What is the absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq)?
In one line
Classical definition
Understand it
This role has no equivalent in English, and it is one of the most common things in the Qur'an. A verb is used, and then the masdar of that same verb is added after it.
ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا ضَرْبًا (darabtu zaydan darban) — I struck Zayd, a striking. English has to reach for “I struck him hard” or “I really did strike him”. Arabic simply repeats the action as a noun.
The five mafa'il
Five roles share the word مَفْعُول, and each answers a different question about the action: what it fell upon, how much of it there was, why it happened, who it happened alongside, and when or where.
It does one of three jobs:
What it is doing
| Job | Example | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| confirming the verb | ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا ضَرْبًا | darabtu zaydan darban | I struck Zayd a striking |
| naming the kind | جَلَسْتُ جُلُوسَ الْأَمِيرِ | jalastu julusa al-amiri | I sat the sitting of a prince |
| counting | ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا ضَرْبَتَيْنِ | darabtu zaydan darbatayni | I struck Zayd two strikings |
All three are the verb's own masdar, in nasab, standing after it.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Don't confuse it with the object
Do not confuse it with the مَفْعُول بِهِ.
The مَفْعُول بِهِ is a different thing from the verb — something the action lands on. شَرِبَ مَاءً: the water is not the drinking.
The مَفْعُول مُطْلَق is the action itself, named again as a noun. ضَرَبَ ضَرْبًا: the striking is the striking.
The name says it: مُطْلَق means unrestricted — this object is not tied to a preposition the way the other four are.
The five mafa'il
| # | Meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | مَفْعُول بِهِ | maf'ul bihi | the thing the action is done to |
| 2 | مَفْعُول لَهُ | maf'ul lahu | the thing it is done for — the reason |
| 3 | مَفْعُول مَعَهُ | maf'ul ma'ahu | the thing it is done along with |
| 4 | مَفْعُول فِيهِ | maf'ul fihi | the time or place it is done in |
| 5 | مَفْعُول مُطْلَق | maf'ul mutlaq | tied to nothing — the action itself, named again |
Four of the five are named after the preposition that would complete them. The fifth is named for having none, which is what مُطْلَق means.
Related terms
Common questions
Why repeat the action as a noun?
Because Arabic uses it where English reaches for an adverb. The verbal noun in nasab either confirms the verb outright, or carries a description of how or how often the action happened — one noun doing the work of a phrase.
Next in the guideاَلْمَفْعُول لَهُWhat is the object of reason (maf'ul lahu)? →Updated