What is the khabar of ma and la resembling laysa?

In one line

Definition

Key words in the Arabic

Understand it

لَيْسَ raises its noun and puts its khabar into nasab. Some uses of مَا and لَا copy it exactly, and when they do, the reporting word goes into nasab with them.

مَا سَعِيدٌ جَالِسًا (ma sa'idun jalisan) — Sa'id is not sitting. سَعِيدٌ is the ism, marfu'; جَالِسًا is the khabar, mansub.

لَا رَجُلَ حَاضِرًا (la rajula hadiran) — no man is present.

What they do

They copy لَيْسَ exactly: the noun stays in rafa, the khabar drops into nasab.

The governing is fragile. It is cancelled outright in three situations, and the sentence then reverts to a plain mubtada' and khabar, both marfu':

when the khabar comes after إِلَّا — مَا زَيْدٌ إِلَّا قَائِمٌ; when the khabar is brought forward before the noun — مَا قَائِمٌ زَيْدٌ; when إِنْ is added after مَا — مَا إِنْ خَالِدٌ نَازِلٌ.

This governing is the usage of the people of Hijaz. Banu Tamim do not let مَا govern at all, and read the khabar in rafa throughout.

How to spot it

Don't confuse it with la of absolute negation

Do not confuse this لَا with the لَا of absolute negation.

The لَا that resembles لَيْسَ leaves its noun in rafa and puts its khabar in nasab — لَا رَجُلٌ حَاضِرًا.

The لَا لِنَفْيِ الْجِنْسِ does the opposite: its noun is mansub with a bare fatha and no tanwin, and its khabar stays marfu' — لَا رَجُلَ حَاضِرٌ.

One letter apart in writing; opposite endings on both words.

Related terms

Common questions

How is this different from an ordinary khabar?

Only in its ending. The job is identical — it completes the statement about the noun — but because these particles govern in the manner of laysa, it drops into nasab instead of keeping the rafa it would otherwise have had.