Discover the meaning of the term Al-mbtda (مبتدأ) in Islamic vocabulary.
Contents :
Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readIt is the noun stripped of verbal governors, having a predicate attributed to it, or the adjective occurring after the interrogative letter or negation particle elevating an apparent noun, such as: Zaydun qa'im (Zayd is standing), Aqa'im az-zaydan (Are the two Zayds standing?), and Ma qa'im az-zaydan (The two Zayds are not standing).
It is divided into two categories: non-necessary, which is the original rule, and necessary, which is contrary to the original rule. As for the first, it is the attributed noun in which there is no textual governor other than a redundant one, such as: Zaydun qa'im (Zayd is standing) and Bihasbuka dirham (A dirham is sufficient for you). As for the second, it is the adjective occurring after the negation particle or the interrogative hamza which elevates the apparent noun, such as: Ma qa'im az-zaydan (The two Zayds are not standing) and Aqa'im az-zaydan (Are the two Zayds standing?). This category became necessary because an expression like Ma qa'im az-zaydan is a complete utterance upon which silence is permissible, whereas attributing the adjective to its agent is incomplete, and it is not correct for az-zaydan to be a delayed subject initial due to the lack of agreement of the derived predicate in that case. Thus, the grammarians were compelled to state that the adjective has the status of a subject initial despite being a predicate, or that its agent stands in the place of the predicate.
The noun stripped of any association with textual governors, by definition as a noun intended for predication, and the adjective relying on one of the two letters of interrogation and negation, elevating an apparent noun, or that which takes its place.