Al-Mudari' In Detail
14 Forms · Three Groups · Prefixes · Negation · Future Tense
- Identify the three groups of mudari' forms and explain how each changes its ending
- Recognise the noon of i'rab (green noon) and the noon of pronoun (fixed noon)
- Apply لَا to negate the mudari' verb correctly
- Use لَنْ and لَمْ to produce the nasb and jazm states of the mudari'
- Use سَ and سَوْفَ to place the mudari' in the near and far future tense
- Use كَانَ + mudari' to express habitual past action
- Identify common prefixes (وَ، فَ، قَدْ، سَ، سَوْفَ، لَا) and suffixes (attached pronouns) on the mudari'
Video Lesson
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Introduction
In the previous lesson we learned to conjugate the mudari' (present-future tense) verb. In this lesson we go deeper: we examine the internal structure of the 14 forms, identify three groups with different behaviour, and learn the most common prefixes and particles that modify the mudari' — including negation, future markers, and particles that change the ending itself.
Lesson Notes
Review: The Six Baabs
The mudari' follows the same six baab patterns as the madi:
| Baab | Madi | Mudari' |
|---|---|---|
| Fatha (Fa) | فَتَحَ | يَفْتَحُ |
| Nasara (Nun) | نَصَرَ | يَنْصُرُ |
| Daraba (Dad) | ضَرَبَ | يَضْرِبُ |
| Sami'a (Sin) | سَمِعَ | يَسْمَعُ |
| Hasiba (Ha — rare) | حَسِبَ | يَحْسِبُ |
| Karuma (Kaf — rare) | كَرُمَ | يَكْرُمُ |
Mnemonic: Open the Quran (Fatha) — Allah will help (Nasara) — otherwise dunya beats you (Daraba) — therefore listen (Sami'a) — count good deeds (Hasiba) — be noble (Karuma).
Anatomy of the Mudari': Three Groups
The 14 forms of the mudari' divide into three groups based on how the doer (fa'il) is expressed and how the ending changes:
| Group | Forms | Doer | Default ending | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Mustatir (hidden doer) | 1, 4, 7, 13, 14 | Hidden in verb | dhamma — ُ | dhamma/fatha/sukoon |
| 2 — Noon of i'rab | 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 | Red letter (alif/waw/ya) | green noon at end | noon present/absent |
| 3 — Fixed noon (mabni) | 6, 12 (هُنَّ/أَنْتُنَّ) | Purple noon = doer | noon always present | never changes |
Note: forms 4 and 7 are identical in the mudari' (هِيَ taftahu = أَنْتَ taftahu); context tells them apart.
Group 1: The Easy Group (Mustatir)
Forms with hidden doer end with dhamma as default:
| Particle | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| None (default) | dhamma | يَفْتَحُ — he opens |
| لَنْ (hammer → nasb) | dhamma → fatha | لَنْ يَفْتَحَ — he will never open |
| لَمْ (chopper → jazm) | dhamma → sukoon | لَمْ يَفْتَحْ — he did not open |
Group 2: The Noon of I'rab Group
Forms with an explicit doer letter (alif/waw/ya) followed by a green noon:
- Rafa' (default): noon is present — يَنْصُرُونَ, يَنْصُرَانِ
- Nasb or Jazm: noon is dropped — يَنْصُرُوا, يَنْصُرَا
- To distinguish nasb from jazm: look at the particle before the verb
Group 3: The Mabni Group
Forms 6 and 12 (هُنَّ and أَنْتُنَّ versions ending in نَ): the noon is the noun of the pronoun, not the noon of i'rab. It never drops for any reason — this group is mabni (fixed).
Negating the Mudari'
| Method | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| لَا + mudari' | Most common negation (statement) | لَا يَفْتَحُ — he does not open |
| مَا + mudari' | Less common; does not give future meaning | مَا يَفْتَحُ — he does not open |
For the madi (past), مَا is the primary negation. For the mudari', لَا takes over.
Future Tense Markers
| Prefix | Meaning | Frequency in Quran |
|---|---|---|
| سَوْفَ + mudari' | soon (near future) | 42x |
| سَـ + mudari' | very soon (immediate future) | 119x |
Note: سَـ is a single letter and attaches directly to the verb — watch for it in Quranic text (e.g. سَيَعْلَمُونَ).
No changes are made to the verb ending by سَوْفَ or سَـ — they are non-impacting (ghayru aamil).
Using كَانَ with the Mudari'
كَانَ (past tense of "to be") + mudari' = habitual past (used to / was doing regularly):
- كَانَ يَفْتَحُ — he used to open / he was opening (habitually)
- كَانُوا يُؤْمِنُونَ — they used to believe
The form of كَانَ must match the subject in gender and number, and must be used with the matching mudari' form.
Common Prefixes and Suffixes with the Mudari'
Non-impacting prefixes (meaning only):
| Prefix | Meaning | Effect on verb |
|---|---|---|
| وَ | and | none |
| فَ | so / then | none |
| قَدْ | certainly (emphasis) | none |
| لَا | not | none |
| سَ / سَوْفَ | soon / will | none |
| كَانَ | habitual past | none |
Impacting prefixes (change ending):
| Prefix | Mood caused | Change |
|---|---|---|
| لَنْ / أَنْ / كَيْ / إِذَنْ | Nasb | dhamma→fatha; noon dropped |
| لَمْ / لَمَّا | Jazm | dhamma→sukoon; noon dropped |
Suffixes (attached pronouns): always act as the object of the verb — e.g. وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ (and We made you all) — كُمْ is the attached pronoun as object.
Summary
- Mudari' has three groups based on how the doer appears and how the ending changes
- Group 1 (mustatir): default dhamma → nasb: fatha; jazm: sukoon
- Group 2 (noon of i'rab): default noon present → nasb and jazm: noon dropped
- Group 3 (mabni noon): never changes — noon is the doer, not the noon of i'rab
- Negation: لَا + mudari' (most common statement negation)
- Future: سَوْفَ (near) and سَـ (immediate) — no change to verb ending
- Habitual past: كَانَ + mudari' — verb must match كَانَ in number/gender
- Nasb particles (hammers): لَنْ, أَنْ, كَيْ, إِذَنْ
- Jazm particles (choppers): لَمْ, لَمَّا (and conditional structures)
- Attached pronouns at the end of a verb = direct object (maf'ool bihi)
Terminology Reference
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| الْمُضَارِعُ | al-mudāri` | the imperfect / present-future tense verb | FIL |
| نُونُ الإِعْرَابِ | nūn al-i`rāb | the noon of i'rab — dropped in nasb and jazm | ISM |
| لَا يَفْعَلُ | lā yaf`alu | he does not do — negation of mudari' with lā | FIL |
| لَنْ يَفْعَلَ | lan yaf`ala | he will never do — lān forces nasb (fatha) on mudari' | FIL |
| لَمْ يَفْعَلْ | lam yaf`al | he did not do — lam forces jazm (sukoon) on mudari' | FIL |
| سَوْفَ يَفْعَلُ | sawfa yaf`alu | soon he will do — near future tense (42x in Quran) | FIL |
| سَيَفْعَلُ | sayaf`alu | very soon he will do — immediate future (119x in Quran) | FIL |
| كَانَ يَفْعَلُ | kāna yaf`alu | he used to do — past habitual/continuous action | FIL |