Explanation of Ibn Malik’s (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: “And he, by virtue of his precedence, attained distinction *** and thereby earned the praise of the beautiful”

The Shaykh : He said: “And he, by virtue of his precedence, attained distinction”. This refers to Ibn Ma’iyyah, where the preposition *ba* in *bi-sabaq* indicates causality, meaning “by reason of his precedence in composing the *Alfiyyah* in grammar.” It is not intended to mean precedence in time, for one who precedes in time may or may not have merit. Rather, it means by virtue of his precedence in composing the *Alfiyyah* in grammar. Yes.
“Attained distinction”. *Hāyiz* means one who has achieved the state of being superior due to his precedence in composing the *Alfiyyah* in grammar. The reason for this is that when he preceded in this matter, he opened the door for people to follow his model, and thus he had the merit of being a role model and an example.
“And thereby earned the praise of the beautiful”. This means he is deserving of beautiful praise. As for his statement: “The praise of the beautiful”, is *al-jamīl* (the beautiful) a descriptive attribute or a restrictive attribute? This depends on the disagreement among scholars regarding whether praise is only for good. If praise is only for good, then his statement: “the beautiful” is a descriptive attribute. If praise can be for both good and evil, then it is a restrictive attribute. The correct view is that it can be for both, as in the case of the funeral that passed by, where they praised it with evil, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Thus, praise can be for good and for evil, depending on what it is attributed to. Based on this, the praise is beautiful, and *al-jamīl* is a restrictive attribute. However, it is possible to say that even if praise is only for good, *al-jamīl* is still a restrictive attribute, because general praise for good may be beautiful or may be less than that, making *al-jamīl* a restrictive attribute. If praise is specific to good, then he is deserving of praise because he preceded in composing the *Alfiyyah* and opened the door for people. And whoever guides to good is like the one who does it. And whoever establishes a good practice in Islam has the reward of it and the reward of those who act upon it until the Day of Resurrection. Then the author said.