Direct object (maf'ul bih)

Nahw · syntaxSyntactic rolecore term9,146+ in the Quran

Also written: Maf'ul · Maful · Object of the verb · Direct object

In one line

The direct object — the noun in the accusative (nasb) that the action falls upon.

Classical definition

المَفْعُولُ بِهِ هُوَ الاسْمُ المَنْصُوبُ الَّذِي يَقَعُ بِهِ الفِعْلُ.

“The maf'ul bih is the nasb-state noun upon which the action falls.”

(الآجرّومية)

Key words in the Arabic

يَقَعُ بِهِ الْفِعْلُthe action falls on it

Understand it

After the doer, many verbs need a receiver of the action. That receiver is the maf'ul bih, marked in nasb (fatha or its substitute). It may be a noun, or a pronoun attached to the verb, and it can be fronted for emphasis.

How to spot it

Recognition test

Find the verb, then ask “whom?” or “what?” The answer is the maf'ul bih, in nasb.

In the Quran

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ ٱلْأَسْمَاءَ

Al-Baqarah 2:31 — “And He taught Adam the names”

ٱلْأَسْمَاءَ is the maf'ul bih — what was taught — in nasb, shown by the fatha.

Don't confuse it with

Both مفعول مطلق and حال are also in nasb: the first repeats the verb's own meaning, the second answers “how?”. The maf'ul bih answers “whom/what?”.

Common questions

Must the object come after the verb?

No — it can be fronted for emphasis (إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ) or attached as a pronoun. The nasb ending, not the position, identifies it.

Why can't هُوَ or أَنْتَ be the object of a verb?

The detached pronouns are fixed in raf' — subjects only. Arabic supplies the attached set for nasb positions: “he helped him” must be نَصَرَهُ, never نَصَرَ هُوَ.

Can a verb take two objects — or none?

A few take two, both in nasb: جَعَلَ اللهُ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولًا. And intransitive verbs (ذَهَبَ، جَلَسَ) take none at all — their action stays with the doer.

Domain: Nahw · Category: Syntactic role · Frequency in the Quran: 9,146 · Source: الآجرّومية, cross-checked against the Quranic corpus · Reviewed by Ustadh M. Arjan Ali