Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
مَفْعُول فِيهِ (ظَرْف)
maf'ul fih (zarf)
Adverbial object (zarf)
Nahw · syntaxSyntactic rolecore term1,981+ in the Qur'an
In one line
The adverbial object (zarf) — a noun in nasb giving the time or place of the action.
Classical definition
ظَرْفُ الزَّمَانِ هُوَ اسْمُ الزَّمَانِ الْمَنْصُوبُ بِتَقْدِيرِ «فِي»، وَظَرْفُ الْمَكَانِ هُوَ اسْمُ الْمَكَانِ الْمَنْصُوبُ بِتَقْدِيرِ «فِي».
“The adverb of time is the time-noun in nasb with “in” understood; the adverb of place is the place-noun in nasb with “in” understood.”
(الآجرّومية)
Key words in the Arabic
ظَرْفa container — hence adverb of time/place
بِتَقْدِيرِ «فِي»with the meaning of “in” understood
Understand it
The grammarians call these nouns “containers” (ظُرُوف) because the action happens inside them — a day, a night, a place before or behind. The definition's key phrase is “with فِي understood”: اليَوْمَ means “(in) today”. That hidden “in” is why they stand in nasb.
How to spot it
Recognition test
It answers “when?” or “where?” and is in nasb — e.g. “today,” “in front of,” “above.”
In the Qur'an
وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
Qaf 50:35 — “And with Us is yet more”
لَدَيْ is a zarf of place (in nasb) — “with / in Our presence.”
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