A reading from Ibn 'Aqil's commentary with the Shaykh's annotations on it.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him:
"A masculine noun may acquire femininity from a feminine noun to which it is added, provided that the added noun is suitable for omission and the noun to which it is added can take its place, and that meaning is understood from it. For example, 'I cut off some of his fingers,' so the feminization of 'some' is valid because it is added to 'fingers,' which is feminine, and it is valid to dispense with 'some' by using 'fingers' instead, so you would say, 'I cut off his fingers.' Similarly, his saying:
We walked as the spears swayed, their tops shattered by the passing of the gentle winds"
So "the passing" was made feminine because it was added to "winds," and that was permissible because it is valid to dispense with "the passing" by using "winds," as in "the winds shattered."
And sometimes the added noun is feminine, so it acquires masculinity from a masculine noun to which it is added, under the condition mentioned earlier, as in His saying, the Exalted:[Al-A'raf 7:56] So "mercy" is feminine and acquired masculinity by being added to Allah, the Exalted,
If the added noun is not suitable for omission and being replaced by the noun to which it is added, then feminization is not permissible, so do not say, "I went out, Hind's boy," because one does not say, "I went out, Hind," and the going out of the boy is understood from it."
The Shaykh : In reality, dispensing with the first by the second means that in the sentence, it is correct that saying "I went out, Hind's boy" is not like saying "I cut off some of his fingers," because "some" is a part of the fingers, and "boy" is not a part of Hind. However, when we say "I cut off some of his fingers," it is not equivalent to saying "I cut off his fingers." So it seems we can transform the author's statement, if his omission is weak, by making the first a part of the second, or something like a part of it, a part of it or something like a part of it, such as: the part, "I cut off some of his fingers," because "some" is a part of all the fingers, and an example of what is a meaning within the thing.
The student: The religion of Ibrahim.
The Shaykh : If you said, "I followed," "the religion of Ibrahim" is not suitable, because this is the first being feminine, and the intended meaning is the opposite, the intended meaning is the opposite. For example, if I said—well, I don't know if this is correct in Arabic—if I said, for example, "I sewed her garment," is that valid or not? Or for example, if I said, "I attained her knowledge," meaning I attained the woman's knowledge, I attained her knowledge. If I said, "I violated her honor," in any case, I think this is dependent on hearing, and that if the second is a part of the first, it acquires femininity through it, and if it is separate from it and an independent entity in itself, it does not acquire femininity, like "I killed Hind's boy" and the like.
The student: The verse is clear that it is some...
The Shaykh : Which one?
The student: The passing of the winds.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him:
"A masculine noun may acquire femininity from a feminine noun to which it is added, provided that the added noun is suitable for omission and the noun to which it is added can take its place, and that meaning is understood from it. For example, 'I cut off some of his fingers,' so the feminization of 'some' is valid because it is added to 'fingers,' which is feminine, and it is valid to dispense with 'some' by using 'fingers' instead, so you would say, 'I cut off his fingers.' Similarly, his saying:
We walked as the spears swayed, their tops shattered by the passing of the gentle winds"
So "the passing" was made feminine because it was added to "winds," and that was permissible because it is valid to dispense with "the passing" by using "winds," as in "the winds shattered."
And sometimes the added noun is feminine, so it acquires masculinity from a masculine noun to which it is added, under the condition mentioned earlier, as in His saying, the Exalted:
Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.
إن رحمت الله قريب من المحسنينIf the added noun is not suitable for omission and being replaced by the noun to which it is added, then feminization is not permissible, so do not say, "I went out, Hind's boy," because one does not say, "I went out, Hind," and the going out of the boy is understood from it."
The Shaykh : In reality, dispensing with the first by the second means that in the sentence, it is correct that saying "I went out, Hind's boy" is not like saying "I cut off some of his fingers," because "some" is a part of the fingers, and "boy" is not a part of Hind. However, when we say "I cut off some of his fingers," it is not equivalent to saying "I cut off his fingers." So it seems we can transform the author's statement, if his omission is weak, by making the first a part of the second, or something like a part of it, a part of it or something like a part of it, such as: the part, "I cut off some of his fingers," because "some" is a part of all the fingers, and an example of what is a meaning within the thing.
The student: The religion of Ibrahim.
The Shaykh : If you said, "I followed," "the religion of Ibrahim" is not suitable, because this is the first being feminine, and the intended meaning is the opposite, the intended meaning is the opposite. For example, if I said—well, I don't know if this is correct in Arabic—if I said, for example, "I sewed her garment," is that valid or not? Or for example, if I said, "I attained her knowledge," meaning I attained the woman's knowledge, I attained her knowledge. If I said, "I violated her honor," in any case, I think this is dependent on hearing, and that if the second is a part of the first, it acquires femininity through it, and if it is separate from it and an independent entity in itself, it does not acquire femininity, like "I killed Hind's boy" and the like.
The student: The verse is clear that it is some...
The Shaykh : Which one?
The student: The passing of the winds.