Explanation of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: " . . .
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The Shaykh : Now, the third case. He says: "And if the sentence is incomplete, it follows the requirements of the governing factors". What does "incomplete" mean? It means it has not completed its function; the sentence is not finished. So here he says: it follows the governing factors, specifically the factors preceding *illa* (except). If the factors require the nominative case, it is made nominative; if they require the accusative case, it is made accusative; and if they require the genitive case, it is made genitive, according to the factors. Now, the example is: *ma qama illa Zaydun* (No one stood up except Zayd). *Ma qama* is incomplete; the sentence is incomplete. *Illa Zaydun* completes the sentence now. We say that Zayd here follows the governing factors. What does the factor preceding *illa* require? What is it?
The student: The raising.
The Shaykh : It requires the nominative case, as it is the subject (*fa'il*). Accordingly, the nominative case is obligatory. So we say: *ma qama illa Zaydun*: *ma* is a negation particle, *qama* is a past tense verb, *illa* is a negated exception particle, and *Zaydun* is a subject in the nominative case, with the visible *dammah* at the end as its sign. Now, it is not permissible to say: *ma qama illa Zaydan*. This is impossible, because the factor before *illa* requires what?
The student: An accusative subject.
The Shaykh : A nominative subject. It is not permissible to say: *ma qama illa Zaydin*. Why? Because the factor requires it to be a subject, and the subject is in the nominative case. Now, *ma ra'aytu illa Zaydan* (I did not see except Zayd). The author says in the example: "And I did not strike except Zayd". *Ma darabtu illa Zaydan*. Here, the factor requires what comes after *illa* to be in the accusative case. *Ma darabtu illa Zaydan*. So we say: *ma darabtu* is a verb, a subject, and a negation particle; *illa* is a negated exception particle; and *Zaydan* is an object in the accusative case. We do not say it is an excluded item, because the factor preceding *illa* requires it to be an object. So we say: *Zaydan* is an object in the accusative case, with the visible *fathah* at the end as its sign. Now, *ma akaltu illa khubzan* (I did not eat except bread)? Is it similar?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is similar. *Ma shiribtu illa labnan* (I did not drink except milk)?
The student: It is like it.
The Shaykh : It is similar. And so on. As long as the factor requires it, it follows the governing factors. And he says: "I did not pass by except Zayd". *Ma marrtu illa bi-Zaydin*. *Ma marrtu* is a verb, a subject, and a negation particle; *illa* is a negated exception particle; *bi* is a preposition; and *Zayd* is a noun in the genitive case due to the preposition, with the visible *kasrah* at the end as its sign. Here, it is not permissible to say: *ma marrtu illa bi-Zaydan*. It is not permissible, because the factor requires what comes after *illa* to be in the genitive case, so it must be made genitive. Now, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) gave an example of the incomplete sentence accompanied by negation, and it is indeed so, because if you did not accompany it with negation, the sentence would not be correct. If you said: *marrtu illa Zaydan* (I passed by except Zayd), or if you said: *qama illa Zaydun* (Stood up except Zayd), would it be correct or not?
The student: It would not be correct.
The Shaykh : It would not be correct. *Ra'aytu illa Zaydan* (I saw except Zayd) would not be correct. It is not correct except with negation or something similar to it. And this is the third case for the excluded item with *illa*. And I think the matter is clear, praise be to Allah.
The student: The raising.
The Shaykh : It requires the nominative case, as it is the subject (*fa'il*). Accordingly, the nominative case is obligatory. So we say: *ma qama illa Zaydun*: *ma* is a negation particle, *qama* is a past tense verb, *illa* is a negated exception particle, and *Zaydun* is a subject in the nominative case, with the visible *dammah* at the end as its sign. Now, it is not permissible to say: *ma qama illa Zaydan*. This is impossible, because the factor before *illa* requires what?
The student: An accusative subject.
The Shaykh : A nominative subject. It is not permissible to say: *ma qama illa Zaydin*. Why? Because the factor requires it to be a subject, and the subject is in the nominative case. Now, *ma ra'aytu illa Zaydan* (I did not see except Zayd). The author says in the example: "And I did not strike except Zayd". *Ma darabtu illa Zaydan*. Here, the factor requires what comes after *illa* to be in the accusative case. *Ma darabtu illa Zaydan*. So we say: *ma darabtu* is a verb, a subject, and a negation particle; *illa* is a negated exception particle; and *Zaydan* is an object in the accusative case. We do not say it is an excluded item, because the factor preceding *illa* requires it to be an object. So we say: *Zaydan* is an object in the accusative case, with the visible *fathah* at the end as its sign. Now, *ma akaltu illa khubzan* (I did not eat except bread)? Is it similar?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is similar. *Ma shiribtu illa labnan* (I did not drink except milk)?
The student: It is like it.
The Shaykh : It is similar. And so on. As long as the factor requires it, it follows the governing factors. And he says: "I did not pass by except Zayd". *Ma marrtu illa bi-Zaydin*. *Ma marrtu* is a verb, a subject, and a negation particle; *illa* is a negated exception particle; *bi* is a preposition; and *Zayd* is a noun in the genitive case due to the preposition, with the visible *kasrah* at the end as its sign. Here, it is not permissible to say: *ma marrtu illa bi-Zaydan*. It is not permissible, because the factor requires what comes after *illa* to be in the genitive case, so it must be made genitive. Now, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) gave an example of the incomplete sentence accompanied by negation, and it is indeed so, because if you did not accompany it with negation, the sentence would not be correct. If you said: *marrtu illa Zaydan* (I passed by except Zayd), or if you said: *qama illa Zaydun* (Stood up except Zayd), would it be correct or not?
The student: It would not be correct.
The Shaykh : It would not be correct. *Ra'aytu illa Zaydan* (I saw except Zayd) would not be correct. It is not correct except with negation or something similar to it. And this is the third case for the excluded item with *illa*. And I think the matter is clear, praise be to Allah.