Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And before, O soul, with the verb, you must adhere *** to the protective nun, and it is not that it has been composed."
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The Shaykh : Then the author said:
"And before, O soul, with the verb, you must adhere *** to the protective nun",
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) moved on to the ruling regarding the connection of the pronoun with the verb, or with the verb in cases where it is not obligatory, and he said:
"And before, O soul, with the verb, you must adhere *** to the protective nun"
"You must adhere" — from whom? From the scholars or from the people of language?
The student: From the people of language.
The Shaykh : The second point: from the people of language. In the Arabic language, when the first-person singular pronoun, which is the yā', connects to a verb, it is obligatory that the protective nun be attached to it. An example of this is: "He honored me" (akramani), "He honored me" (akramani), and it is not permissible to say: "He honored me" (akrami), but rather it is obligatory to say: "He honored me" (akramani). And the author's phrase "with the verb" includes the past tense, as we exemplified, and the present tense, as if you said: "So-and-so honors me" (yakrimuni), and the imperative, as if you said: "Honor me" (akrimni). Thus, the protective nun becomes necessary. Then he said: "And it is not that it has been composed". Yes, and why is it called the protective nun? They said: because it protects the verb from the kasrah (vowel), because the yā' of the first-person singular pronoun has a kasrah before it, and the verb is not to be given a kasrah, so the protective nun is brought in so that the kasrah falls on the nun. Thus, you say: "He honored me" (akramani), because if you said it without the nun, the phrase would be: "He honored me" (akrami), "He honors me" (yakrimi), "Honor me" (akrimi), and this is not correct in verbs. He said: "And it is not that it has been composed". "It is not that it has been composed" — how is it that it is not composed? It means that "laysa" is a verb among the verbs, but it is one of the intransitive verbs. In their terminology, intransitive means that it does not undergo conjugation. It is derived from "jamud" (stagnation), which is stagnation and lack of flow. The fluid is that which flows and does not stagnate. But in their terminology, a noun is either intransitive or not. "Laysa" does not undergo conjugation; it has no present tense verb and no imperative, but it is among the verbs. So, if the first-person singular pronoun connects to it, is it obligatory that the protective nun be attached to it? We say that the author's words indicate the obligation of that, but it has come in poetry without being accompanied by the protective nun. For this reason, he said: "And it is not that it has been composed", meaning that it came in poetry as: "laysi," without the nun. This is the saying of the poet:
"I counted my people as the multitude of the Tayyis *** when the noble people went, it was not me"
"When the noble people went, it was not me", and he did not say: "laysani" or "laysa iyyāy," but rather he said: "laysi," bringing the attached pronoun without the protective nun. But this is due to the necessity of poetry, and in poetry, what is not permissible in prose is permissible, because it compels the poet to commit what he commits for the sake of the meter. And I recited to you previously the saying of the author of the Mulkah, yes:
"And it is permissible in the craft of poetry, the arrogance, *** that the poet should decline what is not declined",
So, poetry is arrogant; it compels its author to commit what is not permissible in prose. For this reason, he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And it is not that it has been composed", "And may I wish it had spread, and may I wish it had been known". Now, we move on to the protective nun with letters. Does the protective nun attach to letters when they connect to the first-person singular pronoun? Pay attention. What is the answer?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Some letters are accompanied by the protective nun, and some are not. For example: with "ilā" (to), you say: "ilayya" (to me), and you do not say: "ilayni." With "ʿalā" (on), you say: "ʿalayya" (on me), and you do not say: "ʿalayni." Good, some letters take the protective nun.
"And before, O soul, with the verb, you must adhere *** to the protective nun",
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) moved on to the ruling regarding the connection of the pronoun with the verb, or with the verb in cases where it is not obligatory, and he said:
"And before, O soul, with the verb, you must adhere *** to the protective nun"
"You must adhere" — from whom? From the scholars or from the people of language?
The student: From the people of language.
The Shaykh : The second point: from the people of language. In the Arabic language, when the first-person singular pronoun, which is the yā', connects to a verb, it is obligatory that the protective nun be attached to it. An example of this is: "He honored me" (akramani), "He honored me" (akramani), and it is not permissible to say: "He honored me" (akrami), but rather it is obligatory to say: "He honored me" (akramani). And the author's phrase "with the verb" includes the past tense, as we exemplified, and the present tense, as if you said: "So-and-so honors me" (yakrimuni), and the imperative, as if you said: "Honor me" (akrimni). Thus, the protective nun becomes necessary. Then he said: "And it is not that it has been composed". Yes, and why is it called the protective nun? They said: because it protects the verb from the kasrah (vowel), because the yā' of the first-person singular pronoun has a kasrah before it, and the verb is not to be given a kasrah, so the protective nun is brought in so that the kasrah falls on the nun. Thus, you say: "He honored me" (akramani), because if you said it without the nun, the phrase would be: "He honored me" (akrami), "He honors me" (yakrimi), "Honor me" (akrimi), and this is not correct in verbs. He said: "And it is not that it has been composed". "It is not that it has been composed" — how is it that it is not composed? It means that "laysa" is a verb among the verbs, but it is one of the intransitive verbs. In their terminology, intransitive means that it does not undergo conjugation. It is derived from "jamud" (stagnation), which is stagnation and lack of flow. The fluid is that which flows and does not stagnate. But in their terminology, a noun is either intransitive or not. "Laysa" does not undergo conjugation; it has no present tense verb and no imperative, but it is among the verbs. So, if the first-person singular pronoun connects to it, is it obligatory that the protective nun be attached to it? We say that the author's words indicate the obligation of that, but it has come in poetry without being accompanied by the protective nun. For this reason, he said: "And it is not that it has been composed", meaning that it came in poetry as: "laysi," without the nun. This is the saying of the poet:
"I counted my people as the multitude of the Tayyis *** when the noble people went, it was not me"
"When the noble people went, it was not me", and he did not say: "laysani" or "laysa iyyāy," but rather he said: "laysi," bringing the attached pronoun without the protective nun. But this is due to the necessity of poetry, and in poetry, what is not permissible in prose is permissible, because it compels the poet to commit what he commits for the sake of the meter. And I recited to you previously the saying of the author of the Mulkah, yes:
"And it is permissible in the craft of poetry, the arrogance, *** that the poet should decline what is not declined",
So, poetry is arrogant; it compels its author to commit what is not permissible in prose. For this reason, he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And it is not that it has been composed", "And may I wish it had spread, and may I wish it had been known". Now, we move on to the protective nun with letters. Does the protective nun attach to letters when they connect to the first-person singular pronoun? Pay attention. What is the answer?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Some letters are accompanied by the protective nun, and some are not. For example: with "ilā" (to), you say: "ilayya" (to me), and you do not say: "ilayni." With "ʿalā" (on), you say: "ʿalayya" (on me), and you do not say: "ʿalayni." Good, some letters take the protective nun.