An additional بِ may enter before خبرُ مَا. It strengthens the negation. The natural translation may use “certainly not,” “by no means,” or “not at all,” according to context.
Plain negation
Stronger negation with بِ
مَا اللَّهُ غَافِلًا
مَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ
Allah is not unaware
Allah is certainly not unaware
مَا الْوَلَدُ مُجْتَهِدًا
مَا الْوَلَدُ بِمُجْتَهِدٍ
The boy is not hardworking
The boy is not hardworking at all
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Negating Nominal Sentences with مَا
An additional بِ may enter before خبرُ مَا. It strengthens the negation. The natural translation may use “certainly not,” “by no means,” or “not at all,” according to context.
Plain negation
Stronger negation with بِ
مَا اللَّهُ غَافِلًا
مَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ
Allah is not unaware
Allah is certainly not unaware
مَا الْوَلَدُ مُجْتَهِدًا
مَا الْوَلَدُ بِمُجْتَهِدٍ
The boy is not hardworking
The boy is not hardworking at all