Why does the verb "yū’khadh" (يُؤْخَذ) appear in the singular form in the noble verse: "The criminals will be known by their marks, then they will be seized by their forelocks and their feet," [Quran 55:41] even though the discussion is about criminals (plural), and it would have been more appropriate to say "fayū’khadhūn" (فَيُؤْخَذُونَ)?

The نائب الفاعل (na'ib al-fa'il - roughly, "subject of a passive verb") in the verse is "بالنواصي والأقدام" (by the forelocks and the feet), where the alif and lam (الـ) replaced the pronoun, as if it were "يؤخذ بنواصيهم وأقدامهم" (they are seized by their forelocks and their feet). Abu Hayyan holds that "يؤخذ" (is seized/taken) is a transitive verb that took an object, and both the doer (fa'il) and the object (maf'ul) were omitted, with the prepositional phrase (jar wa majrur) taking their place. This implies the meaning of what is transferred by the preposition ba' (بـ), i.e., "they are dragged by the forelocks and the feet." The alif and lam in both are a substitute for the pronoun according to the Kufans, or the pronoun is simply omitted according to the Basrans.