The Imperative Verb (Fi'l Amr) - Concept & Construction

Read the bilingual lesson for The Imperative Verb (Fi'l Amr) - Concept & Construction and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. What Is Fi'l Amr?

Fi'l Amr is the command form used to ask or direct someone to perform an action in the future.
Examples:
اُنْصُرْ
Help!
اِضْرِبْ
Hit!
اِسْمَعْ
Listen!
This level teaches how to derive the active addressed imperative from the corresponding active addressed Mudhaari' form.

2. Step 1: Start from the Addressed Mudhaari'

Begin with the corresponding active addressed Mudhaari' form.
For the basic singular masculine model:
تَنْصُرُ
The first derivational step is to remove the Mudhaari' prefix.
تَنْصُرُ
becomes
نْصُرُ
First rule: drop the initial Mudhaari' marker before deciding the next step.

3. Step 2: Check the First Remaining Letter

After removing the Mudhaari' prefix, inspect the first remaining letter.
There are two cases:

Next actionFirst remaining letter
No helper Hamza is neededvowelled
Add Hamzat-ul-Wasl for pronunciationsilent

This single check decides the rest of the derivation.

4. Case A: The First Remaining Letter Is Vowelled

If the first remaining letter is already vowelled, no Hamzat-ul-Wasl is added.
Apply Jazm to the ending.
With a sound ending:
تَعِدُ
becomes
عِدْ
With a weak ending, the final weak letter is deleted where Jazm requires deletion:
تَقِيْ
becomes
قِ

5. Case B: The First Remaining Letter Is Silent

If the first remaining letter is silent, add Hamzat-ul-Wasl at the beginning so the form can be pronounced.
Example after removing the Mudhaari' prefix:
نْصُرُ
The initial Noon is silent, so a helper Hamza is required.
The next question is: which vowel should that Hamza carry?

6. How to Vowel Hamzat-ul-Wasl

Look at the middle root letter.

Hamzat-ul-WaslVowel on the middle root letter
DhammahDhammah
KasrahKasrah
KasrahFathah

Shortcut: middle Dhammah → initial Dhammah; middle Kasrah or Fathah → initial Kasrah.

7. Three Regular Hamza Examples

Apply the rule to three common patterns:

ImperativeAddressed Mudhaari'
اُنْصُرْتَنْصُرُ
اِضْرِبْتَضْرِبُ
اِسْمَعْتَسْمَعُ

The first uses initial Dhammah because the middle root letter has Dhammah. The other two use initial Kasrah.

8. A Simple Decision Path

Use this order every time:
1. Start from the active addressed Mudhaari' form.
2. Remove the Mudhaari' prefix.
3. Check the first remaining letter.
4. If it is vowelled: apply Jazm; no Hamza is needed.
5. If it is silent: add Hamzat-ul-Wasl.
6. Middle Dhammah → initial Dhammah; middle Kasrah/Fathah → initial Kasrah.
Examples to remember:
عِدْ قِ اُنْصُرْ اِضْرِبْ اِسْمَعْ

Practice questions

Question 1: Choose the correct answer

What is the first derivational step when making the active addressed imperative from Mudhaari'?

Remove the Mudhaari' prefix
Add Noon-e-Ta'keed
Change the verb to passive
Add Laa before the verb

Question 2: Match the correct pairs

Match each addressed Mudhaari' form to its imperative.

Question 3: Choose the correct answer

After removing the Mudhaari' prefix, when is Hamzat-ul-Wasl needed?

When the first remaining letter is silent
Whenever the middle root letter has Fathah
Whenever the verb is singular
In every imperative without exception

Question 4: Choose the correct answer

Which is the correct imperative derived from تَسْمَعُ?

اِسْمَعْ
اُسْمَعْ
سْمَعْ
اِسْمَعُ

Question 5: Choose the correct answer

If the middle root letter has Dhammah, what vowel is used on Hamzat-ul-Wasl?

Dhammah
Kasrah
Fathah
Sukoon

Question 6: Choose the correct answer

Which is the correct imperative derived from تَعِدُ?

عِدْ
اِعِدْ
عُدْ
تَعِدْ

Question 7: Sort into the correct groups

Sort the imperatives by whether Hamzat-ul-Wasl is required.

Question 8: Choose the correct answer

What does Fi'l Amr express in this level?

A request or command to perform an action in the future
A completed action in the past
A prohibition from doing an action
Uncertainty about a past action

Question 9: Choose the correct answer

Which rule correctly produces اِضْرِبْ from تَضْرِبُ?

Drop ت; the first remaining letter is silent; use Hamzat-ul-Wasl with Kasrah
Drop ت; use Hamzat-ul-Wasl with Dhammah
Keep ت and only make the last letter silent
Change the verb to passive first

Question 10: Choose the correct answer

What is the correct decision order for deriving the imperative?

Remove the Mudhaari' prefix → inspect the first remaining letter → add Hamzat-ul-Wasl only if needed → apply the ending rule
Add Hamzat-ul-Wasl first → remove the root letter → add Noon
Change to passive → remove the prefix → add Laa
Only make the final letter silent

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