Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
مَفْعُول مُطْلَق
maf'ul mutlaq
Absolute/cognate object
Nahw · syntaxSyntactic roleadvanced term297+ in the Qur'an
In one line
The absolute (cognate) object — a verbal noun in nasb from the same root as the verb, for emphasis.
Classical definition
الْمَصْدَرُ هُوَ الِاسْمُ الْمَنْصُوبُ الَّذِي يَجِيءُ ثَالِثًا فِي تَصْرِيفِ الْفِعْلِ.
“The masdar (as absolute object) is the nasb-state noun that comes third in the conjugation of the verb (فَعَلَ، يَفْعَلُ، فَعْلًا).”
(الآجرّومية)
Key words in the Arabic
ثَالِثًا فِي تَصْرِيفِ الْفِعْلِthird in the verb's listing: past, present, masdar
Understand it
Arabic can intensify a verb with the verb's own noun: كَلَّمَ… تَكْلِيمًا — “spoke… with real speaking”. The echo is the emphasis; it can also count (ضَرَبْتُهُ ضَرْبَتَيْنِ, twice) or describe (سَيْرًا حَسَنًا, a fine walking). Same root before and after the verb, second word in nasb — unmistakable once seen.
How to spot it
Recognition test
A masdar from the verb's own root, in nasb, stressing or quantifying the action — e.g. “he was utterly shaken.”
In the Qur'an
وَكَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا
An-Nisa 4:164 — “And Allah spoke to Musa with [direct] speech”
تَكْلِيمًا is maf'ul mutlaq in nasb, from the root of كَلَّمَ, emphasising the speaking.
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