Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And name as defective (mu'tal) from the names that which *** is like al-Mushtafa and al-Murtaqi, as excellences"
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The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"And name as defective (mu'tal) from the names that which *** is like al-Mushtafa and al-Murtaqi, as excellences"
"Name": An imperative verb
"Defective (mu'tal)": The second object, placed before the verb
"And that which": The first object, placed after the verb
It means: Name that which is like al-Mushtafa and al-Murtaqi as excellences, name it defective (mu'tal). And on this basis, the second object of "name" is placed before the first object, name it defective (mu'tal).
And the defective (mu'tal) is that which ends with an alif, and there is no need for us to say "with the preceding letter open," because every alif has an open preceding letter. Or a ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter; it is necessary for us to say "with a kasrah on the preceding letter." Or a waw with a dammah on the preceding letter; it is necessary for us to say "with a dammah on the preceding letter."
So the defective (mu'tal) is, then, that which ends with an alif, or a waw, or a ya, and it is necessary that the alif be a permanent letter that does not change, or the ya be a permanent letter that does not change, or the waw.
Our saying: "that its end is a permanent alif" excludes the dual, because the alif of the dual is not permanent; it appears in the nominative, accusative, and genitive cases, and it is not permanent.
And our saying "a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter" excludes the ya of the dual and the ya of the sound masculine plural in the states of accusative and genitive, for it is not called defective (mu'tal) because the ya is what? Not permanent. The ya is not permanent in the sound masculine plural, and in the five names, and in the dual in the state of genitive, the ya is not permanent. And likewise in the state of accusative, the ya in the dual and the sound masculine plural is not permanent.
And our saying: "with a kasrah on the preceding letter" is to avoid what? The ya that does not have a kasrah on the preceding letter, like "dhibi" (gazelle); "dhibi" ends with a ya, but it does not have a kasrah on the preceding letter, so it is not defective (mu'tal). For this reason, the vowel marks appear on it.
So you say: "This is a dhibi" (nominative), "I saw a dhibi" (accusative), and "I passed by a dhibi" (genitive), and the vowel marks appear on it.
The waw is also a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. So our saying "permanent waw" excludes the waw in the five names in the state of nominative, and in the sound masculine plural in the state of nominative, because the waw is not permanent.
And our saying: "with a dammah on the preceding letter" excludes what if the preceding letter was sukun (silent), like: "dilu" (bucket); "dilu" is not defective (mu'tal), even though it ends with a waw. Why? Because the preceding letter was not dammah.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Name this type of names, name it defective (mu'tal). Then he gave an example by saying: "like al-Mushtafa", this is the defective (mu'tal) by alif. "and al-Murtaqi", this is the defective (mu'tal) by ya. So the defective (mu'tal) from the names is that which ends with a permanent alif, and we do not say: "with the preceding letter open." Why? Because it is not possible for the preceding letter to be anything but open. The alif is a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter, and a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. This is the defective (mu'tal) from the names.
So if a questioner asks you: What is the defective (mu'tal) from the names? Say: That which ends with a letter of weakness (harf 'illah). That which ends with a letter of weakness. And the letters of weakness are three: a permanent alif, a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter, and a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. The author mentioned this as a preparation for what follows in his saying.
"And name as defective (mu'tal) from the names that which *** is like al-Mushtafa and al-Murtaqi, as excellences"
"Name": An imperative verb
"Defective (mu'tal)": The second object, placed before the verb
"And that which": The first object, placed after the verb
It means: Name that which is like al-Mushtafa and al-Murtaqi as excellences, name it defective (mu'tal). And on this basis, the second object of "name" is placed before the first object, name it defective (mu'tal).
And the defective (mu'tal) is that which ends with an alif, and there is no need for us to say "with the preceding letter open," because every alif has an open preceding letter. Or a ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter; it is necessary for us to say "with a kasrah on the preceding letter." Or a waw with a dammah on the preceding letter; it is necessary for us to say "with a dammah on the preceding letter."
So the defective (mu'tal) is, then, that which ends with an alif, or a waw, or a ya, and it is necessary that the alif be a permanent letter that does not change, or the ya be a permanent letter that does not change, or the waw.
Our saying: "that its end is a permanent alif" excludes the dual, because the alif of the dual is not permanent; it appears in the nominative, accusative, and genitive cases, and it is not permanent.
And our saying "a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter" excludes the ya of the dual and the ya of the sound masculine plural in the states of accusative and genitive, for it is not called defective (mu'tal) because the ya is what? Not permanent. The ya is not permanent in the sound masculine plural, and in the five names, and in the dual in the state of genitive, the ya is not permanent. And likewise in the state of accusative, the ya in the dual and the sound masculine plural is not permanent.
And our saying: "with a kasrah on the preceding letter" is to avoid what? The ya that does not have a kasrah on the preceding letter, like "dhibi" (gazelle); "dhibi" ends with a ya, but it does not have a kasrah on the preceding letter, so it is not defective (mu'tal). For this reason, the vowel marks appear on it.
So you say: "This is a dhibi" (nominative), "I saw a dhibi" (accusative), and "I passed by a dhibi" (genitive), and the vowel marks appear on it.
The waw is also a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. So our saying "permanent waw" excludes the waw in the five names in the state of nominative, and in the sound masculine plural in the state of nominative, because the waw is not permanent.
And our saying: "with a dammah on the preceding letter" excludes what if the preceding letter was sukun (silent), like: "dilu" (bucket); "dilu" is not defective (mu'tal), even though it ends with a waw. Why? Because the preceding letter was not dammah.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Name this type of names, name it defective (mu'tal). Then he gave an example by saying: "like al-Mushtafa", this is the defective (mu'tal) by alif. "and al-Murtaqi", this is the defective (mu'tal) by ya. So the defective (mu'tal) from the names is that which ends with a permanent alif, and we do not say: "with the preceding letter open." Why? Because it is not possible for the preceding letter to be anything but open. The alif is a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter, and a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. This is the defective (mu'tal) from the names.
So if a questioner asks you: What is the defective (mu'tal) from the names? Say: That which ends with a letter of weakness (harf 'illah). That which ends with a letter of weakness. And the letters of weakness are three: a permanent alif, a permanent ya with a kasrah on the preceding letter, and a permanent waw with a dammah on the preceding letter. The author mentioned this as a preparation for what follows in his saying.