Examples of Al-Mafʿul al-Mutlaq
khatafa al-thaʿlab-u al-dajajat-a khatfan
— The fox snatched the chicken with a snatching.
yashrabu al-tifl-u al-laban-a shurban
— The child drinks the milk with a drinking.
samiʿ-tu al-sawt-a samaʿan
— I heard the sound with a hearing.
yathibu al-namir-u wuthub-a al-asad
— The leopard leaps with the leap of a lion.
jara Khalid jaryan sariʿan
— Khalid ran with a swift running.
akala ʿAliyy aklatayn
— Ali ate two acts of eating (i.e., he ate twice).
tadur-u al-ard-u dawrat-an fi al-yawm
— The earth rotates one rotation per day.
Types of Al-Mafʿul al-Mutlaq with Examples
Consider the underlined words in the sentences above: They are nouns in the accusative — called masadir (verbal nouns).
Try to identify where these masadir are derived from.
They are derived from the verbs that preceded them: (khatafa → khatfan; yashrabu → shurban; yathibu → wuthuban; jara → jaryan; akala → aklatayn; tadur-u → dawratan).
You will find that these masadir add a new meaning to the verbs from which they are derived.
How?
Take, for instance, the sentence 'khatafa al-thaʿlab al-dajaja khatfan' ('the fox snatched the chicken — a snatching'). If we just said 'khatafa al-thaʿlab al-dajaja' ('the fox snatched the chicken'), we would understand that the fox indeed snatched the chicken and that we should not doubt it. But the word 'khatfan' has emphasized the meaning.
— 'yathibu al-namir wuthub al-asad' ('the leopard leaps with the leap of a lion'). If we just said 'yathibu al-namir' ('the leopard leaps') and stopped, the listener would only understand that leaping has occurred from the leopard. But if we then add 'wuthub al-asad' ('the leap of a lion'), the listener understands the kind of this leaping.
— 'tadur-u al-ard dawra fi al-yawm' ('the earth turns one rotation per day'). If we just said 'tadur-u al-ard', we would know that rotation has occurred but not how many times. Adding '(dawra fi al-yawm)' specifies that number.
So the types of al-mafʿul al-mutlaq come either to emphasize the verb, or to specify its kind, or to specify its number.
What May Substitute for Al-Mafʿul al-Mutlaq
Al-mafʿul al-mutlaq may be omitted, replaced by a word that indicates:
1 — Its meaning.
sir-tu harwala
— I walked at a trot. (i.e., I walked a trotting walk.)
2 — Its number.
fuzna bi-l-mubarat-i marratayn
— We won the match twice. (i.e., we achieved two victories.)
3 — A demonstrative pointing to it.
rakad-a dhalika al-rakd
— He ran that running.
4 — Its quality/description.
saffaqa al-jumhur-u kathiran
— The audience clapped a great deal. (i.e., the audience clapped a clapping that was great.)
5 — Its instrument.
darab-tu-hu sikkinan
— I struck him with a knife. (i.e., I struck him a striking with a knife.)
6 — The words 'kull' ('all of') or 'baʿd' ('some of') when annexed to the masdar of the verb.
taʿallam-a baʿd-a al-taʿallum
— He learned somewhat. (lit. 'some of the learning')
samada shaʿb-u-na kull-a al-sumud
— Our people stood firm utterly. (lit. 'all of the firmness')
Iʿrab of Al-Mafʿul al-Mutlaq
samiʿ-tu al-sawt-a samaʿan
— I heard the sound with a hearing.
samiʿtu: a past-tense verb fixed on sukun; the taʾ is a connected pronoun fixed on damma, in the position of nominative as the subject. al-sawt: the direct object in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha at its end. samaʿan: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
dur-tu hawla al-malʿab dawratayn
— I went around the field two rounds.
durtu: a past-tense verb fixed on sukun; the taʾ is the subject (faʿil). hawla: an adverbial accusative (mafʿul fih) marked by the manifest fatha; a mudaf. al-malʿab: a mudaf ilayh in the genitive, marked by the manifest kasra. dawratayn: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by yaʾ + nun because it is dual.
inna najah-a-ka najahan bahiran amr-un mufrih-un
— Indeed, your dazzling success is a delightful matter.
inna: a particle of emphasis and accusative-governance. najaha-ka: ism inna in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha; the kaf is a connected pronoun fixed on fatha, in the position of genitive as a mudaf ilayh. najahan: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha. bahiran: a naʿt (attributive adjective) in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha. amr: the predicate of inna (khabar inna) in the nominative, marked by the manifest damma. mufrih: a naʿt in the nominative, marked by the manifest damma.
Examples of Al-Mafʿul al-Mutlaq from the Noble Quran
— "And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech." — Quran 4:164 (Sahih International)
kallama: a past-tense verb fixed on the manifest fatha at its end. Allah: the divine name, the subject in the nominative, marked by the manifest damma at its end. Musa: the direct object in the accusative, marked by an estimated fatha on the alif, prevented from appearing because of taʿadhdhur (the alif cannot bear vowels). taklimaan: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
— "...so We seized them with a seizure of one Exalted in Might and Perfect in Ability." — Quran 54:42 (Sahih International)
akhadhna-hum: a past-tense verb fixed on sukun; 'na' is a connected pronoun fixed on sukun, in the position of nominative as the subject; the haʾ is a connected pronoun fixed on sukun, in the position of accusative as the direct object; the mim signals the rational masculine plural — a particle fixed on sukun, with no place in iʿrab. akhdh-a: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha; a mudaf. ʿaziz: a mudaf ilayh in the genitive, marked by kasra. muqtadir: a naʿt in the genitive, marked by kasra.
— "...and they are leveled with one [crushing] blow." — Quran 69:14 (Sahih International)
dukkata: a past-tense passive verb fixed on the manifest fatha at its end; the taʾ is the feminine taʾ — a particle fixed on sukun, with no place in iʿrab; the alif is the alif of duality, a connected pronoun fixed on sukun, in the position of nominative as the deputy subject (naʾib al-faʿil). dakkatan: al-mafʿul al-mutlaq in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha at its end. wahidatan: a naʿt in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha at its end.
— "...so do not incline completely [toward one]..." (lit. 'do not incline with all the inclining') — Quran 4:129 (Sahih International)
la: a particle of prohibition and jazm (jussive-governance), fixed on sukun, with no place in iʿrab. tamilu: a present-tense verb in the jussive mood, by 'la', its sign of jazm being the dropping of the nun at its end (because it is one of the Five Verbs); the waw is a connected pronoun fixed on sukun, in the position of nominative as the subject; the alif is a particle fixed on sukun, with no place in iʿrab. kull-a: a substitute for al-mafʿul al-mutlaq (naʾib mafʿul mutlaq) in the accusative, marked by the manifest fatha; a mudaf. al-mayl: a mudaf ilayh in the genitive, marked by kasra.