فُعلة Pattern — One Instance of an Action
The فُعلة (fuʿlah) pattern is a special maṣdar form that denotes a single instance or unit of the action, often equivalent in meaning to an ism mafʿūl — the result or thing produced by the action.
The Pattern
Pattern: فُعلة (fuʿlah) — dhamma on the first letter, sukūn on the middle, tāʾ marbūṭah at the end.
This should not be confused with the فَعلة (faʿlah) pattern (maṣdar marrah — one occurrence of an action from a different perspective).
Examples
| Word | Root | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| غُرفَة / حُرفَة | غ-ر-ف | one scoop/handful of water; also: a room (the thing that is enclosed) |
| شُربَة | ش-ر-ب | one sip of liquid |
| لُقمَة | ل-ق-م | one morsel of food |
| دُفعَة | د-ف-ع | amount pushed at one time; modern: a graduating batch/cohort |
| حُفرَة | ح-ف-ر | a hole (the thing that has been dug — ism mafʿūl meaning) |
| نُخبَة | ن-خ-ب | a selection; the chosen/elite; related to اِنتِخَاب (election, form VIII) |
The Ism Mafʿūl Meaning
This pattern is notable because the maṣdar acts like an ism mafʿūl — it refers to the thing produced or resulting from the action rather than just naming the abstract action:
- غَرَفَ = to scoop → غُرفَة = one scoop (the result of one scooping act)
- حَفَرَ = to dig → حُفرَة = a hole (the thing that was dug out)
- اِنتَخَبَ = to elect/choose → نُخبَة = the chosen elite
Quranic Example
إِلَّا مَنِ اغتَرَفَ غُرفَةً بِيَدِه "…except one who scoops up a handful with his hand." (Al-Baqarah 2:249)
Here غُرفَة is both the maṣdar of اِغتَرَفَ (form VIII of غ-ر-ف) and carries the meaning of the amount scooped — one cupped-hand-full of water.
Session References
- Selections from the Glorious Quran Session 5: Introduced in the context of the Tālūt river test (Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:249); four further examples (شُربَة، لُقمَة، دُفعَة، حُفرَة، نُخبَة); distinction from regular maṣdar and ism mafʿūl.