Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And if it is with *min* following a questioner *** then for both, be always a precursor."
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The Shaykh :"And if it is with *min* following a questioner":
"If it is": This is a conditional clause. The subject of *taka* (if it is) is hidden and obligatory, estimated to be "you," and its predicate is the word *mustafhim* (questioner). This means: And if you are a questioner with *min* following, meaning such that what comes after *min* is a question word. So what do we do?!
What comes after *min* appears at the end of the sentence. You say: "The man is better than the woman." *Min* comes after the woman at the end of the sentence because it comes after mentioning the preferred one. Yes, and you say, for example: "Winter is colder than summer," so *min* comes after.
If what comes after *min* is a question word, what do you do?!
If it remains in its place, we leave the rule, which is: "That the question word has the precedence", right? The question word is always first, or not?! For this reason, it must be brought forward if it is the predicate of the subject, as in: "Where is Zayd?" It must be brought forward. So what do we do? The author says:
"Then for both, be always a precursor"
"Then for both, be always a precursor": To what does the pronoun "for both" refer?
The student: *Min* and the question word.
The Shaykh : *Min* and the question word. "Be always a precursor": Be a precursor always whenever it comes. And the clause "for both" is the answer to the condition, which is his saying: "If it is".
In this verse, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) states a rule: "If the one being compared to is a question word, then it must be brought forward so that it is at the head of the sentence". And the cause for that?! Because the question word has the precedence.
"If it is": This is a conditional clause. The subject of *taka* (if it is) is hidden and obligatory, estimated to be "you," and its predicate is the word *mustafhim* (questioner). This means: And if you are a questioner with *min* following, meaning such that what comes after *min* is a question word. So what do we do?!
What comes after *min* appears at the end of the sentence. You say: "The man is better than the woman." *Min* comes after the woman at the end of the sentence because it comes after mentioning the preferred one. Yes, and you say, for example: "Winter is colder than summer," so *min* comes after.
If what comes after *min* is a question word, what do you do?!
If it remains in its place, we leave the rule, which is: "That the question word has the precedence", right? The question word is always first, or not?! For this reason, it must be brought forward if it is the predicate of the subject, as in: "Where is Zayd?" It must be brought forward. So what do we do? The author says:
"Then for both, be always a precursor"
"Then for both, be always a precursor": To what does the pronoun "for both" refer?
The student: *Min* and the question word.
The Shaykh : *Min* and the question word. "Be always a precursor": Be a precursor always whenever it comes. And the clause "for both" is the answer to the condition, which is his saying: "If it is".
In this verse, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) states a rule: "If the one being compared to is a question word, then it must be brought forward so that it is at the head of the sentence". And the cause for that?! Because the question word has the precedence.