Consider the following sentences:
safar-tu wa-al-fajr-a
— I traveled along with the dawn (i.e., at dawn).
yakhruju al-sayyad-u wa-tuluʿ-a al-shams
— The hunter goes out along with the rising of the sun.
aqbala Rashid wa-hisan-a-hu mubtasiman
— Rashid came forward, smiling, along with his horse.
What does reflection on the underlined nouns (wa-al-fajra, wa-tuluʿa, wa-hisanahu) tell us? It clearly shows that they are nouns in the accusative case (mansub) and that they fall after a 'waw' (the letter و). What does that waw mean here? It carries the sense of 'with' (maʿa).
The waw that carries this meaning is called waw al-maʿiyya ('the waw of accompaniment'), and the noun put in the accusative after it is called: al-mafʿul maʿah ('the object of accompaniment').
Sentences About Al-Mafʿul Maʿah
utruk-ni wa-al-kitab-a
— Leave me alone with the book.
al-nasr-u taʾir-un wa-al-sahab-a
— The eagle is flying alongside the cloud.
ruwayda-ka wa-al-marid-a
— Easy on the patient! (lit. 'go gently along with the patient')
siru wa-ikhwan-a-kum muttahidina
— March along with your brothers, united.
ma la-ka wa-shuʾun-a al-nas
— What concern is it of yours along with the affairs of others? (i.e., 'what business have you with...?')
Conditions for Al-Mafʿul Maʿah
1 — It must be preceded by a complete sentence; it can never be preceded by [just] a noun. And it is joined to a waw meaning 'with'.
ma anta wa-Sulayman-an?
— What [business have] you along with Sulayman?
2 — Al-mafʿul maʿah cannot precede its sentence. So we cannot say:
wa-al-jabal-a sara ʿAliyy
— *'And [along with] the mountain, Ali walked' (incorrect ordering).
Iʿrab of Al-Mafʿul Maʿah
The ruling for al-mafʿul maʿah is the accusative (al-nasb). However, al-mafʿul maʿah can be confused with al-ʿatf (conjunction). The distinction between them is as follows:
1 — If conjoining (ʿatf) makes no sense semantically but accompaniment (maʿiyya) does, the noun after the waw is al-mafʿul maʿah, e.g.:
sir-tu wa-al-jabal-a
— I walked along (with the route alongside) the mountain.
Conjunction does not make sense — because the mountain does not walk; accompaniment does make sense. So (al-jabal) is al-mafʿul maʿah in the accusative.
2 — If accompaniment makes no sense but conjoining does, the noun after the waw is conjoined (maʿtuf ʿalayh), e.g.:
zur-tu Makka-ta wa-al-Madinat-a
— I visited Mecca and [then] al-Madinah.
Accompaniment does not make sense — because I visited Mecca first, then visited al-Madinah; so 'al-Madinah' is conjoined onto 'Makka'.
Examples of Iʿrab for Al-Mafʿul Maʿah
istawa al-maʾ-u wa-al-khashabat-a
— The water became level along with the plank (i.e., reached its level).
istawa: a past-tense verb fixed on an estimated fatha at its end, prevented from appearing because of taʿadhdhur (the alif cannot bear a vowel). al-maʾu: the subject (faʿil) in the nominative case, marked by the manifest damma at its end. wa-al-khashabata: the waw — waw al-maʿiyya; al-khashabata — mafʿul maʿah in the accusative case, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
Zayd-un saʾir-un wa-al-tariq-a
— Zayd is walking along the road.
Zayd: mubtadaʾ in the nominative case, marked by the manifest damma at its end. saʾir: khabar (an active participle, ism al-faʿil) in the nominative case, marked by the manifest damma at its end. wa-al-tariqa: the waw — waw al-maʿiyya; al-tariq — mafʿul maʿah in the accusative case, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
kayfa anta wa-al-imtihan-a
— How are you along with [coping with] the exam?
kayfa: an interrogative noun fixed on fatha, in the position of nominative as a fronted khabar. anta: a separate pronoun fixed on fatha, in the position of nominative as a postponed mubtadaʾ. wa-al-imtihana: the waw — waw al-maʿiyya; al-imtihan — mafʿul maʿah in the accusative case, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
Examples of Al-Mafʿul Maʿah from the Noble Quran
Allah Most High said:
— "...so resolve upon your plan and [call upon] your associates..." — Quran 10:71 (Sahih International)
— "And [also for] those who were settled in the Home [i.e., al-Madinah] and [adopted] the faith before them..." — Quran 59:9 (Sahih International)
Exercises on Al-Mafʿul Maʿah
1 — Place each of the following nouns as al-mafʿul maʿah in a meaningful sentence.
al-jabal
the mountain
al-shatiʾ
the shore
al-sadiq
the friend
al-sabah
the morning
al-haql
the field
al-bahr
the sea
2 — Distinguish waw al-maʿiyya from other instances of waw in the following sentences:
rafaq-tu abi wa-ummi fi al-safar
— I accompanied my father and my mother on the journey.
istayqaz-tu wa-tuluʿ-a al-shams
— I awoke along with the sunrise.
namat ukhti wa-luʿbat-a-ha
— My sister slept along with her doll.
ittafaqa akhi wa-sadiq-u-hu ʿala al-dhahab-i ila al-sinima
— My brother and his friend agreed to go to the cinema.
3 — Provide the iʿrab for the underlined portions:
daʿ-ni wa-shaʾn-i
— Leave me alone with my own affairs.
sir-tu wa-al-saqiya
— I walked along the irrigation canal.
ma anta wa-sahib-a-ka saʿid-an
— What [business have] you along with your friend Saʿid?