The Object of Cause (al-mafʿūl lahu)
المَفْعُولُ لَهُ
Verses 298–302 · chapter 23 of 78
This chapter teaches when a maṣdar can stand in the accusative to state the reason for an action. The conditions are that it gives a cause and shares its time and its agent with the verb that governs it. If a condition is missing, the cause takes a causal particle such as li-. The chapter then says how often each form (bare, with al, annexed) takes the accusative or the particle. AI
Topic:The accusative
- 298
الرَّجَزal-rajaz–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
The maṣdar is put in the accusative as a mafʿūl lahu if it makes clear a cause [of the action], as in jud shukran wa-din ['be generous out of gratitude, and obey'; shukran gives the reason for both commands].
AI note on the transcription: أَبَانَ تَعْلِيلًا كَجُدْ شُكْرًا وَدِنْ: the transcription has كحد with ḥāʾ. The example is جُدْ, the imperative of jāda 'to be generous', with jīm. The English follows this reading.
- 299
الرَّجَزal-rajaz–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
And it is one with what governs it [its ʿāmil] in time and in agent [the cause and the action happen at the same time and have the same doer]. If a condition is missing,
AI note on the transcription: وَهْوَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُ فِيهِ مُتَّحِدْ: the transcription has متخذ ('taking'), which gives no sense. The condition is ittiḥād, 'being one with'. The rhyme with فُقِدْ also requires dāl, so the word is مُتَّحِدْ with ḥāʾ and dāl. The English follows this reading.
- 300
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
then put it in the genitive with the [causal] particle [li-, min, fī, or bi-; e.g. jiʾtuka li-s-samni 'I came to you for the ghee', where the cause is not a maṣdar]. The genitive is also allowed when the conditions are met, as in li-zuhdin dhā qaniʿ ['out of abstinence this man was content'].
Ibn ʿAqīl on verses 298–300Arabic
المفعول له هو المصدر المفهم علة المشارك لعامله في الوقت والفاعل نحو جد شكرا فشكرا مصدر وهو مفهم للتعليل لأن المعنى جد لأجل الشكر ومشارك لعامله وهو جد فى الوقت لأن زمن الشكر وهو زمن الجود وفي الفاعل لأن فاعل الجود هو المخاطب وهو فاعل الشكر
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 3459 · vol. 2, p. 185 ↗وكذلك ضربت ابني تأديبا فتأديبا مصدر وهو مفهم للتعليل إذ يصح أن يقع في جواب لم فعلت الضرب وهو مشارك لضربت في الوقت والفاعل
وحكمه جواز النصب إن وجدت فيه هذه الشروط الثلاثة أعني المصدرية وإبانة التعليل واتحاده مع عامله في الوقت والفاعل
فإن فقد شرط من هذه الشروط تعين جره بحرف التعليل وهو اللام أو من أو في أو الباء
فمثال ما عدمت فيه المصدرية قولك جئتك للسمن
ومثال ما لم يتحد مع عامله في الوقت جئتك اليوم للإكرام غدا
ومثال ما لم يتحد مع عامله في الفاعل جاء زيد لإكرام عمرو له
ولا يمتنع الجر بالحرف مع استكمال الشروط نحو هذا قنع لزهد
وزعم قوم أنه لا يشترط في نصبه إلا كونه مصدرا ولا يشترط اتحاده مع عامله في الوقت ولا في الفاعل فجوزوا نصب إكرام في المثالين السابقين والله أعلم
- 301
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
It is uncommon for the bare [maṣdar, without al and not annexed] to take it [the particle; the accusative is usual]. The reverse holds for the one with al [the particle is usual and the accusative uncommon; the annexed maṣdar takes either freely]. And they recited [as evidence of the accusative with al]:
- 302
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–––مَفْعُولُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–––مَفْعُولُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
'I do not hold back from battle out of cowardice, even if throngs of enemies come one after another.' [al-jubna, a maṣdar with al, is accusative as mafʿūl lahu.]
Ibn ʿAqīl on verses 301–302Arabic
المفعول له المستكمل للشروط المتقدمة له ثلاثة أحوال أحدها أن يكون مجردا عن الألف واللام والإضافة والثاني أن يكون محلى بالألف واللام والثالث أن يكون مضافا وكلها يجوز أن تجر بحرف التعليل لكن الأكثر فيما تجرد عن الألف واللام والإضافة النصب نحو ضربت ابني تأديبا ويجوز جره فتقول ضربت ابني لتأديب وزعم الجزولي أنه لا يجوز جره وهو خلاف ما صرح به النحويون وما صحب الألف واللام بعكس المجرد فالأكثر جره ويجوز النصب فضربت ابني للتأديب أكثر من ضربت ابني التأديب ومما جاء فيه منصوبا ما أنشده المصنف 163 -
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 3478 · vol. 2, p. 186 ↗لا أقعد الجبن عن الهيجاء …
البيت فالجبن مفعول له أي لا أقعد لأجل الجبن ومثله قوله 164 -
فليت لي بهم قوما إذا ركبوا … شنوا الإغارة فرسانا وركبانا
وأما المضاف فيجوز فيه الأمران النصب والجر على السواء فتقول ضربت ابني تأديبه ولتأديبه وهذا قد يفهم من كلام المصنف لأنه لما ذكر أنه يقل جر المجرد ونصب المصاحب للألف واللام علم أن المضاف لا يقل فيه واحد منهما بل يكثر فيه الأمران ومما جاء منصوبا قوله تعالى ﴿ يجعلون أصابعهم في آذانهم من الصواعق حذر الموت ﴾ ومنه قوله 165 -
وأغفر عوراء الكريم ادخاره … وأعرض عن شتم اللئيم تكرما
- المَفْعُولُ لَهُ al-mafʿūl lahu · object of cause: the accusative maṣdar that states why the action is done (also called al-mafʿūl li-ajlihi) · فعل
- المَصْدَرُ al-maṣdar · verbal noun, naming the action itself · صدر
- تَعْلِيلٌ taʿlīl · giving the cause or reason · علل
- العَامِلُ al-ʿāmil · the governor: the word that causes a case ending in another word (here, the verb over the mafʿūl lahu) · عمل
- مُتَّحِدٌ muttaḥid · being one with, sharing (here, sharing time and agent with the governing verb) · وحد
- الشَّرْطُ ash-sharṭ · condition · شرط
- الجَرُّ al-jarr · the genitive case (with a particle or by annexation) · جرر
- الحَرْفُ al-ḥarf · particle (here, a causal preposition such as li-) · حرف
- المُجَرَّدُ al-mujarrad · the bare form: a maṣdar with neither al nor annexation · جرد