The “-hu” in «زَيْدًا ضَرَبْتُهُ» is essential for the ishtighāl pattern.
«ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا» is an ordinary direct-object construction.
«زَيْدٌ ضَرَبْتُهُ» can instead be analyzed with Zayd as a nominative mubtadaʾ and the later clause as its predicate; not every initial noun must be accusative.
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A Resumptive Pronoun Is Crucial
Al-Mafʿūl Bih: Definition, Fronting and Omission
The “-hu” in «زَيْدًا ضَرَبْتُهُ» is essential for the ishtighāl pattern.
«ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا» is an ordinary direct-object construction.
«زَيْدٌ ضَرَبْتُهُ» can instead be analyzed with Zayd as a nominative mubtadaʾ and the later clause as its predicate; not every initial noun must be accusative.