Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
نَائِب فَاعِل
na'ib fa'il
Deputy agent (passive subject)
Nahw · syntaxSyntactic rolecore term1,168+ in the Qur'an
In one line
The deputy agent — the noun in raf' that stands in for the doer when the verb is passive.
Classical definition
المَفْعُولُ الَّذِي لَمْ يُسَمَّ فَاعِلُهُ هُوَ الاسْمُ المَرْفُوعُ الَّذِي لَمْ يُذْكَرْ مَعَهُ فَاعِلُهُ.
“'The object whose doer is unnamed' is the raf'-state noun whose doer is not mentioned with it.”
(الآجرّومية)
Key words in the Arabic
لَمْ يُسَمَّ فَاعِلُهُits doer is not named
Understand it
Make a verb passive (ضُمَّ أوله وكُسِر ما قبل آخره: خَلَقَ → خُلِقَ) and the doer leaves the stage. The old object then steps into the vacant raf' slot as its deputy. The classical name — “the object whose doer is unnamed” — describes exactly that promotion: same word, new case, new job.
How to spot it
Recognition test
When the doer is dropped and the verb is built for the passive, the word that takes raf' in its place is the naa'ib al-fa'il.
In the Qur'an
وَخُلِقَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ ضَعِيفًا
An-Nisa 4:28 — “And man was created weak”
ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ is the naa'ib al-fa'il in raf' — the doer of خُلِقَ is unnamed.
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