Explanation of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: "Speech: It is the compound phrase, beneficial by convention..."
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The Shaykh : What is speech? He said: "Speech: It is the compound phrase, beneficial by convention". By speech here, he means speech in the terminology of grammarians. "It is the phrase", and the phrase means utterance with the tongue. "Compound" means a compound of predication that yields benefit, unlike a compound of addition, which is not speech. It must be a compound of predication.
"Beneficial". Beneficial in what way? It yields a benefit for which it is appropriate to remain silent, and it is not required that the benefit be new. Even if the benefit is already known, there is no harm; it is still called speech.
By our saying "the phrase", we exclude writing, for writing is not speech in the terminology of grammarians. We also exclude gestures, for a gesture is not speech, even if it is understood. For this reason, if you say to a person who is standing... it conveys meaning, but it is not called speech. If you say "Sit," it becomes speech. If you see a person standing and you write "Sit" on a piece of paper, it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. Why? Because it is not a phrase. It is not a phrase. It is called speech in the Shari'ah and it is called speech among jurists, but it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. Otherwise, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) equated the written bequest with the spoken bequest. He said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3616Sahih (Darussalam) All right.
"Compound". Compound means that which is composed of two words or more, whether actually or implied. Pay attention: it is composed of two words or more, whether actually or implied. If I ask, is this a phrase or not? Yes, it is a phrase. Is this not a phrase, O Khalid? It is a phrase, but it is not compound, so it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. It must be composed of two words or more, either actually or implied. For example, actually, if I say "Zayd stood up," this is composed of "stood up" and "Zayd" actually. Implied, if I say "Stand up," this is not composed of two words; it is not composed of two words in reality, but it is implied, because "stand up" contains a hidden pronoun. A hidden pronoun is equivalent to... equivalent to... So it is composed of what? Of two words.
"Beneficial". Beneficial in what way? It yields a benefit for which it is appropriate to remain silent, and it is not required that the benefit be new. Even if the benefit is already known, there is no harm; it is still called speech.
By our saying "the phrase", we exclude writing, for writing is not speech in the terminology of grammarians. We also exclude gestures, for a gesture is not speech, even if it is understood. For this reason, if you say to a person who is standing... it conveys meaning, but it is not called speech. If you say "Sit," it becomes speech. If you see a person standing and you write "Sit" on a piece of paper, it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. Why? Because it is not a phrase. It is not a phrase. It is called speech in the Shari'ah and it is called speech among jurists, but it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. Otherwise, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) equated the written bequest with the spoken bequest. He said:
It is not befitting for a Muslim who has anything concerning which a will should be made, to abide for two nights without having a written will with him.
ما حق امرئ مسلم يبيت ليلتين أو شيء يوصي فيه يبيت ليلتين إلا ووصيته مكتوبة عنده"Compound". Compound means that which is composed of two words or more, whether actually or implied. Pay attention: it is composed of two words or more, whether actually or implied. If I ask, is this a phrase or not? Yes, it is a phrase. Is this not a phrase, O Khalid? It is a phrase, but it is not compound, so it is not called speech in the terminology of grammarians. It must be composed of two words or more, either actually or implied. For example, actually, if I say "Zayd stood up," this is composed of "stood up" and "Zayd" actually. Implied, if I say "Stand up," this is not composed of two words; it is not composed of two words in reality, but it is implied, because "stand up" contains a hidden pronoun. A hidden pronoun is equivalent to... equivalent to... So it is composed of what? Of two words.