Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And some of the plural of many is sufficient in its placement *** like *arjul*, and the reverse came like *al-sufi*."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He says:
"And some of the plural of many is obligatory in its placement":
Yes, "in its placement" means according to the placement of the Arabic language, in the sense that some of these patterns may indicate plurality by virtue of linguistic convention. For example, *arjul* (feet); we do not say that *arjul* indicates only three feet, but rather it indicates three feet and more, up to an unlimited number, like *arjul*.
"And the reverse came": What is the reverse? That there exist patterns of the plural of many that are used for the plural of few, like *al-sufi*. What is *al-sufi* and what is its pattern?
The student: *Fa'al*.
The Shaykh : Hmm? *Fa'ul*. Its pattern is *fa'ul*, and *fa'ul* is one of the patterns of the plural of few, because there are only four patterns of the plural of few: *af'ala*, *af'al*, *fa'ala*, and what comes after? *Af'al*.
*Al-sufi* is *fa'ul*; it is not one of the patterns of the plural of few, but nevertheless it is used for the plural of many and for the plural of few. Yes, so we have understood that the issue is subject to what?
The student: The language.
The Shaykh : The Arabic language; it is subject to the Arabic language. But nevertheless, I see no objection to us establishing rules to which we refer what is ambiguous to us, even if these rules may often be inconsistent. Yes?
"And some of the plural of many is obligatory in its placement":
Yes, "in its placement" means according to the placement of the Arabic language, in the sense that some of these patterns may indicate plurality by virtue of linguistic convention. For example, *arjul* (feet); we do not say that *arjul* indicates only three feet, but rather it indicates three feet and more, up to an unlimited number, like *arjul*.
"And the reverse came": What is the reverse? That there exist patterns of the plural of many that are used for the plural of few, like *al-sufi*. What is *al-sufi* and what is its pattern?
The student: *Fa'al*.
The Shaykh : Hmm? *Fa'ul*. Its pattern is *fa'ul*, and *fa'ul* is one of the patterns of the plural of few, because there are only four patterns of the plural of few: *af'ala*, *af'al*, *fa'ala*, and what comes after? *Af'al*.
*Al-sufi* is *fa'ul*; it is not one of the patterns of the plural of few, but nevertheless it is used for the plural of many and for the plural of few. Yes, so we have understood that the issue is subject to what?
The student: The language.
The Shaykh : The Arabic language; it is subject to the Arabic language. But nevertheless, I see no objection to us establishing rules to which we refer what is ambiguous to us, even if these rules may often be inconsistent. Yes?