Explanation of the saying of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And judge by the indefiniteness of that which is nunated *** from it, and the definiteness of the rest is clear."
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The Shaykh :"And judge by the indefiniteness of that which is nunated *** from it, and the definiteness of the rest is clear"
"Sawa" means: other than the indefinite. That is to say, if you come with a noun of action in the indefinite form, it is general. If you come with it in the nunated form, it is general. And if you come with it in the non-nunated form, it is specific. For example, a questioner asked me during the lesson, and I said to him: "Silence!" Then he asked another question. Is he compliant or not?
The student: Not compliant.
The Shaykh : No, he is compliant, because "Silence!" (Sah) regarding this speech is definite. If you say "Silence!" (Sahin), the meaning is: be silent about everything. And this is not known except by a scholar of grammar. Suppose you are in a gathering and someone wants to speak to you about something you do not want anyone to know about. Do you say to him "Silence!" (Sah) or "Silence!" (Sahin)?
The student: "Silence!" (Sah).
The Shaykh : "Silence!" (Sah) only?
The student: Yes, "Silence!" (Sah).
The Shaykh : Correct, "Silence!" (Sah), meaning yes, only, because you want him to be silent about this speech only. If you have a child and he wants to speak, and you do not want him to speak at all in the gathering, a small child, what do you say to him?
The student: "Silence!" (Sahin).
The Shaykh : You say: "Silence!" (Sahin), "Silence!" (Sahin) O boy, so that he does not speak with any speech. So the difference now, the difference is between what is intended to be general and what is intended to be specific. If you nunate it, it is for generality. If you do not nunate it, it is for specificity. And for this reason he said:
"And judge by the indefiniteness of that which is nunated *** from it, and the definiteness of the rest is clear"
Now, suppose someone started moving, moving in a way you do not want him to move. Yes, suppose he is in the lesson and started looking around. If the door opened, he looked. If the fan moved, he looked. If someone moved the recorder, he looked. If the book was opened, he looked. So I said to him: "Stop!" (Mah)? Huh?
The student: "Stop!" (Mah) or "Stop!" (Mahin)?
The Shaykh : Is it valid?
The student: It is valid.
The Shaykh : The problem is, if you say "Stop!" (Mahin), he does not open the book.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : So you say "Stop!" (Mah), meaning: refrain from this specific action which involves distraction from the lesson.
The student: ... distraction.
The Shaykh : And as for if you say "Stop!" (Mahin), what is the meaning? Refrain from everything, meaning do not move, and do not move the book with you, is that not so? This is a rule with them. And for this reason, a person can, a person can know if the student understood or not. For example, if he says to him "Silence!" (Sahin), he stopped speaking but brought another speech. Is he compliant or not compliant?
The student: Not compliant.
Another student: Compliant.
The Shaykh : No, we say to him "Silence!" (Sahin), so he stopped the speech he started with, but he came with another speech. We say you are now not compliant. But if I said to him "Silence!" (Sah) and then he brought another speech, would he be?
The student: Compliant.
The Shaykh : Compliant. But the one next to him, who appears to be righteous, will say to him "Silence!" (Sah) while he is making noise, yes or no? Because the common person does not distinguish between "Silence!" (Sahin) and "Silence!" (Sah).
The student: For him, they are all nunated.
The Shaykh : For him, they are all the same, meaning "Silence!" (Sah) for him is "be silent completely." And this is something you, O student of knowledge, can test those around you with. ... The students test each other with it. If he says "Silence!" (Sahin), it means be silent and do not say a single word. And if he says "Silence!" (Sah), it means?
The student: About this matter.
The Shaykh : About this specific speech only. And Allah knows best.
The student: We will apply this, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: We will apply it.
The Shaykh : How?
The student: We will apply this matter.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills, we will apply it in the future.
"Sawa" means: other than the indefinite. That is to say, if you come with a noun of action in the indefinite form, it is general. If you come with it in the nunated form, it is general. And if you come with it in the non-nunated form, it is specific. For example, a questioner asked me during the lesson, and I said to him: "Silence!" Then he asked another question. Is he compliant or not?
The student: Not compliant.
The Shaykh : No, he is compliant, because "Silence!" (Sah) regarding this speech is definite. If you say "Silence!" (Sahin), the meaning is: be silent about everything. And this is not known except by a scholar of grammar. Suppose you are in a gathering and someone wants to speak to you about something you do not want anyone to know about. Do you say to him "Silence!" (Sah) or "Silence!" (Sahin)?
The student: "Silence!" (Sah).
The Shaykh : "Silence!" (Sah) only?
The student: Yes, "Silence!" (Sah).
The Shaykh : Correct, "Silence!" (Sah), meaning yes, only, because you want him to be silent about this speech only. If you have a child and he wants to speak, and you do not want him to speak at all in the gathering, a small child, what do you say to him?
The student: "Silence!" (Sahin).
The Shaykh : You say: "Silence!" (Sahin), "Silence!" (Sahin) O boy, so that he does not speak with any speech. So the difference now, the difference is between what is intended to be general and what is intended to be specific. If you nunate it, it is for generality. If you do not nunate it, it is for specificity. And for this reason he said:
"And judge by the indefiniteness of that which is nunated *** from it, and the definiteness of the rest is clear"
Now, suppose someone started moving, moving in a way you do not want him to move. Yes, suppose he is in the lesson and started looking around. If the door opened, he looked. If the fan moved, he looked. If someone moved the recorder, he looked. If the book was opened, he looked. So I said to him: "Stop!" (Mah)? Huh?
The student: "Stop!" (Mah) or "Stop!" (Mahin)?
The Shaykh : Is it valid?
The student: It is valid.
The Shaykh : The problem is, if you say "Stop!" (Mahin), he does not open the book.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : So you say "Stop!" (Mah), meaning: refrain from this specific action which involves distraction from the lesson.
The student: ... distraction.
The Shaykh : And as for if you say "Stop!" (Mahin), what is the meaning? Refrain from everything, meaning do not move, and do not move the book with you, is that not so? This is a rule with them. And for this reason, a person can, a person can know if the student understood or not. For example, if he says to him "Silence!" (Sahin), he stopped speaking but brought another speech. Is he compliant or not compliant?
The student: Not compliant.
Another student: Compliant.
The Shaykh : No, we say to him "Silence!" (Sahin), so he stopped the speech he started with, but he came with another speech. We say you are now not compliant. But if I said to him "Silence!" (Sah) and then he brought another speech, would he be?
The student: Compliant.
The Shaykh : Compliant. But the one next to him, who appears to be righteous, will say to him "Silence!" (Sah) while he is making noise, yes or no? Because the common person does not distinguish between "Silence!" (Sahin) and "Silence!" (Sah).
The student: For him, they are all nunated.
The Shaykh : For him, they are all the same, meaning "Silence!" (Sah) for him is "be silent completely." And this is something you, O student of knowledge, can test those around you with. ... The students test each other with it. If he says "Silence!" (Sahin), it means be silent and do not say a single word. And if he says "Silence!" (Sah), it means?
The student: About this matter.
The Shaykh : About this specific speech only. And Allah knows best.
The student: We will apply this, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: We will apply it.
The Shaykh : How?
The student: We will apply this matter.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills, we will apply it in the future.