الوُقُوف ("Stopping/parking is forbidden") Hope that is helpful.

Bana and Chris answered you very well.

So مجرد من الزمان means that is doesn't refer to any tense. Thanks Bana :)

Well, "المصدر" means "infinitive". The infinitive form of a verb doesn't refer to a specific tense. For example, he is reading== يقرأ refers to the present tense. The infinitive form of the verb "يقرأ" is "قراءة" which does not refer to any tense. I hope this helps.

المصدر a source