Explanation of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: " . . .
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The Shaykh : The chapter on knowing the signs of inflection. When the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned inflection, he mentioned the signs of inflection: how do I know the sign of inflection? He said: "There are four signs for the nominative case". Pay attention: "There are four signs for the nominative case". They are original and substitute. One is original and the others are substitutes. They are the dammah, the waw, the alif, and the nun. Four signs. The dammah is the original, and the rest are substitutes for the dammah.
So, of the four signs, we say: one is original and the rest are substitutes. Therefore, the original rule is that the nominative case is marked by the dammah. You say: Muhammad, Zayd, Ali, Bakr, Khalid, and so on. The waw: it is also a sign for the nominative case, but as a substitute for the dammah. For example, you say: The Muslims came. "The Muslims" is the subject, but there is no dammah in it. Where is the dammah? The waw is a substitute for the dammah.
The alif is also a substitute for the dammah. So you say: The two men stood up. "The two men stood up." Where is the dammah? There is no dammah, but the alif is a substitute for the dammah. The nun: you say: The men stand up. "The men stand up." "Stand up" is a present tense verb in the nominative case. What is its sign of being in the nominative case? There is no dammah. Its sign of being in the nominative case is...
So, the nominative case has four signs: the dammah, the waw, the alif, and the nun. Which of these signs is the original one? The dammah, and the rest are substitutes for it. Good.
So, of the four signs, we say: one is original and the rest are substitutes. Therefore, the original rule is that the nominative case is marked by the dammah. You say: Muhammad, Zayd, Ali, Bakr, Khalid, and so on. The waw: it is also a sign for the nominative case, but as a substitute for the dammah. For example, you say: The Muslims came. "The Muslims" is the subject, but there is no dammah in it. Where is the dammah? The waw is a substitute for the dammah.
The alif is also a substitute for the dammah. So you say: The two men stood up. "The two men stood up." Where is the dammah? There is no dammah, but the alif is a substitute for the dammah. The nun: you say: The men stand up. "The men stand up." "Stand up" is a present tense verb in the nominative case. What is its sign of being in the nominative case? There is no dammah. Its sign of being in the nominative case is...
So, the nominative case has four signs: the dammah, the waw, the alif, and the nun. Which of these signs is the original one? The dammah, and the rest are substitutes for it. Good.