مَفعُول لَأجلِه — Object of Reason
The mafʿūl lahu (مَفعُول لَأجلِه), also called mafʿūl min ajlihi (مَفعُول مِن أَجلِه), answers the question why an action was performed. It is always manṣūb.
Definition
The mafʿūl lahu (or mafʿūl li-ajlihi) is a manṣūb noun that gives the reason or purpose behind the verb's action. It is one of the five types of mafʿūl:
| Type | Answers |
|---|---|
| مَفعُول بِه | What? / Whom? (direct object) |
| مَفعُول فِيه | When? (time) |
| مَفعُول مُطلَق | How? (manner/emphasis) |
| مَفعُول لَأجلِه | Why? (reason/purpose) |
| مَفعُول مَعَه | With what? (accompaniment) |
Always Manṣūb
Every type of mafʿūl is manṣūb. A manṣūb noun with no other clear reason for its manṣūb state is a clue it may be a mafʿūl of one of these types.
How to Identify It
- It answers the question why the action was done
- It is manṣūb (fataḥ or its equivalent)
- It is often a maṣdar (verbal noun) — the reason is stated as a noun, not a clause
- It can appear as:
- A standalone manṣūb word: طَاعَةً (in obedience)
- A muḍāf (construct): خَشيَةَ إِملَاق (for fear of poverty)
Muḍāf without Tanwīn
When the mafʿūl lahu appears in the muḍāf form, it has no tanwīn — but it is still manṣūb (visible as a single fataḥ on the muḍāf).
Examples
From Daily Speech
يَصُومُ المُسلِمُونَ طَاعَةً لِلرَّبِّ "Muslims fast in obedience to their Lord."
طَاعَةً = mafʿūl lahu — it answers why they fast.
جَرَى بِلَالٌ خَوفًا مِنَ الكَلبِ "Bilāl ran out of fear of the dog."
خَوفًا = mafʿūl lahu.
Quranic Example — Sūrah Al-Isrāʾ
وَلَا تَقتُلُوا أَولَادَكُم خَشيَةَ إِملَاق "Do not kill your children for fear of poverty."
خَشيَةَ = mafʿūl lahu (manṣūb muḍāf). It answers: why were children being killed? For fear of poverty.
The āyah addresses the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide, driven by the economic burden of daughters. Allah's response: He provides for you and for them — trust in His provision.
Implied Mafʿūl Lahu — When It Is Dropped
A recurring Quranic pattern: when the muḍāf of a mafʿūl lahu is a maṣdar muʾawwal (أَن + verb), the mafʿūl lahu word (e.g. خَشيَة) may be dropped, leaving only the maṣdar muʾawwal. This is likely a rhetorical feature (balāghah) — conciseness enhances eloquence.
Application in Sūrat Al-Ḥujurāt 49:2
أَن تَحبَطَ أَعمَالُكُم وَأَنتُم لَا تَشعُرُون
The full grammatical construction is:
[خَشيَةَ] أَن تَحبَطَ أَعمَالُكُم "[For fear] that your deeds may come to nothing..."
خَشيَة is the implied mafʿūl lahu; أَن تَحبَطَ is its muḍāf ilayh (the maṣdar muʾawwal). The word خَشيَة has been omitted — supply it mentally in grammatical analysis.
Examples from the Quran
| Āyah | Mafʿūl Lahu | Why |
|---|---|---|
| خَشيَةَ إِملَاق (Al-Isrāʾ 17:31) | خَشيَةَ | for fear of poverty |
| [خَشيَةَ] أَن تَحبَطَ (Al-Ḥujurāt 49:2) | خَشيَة (implied) | lest deeds go to waste |
Session References
- Surah Al-Hujuraat Session 4: Full treatment of mafʿūl lahu; Quranic examples; implied khashyata in 49:2; discussion of dropping when muḍāf is maṣdar muʾawwal.