فعلa sound root indicating the bringing-about of a thing, whether an action or something … (root fl)

Faʿala (فعل) – yafʿalu (يفعل) – faʿlan wa-fiʿlan (فعلا وفعلا): al-faʿl (الفعل), [with fatḥa], is the maṣdar (verbal noun), and al-fiʿl (الفعل), [with kasra], is the noun (ism). Al-faʿāl (الفعال) is a name for good conduct, like generosity (al-jūd) and nobility (al-karam) and the like. It is recited: 'wa-awḥaynā ilayhim faʿla l-khayrāti' (وأوحينا إليهم فعل الخيرات) — 'and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds' — with fatḥa. Al-faʿla (الفعلة) means the [hired] laborers — people who work with clay, digging, and similar kinds of work.

Al-faʿl (الفعل), with fatḥa: the maṣdar of faʿala–yafʿalu (فعل يفعل). Some recite: 'wa-awḥaynā ilayhim faʿla l-khayrāti' (وأوحينا إليهم فعل الخيرات). Al-fiʿl (الفعل), with kasra: the noun, plural al-fiʿāl (الفعال), like qadaḥ/qidāḥ (قدح وقداح) and biʾr/biʾār (بئر وبئار). Al-faʿāl (الفعال), with fatḥa: generosity. Hudba said: "Striking with his two jaws upon the bone of his breast, when the people showed eagerness for generosity, he held back [remained modest]." Al-faʿāl (الفعال) is also a maṣdar, like dhahaba–dhahāban (ذهب ذهابا). 'And there was from him a faʿla (فعلة), good or bad.' Iftaʿala (افتعل) kadhiban wa-zūran (كذبا وزورا) means: he fabricated [a falsehood]. And faʿaltu l-shayʾa fa-nfaʿala (فعلت الشيء فانفعل), as one says: kasartuhu fa-nkasara (كسرته فانكسر) — 'I broke it and it broke.'

Fāʾ, ʿayn, and lām is a sound root indicating the bringing about of something, whether an action or otherwise. From it: faʿaltu kadhā (فعلت كذا) — afʿaluhu (أفعله) — fiʿlan (فعلا); and 'there was from so-and-so a faʿla (فعلة), good or bad.' Al-fiʿāl (الفعال) is the plural of fiʿl (فعل). Al-faʿāl (الفعال), with fatḥa on the fāʾ, means generosity (الكرم) and whatever good is done. There remains a word whose correctness I do not know [how to verify]: they say al-faʿāl (الفعال) is the handle of the axe (خشبة الفأس).

Concerning the [origination indicated by] His saying: 'fiṭrata llāhi allatī faṭara n-nāsa ʿalayhā' (فطرت الله التي فطر الناس عليها) [Quran 30:30] — this is an indication, exalted is He, of what He originated (faṭara) and instilled in mankind of the knowledge of Him, exalted. And fiṭratu llāh (فطرة الله) is what He instilled in man of his capacity to know faith; this is what is pointed to by His saying: 'wa-laʾin saʾaltahum man khalaqahum la-yaqūlunna llāh' (ولئن سألتهم من خلقهم ليقولن الله) [Quran 43:87]. And He said: 'al-ḥamdu lillāhi fāṭiri s-samāwāti wal-arḍ' (الحمد لله فاطر السماوات والأرض) [Quran 35:1], and He said: 'alladhī faṭarahunna' (الذي فطرهن) [Quran 21:56], 'wa-lladhī faṭaranā' (والذي فطرنا) [Quran 20:72], meaning: originated and brought us into being. It is possible that al-infiṭār (الانفطار) in His saying 'as-samāʾu munfaṭirun bihi' (السماء منفطر به) [Quran 73:18] indicates the [creation's] acceptance of what He originated and poured forth upon us from Himself. Al-fiṭr (الفطر) is the breaking/abandonment of fasting; one says faṭartuhu (فطرته) and afṭartuhu (أفطرته), and afṭara huwa (أفطر هو) [he broke his fast]. And the truffle was called fiṭr (فطر) because it splits open (tufṭiru) the earth and emerges from it.

Al-fiʿl (الفعل) is a designation for every action, transitive or intransitive. Faʿala–yafʿalu (فعل يفعل) – faʿlan wa-fiʿlan (فعلا وفعلا): the noun has kasra and the maṣdar has fatḥa. One says faʿalahu (فعله) and faʿala bihi (فعل به); the noun is al-fiʿl (الفعل), plural al-fiʿāl (الفعال), like qadaḥ/qidāḥ and biʾr/biʾār. It is also said: faʿalahu yafʿaluhu faʿlan (فعله يفعله فعلا) is a maṣdar with no parallel except saḥarahu yasḥaruhu siḥran (سحره يسحره سحرا) [he bewitched him]; there also occur khadaʿa yakhdaʿu khadʿan wa-khudʿan (خدع يخدع خدعا وخدعا) and ṣaraʿa ṣarʿan wa-ṣurʿan (صرع صرعا وصرعا). Al-faʿl (الفعل), with fatḥa, is the maṣdar of faʿala–yafʿalu. Some have recited: 'wa-awḥaynā ilayhim faʿla l-khayrāti' (وأوحينا إليهم فعل الخيرات). And His saying, exalted, in the story of Moses, peace be upon him: 'wa-faʿalta faʿlataka llatī faʿalta' (وفعلت فعلتك التي فعلت) [Quran 26:19] — He meant the single occurrence, as though He said 'you killed the soul, your one killing.' Al-Shaʿbī read 'fiʿlataka' (فعلتك), with kasra on the fāʾ, meaning 'you committed the [specific] killing which you knew of, since he killed him with a single blow' — this is from al-Zajjāj, who said the first reading is better. Al-faʿāl (الفعال) is also a maṣdar, like dhahaba–dhahāban (ذهب ذهابا). Al-faʿāl (الفعال), with fatḥa: generosity. Hudba said: "One who strikes with his two jaws upon the bone of his breast, ... when the people showed eagerness for generosity, he held back [remained modest]." Al-Layth said: al-faʿāl (الفعال) is a name for good action, such as generosity and nobility and the like. Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: al-faʿāl is specifically the action of a single [agent], whether in good or evil; one says fulānun karīmu l-faʿāl (فلان كريم الفعال) and fulānun laʾīmu l-faʿāl (فلان لئيم الفعال). He said: al-fiʿāl (الفعال), with kasra, is when the action is between two [parties]. Al-Azharī said: this is correct, and I do not know why al-Layth restricted al-faʿāl to good [conduct] rather than bad. Al-Mubarrad said: al-faʿāl [with fatḥa] occurs in both praise and blame, and is exclusive to a single agent; but if it involves two agents it is fiʿāl [with kasra] — he said this is the sound view. 'And there was from him a faʿla (فعلة), good or bad.' Al-faʿla (الفعلة) is a term predominating for the laborers of clay-work, digging, and the like, because they 'do' (yafʿalūna). Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: the carpenter is called fāʿil (فاعل). The grammarians said: the mafʿūlāt (مفعولات - objects) occur in several categories in grammar: mafʿūl bihi (مفعول به - direct object), as in 'akramtu Zaydan' (أكرمت زيدا) and 'aʿantu ʿAmran' (أعنت عمرا) and the like; mafʿūl lahu (مفعول له - causal object), as in 'faʿaltu dhālika ḥidhāra ghaḍabika' (فعلت ذلك حذار غضبك) — also called mafʿūl min ajl (مفعول من أجل); mafʿūl fīhi (مفعول فيه), of two kinds — the ḥāl (state) and the ẓarf (adverbial). The ẓarf is as in 'nimtu l-bayta' (نمت البيت) and 'fī l-bayti' (في البيت); the ḥāl is as in 'ḍaraba fulānun rākiban' (ضرب فلان راكبا), i.e. in the state of his riding. Mafʿūl ʿalayhi (مفعول عليه), as in 'ʿalawtu s-saṭḥa' (علوت السطح) and 'raqītu d-daraja' (رقيت الدرجة). And mafʿūl bilā ṣila (مفعول بلا صلة), which is the maṣdar, occurring with both transitive verbs, as in 'ḥafiẓtu ḥifẓan' (حفظت حفظا) and 'fahimtu fahman' (فهمت فهما), and intransitive verbs, as in 'inkasara inkisāran' (انكسر انكسارا). The Arabs derive from al-fiʿl (الفعل) the paradigms for the morphological patterns that have come down from them, such as faʿāla (فعالة), faʿūla (فعولة), afʿūl (أفعول), mafʿīl (مفعيل), faʿlīl (فعليل), faʿlūl (فعلول), faʿūl (فعول), and faʿl (فعل), and... [entry continues]