AL-MUQADDIMAH AL-AJURRUMIYYAH [On The Science Of Arabic Grammar]

AL-MUQADDIMAH AL-AJURRUMIYYAH [On The Science Of Arabic Grammar]40%

AL-MUQADDIMAH AL-AJURRUMIYYAH [On The Science Of Arabic Grammar] Author:
Translator: Amienoellah Abderoef
Publisher: www.baytulislam.org
Category: Arabic Language and Literature

  • Start
  • Previous
  • 34 /
  • Next
  • End
  •  
  • Download HTML
  • Download Word
  • Download PDF
  • visits: 10800 / Download: 4840
Size Size Size
AL-MUQADDIMAH AL-AJURRUMIYYAH [On The Science Of Arabic Grammar]

AL-MUQADDIMAH AL-AJURRUMIYYAH [On The Science Of Arabic Grammar]

Author:
Publisher: www.baytulislam.org
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

AL-MUQADDIMAH

AL-AJURRUMIYYAH

[On The Science Of Arabic Grammar]

BY:

ABU ABDILLĀH, MUḤAMMAD IBN MUḤAMMAD

IBN DAWŪD, AL-ṢANHĀJĪ

POPULARLY KNOWN AS “IBN ĀJURRŪM”

Translated by: Amienoellah Abderoef

Table of Contents

TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION. 3

About the Ājurrūmiyyah and its author 3

What the Ājurrūmiyyah does and does not do. 3

Ten reasons why Muslims should learn Arabic: 5

How to study the Ājurrūmiyyah. 8

Advice to students who wish to master Arabic grammar: 8

About the Translation: 9

An Overview of the Ājurrūmiyyah. 11

KALĀM and its Constituent Parts 13

The Chapter on I‘RĀB. 15

The Chapter on Identifying the ‘ALĀMĀT AL-I‘RĀB. 16

Section (on the MU‘RABĀT BIL-ḤARAKĀT and the MU‘RABĀT BIL-ḤURŪF) 19

The Chapter on the AF‘ĀL. 20

The Chapter on the MARFŪ‘ĀT AL-ASMĀ’ 22

The Chapter on the F‘IL. 23

The Chapter on the AL-MAF‘ŪL ALLAĐĪ LAM YUSAMMA FĀ‘ILUHŪ  25

The Chapter on the MUBTADA’ and the KHABAR. 26

The Chapter on the ‘AWĀMIL that precede and operate on  the MUBTADA’ and KHABAR  28

The Chapter on the NA‘T [and an explanation of the MA‘RIFAH (definite noun) and NAKIRAH (indefinite noun)] 30

The Chapter on the ‘AṬF. 31

The on the MANṢŪBĀT AL-ASMĀ’ 34

The Chapter on the MAF‘ŪL BIHĪ 35

The Chapter on the MAṢDAR. 37

The Chapter on the Ẓarf ZAMĀN and Ẓarf MAKĀN. 38

The Chapter on the Ḥāl 40

The Chapter on the TAMYĪZ. 41

The Chapter on the ISTITHNĀ’ 42

The Chapter on "لا". 43

The Chapter on the MUNĀDĀ. 44

The Chapter on the MAF‘ŪL MIN AJLIHĪ 45

The Chapter on the MAF‘ŪL MA‘AHŪ. 46

The Chapter on the MAKHFŪḌĀT AL-ASMĀ’ 47

Notes 49

TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

All Praise belongs to Allah, Who has sent down the Qur’an to His Beloved Messenger as an Arabic Qur’an in order that we may understand. Peace and Blessings on our Master, Muhammad, the most eloquent articulator of the letter ض, his family, his companions and those who succeeded them until the Day of Reckoning.

It is with great pleasure th.at I offer this annotated translation of the famousĀjurrūmiyyah to my Muslim brothers and sisters with the hope that it will contribute to a better understanding of the Arabic language and hence a better understanding of the Holy Qur’an and the PropheticSunnah as well as the vast Islamic heritage that the best minds of the Muslim world have left behind.

About the Ājurrūmiyyah and its author

Of all the short texts and treatises that have been written on Arabic Grammar there is none that has enjoyed as much popularity around the world than theĀjurrūmiyyah . It has been recorded from the author, Abū Abdillāh, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Ṣanhājī, who wrote this text in Makkah whilst facing the Holy Ka‘bah that after he had written thisMuqaddimah he threw it into the ocean and said: “If thisMuqaddimah was written sincerely and purely for Allah’s sake then it should not get soaked with water” and the result was that when he recovered it from the sea it was still dry.

This most probably explains why this booklet has continued to enjoy widespread popularity since the day it first appeared up to this present day and that being so despite the existence of thousands of other Arabic Grammar works. Numerous commentaries of various sizes have been written on theĀjurrūmiyyah and it has even been committed to verse. Even up to this very day students are still engaged in memorising it because of its brevity and easy style. Such is the bounty that Allah, All-Mighty has bestowed on the author of theĀjurrūmiyyah and what a bounty - to have a book so small in size bring so much reward for its author. Surely such blessing and goodwill can only be the returns and proceeds of a Sincere and Pure Intention. May Allah reward the author richly and abundantly for not only presenting us with this excellent treatise on ArabicNaḥw but also for teaching us the importance of a sincere and pure intention.

What the Ājurrūmiyyah does and does not do

When students begin to learn Arabic they are often not aware of what such learning really entails. Even well into their learning they might still not be aware of how wide a field Arabic study is and what is needed to become proficient in all the main areas. Often they are told to study this or that book without knowing precisely what its main focus or concentration is. Consequently, they spend a long time studying a particular work while they could have studied another work that is more suited to their specific needs. We will now take theĀjurrūmiyyah and see exactly what it is that it does and does not do.

TheĀjurrūmiyyah aims at doing the following:

Providing the student with a general framework within which to understand, think and communicate about ArabicNaḥw rules in a clear and coherent fashion

Acquainting the student with the relevantNaḥw terms, concepts and basic rules

Enabling students to perform simple and small-scale syntactic analysis (i‘rāb )

Serving as an introduction to Arabic grammatical texts of much wider scope and much greater detail

Enabling the student to cover all the basicNaḥw rules within a very short period of time

Equipping the student with the requisite grammatical knowledge needed (amongst other things) for performing basic communication tasks such as the production and reception of grammatically well-formed sentences

Providing the student with a working knowledge ofNaḥw to enable him to tackle basic Islamic texts

On the other hand, theĀjurrūmiyyah is essentially a basicNaḥw text and not a full Arabic language course and as such it does not:

Develop the student’s productive and receptive skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing)

Build the student’s vocabulary except in the field ofNaḥw

Provide the student with an in-depth knowledge ofNaḥw

Give a comprehensive treatment ofṢarf

Cover any of the other Arabic linguistic sciences such as‘Ilm al-Balāghah (rhetoric or stylistics),‘Ilm al-Lughah (lexicology),‘Ilm al-‘Arūd (prosody), etc.

Provide the students with exercises and drills i.e. it focuses only on theoreticalNaḥw and not appliedNaḥw

The student, who, therefore, wishes to learn Arabic holistically, is advised to augment his Arabic studies with other Arabic language material. A comprehensive Arabic course will have to cover:

Arabic grammar, theoretical and applied in the form of exercises and drills

The four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening (i.e. Arabic production and comprehension)

Vocabulary building in the relevant fields and situational contexts (i.e. developing the student’s Arabic lexicon)

The textbooks that normally cover these areas of Arabic language study are of two kinds:

Textbooks that are general and comprehensive in their coverage in that they attempt to cover all the areas of Arabic language study in a single book or set of books, e.g.al-‘Arabiyyah li al-Nāshi’īn ,al-Kitāb al-Asāsiyy , etc.

Textbooks that are more narrow and specific in their coverage in that each textbook is intended to cover at least one area of Arabic language study

Furthermore, a student may want to learn Arabic for its own sake or as a means to access the vast Arabic Islamic legacy or as a tool for Islamicda‘wah or for commercial purposes or for numerous other reasons.

Accordingly, he will have to include Arabic material that deals with his particular area of interest. For example, if his goal is to understand Islam and all of its disciplines in Arabic then he is required to study various Islamic components each with its own textbooks, etc.

Ten reasons why Muslims should learn Arabic:

1- Allah, the Almighty and Wise, chose and singled out Arabic from amongst all the languages of the world - past, present and future - to be the vehicle for His final Revelation to the whole of humanity. This fact alone should constitute sufficient reason for Muslims to learn Arabic. Certainly, if Allah so wished He could have revealed the Qur’an not only in any language but in every language but as He Himself states in the Holy Qur’an: “Verily, We sent It down as an Arabic Qur’an in order that you may understand”. This verse implies that Arabic has certain unique features which make it superior to all the languages of the world and which enable it to convey the subtleties and mysteries of Allah’s Speech in a manner that no other language can. Furthermore, it is Allah who endowed Arabic with these features and made it superior to all other languages.

2- If Allah is who He is - the Creator of the worlds - and His Messenger (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is who he is - the Best of Allah’s creation - should not every Muslim in this world attempt to learn Arabic to understand Allah’s Words and those of His Messenger? The Qur’an - even though it is in this world - is not from this world but rather from the Lord of the worlds. Allah, Most High says: “Verily It (i.e. the Qur’an) is a Revelation from One, All Wise and All Knowing”. How can any Muslim live in this world finding time to do so many things and yet not find time to study the language of Allah’s Holy Book and theSunnah of His Holy Messenger (Peace and Blessings be upon him). How many of us spend so much time, effort and money on learning the sciences of this world but in comparison spend absolutely zero on learning the sciences of the Next world. If we really know who Allah is and who His Messenger is, we would not hesitate one second to learn the language of Allah’s Book and theSunnah of His Messenger. The Qur’an andSunnah contain so much wealth - Real Wealth - but most of us prefer to remain poor and deprived forever.

3- A great number of scholars believe the Qur’anic inimitability to resideinter alia in its language. The science ofal-Balāghah (eloquence/stylistics) was especially developed to deal with this particular dimension of the Qur’an. This science demonstrates in no uncertain terms that the Qur’an represents the Absolute Pinnacle of Eloquence and that it stands unrivalled and unchallenged in its stylistic output. However, to appreciate the stylistic aspects of the Qur’an presupposes having learnt Arabic. Thus, those who are not schooled in Arabic will forever be deprived of the Stylistic Beauty of the Qur’an and fail to see and comprehend the subtle mysteries that are enclosed in the depths of is language.

4- Apart from the Qur’an andSunnah that are in Arabic there is also the vast and rich Islamic Legacy. This is the legacy left behind by the world’s greatest minds. Without Arabic we would deprive ourselves of the fruits of almost fourteen centuries of Islamic scholarship. All of this scholarship was directed at serving Islam and the MuslimUmmah . Numerous sciences sprung up after the advent of Islam with the principal aim of preserving and explaining the Primary Islamic Sources. These sciences are still being studied and taught up to today in Islamic institutions and circles around the world - the result is an ever-expanding heritage. Had it not been for the past Muslim scholars then we would not have known Islam as we know it to today. May Allah reward them abundantly for the great service they have rendered to Islam and the Muslim Community.

5- A number of Islamic sciences derive explicitly from the Arabic linguistic sciences in that a number of the issues discussed therein are linguistic issues. To understand these issues requires a thorough grounding in the Arabic linguistic sciences on which they are based. These sciences includeinter alia :al-Tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis),‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān (Sciences of the Qur’an),‘Ilm al-ḥadīth (Science ofḥadīth ),al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence),al-‘Aqīdah (Islamic Theology). The reason for this being the case is the fact that the two primary sources of Islam, viz. the Qur’an andSunnah , are in Arabic and in order to understand their message, unlock their hidden mysteries and treasures and appreciate the linguistic subtleties with which especially the Qur’an has been characterised one needs to be familiar with the Arabic sciences that will make such a task possible. Thus,al-Tafsīr is no more than an interpretation of the Qur’an,‘Ilm al-ḥadīth no more than an interpretation of the Prophetic Traditions,al-Fiqh no more than an extrapolation of legal rules from the Qur’an and the Sunnah,al-‘Aqīdah no more than an extrapolation of a set of beliefs from the Qur’an and authenticSunnah , etc. It is clear from the aforementioned that each of these Islamic sciences involves a detailed analysis and close investigation of the Arabic in which the Qur’an andSunnah are couched. It is not uncommon to find that many a difference amongst scholars on a particular Islamic matter has its source in the manner in which they interpreted or read a particular Qur’anic verse or Prophetic tradition.

‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Learn theSunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur’an in Arabic for it is in Arabic”.

He also said: “Learn Arabic for it is part of your Religion and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (al-Farā’id ) for these are part of your Religion”.

Imam al-Shafi‘iyy is reported to have said that he studied Arabic for twenty years (from its pure sources) in order to understand the Qur’an

Some scholars also maintain that learning Arabic is compulsory on every Muslim. The reason for this ruling is that learning the Qur’an andSunnah is compulsory on every Muslim and since the Qur’an andSunnah cannot be learnt without Arabic it follows that Arabic is also compulsory.

Al-Aṣmu‘iyy is reported to have said: ‘What I fear most for a student of knowledge - if he does not knowNaḥw - that he may fall in the category of those mentioned in thehadīth : “Whosoever intentionally contrives a lie in my name, then let him prepare or reserve for himself a seat in the Fire”, because the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) never used to make grammatical errors in his speech so anything that you report from him and you make grammatically errors in it then you would have contrived a lie in his name’.

6- Knowledge of Arabic makes one’s devotion and worship much more meaningful. This is especially the case when performingṣalāh , reciting and listening to the Qur’an, listening tokhutbah s, makingdu‘ā s, etc. In short, knowing Arabic obviates the need for a mediator or interpreter between Allah and us. In other words, Arabic enables us to listen to the Qur’an and Prophetic statements first hand.

7- Moreover, what constitutes the Qur’an is not its mere meaning but rather its meaning together with the specific wording in which it is couched. This means that no matter how close a particular translation is to the actual meaning of the Qur’an it still does not constitute the Qur’an which is the Divine and Uncreated Speech of Allah. At best, a translation is no more than a human approximation of what the Qur’an means and as such is finite and can never replace the infinite Speech of Allah. Consider the following Qur’anic verses: “Say (O Muhammad): If the sea were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, surely the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if We brought another (sea) like it as backup” and “And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea (were ink wherewith to write), with seven seas behind it to add to its (supply), yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise”. In addition, reliance on a translation (which in itself is deficient because it is only a human approximation of Allah’s Divine Speech) means one will always be deprived of the effect of the actual wording which adds to the richness and inimitable eloquence of the Qur’an. It is not the translation that brings tears to the eyes of men but rather the Qur’an in the full splendour of its stirring words and moving meanings.

8- The problematic nature of translations is another reason why Muslims should learn Arabic. Much of our Islamic heritage is still inaccessible to the non-Arabic speaking Muslim population and so it will continue to be for a very long time. Translations also have their own deficiencies and shortcomings. These range from gross misinterpretation to poor quality and sub-standard translation.

9- Language being a conduit of culture has an indelible influence on its speakers. Arabic being the conduit of Islamic culture likewise has a positive Islamic influence on its speakers. No doubt, the Qur’an and PropheticSunnah have left a permanent mark on the Arabic language and are - to a large extent - also responsible for Arabic remaining fundamentally unchanged over the past fourteen centuries.

10- If certain non-Muslims ( Orientalists ) - spurned on by their hatred for Islam and the Muslims - studied Arabic for the purpose of destroying Islam and gaining control over the Muslims then why should Muslims - spurned on by theirīmān and love for Islam and the MuslimUmmah - not study Arabic for the purpose of defending Islam against anti-Islamic forces and Islamophobia.

How to study the Ājurrūmiyyah

There is no single way of studying theĀjurrūmiyyah . Of the many ways of studying theĀjurrūmiyyah some might be effective and some not and that also differs from student to student. Nevertheless, the following are some guidelines for making the best of studying theĀjurrūmiyyah :

Makingdu‘ā’ and asking Allah to grant you mastery over Arabic as well as sincerity in your quest

Having studied some Arabic before even if it is not considerable

Finding a competent teacher especially someone who has been through theĀjurrūmiyyah himself and has taught it before

Working through the original Arabic text and only referring to the translation when necessary

Understanding not only the words, phrases and sentences in the text but also the grammatical structure underlying the words, phrases and sentences as far as possible

Organising the information into tables and charts to see how apparently disparate parts are systematically related to each other and to facilitate their understanding

Consolidating the information as one goes along through continuous revision and by doing exercises and even attempting to memorise it

Consciously applying the rules when reading, writing, speaking and listening to Arabic

Filling in examples in the text where such examples are required

Conducting simple syntactic analysis (i‘rāb ) of the examples

Advice to students who wish to master Arabic grammar:

Arabic grammar is a fairly exact science almost like mathematics and physics and as such the student needs to take care that he or she has a proper grasp of the technical terms that are employed.

The student is required to see Arabic grammar as a unified and coherent system within which everything is interrelated and performs a function within that system. The student might find it difficult to perceive it at first but through patience and practice (and Allah’s Permission) he will eventually see a holistic system emerging from the seemingly disparate parts.

Arabic grammar is intellectually very demanding and as such the student needs to be vigilant and in a continuous state of thinking. Under no circumstances should he lower his guard for otherwise he will falter. Thus, a great deal is dependent on the student himself in terms of making sense of the information, integrating and assimilating it and then applying it in the comprehension and production of sentences.

About the Translation:

The current work is not intended to serve as a mere translation of theĀjurrūmiyyah . In addition, it serves to do the following:

provide examples where the author did not provide any

explain the reason and rationale behind particular rules and points in the text

provide additional information and elaborate on some of the rules

rectify some misconceptions

put the material in perspective

I have also tried to give as literal a translation possible to facilitate a close reading and word-for-word analysis of the source text. It is not sufficient that the student merely understands the general drift of what is said but should rather try to understand every word and if possible the underlying grammatical structure i.e. how the words are syntactically related to each other. Of course it is impossible to translate every aspect of the source text but where it was possible to translate a particular aspect even at the expense of a better sounding translation I have done so.

It is said that the best way to learn Arabic is through Arabic, so why the current translation of theĀjurrūmiyyah . There is no doubt about the truth of this statement but considering that a lot of Arabic beginners do not know Arabic to start off with let alone being taught Arabic grammar - a highly intellectually demanding subject - in the medium of Arabic. There is no harm in trying to understand highly complex grammatical concepts in one’s mother tongue especially during the initial stages but one should always aspire to understand them in the original language. At most one’s mother tongue should serve as a stepping stone and not as a permanent replacement for Arabic as a medium of instruction for not only does it severely slow down the Arabic learning process but also defeats the whole purpose of learning Arabic in the first place - which is to become proficient in its use. Unless one’s intention is merely to understand Arabic theoretically and not communicate it practically it would suffice learning it in one’s mother tongue.

Thus, this present translation was never intended to replace Arabic as the medium of instruction but only to facilitate Arabic beginners getting a handle on Arabic grammar since too often have I witnessed how many of them struggle to come to grips with basic grammatical concepts with the result that a number of them develop a dislike for Arabic grammar and even drop out eventually. Furthermore, even though this work constitutes a translation it is only so in part for I try throughout to use the Arabic grammatical terms instead of their English counterparts only using the English equivalent when the term is introduced for the first time and even here I place the English term between brackets after the Arabic term indicating thereby the primacy of the Arabic term. Moreover, I have written all the Arabic terms in bold once again emphasising thereby their importance. Also, as I have mentioned before that the translation does not constitute an autonomous and self-contained text but should be used in conjunction with the Arabic. In fact, the Arabic text should form the primary text of study and the translation only serve to clarify and explain its difficult parts.

I have also purposely tried to avoid the use of highly technical linguistic terms - the kind used by Wright and Howell - since the aim is to clarify and simplify the Arabic text and not to obscure and complicate it further by using language just as intelligible to the Arabic beginner as the Arabic itself if not more. In cases where it was necessary to use such terms I have always endeavoured to explain their import.

An Overview of the Ājurrūmiyyah

TheĀjurrūmiyyah can be divided into four main sections:

KALAM and its Constituent Parts

In this section the author deals with Kalām which provides the context for I‘rāb (the primary subject-matter ofNaḥw ) and the conditions under which it takes place. He first gives a definition of Kalām and thereafter mentions the parts of speech from which Kalām is composed together with the defining characteristics of each. It is these words - the units of Kalām - that are subject to I‘rāb or to its opposite, Binā’.

The Chapter on I‘RĀB

This is most probably the most important section in that it constitutes the primary-subject matter ofNaḥw and the center around which everything else revolves.I‘rāb involves the explicit or implicit change (Raf‘, Naṣb, Khafḍ or Jazm) at the endings of words (Asmā’ and Af‘āl) by means of ḥarakāt (vowel markings) or ḥurūf (letters) due to particular places (i.e. places of Raf‘, Naṣb, Khafḍ or Jazm) that they occupy - places which are governed by particular ‘Awāmil . The opposite of I‘rāb is Binā’ which refers to the fixed and unchanged state in which the endings of words (ḥurūf, some Af‘āl and some Asmā’) occur. The author does not deal with Binā’. The above definition of I‘rāb basically covers all the aspects ofNaḥw i.e. (a) the four types of I‘rāb (Raf‘, Naṣb, Khafḍ and Jazm), (b) explicit and implicit I‘rāb (i.e. đāhir and Muqaddar), (c) the signs of I‘rāb (whether with ḥarakāt or ḥurūf), (d) the categories of Mu‘rabāt (declinable words) for the Ism and Fi‘l and (e) the places of I‘rāb in the Ism and Fi‘l and the ‘Awāmil that govern them (viz. the places of Raf‘, Naṣb and Khafḍ of the Ism, and places of Raf‘, Naṣb and Jazm of the Fi‘l). The places of I‘rāb comprise the bulk ofNaḥw .

The Chapter on the AF‘ĀL

This section deals with the three types of Fi‘l (Māḍī, Muḍāri‘ and Amr) and the places in which the Muḍāri‘ is

Marfū ‘ (i.e. when not preceded by a Nāṣib or Jāzim),

Manṣūb [i.e. when preceded by one of the ten (or more correctly, four) Nawāṣib] or

Majzūm [i.e. when preceded by one of the eighteen (or more correctly, sixteen) Jawāzim]

The Chapter on the ASMĀ’

There is no chapter with this title in theĀjurrūmiyyah . However, I thought it appropriate to call this section as such because it comprises the places of I‘rāb in the Ism just as the previous section, entitled “The Chapter on the AF‘ĀL”, comprises the places of I‘rāb in the Fi‘l. Thus, the Ism is:

Marfū ‘ when it occurs in one of the following places: the Fā‘il, Maf‘ūl (Na‘ib Fā‘il), Mubtada’, Khabar, Ism Kāna, Khabar Inna and the Tābi‘ of the Marfū‘,

Manṣūb when it occurs in one of the following places: the Maf‘ūl bihī, Maṣdar, Ẓarf Zamān, Ẓarf Makān, Ḥāl, Tamyīz, Mustathnā, Ism "لا" , Munādā, Maf‘ūl min ajlihī, Maf‘ūl ma‘ahū, Khabar "كان"َ, Ism "إنّ" and the Tābi‘ of the Manṣūb, or

Makhfūḍ when it occurs in one of the following places: Makhfūḍ bil-Ḥarf, Makhfūḍ bil-Iḍāfah and the Tābi‘ of the Makhfūḍ.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

KALĀM and its Constituent Parts

Kalam[1] is a compound[2] utterance[3] that conveys a complete and self-contained meaning[4] according to (the rules and conventions of Arabic) usage[5] .

Its constituent parts are three: the Ism[6] (noun), the Fi‘l[7] (verb) and the Ḥarf[8] (particle) that is used to signify a meaning[9] .

The Ism is marked and identified by:

Khafḍ[10]

the Tanin[11]

the prefixing of the Alif and am (i.e. the definite article Al)

being governed by the Ḥuruf al-Khafḍ (prepositions/Genitive particles), and they are[12] :

من                (e.g.رجع زيدمن المسجدِ  “Zayd returnedfrom the mosque”)[13]

إلى                (e.g.ذهب زيدإلى المدرسة  “Zayd wentto the school”)

عن               (e.g.رميت السهمعن القوس  “I shot the arrowfrom the bow”)

على              (e.g.ركبتُعلى الفرس  “I rodeon the horse”)

في                 (e.g.  الطالبفيالفصل “The student isin the classroom”)

رُبّ   (e.g.ألارُبّ مولودٍ وليس له أبٌ  (Alas, theremight be a child who has no father”)

الباء              (e.g. مررتُب المدرسة ”I passedby the school”)

الكاف                      (e.g.زيدك البدر “Zayd islike the full moon”)

اللام                         (e.g.  الكتابلزيدٍ  “The bookbelongs to Zayd”)

(being preceded) by the Ḥurūf al-Qasam[14] (Particles of Oath), and they are:

الواو              (e.g.و اللهِBy Allah!”)

الباء              (e.g.بِ اللهِBy Allah!”)

التاء              (e.g.تَ اللهِBy Allah!”)

The Fi‘l is marked and identified by:

قدْ                (e.g.قد جاء زيد   “Indeed , Zayd came”,

                                          قد يجيء زيدٌ   “Zaydmay come”)

السين                        (e.g.س أَزُوْرُ ك هذا المساءَ  “Iwill visit you this evening”)

سوفَ                       (e.g.سوف نقوم أمام الله جميعاً  “Wewill all stand in front of Allah”)

تاء التأنيث الساكنة                 (unvowelled Tā’ of Femininity[15] )

(e.g.جاء تْ زينبُ   “Zaynab came”)

The Ḥarf is that for which the sign of the Ism and the sign of the Fi‘l are not valid[16] .

The Chapter on I‘RĀB[17]

I‘rāb [18] is a change affecting the endings of words[19] due to the difference in the ‘Awāmil[20] that enter and operate on them, (whether the change is) Lafđan (real and explicit, such that it can be verbally expressed) or Taqdīran[21] (hypothetical and implicit, such that it cannot be verbally expressed but is instead assumed in the mind).

Its types are four: Raf‘, Naṣb, Khafḍ and Jazm.

Of this, Raf‘, Naṣb and Khafḍ apply to the Asmā’ (nouns) while Jazm does not feature in them at all.

Of this, Raf‘, Naṣb and Jazm apply to the Af‘āl (verbs) while Khafḍ does not feature in them at all.

The Chapter on Identifying the ‘ALĀMĀT AL-I‘RĀB

For Raf‘ there are four ‘Alāmāt (signs): the Ḍammah, the Wāw, the Alif and the Nun.

As for the Ḍammah it is an ‘Alāmah of Raf‘ in four places:

in the Ism Mufrad (singular noun)[22]

the Jam‘ Taksīr (broken plural)

the Jam‘ Mu’annath Sālim (sound feminine plural), and

the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ (present/future tense) that does not have anything attached to its ending[23] .

[E.g. يَسْأَل ُ المدرس ُ والطلاب ُ والطالباتُ    (The teacher, the male students and the female students ask)]

As for the Wāw it is an ‘Alāmah of Raf‘ in two places:

in the Jam‘ Muđakkar Sālim (sound masculine plural), and

in the Asmā’ Khamsah[24] (five nouns), and they are:

أبو ك                         (Yourfather )

أخو ك                        (Youbrother )

حمو ك                        (Youfather-in-law )

فو ك              (Yourmouth )

ذو مالٍ          (Possessor of money/wealth)

[E.g. جاء المدرسُو نَ وأبُو ك   (The teachers and your father came)]

As for the Alif it is an ‘Alāmah of Raf‘ in the Tathniyat al-Asmā’ (dual noun) specifically.

[E.g. جاء المدرسا ن والدرستا ن   (The two male teachers and the two female teachers came)]

As for the Nūn it is an ‘Alāmah of Raf‘ in the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ that has the following (Ḍamā’ir: personal pronouns) suffixed to it:

the Ḍamīr Tathniya (personal pronoun of duality), or

the Ḍamīr Jam‘ (personal pronoun of the masculine plural) or

the Ḍamīr al-Mu’annathah al-Mukhāṭabah (personal pronoun of second person feminine singular).

[E.g. تجلسان يا طالبان ، تجلسون يا طلاّب، تجلسين يا طالبة   (You two students are sitting, You students are sitting, You female student are sitting)]

For Naṣb there are five ‘Alāmāt: the Fatḥah, the Alif the Kasrah, the Yā‘ and the Ḥađfu an-Nūn (dropping of the Nūn).

As for the Fatḥah it is an ‘Alāmah of Naṣb in three places:

in the Ism Mufrad (singular noun)

the Jam‘ Taksīr (broken plural), and

the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ when it is preceded by a Nāṣib[25] and does not have anything attached to its ending.

[E.g. لن أسألَ المدرسَ والطلاّبَ   (I will not ask the teacher and the students)]

As for the Alif it is an ‘Alāmah of Naṣb in the Asmā’ Khamsah like

رأيتُ أبا ك وأخا ك   (I saw your father and your brother)

And what resembles that.

As for the Kasrah it is an ‘Alāmah of Naṣb in the Jam‘ Mu’annath Sālim.

[E.g.    سألتُ المدرساتِ (I asked the female teachers)]

As for the Yā’ it is an ‘Alāmah of Naṣb in:

the Tathniyah

the Jam‘ (Muđakkar Sālim).

[E.g. سألتُ الطالبَيـ نِ والمدرسِيـ نَ   (I asked the two students and the teachers)]

As for the Ḥađfu an-Nūn it is an ‘Alāmah of Naṣb in the Af‘āl Khamsah whose Raf‘ is with the Tabāt an-Nūn (fixing of the Nūn).

[E.g.  لن تجلسان يا طالبان،لن تجلسون   يا طلاّب،لن تجلسيـن   يا طالبة     

For Khafḍ there are three ‘Alāmat: the Kasrah, the Yā‘ and the Fatḥah.

As for the Kasrah it is an ‘Alāmah of Khafḍ in three places:

in the Ism Mufrad Munṣarif (fully-declinable/triptote singular noun)

the Jam‘ Taksīr Munṣarif (fully-declinable/triptote broken plural), and

the Jam‘ Mu’annath Sālim.

[E.g. سلّمْتُ على المدرسِ والطلابِ والطالباتِ   (I greeted the teacher, the male students and female students)]

As for the Ya’ it is an ‘Alāmah of Khafḍ in three places:

in Asmā’ Khamsah

in the Tathniyah, and

the Jam‘ (Muđakkar Sālim).

[E.g. سلّمْتُ على أبي ك والطالبَيـ نِ والمدرسِيـ نَ   (I greeted your father, the two students and the teachers)]

As for the Fatḥah it is an ‘Alāmah of Khafḍ in the al-Ism allađī lā yanṣarifu (the noun which is not fully-declinable/not triptote)[26] .

[E.g. سلّمْتُ على أحمدَ وعلماءَ من مصرَ   (I greeted Ahmad and scholars from Egypt)]

For Jazm there are ‘Alāmatān (two signs): the Sukūn and Ḥađf.

As for the Sukūn it is an ‘Alāmah of Jazm in the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Ākhir (present/future tense verb that has a strong/sound ending).

[E.g.  لم أَسْأَلْ   (I did not asked)]

As for Ḥađf it is an ‘Alāmah of Jazm in:

the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ Mu‘tall al-Ākhir (present/future tense verb that has a weak ending)

in the Af‘āl whose Raf‘ is with the Tabāt an-Nūn.

[E.g.  يا محمد، لم تدعُـو ولم ترمِـي ولم تنسَـى  (Muhammad, you did not call, you did not

throw and you did not forget)]

[E.g.  لم تجلسان يا طالبان لم تجلسون يا طلاّب، لم تجلسيـن يا طالبة،     

(You female student did not sit, You male students did not sit and You two students did not sit)]

Section (on the MU‘RABĀT BIL-ḤARAKĀT and the MU‘RABĀT BIL-ḤURŪF)

The Mu‘rabāt (declinable words) are two groups: a group that is declined with Ḥarakāt[27] (vowels)[28] and a group that is declined with Ḥurūf (letters)[29] .

That which is declined with Ḥarakāt is of four types:

the Ism Mufrad

the Jam‘ Taksīr

the Jam‘ Mu’annath Sālim, and

the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ that does not have anything suffixed to it.

All of them are declined with a Ḍammah for Raf‘, a Fatḥah for Naṣb, a Kasrah for Khafḍ and a Sukūn for Jazm.

Three things are excluded from this (norm/general rule):

the Jam‘ Mu’annath Sālim which is declined with a Kasrah for Naṣb (instead of the normal Fatḥah)

the al-Ism allađī lā yanṣarifu which is declined with a Fatḥah for Khafḍ (instead of the normal Kasrah)

the Fi‘l Muḍāri‘ Mu‘tall al-Ākhir which is declined with the Ḥađf al-Ākhir for Jazm (instead of the normal Sukūn).

That which is declined with Ḥurūf is of four types:

the Tathniyah

the Jam‘ Muđakkar Sālim

the Asmā’ Khamsah[30]

the Af‘āl Khamsah[31] , and they are:

يفعلان، تفعلان، يفعلون، تفعلون، تفعلين

As for the Tathniyah it is Marfū‘ with the Alif, Manṣūb and Makhfūḍ with the Yā’[32] .

As for the Jam‘ Muđakkar Salim it is Marfu‘ with the Waw, Manṣub and Makhfuḍ with the Yā’[33] .

As for the Asmā’ Khamsah it is Marfū‘ with the Wāw, Manṣūb with the Alif and Makhfūḍ with the Yā’.

As for the Af‘āl Khamsah it is Marfū‘ with the Nūn, Manṣūb and Majzūm with the Ḥađf thereof.

The Chapter on the AF‘ĀL

The Af‘āl are three: Māḍi, Muḍāri‘ and the Amr, example:        ضَرَبَ - يَضْرِبُ - اِضْرِبْ

(Hehit - hehits /will hit -Hit !)[34]

The Māḍi ends perpetually in a Fatḥah[35] .

The Amr is perpetually Majzūm[36] (i.e. it declined by means of a sign of Jazm).

The Muḍāri‘ is that which has at its beginning one of the four additional letters brought together in your statement: [37] (ت،ي،ن،أ)  أنيت   and it is perpetually Marfū‘ unless it is preceded by a Nāṣib (a particle causing Naṣb) or Jāzim (a word causing Jazm).

The Nawāṣib (the plural of Nāṣib) are ten[38] , and they are:

أن[39]                           (أريدأن أذْهَبَ إلى المسجد) (I wantto go the mosque)

لن                             ( لن أتركَ الصلاة) (Iwill not abandon prayer)

إذنْ  {إذن تنجحَ (لمن يقول: سأجتهد)} {In that case you will seek (for someone who says: ‘I will work hard’)}

كي                          (خُلِقْنَاكَيْ نعبدَ اللهَ) (We were createdto worship Allah)

لام "كي" (the Lām of  "كيْ"  i.e. the Lām that conveys the meaning of causation)           

(أًسافر إلى مكةَ ل ـأطلبَ العلمَ النافعَ) (I travel to Makkahto seek beneficial knowledge)

لام الجحود (the Lām of Denial i.e. the Lām reinforces prior Negation)

                               (لم يكن الله ل يغفرَ لهم) (Allah never intendedto forgive them)

حتّى                          (سأجتهدحتى أنجحَ) (I will work harduntil I succeed)

الجواب بالفاء (the complement of the Fā’[40] )

       (لا تكسلْف ترسبَ) (Do not be lazyand you will fail)

الجواب بـ"الواو" (the complement of the Wāw)

       (لا تتكلمو تأكلّ الطعامَ) (Do not speakwhile eating)

أوْ[41]                      (اُعْبُدِ اللهَأو تموتَ) (Worship Allahuntil you die)

The Jawāzim (the plural of Jāzim) are eighteen[42] , and they are:

لمْ              (لم يلدْ ولم يولدْ) (He doesnot beget and He wasnot begotten)

لماّ              (لما أبدأْ بالمراجعة) (I havenot started with revisionyet )

ألمْ             (ألم نشرحْ لك صدرك) (Have Inot opened for you your chest?)

ألماّ             (ألما تقرأْ كل القرآن) (Have younot read the whole Qur’anyet )

لام الأمر والدعاء  (Lāmof Command and Supplication)

( ل ينفقْ ذو سعة من سعته) (Let every possessor of wealth spend of his wealth)

"لا" في النهي والدعاء  (Lā used in Prohibition and Supplication)

(ل ا تغضبْ) (Do not get angry)

إنْ             (إن تجتهدْ تنجحْ) (If you work hard you will succeed)

ما    (ما تفعلْ من خير تجدْه عند الله) (Whatever you do of good you will find it with Allah)

منْ            ( من يَرحَمْ يُرحَمْ) (Whosoever shows mercy will be shown mercy too)

مهما          (مهما تفعلْ تُسألْ عنه) (Whatever you do you will be asked about it)

إذما           (إذْما تذكرْ ربك يذكرْكَ) (If you remember you Lord He will remember you)

أيّ   (أيُّ عالمٍ يتكبرْ يُبغضْه اللهُ) (Any scholar who keeps himself haughty Allah hates him)

متى            (متى تحسدْ تهلكْ) (Whenever you are envious you will be destroyed)

أيّان  (أيانَ تستغفرْ ربك يغفرْ لك ذنوبك) (Whenever you ask your Lord’s Forgiveness He will forgive you your sins)

أين            (أينما تنزلْ تُكرَمْ) (Wherever you reside you will be honoured)

أنّى            (أنى تسكنْ يُكرِمْك الناس) (Wherever you live people will honour you)

حيثما                   (حيثما تعملْ يُكتَبْ عملُك) (Whatever you do then your deed will be recorded)

كيفما                   (كيفما تُعاملْ أخاك يُعاملْك) (However you treat your brother he will treat you)

إذَا (Iđā used in poetry specifically)

( استغنِ ما أغناك ربك بالغنى *وإذا تُصِبْك خصاصة فتحمَّلِ )

(Seek wealth for as long as your Lord enriches you with wealth

Andwhen poverty strikes you then persevere)

The Chapter on the MARFŪ‘ĀT AL-ASMĀ’[43]

(the Places of RAF‘ in the ISM)

The Marfū‘āt are seven, and they are:

The Fā‘il (doer),

the Maf‘ūl (direct object) whose Fā‘il is not named or mentioned),

the Mubtada’ (subject),

its Khabar (predicate),

the Ism (noun) of Kāna and its sisters, and

the Khabar (predicate) of Inna and its sisters,

the Tābi‘ (follower or modifier) of the Marfū‘, and it is four things: the (1) Na‘t (qualifying adjective or descriptive noun), (2) ‘Aṭf (conjunction), (3) Taukīd (corroborative) and (4) Badal (substitute).

The Chapter on the F‘IL

The Fā‘il is an Ism that is Marfū‘ and has its Fi‘l mentioned before it.

It is of two types: Ḍāhir (substantive noun) and Muđmar (personal pronoun).

The Ḍāhir is like when you say[44] :

قامزيد                                   (Zayd stood)

يقومزيد                      (Zayd stands)

قامالزيدان                   (The two Zayds stood)

يقومالزيدان                 (The two Zayds stand)

قامالزيدون                  [The Zayds (pl.) stood]

يقومالزيدون                [The Zayds (pl.) stand]

قامالرجال                   [The men (pl.) stood]

يقومالرجال                 [The men (pl.) stand]

قامتهند                   (Hind stood)

تقومهند                     (Hind stands)

قامتالهندان               (The two Hinds stood)

تقومالهندان                 (The two Hinds stand)

قامتالهندات              (The Hinds (pl.) stood]

تقومالهندات                [The Hinds (pl.) stand]

قامتالهنود                 [The Hinds (pl.) stood]

تقومالهنود                   (The Hinds (pl.) stand)

قامأخو ك                    (Your brother stood)

يقومأخو ك                  (Your brother stands)

قامغلام ي                  (My servant stood)

يقومغلام ي                (My servant stands)

and what is similar to that.

The Muđmar is twelve[45] like when you say:

ضَربتُ                                 (I hit)

ضَربنَا                                   (We hit)

ضَربتَ                                 [You (masc. sing.) hit]

ضَربتِ                                 [You (fem. sing.) hit]

ضَربتُمَا                      [You (masc./fem. dual) hit]

ضَربتُمْ                                   [You (masc. pl.) hit]

ضَربتُنَّ                      [You (fem. pl.) hit]

ضَربَ (هُوَ )                 (He hit)

ضَربتْ (هِيَ )               (She hit)

ضَربَا                                  [They (masc. dual) hit][46]

ضَربُوْ ا                                [They (masc. pl.) hit]

ضَربْنَ                                [They (fem. pl.) hit]

The Chapter on the AL-MAF‘ŪL ALLAĐĪ LAM YUSAMMA FĀ‘ILUHŪ

[47]

(Maf‘ūl whose Fā‘il is not named)

It is an Ism that is Marfū‘ whose Fā‘il is not mentioned with it.

If the Fi‘l is:

Māḍī its initial letter[48] is marked with a Ḍammah and what is before its final letter is marked with a Kasrah,

and if it is:

Muḍāri‘ its first letter is marked with a Ḍammah and what[49] is before its final letter is marked with a Fatḥah.

It is of two types: Ḍāhir and Muđmar.

The Ḍāhir is like when you say:

ضُربزيدٌ                    (Zayd was hit)

يُضرَبزيدٌ                  (Zayd is/will be hit)

أُكرِمعمروٌ                  (‘Amr was honoured)

يُكرَم عمروٌ                  (‘Amr is/will be honoured)

and what is similar to that.

The Muđmar is twelve, like when you say:

ضُرِبتُ                                 [I (masc./fem.) was hit]

ضُرِبنَا                                   [We (masc./fem. dual/pl.) were hit]

ضُرِبتَ                                 [You (masc. sing.) were hit]

ضُرِبتِ                                 [You (fem. sing.) were hit]

ضُرِبتُمَا                      [You (masc./fem. dual) were hit]

ضُرِبتُمْ                                   [You (masc. pl.) were hit]

ضُرِبتُنَّ                      [You (fem. pl.) were hit]

ضُرِبَ (هُوَ )                 (He was hit)

ضُرِبتْ (هِيَ )               (She was hit)

ضُرِبَا                                    [They (masc. dual) were hit]

ضُرِبُوْ ا                                [They (masc. pl.) were hit]

ضُرِب نَ                                   [They (fem. pl.) were hit]

The Chapter on the MUBTADA’ and the KHABAR

The Mubtada’ is an Ism that is Marfū‘ and is stripped of verbally expressed ‘Awāmil[50] .

The Khabar is an Ism that is Marfū‘ and is predicated to it (i.e. the Mubtada’, so as to give information about it) like when you say:

زيدقائم                      (Zaydis standing )

الزيدانقلئمان (The two Zaydsare standing )

الزيدونقائمون             [The Zayds (pl.)are standing ]

and structures similar to that.

The Mubtada’ is (of) two types: Ḍāhir and Muđmar.

The Ḍāhir has (already) been mentioned.

The Muđmar is twelve and they are:

أنا                            [I (masc. fem.)]

نحن                           [We (masc./fem. dual/pl.)]

أنتَ                          [You (masc. sing.)]

أنتِ                          [You (fem. sing.)]

أنتُما                         [You (masc./fem. dual)]

أنتُمْ                          [You (masc. pl.)]

أنتُنَّ                          [You (fem. pl.)]

هو                            He

هي                           She

هما                            [They (masc. dual)]

همْ                            [They (masc. pl.)]

هنَّ                           [They (fem. pl.)]

Like when you say:

أنا قائم                                  [I (masc.) am standing]

نحن قائمون                [We (masc. pl.) are standing]

The Khabar is (of) two types: Mufrad (single word) and Ghayr al-Mufrad (not a single word i.e. compound).

The Mufrad is like:

زيدقائم                      (Zaydis standing )

The Ghayr al-Mufrad is four things:

the Jarr wa Majrūr

the Ẓarf

the Fi‘l with its Fā‘il

the Mubtada’ with its Khabar

زيدفي الدار                 (Zaydis in the house )

زيد عندك                    (Zaydis with you )

زيدقام أبوه                  (Zayd,his father is standing )

زيدجاريتُه ذاهبةٌ           (Zayd,his maid is going )


3

4

5