Explanation of the saying of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And it is common, like 'Umar feared his Lord *** And it is rare, like the light adorned the trees."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"And it is common, like 'Umar feared his Lord *** And it is rare, like the light adorned the trees"
"Common" means: frequent. Like "Umar feared his Lord." What is in this sentence? The fronting of the object bearing the deferred pronoun of the subject. "Feared his Lord": "Lord" is the object of "feared," and it is attached to the pronoun. And the pronoun refers to what?
The student: To 'Umar.
The Shaykh : To 'Umar. This is very common. And among that is His saying, the Exalted: "Ibrahim" is a fronted object, and "Lord" is a deferred subject. "Umar feared his Lord": "Lord" is a fronted object, and "Umar" is a deferred subject. This is very common in the Arabic language, and there is no objection in it, because the pronoun here refers to a deferred element, but it is deferred in expression and prior in rank. "And it is rare, like the light adorned the trees" The meaning of "rare" is: deviating from the rule. "And it is rare, like the light adorned the trees" Why is it rare? Because the pronoun in it refers to an element that is deferred in both expression and rank. "Zana nūruhu": "Zana" is a past tense verb, and "nūruhu" (his light): "light" is the subject, and it is attached to the pronoun, and "al-shajar" (the trees) is the object. The pronoun in "his light" refers to what?
The student: The trees.
The Shaykh : And the trees are deferred in both expression and rank. As for expression, it is apparent. And as for rank, it is because it is an object, and the object's rank is to be deferred from the subject. Convert this example into a common one. You say: "Zana al-shajara nūruhu," meaning: that the light, which is the flower, adorned the trees and made them beautiful and lovely. And the summary of this discussion is that it is obligatory to defer the restricted element with "illa" (except) or "inna" (indeed), except according to the second opinion that the restricted element with "illa" is not permissible to be deferred, because the meaning is clear whether it is fronted or deferred. The second discussion is that it is permissible to front the object bearing the pronoun of the subject, because the pronoun here refers to an element that is deferred in expression but not in rank. And it is not permissible to front the subject bearing the pronoun of the object, because it necessitates the pronoun referring to an element that is deferred in both expression and rank, and this is rare and deviates from the rule.
The student: Shaykh, are we not going to do grammatical analysis?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: I'rab (grammatical analysis).
The Shaykh : The next lesson, if Allah wills.
The student: Review, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The next lesson will be grammatical analysis and review, if Allah wills.
"Common" means: frequent. Like "Umar feared his Lord." What is in this sentence? The fronting of the object bearing the deferred pronoun of the subject. "Feared his Lord": "Lord" is the object of "feared," and it is attached to the pronoun. And the pronoun refers to what?
The student: To 'Umar.
The Shaykh : To 'Umar. This is very common. And among that is His saying, the Exalted:
And [recall] when your Lord tested Abraham with words
وإذ ابتلى إبراهيمَ ربُّه بكلماتThe student: The trees.
The Shaykh : And the trees are deferred in both expression and rank. As for expression, it is apparent. And as for rank, it is because it is an object, and the object's rank is to be deferred from the subject. Convert this example into a common one. You say: "Zana al-shajara nūruhu," meaning: that the light, which is the flower, adorned the trees and made them beautiful and lovely. And the summary of this discussion is that it is obligatory to defer the restricted element with "illa" (except) or "inna" (indeed), except according to the second opinion that the restricted element with "illa" is not permissible to be deferred, because the meaning is clear whether it is fronted or deferred. The second discussion is that it is permissible to front the object bearing the pronoun of the subject, because the pronoun here refers to an element that is deferred in expression but not in rank. And it is not permissible to front the subject bearing the pronoun of the object, because it necessitates the pronoun referring to an element that is deferred in both expression and rank, and this is rare and deviates from the rule.
The student: Shaykh, are we not going to do grammatical analysis?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: I'rab (grammatical analysis).
The Shaykh : The next lesson, if Allah wills.
The student: Review, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The next lesson will be grammatical analysis and review, if Allah wills.