Negative Present Tense (Mudhaari' Manfi) - Active and Passive

1. What Is Mudhaari' Manfi?

Mudhaari' Manfi is the negative form of the present/future verb.
It tells us that an action is not happening, or will not happen.
Compare:
يَنْصُرُ
He helps / he will help.
لَا يَنْصُرُ
He does not help / he will not help.
The basic rule in this level is simple: place لَا before the Mudhaari' form.

2. Laa Changes the Meaning, Not the Form

In this construction, لَا is non-governing.
That means it makes the meaning negative but does not change the displayed Mudhaari' form.

With negationBefore negation
لَا يَفْعُلُيَفْعُلُ
لَا يَفْعُلَانِيَفْعُلَانِ
لَا تَفْعُلِينَتَفْعُلِينَ

The vowels, letters, and final Noons remain as they were before لَا was added.

3. Negative Active Present

To make an active Mudhaari' form negative, keep the active form unchanged and place لَا before it.
Examples:
لَا يَفْعُلُ
He does not do / will not do.
لَا تَفْعُلِينَ
You (one woman) do not do / will not do.
لَا أَفْعُلُ
I do not do / will not do.

4. The Complete Active Negative Grid

PluralDualSingularGroup
لَا يَفْعُلُونَلَا يَفْعُلَانِلَا يَفْعُلُMasculine Ghaa'ib
لَا يَفْعُلْنَلَا تَفْعُلَانِلَا تَفْعُلُFeminine Ghaa'ib
لَا تَفْعُلُونَلَا تَفْعُلَانِلَا تَفْعُلُMasculine Haadhir
لَا تَفْعُلْنَلَا تَفْعُلَانِلَا تَفْعُلِينَFeminine Haadhir
لَا نَفْعُلُ—لَا أَفْعُلُMutakallim

Shortcut: take the positive active grid and add لَا before every form.

5. Negative Passive Present

The same لَا rule also works with passive Mudhaari' forms.
Keep the passive form unchanged and place لَا before it.
Examples:
لَا يُفْعَلُ
He is not acted upon / will not be acted upon.
لَا تُفْعَلِينَ
You (one woman) are not acted upon / will not be acted upon.
لَا أُفْعَلُ
I am not acted upon / will not be acted upon.

6. The Complete Passive Negative Grid

PluralDualSingularGroup
لَا يُفْعَلُونَلَا يُفْعَلَانِلَا يُفْعَلُMasculine Ghaa'ib
لَا يُفْعَلْنَلَا تُفْعَلَانِلَا تُفْعَلُFeminine Ghaa'ib
لَا تُفْعَلُونَلَا تُفْعَلَانِلَا تُفْعَلُMasculine Haadhir
لَا تُفْعَلْنَلَا تُفْعَلَانِلَا تُفْعَلِينَFeminine Haadhir
لَا نُفْعَلُ—لَا أُفْعَلُMutakallim

Again, no passive vowel or ending is changed by لَا.

7. Active or Passive? Look at the Verb Pattern

لَا makes both active and passive forms negative, so the voice is identified from the verb itself.

MeaningTypeExample
he does not helpactive negativeلَا يَنْصُرُ
he is not helpedpassive negativeلَا يُنْصَرُ
you (one woman) do not helpactive negativeلَا تَنْصُرِينَ
you (one woman) are not helpedpassive negativeلَا تُنْصَرِينَ

Key clue: لَا does not tell you the voice; the Mudhaari' vowel pattern does.

8. The Main Rule to Remember

Remember three points:
• Put لَا before the Mudhaari' form to make its meaning negative in this lesson.
• لَا is non-governing here, so the displayed verb form does not change.
• The same rule works with both active and passive Mudhaari'.
So:
يَفْعُلُ → لَا يَفْعُلُ
يُفْعَلُ → لَا يُفْعَلُ