Grammar term · Sarf · morphology
مَبْنِيّ لِلْمَجْهُول
mabni li-l-majhul
Passive voice
Sarf · morphologyVerb voicecore term1,136+ in the Qur'an
In one line
The passive verb: the doer is dropped and something else steps into its place — كُتِبَ الدَّرْسُ, 'the lesson was written'.
Definition (modern)
الْمَبْنِيُّ لِلْمَجْهُولِ: هُوَ الَّذِي يُحْذَفُ فَاعِلُهُ وَيُؤْتَى بِشَيْءٍ يَنُوبُ عَنْهُ، نَحْوُ: كُتِبَ الدَّرْسُ.
“The verb built for the unknown is the one whose doer is omitted and something is brought to stand in for it, as in: the lesson was written.”
(النحو التطبيقي)
Key words in the Arabic
يُحْذَفُ فَاعِلُهُits doer is dropped
يَنُوبُ عَنْهُdeputises for it
Understand it
Three things happen at once, as النحو التطبيقي puts it: the fa'il is dropped, a deputy (the na'ib fa'il, in rafa') replaces it, and the verb changes costume — madi to فُعِلَ (كُتِبَ), mudari' to يُفْعَلُ (يُكْتَبُ); the amr never does it, since a command cannot hide its doer. Some grammarians prefer the name الْمَبْنِيُّ لِمَا لَمْ يُسَمَّ فَاعِلُهُ — 'built for the unnamed doer' — out of adab, since 'unknown' sits ill where the doer is Allah.
How to spot it
Recognition test
Madi opening with damma + kasra before the last letter (قُضِيَ، كُتِبَ), or mudari' opening with damma + fatha before the last (يُقْضَى، يُكْتَبُ): majhul — then find the na'ib fa'il in rafa'.
In the Qur'an
وَقُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ
Hud 11:44 — “and the matter was settled”
قُضِىَ wears the damma–kasra pattern; the doer is unstated and ٱلْأَمْرُ stands in as na'ib fa'il, in rafa'.
Related terms