A Conversational Course in Qur'ānic Arabic

لُغَةُ القُرْآنِ

Part 4 · Chapter Thirty-Six · Word-Types Foundation · Final Chapter of Part 4

الْفِعْلُ الْمَجْهُولُ

The Passive Verb — When the Doer Is Unknown

You've spent this whole course conjugating verbs where someone does the action: كَتَبَ, ‘he wrote.’ But what if you don't know or don't need to say who did it? الْفِعْلُ الْمَجْهُولُ — literally ‘the unknown verb’ — lets you say “it was written” without naming a writer at all, just by shifting the verb's internal vowels.

Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

Form the passive of a perfect-tense verb: كُتِبَ pattern
Form the passive of a present-tense verb: يُكْتَبُ pattern
Explain why a passive sentence has no فَاعِلٌ (doer), only a نَائِبُ فَاعِلٍ (‘deputy subject’)
Read a verse using a passive verb to describe humanity's creation

TEACHER NOTES

Pacing: 45 min

Prerequisite check: Active and passive participles (Ch.34–35).

Watch out for: The passive verb changes only the internal vowelling, not the consonants — easy to miss in unvowelled text.

01 — THE FULL PICTURE, FIRST

رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner

The passive hides the doer. Compare an active sentence, which names who did the action, with the passive, which promotes the object to subject and simply drops the doer.

كَتَبَ الرَّجُلُ الْكِتَابَ

kataba-r-rajulu-l-kitāb
The man wrote the book. (active — doer named)

كُتِبَ الْكِتَابُ

kutiba-l-kitābu
The book was written. (passive — no doer; الْكِتَابُ is now nominative, the نَائِبُ فَاعِلٍ)

Two patterns to learn. Perfect passive shifts the vowels to ‑ُ‑ِ‑ (كُتِبَ); imperfect passive adds يُ‑ and shifts to ‑َ‑ (يُكْتَبُ):

يَكْتُبُ → يُكْتَبُ

yaktubu → yuktabu
he writes → it is written

Since a passive sentence has no doer to cause any confusion about, the نَائِبُ فَاعِلٍ (the promoted object) always takes the nominative case — exactly the way an ordinary subject would.

Quick check: in كُتِبَ الْكِتَابُ, why is الْكِتَابُ nominative even though it's the thing being written? (In a passive sentence, the object is promoted to nā’ib fā‘il and takes the nominative case, since there's no separate doer.)

02 — LISTEN & REPEAT

حِوَارٌDialogue

Yūsuf and Maryam talk about things that were done, without saying who did them. Listen twice, then read aloud.

MARYAM

مَتَى كُتِبَ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ؟

matā kutiba hādhā-l-kitāb?

When was this book written?

YŪSUF

كُتِبَ مُنْذُ سَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ، لَا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ كَتَبَهُ بِالضَّبْطِ.

kutiba mundhu sanawātin ṭwīlah, lā a‘rifu man katabahu bi-ḍ-ḍabṭ.

It was written many years ago, I don't know exactly who wrote it.

MARYAM

وَهَلْ يُقْرَأُ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ كَثِيرًا؟

wa hal yuqra’u hādhā-l-kitābu kathīran?

And is this book read a lot?

YŪSUF

نَعَمْ، يُقْرَأُ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ تَقْرِيبًا.

na‘am, yuqra’u fī kulli makānin taqrīban.

Yes, it's read almost everywhere.

03 — CORE WORDS

الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary

Compare each passive verb to its active form — the root letters stay in the same order, only the internal vowels shift.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
REVIEWكُتِبَ	kutiba	it was written	Passive perfect — pattern ‑ُ‑ِ‑َ.
REVIEWيُكْتَبُ	yuktabu	it is written / is being written	Passive imperfect — pattern يُ‑‑ْ‑َ‑ُ.
NEWقِيلَ	qīla	it was said	Passive of قَالَ — a hollow verb's passive shifts differently.
REVIEWخُلِقَ	khuliqa	he/it was created	Passive of خَلَقَ.
REVIEWيُقْرَأُ	yuqra’u	it is read	Passive imperfect of قَرَأَ.
NEWعُرِفَ	‘urifa	it became known, was known	Passive of عَرَفَ.
NEWنَائِبُ فَاعِلٍ	nā’ibu fā‘il	‘deputy subject’	The object that becomes the grammatical subject in a passive sentence.
NEWبِالضَّبْطِ	bi-ḍ-ḍabṭ	exactly, precisely	—

Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
EARLYالْحَقِيقَةُ	al-ḥaqīqah	the truth, reality	—
EARLYمَكَانٌ	makān	a place	—

04 — READING THE SOURCE

وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection

A verse using the passive to describe humanity's creation — the emphasis falls on what happened, not on naming the process.

SŪRAT AL-‘ALAQ — 96:2

خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ

He created man from a clinging clot.

خَلَقَ

khalaqa

He created (active here, for comparison)

الْإِنسَانَ

al-insān

man (accusative, object)

مِنْ عَلَقٍ

min ‘alaq

from a clinging clot

This particular verse is active (خَلَقَ, ‘He created’), included here so you can directly compare it with خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ (‘man was created’) — both are common in the Qur'ān depending on whether the emphasis falls on Allah as Creator (active) or on the fact of creation itself (passive). Try converting this verse to the passive yourself as practice: خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَلَقٍ.

05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE

عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases

Everyday phrases using passive verbs.

قِيلَ لِي إِنَّ...

qīla lī anna... — I was told that...

يُقَالُ إِنَّ...

yuqālu anna... — it is said that...

كَمَا هُوَ مَعْرُوفٌ

kamā huwa ma‘rūf — as is well known

خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ ضَعِيفًا

khuliqa-l-insānu ḍa‘īfan — man was created weak

عُرِفَ بِصِدْقِهِ

‘urifa bi-ṣidqih — he was known for his honesty

يُحْتَرَمُ كَثِيرًا

yuḥtaramu kathīran — he is greatly respected

لَمْ يُحَلَّ الْأَمْرُ بَعْدُ

lam yuḥalla-l-amru ba‘d — the matter hasn't been resolved yet

سَيُعْلَنُ غَدًا

saya‘lanu ghadan — it will be announced tomorrow

SKILLS PRACTICE

الِاسْتِمَاعُListening

Audio track 36.1

Aḥmad and Salmā discuss news, without naming sources. Listen first, script second.

AḨMAD

قِيلَ إِنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ سَيُؤَجَّلُ.

SALMĀ

حَقًّا؟ مِنْ أَيْنَ عُرِفَ هَذَا؟

AḨMAD

لَا أَدْرِي، لَكِنَّهُ يُقَالُ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ.

SALMĀ

سَنَعْرِفُ الْحَقِيقَةَ غَدًا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ.

What was Aḥmad told?
Does he know where this information came from?
What does Salmā say they'll do tomorrow?

Reveal answers

1. That the exam will be postponed. 2. No, he doesn't know exactly. 3. They'll know the truth, God willing.

SKILLS PRACTICE

التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking

Pair work

Partner drill. Report a piece of news to your partner using قِيلَ or يُقَالُ, without naming who told you.

Letters	Word 1	Word 2	Tip
كَتَبَ vs كُتِبَ	كَتَبَ	كُتِبَ	The whole difference between ‘he wrote’ and ‘it was written’ is the shift from fatḥah-fatḥah to ḍammah-kasrah on the first two letters.

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْقِرَاءَةُReading

Read silently, then aloud

Read once for meaning, then aloud.

خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ طِينٍ، ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ الرُّوحُ. كُتِبَ الْقُرْآنُ بِلُغَةٍ عَرَبِيَّةٍ فَصِيحَةٍ، وَيُقْرَأُ حَتَّى الْيَوْمِ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ. قِيلَ قَدِيمًا: مَنْ جَدَّ وَجَدَ. وَيُعْرَفُ الْمَرْءُ بِأَخْلَاقِهِ لَا بِمَظْهَرِهِ.

1) مِمَّ خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ حَسَبَ النَّصِّ؟

أ) مِنْ نَارٍب) مِنْ طِينٍج) مِنْ نُورٍد) لَمْ يُذْكَرْ

2) بِأَيِّ لُغَةٍ كُتِبَ الْقُرْآنُ؟

أ) الْعِبْرِيَّةِب) الْعَرَبِيَّةِ الْفَصِيحَةِج) الْفَارِسِيَّةِد) لَمْ يُذْكَرْ

3) بِمَاذَا يُعْرَفُ الْمَرْءُ حَسَبَ النَّصِّ؟

أ) بِمَظْهَرِهِب) بِأَخْلَاقِهِج) بِمَالِهِد) بِاسْمِهِ فَقَطْ

Reveal answers

1. ب — مِنْ طِينٍ 2. ب — الْعَرَبِيَّةِ الْفَصِيحَةِ 3. ب — بِأَخْلَاقِهِ

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْكِتَابَةُWriting

On paper or in your notebook

Sentence building. Put these words in the correct order, then translate.

طِينٍ مِنْ الْإِنْسَانُ خُلِقَ
فَصِيحَةٍ بِلُغَةٍ الْقُرْآنُ كُتِبَ
بِأَخْلَاقِهِ الْمَرْءُ يُعْرَفُ

Guided writing. Take three active sentences you've written earlier in this course and rewrite each one in the passive, dropping the doer.

06 — CHAPTER EXERCISES

التَّدْرِيبَاتُExercises

1اخْتَرِ الْإِجَابَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَChoose the correct answer

1. A passive sentence:

a) always names the doerb) drops the doer, promoting the object to subjectc) has no subject at alld) only works with commands

2. كُتِبَ means:

a) he wroteb) it was writtenc) write!d) he will write

3. The nominative noun in a passive sentence (the promoted object) is called:

a) فَاعِلٌb) مَفْعُولٌ بِهِc) نَائِبُ فَاعِلٍd) خَبَرٌ

4. The passive imperfect pattern for يَكْتُبُ is:

a) كَتَبَb) يُكْتَبُc) كُتِبَd) اكْتُبْ

Reveal answers

1. b 2. b 3. c 4. b

2صِلْ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ بِمَعْنَاهَاMatch each item to its meaning

كُتِبَ
يُكْتَبُ
قِيلَ
خُلِقَ
عُرِفَ

it became known
he/it was created
it was said
it is written
it was written

Reveal answers

1–e, 2–d, 3–c, 4–b, 5–a

3تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِTranslate into English

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

كُتِبَ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ قَدِيمًا.
يُقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنُ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ.
خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ طِينٍ.
قِيلَ إِنَّهُ مُسَافِرٌ.

Reveal answers

1. This book was written long ago.
2. The Qur'ān is read everywhere.
3. Man was created from clay.
4. It was said that he's travelling.

4تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةِTranslate into Arabic

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

This letter was written yesterday.
It is said that the exam is easy.
Man was created from clay.

Reveal answers

١) كُتِبَتْ هَذِهِ الرِّسَالَةُ أَمْسِ.
٢) يُقَالُ إِنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ سَهْلٌ.
٣) خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ طِينٍ.

5أَكْمِلِ الْحِوَارَComplete the dialogue

Word bank: كُتِبَ — يُقْرَأُ — بِالضَّبْطِ — قِيلَ

مريم: مَتَى هَذَا الْكِتَابُ؟
يوسف: مُنْذُ سَنَوَاتٍ، لَا أَعْرِفُ مَنْ كَتَبَهُ .
مريم: وَهَلْ كَثِيرًا؟
يوسف: نَعَمْ، وَ إِنَّهُ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْكُتُبِ.

Reveal answers

كُتِبَ — بِالضَّبْطِ — يُقْرَأُ — قِيلَ

6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)

يُوسُفُ يَعْرِفُ مَنْ كَتَبَ الْكِتَابَ بِالضَّبْطِ.true / false

الْكِتَابُ يُقْرَأُ فِي كُلِّ مَكَانٍ تَقْرِيبًا.true / false

الْكِتَابُ كُتِبَ حَدِيثًا.true / false

Reveal answers

1. False — he doesn't know exactly. 2. True. 3. False — it was written long ago.

SKILLS PRACTICE

قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading

Hover to check — no test, just read

A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.

Word Sentence

كُتِبَ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ مِنْ زَمَنٍ. يُكْتَبُ دَرْسٌ جَدِيدٌ كُلَّ أُسْبُوعٍ. قِيلَ إِنَّ الصَّبْرَ مِفْتَاحُ الْفَرَجِ. خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ طِينٍ. يُقْرَأُ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ فِي كُلِّ بَيْتٍ. عُرِفَ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ بِالصَّبْرِ. بِالضَّبْطِ هَذِهِ هِيَ الْحَقِيقَةُ. هَذَا مَكَانٌ مَعْرُوفٌ عِنْدَ الطُّلَّابِ.

SKILLS PRACTICE — NEW

مُحَادَثَةٌ حُرَّةٌConversation Practice

Chat with Yūsuf or Maryam using only what you've learned so far — type it or say it out loud, your choice.

تَمَّتِ الْمَرْحَلَةُ الرَّابِعَةُ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ

Chapter Thirty-Six complete, end of Part Four (Word-Types Foundation) — next: Part Five, the Verb Forms & Dictionary Skills Series