Explanation of the statement of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): Plurals of Broken Plurals.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And plurals of many?
The student: To no end.
The Shaykh : Plurals of many start from three to no end. So if I said: I have loaves for you, I have loaves for you: is this plural few or many?
The student: Few.
The Shaykh : Huh? Few, so you went and it became obligatory for me to give you three loaves, and I gave them to you, so you said: No, I want twenty loaves, what do I say? I say: It is not possible, because the limit of the plural of few is how much? Ten according to all opinions, it is not possible for me to give you more than this, and the least that is obligatory upon me is the least that the name applies to, and the least that the plural applies to is how much?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three, but with that, do not take our statement as a legal ruling, but we want to speak about what the rules of grammar require, except that declarations are subject to what? To the customs of people, to the customs of people, so it may be that the indication of custom in the plural of few is for many, and it may be the opposite.
The student: To no end.
The Shaykh : Plurals of many start from three to no end. So if I said: I have loaves for you, I have loaves for you: is this plural few or many?
The student: Few.
The Shaykh : Huh? Few, so you went and it became obligatory for me to give you three loaves, and I gave them to you, so you said: No, I want twenty loaves, what do I say? I say: It is not possible, because the limit of the plural of few is how much? Ten according to all opinions, it is not possible for me to give you more than this, and the least that is obligatory upon me is the least that the name applies to, and the least that the plural applies to is how much?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three, but with that, do not take our statement as a legal ruling, but we want to speak about what the rules of grammar require, except that declarations are subject to what? To the customs of people, to the customs of people, so it may be that the indication of custom in the plural of few is for many, and it may be the opposite.