Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And these four *** are for the likeness of negation or for a following negation."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : *Fata'a* means that one did this thing and the like, but it is used for continuity, as will be seen with *infaka*.
*Infaka* means to be rid of a thing, but when it is from the sisters of *kana*, it does not carry this meaning, as will also be explained. For this reason, the author said:
"And these four *** are for the likeness of negation or for a following negation"
The demonstrative pronoun "these four" refers to the nearest mentioned item. What is the nearest mentioned item here?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : We begin with *infaka*, which is the nearest, followed by *fata'a*, *bariha*, and *zala*. These four are not from the sisters of *kana* unless they are accompanied by negation or the likeness of negation. The likeness of negation is prohibition. There is no difference whether the negation is with *ma*, *la*, *ghayr*, or the like; the important thing is that it is accompanied by what signifies negation or its likeness, which is prohibition. Allah the Exalted said:[Hud 11:118] Was it preceded by negation?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Where?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, "they will not cease to differ." Likewise, Allah the Exalted said: What is this preceded by?
The student: The oath.
The Shaykh : No, the oath has no bearing on this.
The student: By negation.
The Shaykh : It must be negation. We say that the negation here is omitted, and its original form is: "By Allah, you do not cease to remember Yusuf," meaning you do not cease to remember Yusuf until you become a source of grief. However, the negation is omitted from *tafta'* if it is preceded by an oath, is in the present tense, and the negation particle is *la*. When these three conditions are met, the negation is omitted. Some people composed a verse on this, saying:
"And a negation is omitted with three conditions *** if *la* is before the present tense in an oath
And a negator is omitted with three conditions *** if it is a la before a present-tense verb in an oath.
Are these conditions applicable in the verse?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh :"And a negation is omitted with three conditions *** if *la* is before the present tense in an oath"
The verse is complete with the conditions: the negation particle *la*, preceded by an oath, and the verb is in the present tense. The verb is in the present tense. Good.
*Bariha*: You say "There is no god but Allah" in the story of Musa and Khidr. What is it? [Al-Kahf 18:60] That is, "I do not cease traveling," so the predicate is omitted.
The fourth is *infaka*. You say "The cold did not cease to be severe," meaning what? The cold did not cease to be severe. For this reason, the author said:
"And these four *** are for the likeness of negation or for a following negation"
Why did the author place the likeness of negation before negation, when the original rule is that the thing compared to is stronger than the thing compared?
The student: For dire necessity.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: For dire necessity.
The Shaykh : It is said to be due to the necessity of the verse's meter, and this is the apparent reason. It appears that the author said this because the meter...
Some commentators say: He placed the likeness of negation first to compensate for its deficiency, to compensate for its deficiency. That is, the likeness of negation is weaker than negation, so he placed it first to compensate for its weakness. Ibn Malik is not before us now so that we could ask him if this is correct? We do not know if this was his intention or not. But the meter... perhaps someone might say that the verse could be balanced otherwise, for example: "And these four are for negation or likeness," it does not get much longer.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What? Yes, "for negation or for the likeness of negation, following." Yes, so it appears, and Allah knows best, that Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) found it easy at that time to compose it this way and proceeded with it.
In any case, these four must be preceded by negation or its likeness. These four verbs are called verbs of continuity because they indicate it; they indicate continuity. Yes.
*Infaka* means to be rid of a thing, but when it is from the sisters of *kana*, it does not carry this meaning, as will also be explained. For this reason, the author said:
"And these four *** are for the likeness of negation or for a following negation"
The demonstrative pronoun "these four" refers to the nearest mentioned item. What is the nearest mentioned item here?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : We begin with *infaka*, which is the nearest, followed by *fata'a*, *bariha*, and *zala*. These four are not from the sisters of *kana* unless they are accompanied by negation or the likeness of negation. The likeness of negation is prohibition. There is no difference whether the negation is with *ma*, *la*, *ghayr*, or the like; the important thing is that it is accompanied by what signifies negation or its likeness, which is prohibition. Allah the Exalted said:
but they will not cease to differ.
ولا يزالون مختلفينThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Where?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, "they will not cease to differ." Likewise, Allah the Exalted said:
They said, "By Allah, you do not cease to remember Yusuf"
قالوا تالله تفتأ تذكر يوسفThey said, "By Allah, you do not cease to remember Yusuf until you become a source of grief"
قالوا تالله تفتأ تذكر يوسف حتى تكون حرضاًThey said, "By Allah, you do not cease to remember Yusuf"
قالوا تالله تفتأ تذكر يوسفThe student: The oath.
The Shaykh : No, the oath has no bearing on this.
The student: By negation.
The Shaykh : It must be negation. We say that the negation here is omitted, and its original form is: "By Allah, you do not cease to remember Yusuf," meaning you do not cease to remember Yusuf until you become a source of grief. However, the negation is omitted from *tafta'* if it is preceded by an oath, is in the present tense, and the negation particle is *la*. When these three conditions are met, the negation is omitted. Some people composed a verse on this, saying:
"And a negation is omitted with three conditions *** if *la* is before the present tense in an oath
And a negator is omitted with three conditions *** if it is a la before a present-tense verb in an oath.
Are these conditions applicable in the verse?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh :"And a negation is omitted with three conditions *** if *la* is before the present tense in an oath"
The verse is complete with the conditions: the negation particle *la*, preceded by an oath, and the verb is in the present tense. The verb is in the present tense. Good.
*Bariha*: You say "There is no god but Allah" in the story of Musa and Khidr.
I do not cease
لا أبرحI will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."
لا أبرح حتى أبلغ مجمع البحرين أو أمضي حقباًThe fourth is *infaka*. You say "The cold did not cease to be severe," meaning what? The cold did not cease to be severe. For this reason, the author said:
"And these four *** are for the likeness of negation or for a following negation"
Why did the author place the likeness of negation before negation, when the original rule is that the thing compared to is stronger than the thing compared?
The student: For dire necessity.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: For dire necessity.
The Shaykh : It is said to be due to the necessity of the verse's meter, and this is the apparent reason. It appears that the author said this because the meter...
Some commentators say: He placed the likeness of negation first to compensate for its deficiency, to compensate for its deficiency. That is, the likeness of negation is weaker than negation, so he placed it first to compensate for its weakness. Ibn Malik is not before us now so that we could ask him if this is correct? We do not know if this was his intention or not. But the meter... perhaps someone might say that the verse could be balanced otherwise, for example: "And these four are for negation or likeness," it does not get much longer.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What? Yes, "for negation or for the likeness of negation, following." Yes, so it appears, and Allah knows best, that Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) found it easy at that time to compose it this way and proceeded with it.
In any case, these four must be preceded by negation or its likeness. These four verbs are called verbs of continuity because they indicate it; they indicate continuity. Yes.