ما أنا قمت
It was not I who rose.
The unmarked negative «ما قمت» denies my rising. By making «أنا» prominent after the negative, «ما أنا قمت» can direct attention toward who is being assigned the act. In a contrastive context it may deny that I, rather than another person, was the agent.
This does not by itself prove that some named other person in fact rose. Denying one attribution and establishing a particular alternative are separate claims.
Opening interactive controls...
Fronting the Subject: Restriction, Reinforcement and the al-Jurjani–al-Sakkaki Debate
ما أنا قمت
It was not I who rose.
The unmarked negative «ما قمت» denies my rising. By making «أنا» prominent after the negative, «ما أنا قمت» can direct attention toward who is being assigned the act. In a contrastive context it may deny that I, rather than another person, was the agent.
This does not by itself prove that some named other person in fact rose. Denying one attribution and establishing a particular alternative are separate claims.