Sarf - The rules for تَعلِیل - A summary of اجوف and ناقِص

We already know that there are three letters in the Arabic alphabet which are called ﺣﹹﺮﹸﻭﻑﹺ ﻋﹻﻠﳲﺖ (or the weak letters), namely ﻭ and ﺍ and ﻱ. The presence of these letters within the base letters of a verb will cause certain changes to occur which can change the final form of the verb. In this post, Insha Allah, I will list down the rules which deal with ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ occurring at the  ﻻﻡ position and the  ﻉ position of the verb. Most of these rules have already been encountered when we discussed the ﺃﺟﹿﻮﹶﻑ and the ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb (discussed here and here). Since there are quite a few of these rules,  and because we will see many of them in future ﺻﹷﺮﹾﻑ discussions, therefore it is beneficial to list these at one place for reference purposes.

Rules for ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ:

1. Simple Change to Alif rule: Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ﻱ preceded by a ﻣﹷﻔﹿﺘﹹﻮﺡ letter, change the واو or ﻱ to ﺍ. See here for examples of this rule
2. The ﻣﹻﻴﺰﺍﻥﹲ rule: Any واو which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ. See here for examples of this rule
3. Whenever the ﻉ position of a passive ﻣﺎﺿﻰ is a واو or ﻱ remove the vowel from the letter before it and transfer the ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ to this letter. See here for examples of this rule
4. Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ﻱ preceded by a ﺳﹹﻜﹹﻮﻥ , transfer the vowel from the weak letter to the letter before it. Now, if the vowel being transfered is a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ then change this letter to an ﺍ. See here for examples of this rule

Rules for ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ:

1. The Edge Rule: It states that “any ﻻﻡ position ﻭ (i.e. occurring at the edge of a word) preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ “. This is depicted by the first ﻣﺎﺿﻰ conjugation of ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ which was originally ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻮﹶ. See here for examples of this rule
2. Fourth Position or Beyond Rule: If a ﻭ comes in the fourth position or later in a word and it is not preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ ﻭ, it changes into a ﻯ. See here for examples of this rule
3. Whenever there is a ﻻﻡ position ﻭ or ﻯ preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ, make the ﻭ or the ﻯ as ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ. Now, if the ﻭ or ﻯ is preceded by an appropriate short vowel and followed by an appropriate long vowel (see here for this discussion) then drop this ﻭ or ﻯ. The change of ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹸﻭﹾﻥﹶ to ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ is handled by this rule
4. If there is a ﻭ or ﺍ or ﻱ at the end of a verb then they are dropped in case of ﺟﹷﺰﹶﻡﹾ. For example, ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻡﹺ which was originally ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻰ or ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻉﹸ which was originally ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ

Hopefully this list will come in handy for the students of ﺻﹷﺮﹾﻑ when dealing with ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ and ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verbs. Insha Allah, in the future, I will post about other هفتِ أقسام and their governing rules as well.

Announcement

The PDF Files page has been totally revamped. There are two reasons for doing this:

1. The Shariah Program course is winding down rapidly for the 2007 class (unfortunately there will be no 2^nd year for us because of low number of students) and so I wanted to put whatever I had noted down in the class on this blog
2. One of my readers has suggested that I clean up the PDF Files section and assign some kind of numbering to the files so that readers do not have diffciulty deciding which sections comes first and which come later

Hence, I have divided the PDF Files page in 3 sections (General, Nahw, and Sarf) and all the older posts from the blog have now been uploaded in PDF format as well. Also, I have tried my best to put some order to these files so that new readers will not find it difficult as to where to start when undertaking their Classical Arabic studies. Hopefully, this will be of some help to my readers, Insha Allah!

Nahw - The Followers - التوابع

There are numerous instances in Arabic Language where an ﺍﹺﺳﻢ is followed by another ﺍﹺﺳﻢ. The idea is to build sentences like “tall boy“, or “The student has a book and a pen“, or “Zaid and Amr both are sick” etc. In such cases the ﺍﹺﺳﻢ which comes later is called ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ (the follower) and the one which it follows is called ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ (the followed one). The ﺇﹺﻋﹿﺮﺍﺏ of ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ are in accordance with its ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ

The ﺗﹷﻮﹶﺍﺑﹻﻊ are of 5 kinds:

• ﺻﹻﻔﹿﺖ or the Adjective
• ﻋﹷﻄﹷﻒﹾ or the Conjunction
• ﺗﹷﺎﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪ or Emphasis
• ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ or the Substitution
• ﻋﹷﻄﹿﻒﹺﺑﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥ or the Explanatory Attachment

ﺻﹻﻔﹿﺖ : In Arabic the ﺻﹻﻔﹿﺖ follows its ﻣﹷﻮﺻﹹﻮﻑ and agrees with it in

1. Grammatical State
2. Definitiveness
3. Number
4. Gender

Examples of this kind of structure are ﺭﹶﺟﹹﻞﹲﻛﹷﺮﹺﻳﹿﻢﹲ (a noble man), ﻋﹷﻠﻰٰ ﺻﹻﺮﹶﺍﻃﹴﻣﹹﺴﹿﺘﹷﻘﹻﻴﹿﻢ (upon the right path) or ﺍﻟﻂﳲﺎﻟﹻﺒﹷﺎﻥﹺﻗﹷﺎﺭﹺﺋﹷﺘﹷﺎﻥﹺﻛﹻﺘﹷﺎﺑﹷﻴﹿﻦﹺﻣﹹﻔﹻﻴﹿﺪﹶﻳﹿﻦﹺ (Two students are reading two beneficial books)

ﻋﹷﻄﹷﻒﹾ or the Conjunction, as it is called in English, is used to connect two ﺍﹺﺳﻢ which are in the same ruling. The ﺍﹺﺳﻢ occurring before the ﺣﹷﺮﹾﻑﹺ ﻋﹷﻄﹷﻒﹾ (i.e. the ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ ) is called ﻣﹷﻌﹿﻄﹹﻮﹾﻑ ﻋﹷﻠﹷﻴﻪ and the one following it (i.e. the ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ) is called ﻣﹷﻌﹿﻄﹹﻮﹾﻑ . Some of the commonly used ﺣﹷﺮﹸﻭﻑﹺ ﻋﹷﻄﹷﻒﹾ are:

• ﻭ (and): This is used to join two independent words or sentences e.g.

ﺳﹷﻌﹿﺪﹲ ﻭ ﹶﻋﹷﻠﹻﻰﹲ ﺻﹷﺤﹷﺎﺑﹻﻴﳲﺎﻥﹺ (Sa’ad and Ali are Sahabi). If ﻭ is connecting two sentences and the second one is a ﺟﹹﻤﹿﻠﹷﺔ ﺍﹺﺳﻤﹻﻴﳲﺔ then ﻭ takes on the meaning of while and such a sentence introduced by the ﻭ is called ﺟﹹﻤﹿﻠﹷﺔ ﺣﹷﺎﻟﹻﻴﳲﺔ. For example, ﻗﹷﺎﻡﹶ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﹲ ﻭﹶ ﻫﹹﻮﹶﻳﹷﺒﹿﻜﹻﻲﹾ (Zaid stood up [while] weeping)

• ﻓ (and so, and then, and consequently): This is sometimes used to join words but is more generally used to join sentences where it indicates a development in the narrative. Thus, when joining two clauses, it shows either that the latter is immediately subsequent to the former in time, or that it is connected with it by some internal link, like cause and effect: for example,

ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻬﹻﻢﹾﺑﹻﺤﹻﺠﹷﺎﺭﹶﺓﹴﻣﹻﻦﹾﺳﹻﺠﳴﻴﻞﹾ ﻓﹷﺠﹷﻌﹷﻠﹷﻬﹹﻢﹾ ﻛﹷﻌﹷﺼﹿﻒﹴ ﻣﹷﺎﹾﻛﹹﻮﻝﹾ (Casting against them stones of baked clay, So He rendered them like straw eaten up)

• ﺛﹹﻢﱠ (then): This conjunction is used to imply succession at an interval. E.g.

ﻓﹷﺘﹷﻮﹶﻟﳲﻰٰ ﻓﹻﺮﹾﻋﹷﻮﻥ ﹸ ﻓﹷﺠﹷﻤﹷﻊﹶ ﻛﹷﻴﹿﺪﹶﻩﹸ ﺛﹹﻢﱠ ﺃﹶﺗﻰٰ (Then Pharaoh withdrew and concerted his plan and then came to the place of appointment)

• ﺃﹶﻭﹾ(or): For example:

ﻭﹶ ﻗﺎﻟﹹﻮﹾ ﻟﹷﻦﹾ ﻧﹹﻮﹾﻣﹻﻦﹶ ﻟﹷﻚﹶ ﺣﹷﺘﳲﻰٰ ﺗﹷﻔﹿﺠﹹﺮﹶﻟﹷﻨﺎ ﻣﹻﻦﹶ ﺍﻷﹶﺭﹾﺽﹺ ﻳﹷﻨﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻋﺎﹰ ﺃﹶﻭﹾ ﺗﹷﻜﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ ﻟﹷﻚﹶ ﺟﹷﻨﳲﺔﹲ (They say, “We will not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush out of the ground or you have a garden…)

• ﺃﹶﻡﹾ (or): This is used in interrogative structures, for example:

ﺃﹶﻡﹾ ﻟﹷﻜﹹﻢﹾ ﺑﹷﺮﹶﺃﺓﹲ ﻓﹷﹻﻰ ﺍﹶﻟﺰﱡﺑﹹﺮﹺ (is there an exemption for you in the scriptures?)

• ﺑﹷﻞﹾ (rather): For example, ﺑﹷﻞﹾ ﻫﹹﻮﹶ ﻛﹷﺬﱠﺍﺏﹲ ﺃﹶﺷﹻﺮ (rather he is an insolent liar)

ﺗﹷﺎﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪ This class of ﺗﹷﻮﹶﺍﺑﹻﻊ is used for the purposes of emphasis either by using certain specific words or by employing repitition . It is subdivided in two sub-classes:

1. ﺍﹶﻟﺘﳲﻮﹾﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪﹸﺍﻟﹿﻤﹷﻌﹿﻨﹷﻮﹺﻯﹲ : There are certain words in the Arabic Language that are used to strengthen the idea of totality or self already contained in the ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ . These are grouped together under the sub-class of ﺗﹷﺎﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪ called ﺍﹶﻟﺘﳲﻮﹾﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪﹸﺍﻟﹿﻤﹷﻌﹿﻨﹷﻮﹺﻯﹲ i.e. corroboration in meaning. Some examples of these words are ﻛﹹﻞﹲ or ﺟﹷﻤﹻﻴﹿﻊﹲ or ﻧﹷﻔﹿﺲﹲ. For example: ﺍﹶﻟﹿﻮﹶﺯﹺﻳﹿﺮﹸ ﺫﹶﺍﻫﹻﺐﹲ ﻧﹷﻔﹿﺴﹹﻪﹸ (The minister himself is going) or
   ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﹲ ﻭﹶﺑﹷﻜﹿﺮﹲ ﻛﹻﻼﹶﻫﹹﻤﹷﺎ ﻣﹷﺮﹺﻳﹿﻀﹷﺎﻥﹺ (Zaid and Bakr both are sick). Note that, to use ﺍﹶﻟﺘﳲﻮﹾﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪﹸﺍﻟﹿﻤﹷﻌﹿﻨﹷﻮﹺﻯﹲ , you have to use the corresponding pronoun with the ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ
2. ﺍﹶﻟﺘﳲﻮﹾﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪﹸ ﺍﻟﻠﳲﻔﹿﻆﹻﻰﹲ : The other sub-class of ﺗﹷﺎﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪ is called ﺍﹶﻟﺘﳲﻮﹾﻛﹻﻴﹿﺪﹸ ﺍﻟﻠﳲﻔﹿﻆﹻﻰﹲ i.e. the verbal corroboration, which consists of repitition by means of words. For example: ﺍﹶﻟﹿﻌﹻﻠﹿﻢﹸ ﻧﹷﺎﻓﹻﻊﹲ ﻧﹷﺎﻓﹻﻊﹲ (Knowledge is beneficial, beneficial) or ﻣﹷﺮﹶﺭﹾﺕﹸ ﺑﹻﻚﹶ ﺑﹻﻚﹶ (I passed by you, by you)

ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ is the kind of ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ before which another ﺍﹺﺳﻢ is used merely to introduce the ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ. For example:ﺃﹶﺧﹹﻮﹾ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﹴ ﺣﹷﺴﹷﻦﹲ ﺣﹷﺎﺿﹻﺮﹲ (Zaid’s brother, Hassan, is here). Here ﺣﹷﺴﹷﻦ, the ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ, is called ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ andﺃﹶﺧﹹﻮﹾ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﹴ, the ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ, is called ﻣﹹﺒﹿﺪﹶﻝﹾ ﻣﹻﻨﹿﻪﹸ. There are four kinds of ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ :

1. ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﻜﹹﻞﱢ where both the ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ and the ﻣﹹﺒﹿﺪﹶﻝﹾ ﻣﹻﻨﹿﻪﹸ denote the same ﺍﹺﺳﻢ. For example:
   ﺟﹷﺂﻧﹻﻰ ﻗﹷﻮﹾﻡﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﻤﹷﺪﹺﻳﹿﻨﹷﺔﹺ ﻛﹹﺒﹿﺮﹶﺁﻭﹸﻫﹹﻢﹾ ﻭﹶ ﺿﹹﻌﹷﻔﹷﺂﻭﹸﻫﹹﻢﹾ (The people of the city, the great and the small, came to me)
2. ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﺒﹷﻌﹿﺾﹺ or the substitution of the part for the whole. For example: ﺿﹷﺮﹶﺑﹿﺖﹸ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﺍﹰ ﺭﹶﺃﺳﹷﻪﹸ (I hit Zaid, on his head) or ﺃﹶﻛﹷﻠﹿﺖﹸﺍﻟﺮﱠﻏﹻﻴﹿﻒﹶ ﺛﹹﻠﹹﺜﹷﻪﹸ (I ate the loaf, the third part of it)
3. ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸﺍﻻﹺﺷﹿﺘﹻﻤﹷﺎﻝﹾ where the ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ is not part of the ﻣﹹﺒﹿﺪﹶﻝﹾ ﻣﹻﻨﹿﻪﹸ but is rather related to it. For example,
   ﺃﹶﻋﹿﺠﹷﺒﹷﻨﹻﻰ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺪﹲ ﻋﹻﻠﹿﻤﹹﻪﹸ (Zaid, his learning filled me with surprise) or ﻓﹻﻰ ﻳﹷﺪﹺ ﺍﻟﹿﻄﳲﺎﻟﹻﺐﹺ ﺍﻟﹿﻜﹻﺘﹷﺎﺏﹸ ﻏﹻﻼﹶﻓﹹﻪﹸ (The student has the book cover in his hand)
4. ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﻐﹷﻠﹷﻄﹾ is the ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝ which is mentioned after an error. For example,
   ﺇﹺﺷﹿﺘﹷﺮﹶﻳﹿﺖﹸ ﻓﹷﺮﹶﺳﹷﺎﹰ ﺣﹻﻤﹷﺎﺭﺍﹰ (I bought a horse - no, a donkey)

Note that in both ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﺒﹷﻌﹿﺾﹺ and ﺑﹷﺪﹶﻝﹸﺍﻻﹺﺷﹿﺘﹻﻤﹷﺎﻝﹾ a pronoun has to be brought in with the ﻣﹹﺒﹿﺪﹶﻝﹾ ﻣﹻﻨﹿﻪﹸ

ﻋﹷﻄﹿﻒﹺﺑﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥ is the ﺗﹷﺎﺑﹻﻊﹾ which is used to more clearly define its ﻣﹷﺘﹿﺒﹹﻮﹾﻉ. For example,

ﺟﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ ﺍﻟﻠﳲﻪﹸ ﻛﹷﻌﹿﺒﹷﺔﹶ ﺍﻟﹿﺒﹷﻴﹿﺖﹶ ﺍﻟﹿﺤﹷﺮﹶﺍﻡﹶ (Allah has ordained Ka’ba - the Sacred House - as sanctified) or

ﻳﹹﻮﹾﻗﹷﺪﹸ ﻣﹻﻦﹾ ﺷﹷﺠﹷﺮﹶﺓﹴ ﻣﹹﺒﹷﺎﺭﹶﻛﹷﺔﹴ ﺯﹶﻳﹿﺘﹹﻮﹾﻧﹷﺔﹴ ([which] is lighted [with oil of] a blessed tree, an olive)

This wraps up our discussion of ﺗﹷﻮﹶﺍﺑﹻﻊ . Hopefully, this post will be helpful for those planning to delve a little deep into the technicalities of Classical Arabic Grammar, Insha Allah.