Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "Raise with a dammah, and lower with a fathah, and decline with a kasrah, as the mention of Allah makes His servant easy."
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The Shaykh : He said: "Raise with a dammah". This is the sign of the nominative case. "Raise with a dammah". "Raise" is an imperative verb. Is the imperative here for recommendation or for obligation? The imperative is for obligation. You must raise with a dammah. You raise with a dammah, so you say: "Zayd stood up" (with a dammah). It is not permissible to say "Zayd stood up" (with a kasrah), and it is not permissible to say "Zayd stood up" (with a fathah).
"Raise with a dammah and lower with a fathah". This means "lower with a fathah." "Lower" is an imperative verb built on the fathah because it is connected to the nūn of emphasis. And his saying: "with a fathah" is in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, and the intended meaning is "lower with a fathah." "And decline with a kasrah". We say regarding "decline with a kasrah" what we said regarding "lower with a fathah", meaning that "kasrah" is in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, i.e., "decline with a kasrah." So the sign of the nominative case is what?
The student: With the dammah.
The Shaykh : And the accusative case.
The student: The fathah.
The Shaykh : And the genitive case is the kasrah. Then he gave an example and said: "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy". "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy" or "As the mention of Allah, His servant is easy." Which one? Let us see, brothers. Both are correct, but which is better? If we say "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy," the meaning is that when Allah mentions His servant, He makes him easy. If we say "As the mention of Allah, His servant is easy," the meaning is that when the servant mentions Allah, he is pleased by it. Which is better? That Allah mentions you, or that you mention Allah? Yes, that Allah mentions you.[Ali 'Imran 3:31] Therefore, it is better to say: "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy". Now, let us parse it.
First, the kāf: it is a preposition. "The mention of Allah makes His servant easy" is a noun in the genitive case by the kāf. The noun is in the genitive case by the kāf, and the sign of its genitive case is a kasrah that is estimated at the end of it, the appearance of which is prevented by the recitation. Do you understand this? It is an easy parsing: to make the entire sentence in the genitive case.
If someone asks: How is this? We say: It is on the assumption that the sentence means "this phrase," meaning as if he said: "Like this phrase," "Like this phrase." So it stands in place of the speaker saying what? "This phrase." And if you wish, say: The kāf is a preposition, and the genitive noun is omitted, and the intended meaning is "Like your saying: The mention of Allah makes His servant easy." Then you parse "mention" as a subject (mubtada'), and it is added to the Name of Allah. "His servant" is the object of "mention." Correct? So the verbal noun here is added to what? To the doer. It is added to the doer, meaning as if they say "Allah is mentioned," i.e., the intended meaning is "As if Allah mentions His servant, He makes him easy." Now, the sentence "makes him easy" is in the position of the predicate (khabar) of "mention," the predicate of the subject.
This example contains the nominative case. It contains the nominative case in the noun and the verb. And where? "Mention" (with a dammah) is the nominative case in the noun. "Makes him easy" is the nominative case in the verb. And it contains the genitive case: "Servant of Allah" in "As the mention of Allah." Now, it contains the accusative case: "His servant" in "makes His servant easy." "His servant" alone. So it contains the nominative, accusative, and genitive cases. Does it contain the jussive case? No. But he said: "And make jussive with sukūn". "Make jussive with sukūn" means that when the verb is in the jussive case, it is marked with sukūn. You say: "Zayd did not stand up." "Did not stand up" has a clear sukūn. Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), I do not know if he intended this or not, or if the necessity of the verse forced him to say: "Raise with a dammah and make jussive with sukūn". The two ends came with the preposition, and the middle had the preposition omitted. The preposition was omitted, so it is as if he is saying: The hidden is like the apparent. The hidden in the middle is like the apparent in the sides. Meaning that his saying: "Lower with a fathah and decline with a kasrah", yes, are in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, as we said. "Raise with a dammah and make jussive with sukūn." I do not know if he intended this or if the verse led him to what it became. In any case, brothers, now.
The student: It is not clear. If you could re-explain this.
The Shaykh : Which one? Yes, the explanation. The author mentioned, may Allah have mercy on him, the dammah, the genitive, the accusative, the genitive, and the jussive. But the nominative, what did he say? He said: "Raise with a dammah". The fathah, he said: "Lower with a fathah". And we said: The meaning of his saying "lower with a fathah" is "with a fathah." And "decline with a kasrah" means "with a kasrah," in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition.
"Raise with a dammah and lower with a fathah". This means "lower with a fathah." "Lower" is an imperative verb built on the fathah because it is connected to the nūn of emphasis. And his saying: "with a fathah" is in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, and the intended meaning is "lower with a fathah." "And decline with a kasrah". We say regarding "decline with a kasrah" what we said regarding "lower with a fathah", meaning that "kasrah" is in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, i.e., "decline with a kasrah." So the sign of the nominative case is what?
The student: With the dammah.
The Shaykh : And the accusative case.
The student: The fathah.
The Shaykh : And the genitive case is the kasrah. Then he gave an example and said: "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy". "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy" or "As the mention of Allah, His servant is easy." Which one? Let us see, brothers. Both are correct, but which is better? If we say "As the mention of Allah makes His servant easy," the meaning is that when Allah mentions His servant, He makes him easy. If we say "As the mention of Allah, His servant is easy," the meaning is that when the servant mentions Allah, he is pleased by it. Which is better? That Allah mentions you, or that you mention Allah? Yes, that Allah mentions you.
Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you
قل إن كنتم تحبون الله فاتبعوني يحببكم اللهSo remember Me; I will remember you
فاذكروني أذكركمFirst, the kāf: it is a preposition. "The mention of Allah makes His servant easy" is a noun in the genitive case by the kāf. The noun is in the genitive case by the kāf, and the sign of its genitive case is a kasrah that is estimated at the end of it, the appearance of which is prevented by the recitation. Do you understand this? It is an easy parsing: to make the entire sentence in the genitive case.
If someone asks: How is this? We say: It is on the assumption that the sentence means "this phrase," meaning as if he said: "Like this phrase," "Like this phrase." So it stands in place of the speaker saying what? "This phrase." And if you wish, say: The kāf is a preposition, and the genitive noun is omitted, and the intended meaning is "Like your saying: The mention of Allah makes His servant easy." Then you parse "mention" as a subject (mubtada'), and it is added to the Name of Allah. "His servant" is the object of "mention." Correct? So the verbal noun here is added to what? To the doer. It is added to the doer, meaning as if they say "Allah is mentioned," i.e., the intended meaning is "As if Allah mentions His servant, He makes him easy." Now, the sentence "makes him easy" is in the position of the predicate (khabar) of "mention," the predicate of the subject.
This example contains the nominative case. It contains the nominative case in the noun and the verb. And where? "Mention" (with a dammah) is the nominative case in the noun. "Makes him easy" is the nominative case in the verb. And it contains the genitive case: "Servant of Allah" in "As the mention of Allah." Now, it contains the accusative case: "His servant" in "makes His servant easy." "His servant" alone. So it contains the nominative, accusative, and genitive cases. Does it contain the jussive case? No. But he said: "And make jussive with sukūn". "Make jussive with sukūn" means that when the verb is in the jussive case, it is marked with sukūn. You say: "Zayd did not stand up." "Did not stand up" has a clear sukūn. Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), I do not know if he intended this or not, or if the necessity of the verse forced him to say: "Raise with a dammah and make jussive with sukūn". The two ends came with the preposition, and the middle had the preposition omitted. The preposition was omitted, so it is as if he is saying: The hidden is like the apparent. The hidden in the middle is like the apparent in the sides. Meaning that his saying: "Lower with a fathah and decline with a kasrah", yes, are in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition, as we said. "Raise with a dammah and make jussive with sukūn." I do not know if he intended this or if the verse led him to what it became. In any case, brothers, now.
The student: It is not clear. If you could re-explain this.
The Shaykh : Which one? Yes, the explanation. The author mentioned, may Allah have mercy on him, the dammah, the genitive, the accusative, the genitive, and the jussive. But the nominative, what did he say? He said: "Raise with a dammah". The fathah, he said: "Lower with a fathah". And we said: The meaning of his saying "lower with a fathah" is "with a fathah." And "decline with a kasrah" means "with a kasrah," in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition.