In traditional Arabic grammar, the passive voice is primarily used when the doer of an action is unknown or intentionally hidden. However, Modern Standard Arabic—especially in news, business, and official statements—frequently borrows the English structure of explicitly naming the agent using the equivalent of "by".
The Passive Agent (مِن قِبَلِ)
To explicitly state the doer of a passive action, use the following phrase:
| by (used in passive sentences) | من قبلmin qibali |
This phrase is placed after the passive verb and its subject. Because it functions as a prepositional phrase, the noun representing the doer (the agent) that directly follows it takes the genitive case.
| The deal was concluded by the company yesterday. | أبرمت الصفقة من قبل الشركة أمس.ubrimati as-safqatu min qibali ash-sharikati amsi |
| Important agreements are concluded by the government. | تبرم اتفاقيات مهمة من قبل الحكومة.tubramu ittifâqiyyâtun muhimmatun min qibali-l-hukûmati. |
Corporate and Administrative Actions
This structure is extremely common in professional and administrative environments to describe corporate decisions, such as acquisitions, nominations, and dismissals. Notice how the passive verb always agrees in gender with the recipient of the action (the grammatical subject), not with the agent following مِن قِبَلِ.
| The bank was acquired by a global group. | استحوذ على البنك من قبل مجموعة عالمية.ustuhwidha ala al-banki min qibali majmuuatin aalamiyyah |
| I was nominated for the position by the president. | رشحت للمنصب من قبل الرئيس.rushshihtu lilmansibi min qibali r-ra'îs. |
| The manager was dismissed by the company. | أقيلت المديرة من قبل الشركة.uqilati al-mudiratu min qibali ash-sharikati |
Government and Legal Reports
Journalists and officials also rely heavily on this structure to report on actions taken by authorities, committees, or the police, such as imposing laws, suspending activities, or making arrests.
| New taxes were imposed by the government. | فرضت ضرائب جديدة من قبل الحكومة.furidat darâ'ibu jadîdatun min qibali al-hukûmati |
| The meeting was suspended by the committee. | علق الاجتماع من قبل اللجنة.ulliqa al-ijtimâu min qibali al-lajnati |
| The suspect was arrested by the police. | اعتقلت المتهمة من قبل الشرطة.u'tuqilati al-muttahamatu min qibali ash-shurtati. |
