Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And with 'ula' you point to the plural absolutely *** and the elongated form is preferred, and when far, you pronounce it."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"And with 'ula' you point to the plural absolutely". 'Ula: you point with it to the plural absolutely. The meaning of "absolute" here is for both the masculine and the feminine. You point to the masculine plural with 'ula, and to the feminine plural with 'ula as well—pay attention—so 'ula is for the masculine and feminine plural. He said:
"And the elongated form is preferred": The elongated form is preferred over the shortened form. This informs us that there are two dialects for 'ula: "ula'" and "ula'". Do you understand? Ula' is preferred over ula'. So you would say, for example: "These are righteous men," "These are righteous men." Is this one elongated or shortened?
The student: Shortened.
The Shaykh : Shortened. And you say: "These are Muslim men." This one is elongated. The shortened form is built on sukun (stillness), and the elongated form is built on kasr (breaking). Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[Al-Mutaffifin 83:32], "Indeed, we are these who are astray." So is this one elongated or shortened here?
The student: Elongated.
The Shaykh : Elongated, not shortened. And it did not come in the Qur'an except as elongated, because the Qur'an came in the pure language. Now, "And with 'ula' you point to the plural absolutely *** and the elongated form is preferred". And by this we know that the demonstrative pronouns are for the singular masculine, the singular feminine, the dual masculine, the dual feminine, and the fifth?
The student: The plural.
The Shaykh : The plural. And the plural has only one word, and in it there are two dialects, which is 'ula. And the two dialects are: the shortened form and the elongated form, and the elongated form is preferred.
"And the elongated form is preferred": The elongated form is preferred over the shortened form. This informs us that there are two dialects for 'ula: "ula'" and "ula'". Do you understand? Ula' is preferred over ula'. So you would say, for example: "These are righteous men," "These are righteous men." Is this one elongated or shortened?
The student: Shortened.
The Shaykh : Shortened. And you say: "These are Muslim men." This one is elongated. The shortened form is built on sukun (stillness), and the elongated form is built on kasr (breaking). Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And when they saw them, they would say, "Indeed, those are truly lost."
وإذا رأوهم قالوا إنا هؤلاء لضالونThe student: Elongated.
The Shaykh : Elongated, not shortened. And it did not come in the Qur'an except as elongated, because the Qur'an came in the pure language. Now, "And with 'ula' you point to the plural absolutely *** and the elongated form is preferred". And by this we know that the demonstrative pronouns are for the singular masculine, the singular feminine, the dual masculine, the dual feminine, and the fifth?
The student: The plural.
The Shaykh : The plural. And the plural has only one word, and in it there are two dialects, which is 'ula. And the two dialects are: the shortened form and the elongated form, and the elongated form is preferred.