Explanation of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: " . . .
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He said, "The definite noun is five things", counted by their individual instances or by their types.
The student: By their types.
The Shaykh : By their types. The first is "the hidden noun". The hidden noun; so what is the hidden noun? The hidden noun.
Some of them defined it as: what is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity. What is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity.
An example is if I say, "I am standing." The word "I" is used in place of Muhammad ibn Salih ibn Uthaymeen standing, meaning these three words. Or "I," which of them is shorter? "I," even though it is also clearer than the explicit noun, so it is used in place of the explicit noun for brevity and clarification. Good.
If I say, "You are standing," addressing a man named Ali ibn Abdullah al-Muflih, a man named Ali ibn Abdullah al-Muflih, addressing him, you say, "You are standing." If you were to use the explicit noun, you would say, "Ali ibn Salih al-Muflih is standing." Which is shorter?
The student: You.
The Shaykh : "You are standing." And which is clearer and more distinct?
The student: You.
The Shaykh : "You are standing," because Ali ibn Salih al-Muflih might be a man who is not present, but "You are standing" clearly refers to a man who is present. Good.
So some of them say that the definition of the pronoun is: what is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity. And some of them say, "The pronoun is what indicates a present or absent person with known words". "What indicates a present or absent person with known words". "I" and "you" indicate a present person, correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : "He" indicates an absent person with known words, which are "I," "you (masculine)," "you (feminine)," and "you two," as we have passed through previously. So every pronoun is a definite noun. Every pronoun is a definite noun. Perfect.
And the author began with pronouns because they are the most known of the definite nouns, because they are the most known of the definite nouns. And you know that knowledge is the opposite of ignorance, so knowledge means the known, not the unknown. The most known of the definite nouns is the pronoun. It is the pronoun, because if you say "I," it does not allow for anyone other than you. "You," here, the speech does not allow for anyone other than you. "He" does not allow for anyone other than the one referred to. But if you say "Zayd," "Amr," "Bakr," "Khalid," correct, it specifies, meaning it is not "Zayd" like the word "man," but it is a broader circle than the pronoun. And for this reason, we say that pronouns are the most known of the definite nouns. Some scholars excluded the names specific to Allah, may He be Exalted, and said that they are the most known of the definite nouns. They said that "Allah" is a proper name for the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and these are the most known of the definite nouns because they do not allow for anything other than Him. They do not allow for anything other than Him. Good.
So we say that the most known of the definite nouns are the pronouns, except for the names specific to Allah, may He be Exalted, which are more known than the pronouns because they do not allow for anything other than Allah and are not suitable for anything other than Allah. They are not suitable for anything other than Allah. Good.
The author says, "The hidden noun, such as I and you". I wish he had included the word "he" so that it would cover the types of pronouns. "I" is for the speaker, "you" is for the one addressed, and "he" is for the absent person. So if the author (may Allah have mercy on him) had included "he," the pronoun would have been complete. Good.
I think the speech on these pronouns has already passed, or has it not passed? Good.
The second is "the proper name". The proper name is from the definite nouns, and it is in the second rank. And the proper name is what specifies its referent absolutely. Ibn Malik said:
"A name that specifies the referent absolutely *** Its knowledge is like Ja'far and Kharanqa"
So the proper name is what specifies the referent with absolute specification without restriction. For example, the author says, "such as Zayd and Makkah". Zayd is a proper name for a rational being, and Makkah is a proper name for a non-rational being. Good.
Zayd is a proper name for a rational being, and there are others other than Zayd, such as Amr, Khalid, Bakr, Abdullah, Abdulrahman, and many others. Good. Makkah is a proper name for a non-rational being, and there are others other than Makkah. There is Taybah, a name for the city. Yes, Unaizah is a name for this village, Buraydah is a name for the neighboring village, and many other things. What is the need to enumerate these? It is a proper name for what? For a non-rational being.
And from the proper names for non-rational beings, for non-rational beings, are al-Udhibah and al-Quswa, and they are the names of two she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Good.
This is the proper name. So the proper name comes in the second rank of the ranks of definite nouns, except for the proper name specific to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, which is in the first rank before everything. Good.
The student: By their types.
The Shaykh : By their types. The first is "the hidden noun". The hidden noun; so what is the hidden noun? The hidden noun.
Some of them defined it as: what is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity. What is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity.
An example is if I say, "I am standing." The word "I" is used in place of Muhammad ibn Salih ibn Uthaymeen standing, meaning these three words. Or "I," which of them is shorter? "I," even though it is also clearer than the explicit noun, so it is used in place of the explicit noun for brevity and clarification. Good.
If I say, "You are standing," addressing a man named Ali ibn Abdullah al-Muflih, a man named Ali ibn Abdullah al-Muflih, addressing him, you say, "You are standing." If you were to use the explicit noun, you would say, "Ali ibn Salih al-Muflih is standing." Which is shorter?
The student: You.
The Shaykh : "You are standing." And which is clearer and more distinct?
The student: You.
The Shaykh : "You are standing," because Ali ibn Salih al-Muflih might be a man who is not present, but "You are standing" clearly refers to a man who is present. Good.
So some of them say that the definition of the pronoun is: what is used in place of the explicit noun for the sake of brevity. And some of them say, "The pronoun is what indicates a present or absent person with known words". "What indicates a present or absent person with known words". "I" and "you" indicate a present person, correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : "He" indicates an absent person with known words, which are "I," "you (masculine)," "you (feminine)," and "you two," as we have passed through previously. So every pronoun is a definite noun. Every pronoun is a definite noun. Perfect.
And the author began with pronouns because they are the most known of the definite nouns, because they are the most known of the definite nouns. And you know that knowledge is the opposite of ignorance, so knowledge means the known, not the unknown. The most known of the definite nouns is the pronoun. It is the pronoun, because if you say "I," it does not allow for anyone other than you. "You," here, the speech does not allow for anyone other than you. "He" does not allow for anyone other than the one referred to. But if you say "Zayd," "Amr," "Bakr," "Khalid," correct, it specifies, meaning it is not "Zayd" like the word "man," but it is a broader circle than the pronoun. And for this reason, we say that pronouns are the most known of the definite nouns. Some scholars excluded the names specific to Allah, may He be Exalted, and said that they are the most known of the definite nouns. They said that "Allah" is a proper name for the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and these are the most known of the definite nouns because they do not allow for anything other than Him. They do not allow for anything other than Him. Good.
So we say that the most known of the definite nouns are the pronouns, except for the names specific to Allah, may He be Exalted, which are more known than the pronouns because they do not allow for anything other than Allah and are not suitable for anything other than Allah. They are not suitable for anything other than Allah. Good.
The author says, "The hidden noun, such as I and you". I wish he had included the word "he" so that it would cover the types of pronouns. "I" is for the speaker, "you" is for the one addressed, and "he" is for the absent person. So if the author (may Allah have mercy on him) had included "he," the pronoun would have been complete. Good.
I think the speech on these pronouns has already passed, or has it not passed? Good.
The second is "the proper name". The proper name is from the definite nouns, and it is in the second rank. And the proper name is what specifies its referent absolutely. Ibn Malik said:
"A name that specifies the referent absolutely *** Its knowledge is like Ja'far and Kharanqa"
So the proper name is what specifies the referent with absolute specification without restriction. For example, the author says, "such as Zayd and Makkah". Zayd is a proper name for a rational being, and Makkah is a proper name for a non-rational being. Good.
Zayd is a proper name for a rational being, and there are others other than Zayd, such as Amr, Khalid, Bakr, Abdullah, Abdulrahman, and many others. Good. Makkah is a proper name for a non-rational being, and there are others other than Makkah. There is Taybah, a name for the city. Yes, Unaizah is a name for this village, Buraydah is a name for the neighboring village, and many other things. What is the need to enumerate these? It is a proper name for what? For a non-rational being.
And from the proper names for non-rational beings, for non-rational beings, are al-Udhibah and al-Quswa, and they are the names of two she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Good.
This is the proper name. So the proper name comes in the second rank of the ranks of definite nouns, except for the proper name specific to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, which is in the first rank before everything. Good.