Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "Kawhadh li-bayy wa-dawalay sa'day *** wa-shadhdh i'lā' yadī li-l-bayy."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"Kawhadh li-bayy wa-dawalay sa'day"
These are four words. "Wahd" (alone) does not come except as attached to a pronoun. For example, you say: "I went out alone" (kharajtu wahdī), yes, and "I saw you alone" (ra'aytuka wahdaka). You cannot say: "I went out alone" (kharajtu wahdan) meaning solitary, nor "I saw you alone" (ra'aytuka wahdan) meaning solitary. It must be attached to a pronoun. Is it attached to an explicit noun?
The student: No, it is prohibited.
The Shaykh : No, no, you can say: "I saw Zayd and his servant alone" (ra'aytu Zaydan wa-ghulāmah). You cannot say this because you attached it to an explicit noun, and it is prohibited for an explicit noun to follow it. Now, what is its grammatical case? "I saw the man alone" (ra'aytu al-rajula wahdah). Its case is a state (ḥāl), as we have mentioned in the chapter on states. Yes, and it is a state that is interpreted, because it is definite, and a state does not occur as definite, but it is interpreted as what?
The student: As "alone" (munfaridan).
The Shaykh : As "alone" (munfaridan). Now, "wahd li-bayy", what is "li-bayy"?
The student: "Labbayk" (Here I am for you).
The Shaykh : "Labbayk." "Labbayk" is always attached to a pronoun. It does not come alone, nor is it attached to an explicit noun. You do not say: "Labbay Zayd," yes, you cannot say: "Labbay Zayd," nor can you say: "Labbay Rabbī" (Here I am for my Lord), you cannot say that. Rather, it must be attached to a pronoun. Also, it is a pronoun of address, not a pronoun of absence, nor a pronoun of the speaker. So you cannot say: "Labbayy" (Here I am for myself), meaning as if you answered yourself, nor "Labbayhi" (Here I am for him), informing that you are responding to an absent person. Rather, you say: "Labbayk" (Here I am for you). Yes?
The student: The common people use this.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The student: "Labbayhi."
The Shaykh : Ah, but "Labbayhi" means "Labbayk" (Here I am for you), because the person called out to him and said "Labbayhi," meaning "Labbayk." They replace the kāf with a hā', meaning they make the kāf a hā'. Yes, now, "Labbay wa-dawalay", what is "dawalay"?
The student: "Dawalayk" (And here I am for you).
The Shaykh : "Dawalayk." It is said: "Thus, dawalayk." "Dawalayk" means the act of following one after another, derived from "tadallī" (following). It means that one follows the other, like the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Ali 'Imran 3:140]. Some people say its meaning is "idālah" (dominance) after "idālah," but that is not the case, because "idālah" means dominance, and it has no meaning in the context of "dawalayk." Its meaning is "tadallī" (following) and succession, so there is a difference between it and dominance. Yes, now, "wa-dawalay sa'day", is "sa'day" two?
The student: "Sa'dayk" (And my happiness is for you).
The Shaykh : Ah, "Sa'dayk." "Sa'dayk" means happiness after happiness. And happiness is either from giving happiness, or from consolation, dispelling sorrows, and comforting. In any case, it is not mentioned except with "Labbayk," so it is always subordinate to it. One says: "Labbayk wa-sa'dayk" (Here I am for you and my happiness is for you), as Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say this in his talbiyah:Sahih al-Bukhari 3348.
These are four words. "Wahd" (alone) does not come except as attached to a pronoun. For example, you say: "I went out alone" (kharajtu wahdī), yes, and "I saw you alone" (ra'aytuka wahdaka). You cannot say: "I went out alone" (kharajtu wahdan) meaning solitary, nor "I saw you alone" (ra'aytuka wahdan) meaning solitary. It must be attached to a pronoun. Is it attached to an explicit noun?
The student: No, it is prohibited.
The Shaykh : No, no, you can say: "I saw Zayd and his servant alone" (ra'aytu Zaydan wa-ghulāmah). You cannot say this because you attached it to an explicit noun, and it is prohibited for an explicit noun to follow it. Now, what is its grammatical case? "I saw the man alone" (ra'aytu al-rajula wahdah). Its case is a state (ḥāl), as we have mentioned in the chapter on states. Yes, and it is a state that is interpreted, because it is definite, and a state does not occur as definite, but it is interpreted as what?
The student: As "alone" (munfaridan).
The Shaykh : As "alone" (munfaridan). Now, "wahd li-bayy", what is "li-bayy"?
The student: "Labbayk" (Here I am for you).
The Shaykh : "Labbayk." "Labbayk" is always attached to a pronoun. It does not come alone, nor is it attached to an explicit noun. You do not say: "Labbay Zayd," yes, you cannot say: "Labbay Zayd," nor can you say: "Labbay Rabbī" (Here I am for my Lord), you cannot say that. Rather, it must be attached to a pronoun. Also, it is a pronoun of address, not a pronoun of absence, nor a pronoun of the speaker. So you cannot say: "Labbayy" (Here I am for myself), meaning as if you answered yourself, nor "Labbayhi" (Here I am for him), informing that you are responding to an absent person. Rather, you say: "Labbayk" (Here I am for you). Yes?
The student: The common people use this.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The student: "Labbayhi."
The Shaykh : Ah, but "Labbayhi" means "Labbayk" (Here I am for you), because the person called out to him and said "Labbayhi," meaning "Labbayk." They replace the kāf with a hā', meaning they make the kāf a hā'. Yes, now, "Labbay wa-dawalay", what is "dawalay"?
The student: "Dawalayk" (And here I am for you).
The Shaykh : "Dawalayk." It is said: "Thus, dawalayk." "Dawalayk" means the act of following one after another, derived from "tadallī" (following). It means that one follows the other, like the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people
وَتِلْكَ الأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِThe student: "Sa'dayk" (And my happiness is for you).
The Shaykh : Ah, "Sa'dayk." "Sa'dayk" means happiness after happiness. And happiness is either from giving happiness, or from consolation, dispelling sorrows, and comforting. In any case, it is not mentioned except with "Labbayk," so it is always subordinate to it. One says: "Labbayk wa-sa'dayk" (Here I am for you and my happiness is for you), as Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say this in his talbiyah: