Lesson 88
Verb Measures V–VI Tafaʿʿala and Tafāʿala
تفعّل تفاعل
Form V is the reflexive/passive of Form II; Form VI is the reflexive/reciprocal of Form III. Both add تَـ at the beginning and have fixed masdar patterns.
Forms V and VI
FormPatternMeaningExample
VتَفَعَّلَReflexive of II / deliberate effortتَعَلَّمَ (learned himself)
VIتَفَاعَلَReciprocal of III / pretendتَعَاوَنَ (cooperated)
FormMasdarPresent
Vتَفَعُّليَتَفَعَّل
VIتَفَاعُليَتَفَاعَل
تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى تَعَلَّمَ الطَّالِبُ اللُّغَةَ بِجِدٍّ
Taʿāwanū ʿalā l-birri wa-t-taqwā Taʿallama ṭ-ṭālibu l-lughata bijiddin
"Cooperate in righteousness and piety." (5:2) The student learned the language diligently. (تَعَاوَنَ = Form VI reciprocal; تَعَلَّمَ = Form V reflexive)
وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالطَّاعَة
Wa-man yatawakkal ʿalā llāhi fa-huwa ḥasbuhu taqarraba ilā llāhi biṭ-ṭāʿa
"Whoever relies on Allah He is sufficient for him." (65:3) He drew close to Allah through obedience. (يَتَوَكَّل = Form V deliberate action; تَقَرَّبَ = Form V of قَرُبَ)
- Form V تَعَلَّمَ (he learned) vs Form II عَلَّمَ (he taught) the تَـ prefix inverts the direction from active/causative to reflexive.
- Form VI تَعَاوَنَ (they cooperated each with the other) vs Form III عَاوَنَ (he helped one person) the تَ prefix adds mutual reciprocity.
- Form VI can also mean "pretend": تَمَارَضَ (he pretended to be sick) when only one agent is involved, the reciprocal becomes performed/feigned.
- Form V masdar (تَفَعُّل): تَعَلُّم (learning), تَقَدُّم (progress), تَوَكُّل (reliance on Allah) all widely used in Islamic spiritual vocabulary.
- Key Form V verbs: تَوَكَّلَ (relied on Allah), تَابَ (repented Form I but same meaning), تَقَرَّبَ (drew near) the deliberate spiritual effort meaning is central.