Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And suppose you learn."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"And suppose you learn" The word "hab" here means "suppose" or "imagine," meaning suppose in your heart such and such. As for "hab" which is an imperative verb from "wa-haba" (to give), it does not belong to this category. You would say: "Give Zayd a garment." This belongs to the category of what?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Not "Give Zayd a garment"
The student: "Kasa"
The Shaykh : It is from the category of "kasa" (to clothe) and "ata" (to give). But if you say "habbini" (suppose me), this is what the author intends. Here, it means "suppose me in your heart to be your friend." I have an example of this.
"So I said, 'Hire me, Abu Malik, *** Or else, suppose me a dead man'"
The point of the verse is the phrase: "Or else, suppose me a dead man"
It often appears in the speech of scholars connected with "an" (that). For example, "Suppose that the matter is such and such." It was said that this is a linguistic error (lahn) among scholars, and al-Hariri held this view, stating that it is a lahn. So if you say "Suppose that this is happening," say "Suppose this is happening," and do not say "Suppose that this is happening." However, an objection was raised to this view based on what is reported from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the story of the donkey. They said to him: "Suppose that our father was a donkey," and they did not say "Suppose our father a donkey." They said "Suppose that our father." In any case, it is common in the speech of the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) to connect it with "an," saying "Suppose that the matter is such." But if we wanted to use the most eloquent form, we would say:
The student: ...
The Shaykh : "Suppose the matter is such," so that we follow the most eloquent form and shorten the speech. By what did we shorten it? By deleting "in" (that). Yes, that is correct. And "hab"
"Learn" The word "ta'lam" here does not mean seeking knowledge. It means "know." The intended meaning of "ta'lam" is "know." You say: "Ta'lam anna Allaha qadir" (Know that Allah is All-Powerful), meaning know that Allah is All-Powerful. I have an example of this from poetry. It says:
"Know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy, *** So strive with gentleness in deception and stratagem"
The point of the verse is the phrase: "Know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy" meaning know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy.
Then he said: "And those like 'sira'" So let us now return to these tools of counting.
First: "ra'a" (saw), "khal" (was absent), "'alima" (knew), "wajada" (found), "zanna" (supposed), "hasiba" (considered), "za'ama" (claimed), "'adda" (counted), "hajja" (argued), "dara" (knew), "kama" (how much). These are ten words. Adding "hab" and "ta'lam" makes thirteen words. All of these are verbs of the heart. However, regarding "knowledge" and "supposition" among them, some imply certainty and some imply supposition. What implies supposition may also imply certainty, and what implies certainty may also imply supposition, but it is more likely to be in the category of supposition or certainty. Thus, there are four categories: what implies certainty, what implies supposition, what implies supposition originally but may imply certainty secondarily.
Then he said: "And those like 'sira'" And we stop here. Yes.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Not "Give Zayd a garment"
The student: "Kasa"
The Shaykh : It is from the category of "kasa" (to clothe) and "ata" (to give). But if you say "habbini" (suppose me), this is what the author intends. Here, it means "suppose me in your heart to be your friend." I have an example of this.
"So I said, 'Hire me, Abu Malik, *** Or else, suppose me a dead man'"
The point of the verse is the phrase: "Or else, suppose me a dead man"
It often appears in the speech of scholars connected with "an" (that). For example, "Suppose that the matter is such and such." It was said that this is a linguistic error (lahn) among scholars, and al-Hariri held this view, stating that it is a lahn. So if you say "Suppose that this is happening," say "Suppose this is happening," and do not say "Suppose that this is happening." However, an objection was raised to this view based on what is reported from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the story of the donkey. They said to him: "Suppose that our father was a donkey," and they did not say "Suppose our father a donkey." They said "Suppose that our father." In any case, it is common in the speech of the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) to connect it with "an," saying "Suppose that the matter is such." But if we wanted to use the most eloquent form, we would say:
The student: ...
The Shaykh : "Suppose the matter is such," so that we follow the most eloquent form and shorten the speech. By what did we shorten it? By deleting "in" (that). Yes, that is correct. And "hab"
"Learn" The word "ta'lam" here does not mean seeking knowledge. It means "know." The intended meaning of "ta'lam" is "know." You say: "Ta'lam anna Allaha qadir" (Know that Allah is All-Powerful), meaning know that Allah is All-Powerful. I have an example of this from poetry. It says:
"Know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy, *** So strive with gentleness in deception and stratagem"
The point of the verse is the phrase: "Know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy" meaning know that the cure for the soul is to subdue its enemy.
Then he said: "And those like 'sira'" So let us now return to these tools of counting.
First: "ra'a" (saw), "khal" (was absent), "'alima" (knew), "wajada" (found), "zanna" (supposed), "hasiba" (considered), "za'ama" (claimed), "'adda" (counted), "hajja" (argued), "dara" (knew), "kama" (how much). These are ten words. Adding "hab" and "ta'lam" makes thirteen words. All of these are verbs of the heart. However, regarding "knowledge" and "supposition" among them, some imply certainty and some imply supposition. What implies supposition may also imply certainty, and what implies certainty may also imply supposition, but it is more likely to be in the category of supposition or certainty. Thus, there are four categories: what implies certainty, what implies supposition, what implies supposition originally but may imply certainty secondarily.
Then he said: "And those like 'sira'" And we stop here. Yes.