Active vs. Passive Voice
A "The Arabic Reader" Short
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There are many milestones and areas of proficiency students of Arabic seek. Chief amongst them is the ability to read without the vowel markings (tashkīl/ḥarakāt). And while vocabulary acquisition plays an important role in that so does knowing some of the finer points of grammar. For this short lesson, let’s look at another such milestone: the active vs. passive voice. We’ll focus on the present tense passive (الفعل المضارع المبني للمجهول) for this lesson.
First question: why might an author want to use the passive voice? Here’s a few reasons common in classical Arabic writing:
To remove focus from the doer (the person connecting it).
Meaning, it’s not about who does the action. It’s about the action itself.
The passive voice lets concepts stand on their own independent of actors.
To sound more formal and abstract.
This is helpful when wanting to explain the ruling of something where the one performing the act is not as important as the action itself. Many books of fiqh will feature their authors writing in this abstract style.
Second question: Why not the active voice?
Let’s take a look at our paragraph from this week’s reading of the Risālah by Ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawānī.
وَلَيْسَ الِاسْتِنْجَاءُ مِمَّا يَجِبُ أَنْ يُوصَلَ بِهِ الْوُضُوءُ لَا فِي سُنَنِ الْوُضُوءِ وَلَا فِي فَرَائِضِهِ، وَهُوَ مِنْ بَابِ إِيجَابِ زَوَالِ النَّجَاسَةِ بِهِ أَوْ بِالِاسْتِجْمَارِ، لِئَلَّا يُصَلِّيَ بِهَا فِي جَسَدِهِ، وَيَجْزِئُ فِعْلُهُ بِغَيْرِ نِيَّةٍ، وَكَذَلِكَ غَسْلُ الثَّوْبِ النَّجِسِ.
“Istinjāʾ (removal of impurities after relieving oneself in the bathroom) is not something that must be connected to wuḍūʾ , neither in the sunnahs of wuḍūʾ nor in its obligations. Rather, it pertains to the obligation of removing impurities by way of water (istinjāʾ) or by cleaning with stones (istijmār), so that one does not pray with it on one’s body. Its performance is sufficient without a formal intention (niyyah), and likewise is the case with washing a soiled garment.”
The verb in question which is being employed in the present tense passive (الفعل المضارع المبني للمجهول) is the verb awṣala/yūṣilu (أَوْصَلَ/يُوْصِلُ), meaning “to connect/become connected”. Its present tense active (معلوم)conjugation is yūṣilu (يُوْصِلُ). Its present tense passive (مجهول)conjugation is yūṣalu (يُوْصَلُ), merely changing the middle root letter’s vowel to a fātḥah. When this rule is enacted, the subject is not explicitly mentioned. The subject is now implied, referred to in Arabic grammatical terminology as fāʿil mustatir (فاعل مُسْتَتِر).
Note: When the passive voice is being used it does not mean the action is already completed: that would be a past tense verb. Rather, the action is still happening now, repeatedly, or habitually, only that the one doing the action is not mentioned.
So يُوصَلُ literally means “it is being connected”, or, “it is connected (by someone/something)”, now or generally.
As it relates to our reading, Ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawānī shifts our attention onto the act (in this case, wuḍū’) and its legal status/requirements, instead of any specific person performing wuḍū’.
Qur’anic Analysis
Let’s look at a passage from the 28th Chapter of the Qur’ān, Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, for another example of the present tense passive:
وَمَا كُنتَ تَرْجُوٓا۟ أَن يُلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًۭا لِّلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
“You never expected this Book to be delivered to you, but it came only as a mercy from your Lord. So never side with the disbelievers in their disbelief.” (Q: 28: 86)
First, let’s reverse engineer things and imagine what the statement would have looked like if it were written in the present tense active:
أَنْ يُلْقِيَ رَبُّكَ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ
“that your Lord delivers the Book to you”
So what are the implications of using the active:
The emphasis is explicitly on the Doer (Allah) — it stresses that your Lord is giving it to you (the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ).
The act is made more direct and personal, highlighting Allah as the direct agent/subject.
While this is perfectly valid grammatically and even theologically, it does however shift the rhetorical emphasis to the relationship between Allah and the Prophet (ﷺ) as Giver and receiver.
And the implications of using the passive voice?
Focus is on the Book and its being given, not on the One doing the giving.
The Book (i.e., The Qur’ān) in this verse becomes the “deputized” or “representative” subject. This comes from the grammatical rule known as nā’ib al-fāʿil (نائب الفاعل) with the word nā’ib literally meaning “representative”. This sheds light and emphasis on the importance of what is being delivered.
The agent (Allah) is understood implicitly, not stated in the verb.
This carries a sense of grandeur, awe, and mystery, as it highlights the event of the Book’s arrival, not the act of the Giver. Why or how? Because it’s not a big thing for Allah to grant anyone He chooses guidance. It is, however, a huge deal to be the recipient of that guidance.
It also narratively demonstrates that this is a decree beyond the Prophet’s anticipation, arranged by divine power, without directly mentioning the doer.
It has a style (uslūb/أسلوب) of majestic indirectness, often found in classical Arabic and in the Qur’ān to show subtlety, reverence, or to place emphasis elsewhere.
Below is a short video from Session Sixteen of The Arabic Reader explaining this:
You can watch the full video here: