Explanation of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: "… The verbs are three: past, present, and imperative, such as *dhaba* (he struck), *yadhabu* (he strikes), and *udrib* (strike) …"

The Shaykh : He said: "The verbs are three: past, present, and imperative, such as *dhaba* (he struck), *yadhabu* (he strikes), and *udrib* (strike)" (may Allah have mercy on him). The verbs are three: the past, which is what indicates by its form a time that has passed; the present, which indicates the present or the future; and the imperative, which indicates the future. For this reason, the verbs are distributed across time: the past for the past, the imperative for the future, and the present for the present. For example: *dhaba* (he struck). When? In the past. *Dhaba* (he struck). Good. If *dhaba* (he struck) was now, after the 'Isha' adhan, is it correct to say "he struck now"? Yes, it is past. Every moment that passes is past. I mean, it does not have to be ten years ago; it is past. If you spoke the last letter of a word, it is past. *Dhaba* (he struck) is past, yes or no? It is past. Glory be to Allah. So *dhaba* (he struck) indicates the past action, even if it was recent. *Yadhabu* (he strikes) now. *Akala* (he ate).
The student: Past.

The Shaykh : Ah, it is past, it is finished. *Ya'kulu* (he is eating) now. Now he is eating. Everything from the start until now, I tell him "eat until now," he has not eaten. Good. Is the future far or near? I mean, it is correct whether it is far or near; the important thing is that it is for the future, from after it has started until now. So the verbs are divided among the times: the past, the second is the present, and the third is the imperative, such as *dhaba* (he struck), *yadhabu* (he strikes), and *udrib* (strike). The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explained their ruling regarding inflection, so he said.