Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "Tālin bi-harf mutaba' 'atfu al-nisq *** ka-khassasa bi-wudh wa-thana' man saddaq."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : As for 'atf al-nisq in technical terminology, the author said regarding it:
"Tālin bi-harf mutaba' 'atfu al-nisq":
This is its definition. It is the following, meaning the dependent, by means of a following letter, meaning: "the dependent by means of the letter". This is 'atf al-nisq.
Whatever follows another by means of a letter, that is 'atf al-nisq. But the author stipulated, saying: "bi-harf mutaba'":
To exclude letters that are not followed, because for example, what follows the causal fā'—is it conjoined? What follows a preposition—is it conjoined?
So if I say, for example: "I looked at so-and-so": this is a causal letter, but this is a letter that is not followed, is it not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, what are the letters of following?
The letters of following are known to the scholars, and by what means did they know them?
By tracking and induction. They tracked the speech of the Arabs and found that when these letters come between two words, they make the second follow the first, making the second dependent on the first. So 'atf, therefore, must have an intermediary between the dependent and the followed. What is this intermediary? It is the letter of 'atf.
"Tālin bi-harf mutaba' 'atfu al-nisq":
The grammatical parsing of this verse is problematic, because he said: "tālin" with a kasrah.
The student: A preceding predicate.
The Shaykh : Tālin?
The student: It has a kasrah.
The Shaykh : With a kasrah.
The student: A dammah is implied on the deleted yā'.
The Shaykh : On the deleted yā'?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and its original form is: tāli, with a yā', but the yā' was deleted and the kasrah remained, tāl. Is it a predicate or a subject?
"Tālin bi-harf mutaba' 'atfu al-nisq":
This is its definition. It is the following, meaning the dependent, by means of a following letter, meaning: "the dependent by means of the letter". This is 'atf al-nisq.
Whatever follows another by means of a letter, that is 'atf al-nisq. But the author stipulated, saying: "bi-harf mutaba'":
To exclude letters that are not followed, because for example, what follows the causal fā'—is it conjoined? What follows a preposition—is it conjoined?
So if I say, for example: "I looked at so-and-so": this is a causal letter, but this is a letter that is not followed, is it not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, what are the letters of following?
The letters of following are known to the scholars, and by what means did they know them?
By tracking and induction. They tracked the speech of the Arabs and found that when these letters come between two words, they make the second follow the first, making the second dependent on the first. So 'atf, therefore, must have an intermediary between the dependent and the followed. What is this intermediary? It is the letter of 'atf.
"Tālin bi-harf mutaba' 'atfu al-nisq":
The grammatical parsing of this verse is problematic, because he said: "tālin" with a kasrah.
The student: A preceding predicate.
The Shaykh : Tālin?
The student: It has a kasrah.
The Shaykh : With a kasrah.
The student: A dammah is implied on the deleted yā'.
The Shaykh : On the deleted yā'?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and its original form is: tāli, with a yā', but the yā' was deleted and the kasrah remained, tāl. Is it a predicate or a subject?