Explanation of the rules contained in the preceding verses.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Now, let us take the rules. The rules are the prepositions. First: the prepositions are the tools that cause the genitive case, and there are twenty tools that all share in this, do they not?
The student: In causing the genitive case.
The Shaykh : In causing the genitive case, but they differ in specificity and meanings. Now, as for the first two verses, they are about the number of these tools, and there is no dispute there. The third verse’s rule is: these tools are specific to explicit nouns, and they are: *mudh*, *min dh*, *wa hatta*, *al-kaf*, *al-waw*, *rab*, and *al-ta*. How many tools is that?
The student: Seven.
The Shaykh : Seven. Seven of these twenty tools are specific to explicit nouns. The fourth verse’s rule is: *mudh* and *min dh* are specific to time, so they do not put anything in the genitive case except what indicates a time, they do not put anything in the genitive case except what indicates a time. And *rab* is specific to indefinite nouns, so it does not put pronouns in the genitive case, nor definite nouns. And *al-ta* is specific to only two names, which are: Allah and *Rab*. The fifth verse: what is reported from the Arabs regarding *rab* entering upon a pronoun, and *al-kaf* entering upon a pronoun, is a very small amount that is outside the norm, and Allah knows best.
The student: In causing the genitive case.
The Shaykh : In causing the genitive case, but they differ in specificity and meanings. Now, as for the first two verses, they are about the number of these tools, and there is no dispute there. The third verse’s rule is: these tools are specific to explicit nouns, and they are: *mudh*, *min dh*, *wa hatta*, *al-kaf*, *al-waw*, *rab*, and *al-ta*. How many tools is that?
The student: Seven.
The Shaykh : Seven. Seven of these twenty tools are specific to explicit nouns. The fourth verse’s rule is: *mudh* and *min dh* are specific to time, so they do not put anything in the genitive case except what indicates a time, they do not put anything in the genitive case except what indicates a time. And *rab* is specific to indefinite nouns, so it does not put pronouns in the genitive case, nor definite nouns. And *al-ta* is specific to only two names, which are: Allah and *Rab*. The fifth verse: what is reported from the Arabs regarding *rab* entering upon a pronoun, and *al-kaf* entering upon a pronoun, is a very small amount that is outside the norm, and Allah knows best.