ان
Root entry · 1 derived lemmaأَنَّ الشَّأْنَ ذ ]: (Mughnee, K: *) and in the phrase, بَلَغَنِى أَنْ قَدْ كَانَ كَذَا وكَذَا [ It has come to my knowledge, or been related to me, or been told to me, or it came to my knowledge, &c., that ( the case is this:) such and such things have been ]; a phrase of this kind, in which أَنْ occurs with a verb, not being approved without قَدْ, unless you say, بَلَغَنِى أَنَّهُ كَانَ كَذَا وَكَذَا: (Lth, T:) [for] when the contracted أَنْ has for its predicate a verbal proposition, of which the verb is neither imperfectly inflected, like لَيْسَ and عَسَى, nor expressive of a prayer or an imprecation, it is separated from the verb, according to the more approved usage, by قَدْ, or the prefix سَ, or سَوْفَ, or a negative, as لَا &c., or لَوْ: (I 'Ak pp. 100 and 101:) but when its predicate is a nominal proposition, it requires not a separation; so that you say, عَلِمْتُ أَنْ زَِيْدٌ قَائِمٌ [ I knew that ( the case was this: ) Zeyd was standing ]; (I 'Ak p. 100;) and بَلَغَنِى أَنْ زَيدٌ خَارِجٌ [ It has come to my knowledge, or been related to me, or been told to me, &c., that ( the case is this:) Zeyd is going, or coming, out, or forth ]; (TA;) except in the case of a negation, as in the saying in the Kur [xi. 17], وأَنْ لَا اـِلهَ اـِلَّا هُوَ [ And that ( the case is this:) there is no deity but He ]. (I 'Ak p. 100.) Thus used, it is originally triliteral, and is also what is termed مَصْدَرِيَّة; [عَلِمَ أَنْ, in the first of the exs. above, for instance, meaning عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ, i. e. عَلِمَ أَنَّ الشَّأْنَ, which is equivalent to عَلِمَ كَوْنَ الشَّأْنِ;] and governs the subject in the accus. case, and the predicate in the nom. case: and its subject must be a pronoun, suppressed, [as in the exs. given above, where it means الشَّأْنِ, and in a verse cited before, commencing أَنْ تَقْرَاآنِ, accord. to A'boo-'Alee,] or expressed; the latter, accord. to the more correct opinion, being allowable only by poetic license: and its predicate must be a proposition, unless the subject is expressed, in which case it may be either a single word or a proposition; both of which kinds occur in the following saying [of a poet]: بِأَنْكَ رَبِيعٌ وغَيْثٌ مَرِيعٌ وَأَنْكَ هُنَاكَ تَكُونَ الثِّمَالَا [he is speaking of persons coming as guests to him whom he addresses, when their provisions are exhausted, and the horizon is dust-coloured, and the north wind is blowing, (as is shown by the citation of the verse immediately preceding, in the T,) and he says, They know that thou art like rain that produces spring-herbage, and like plenteous rain, and that thou, there, art the aider and the manager of the affairs of people ]. (Mughnee. [In the T, for رَبِيعٌ, I find الَّربِيعُ; and for وَأَنْكَ, I there find وَقِدْمًا: but the reading in the Mughnee is that which is the more known.]) [J says,] أَنْ is sometimes a contraction of أَنَّ and does not govern [anything]: you say, بَلَغَنِى أَنٌ زَيْدٌ خَارِجٌ [explained above]; and it is said in the Kur [vii. 41], وَنُودُوا أَنْ تِلْكُمُ الجَنَّةُ [ And it shall be proclaimed to them that ( the case is this:) that is Paradise ]: (S:) [here, however, أَنة is regarded by some as an explicative, as will be seen below:] but in saying this, J means that it does not govern as to the letter; for virtually it does govern; its subject being meant to be understood; the virtual meaning being أَنَّهُ تِلْكُمُ الجَنَّةُ. (IB.) [In another place, J says,] You may make the contracted أَنْ to govern or not, as you please. (S.) Aboo-Tálib the Grammarian mentions an assertion that the Arabs make it to govern; as in the saying [of a poet, describing a beautiful bosom], كَأَنْ ثَذْيَيْهِ حُقَّانِ [ As though its two breasts were two small round boxes ]: but [the reading commonly known is كَأَنْ ثَدْيَاهُ حُقَّانِ (this latter reading is given in De Sacy's Anthol. Gram. Ar. p. 104 of the Ar. text; and both are given in the S;) كَأَنْ here meaning كَأَنَّهُ; and] Fr says, We have not heard the Arabs use the contracted form and make it to govern except with a pronoun, in which case the desinential syntax is not apparent. (T.) The author of the K says in the B that you say, عَلِمْتُ أَنْ زيْدًا لَمُنْطَلِقٌ [ I knew that Zeyd was indeed going away ], with ل when it is made to govern; and عَلِمْتُ أَنْ زَيْدٌ مُنْطَلِقٌ [ I knew that ( the case was this:) Zeyd was going away ], without ل when it is made to have no government. (TA. [But in the latter ex. it governs the subject, which is understood, as in other exs. before given.]) [See an ex. in a verse ending with the phrase وَكَأَنْ قَدِ cited voce قَد, where كَأَنْ is for كَأَنَّهُ, meaning كَأَنَّ الشّأنَ, and a verb is understood after قد. And see also أَنَّ, below.]― -b2- Thirdly, it is an explicative, (Mughnee, K,) meaning أَيْ (S, M, and so in some copies of the K,) or [rather] used in the manner of أَيْ; (Mughnee, and so in some copies of the K;) [meaning قَائِلًا, or قَائِلِينَ; or يَقُولُ, or يَقُولُونَ; or some other form of the verb قَالَ; i. e. Saying ; &c.;] as in the saying [in the Kur xxiii. 27], فَأَوْحَيْنَا اـِلَيْهِ أَنِ اصْنَعِ الْقُلْكَ [ And we revealed, or spake by revelation, unto him, saying, Make thou the ark ]; (Mughnee, K) and [in the Kur vii. 41,]وَنُودُوا أَنْ تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ [ And it shall be proclaimed to them, being said, That is Paradise ]; or in these two instances it may be regarded as what is termed مَصْدَرِيَّة, by supposing the preposition [بِ] understood before it, so that in the former instance it is the biliteral, because it is put before the imperative, and in the second it is the contraction of أَنَّ because it is put before a nominal proposition; (Mughnee;) and [in the Kur xxxviii. 5,] وَانْطَلَقَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْهُمْ أَنِ امْشُوا(S, M, Mughnee) i. e. [ And the chief persons of them ] broke forth, or launched forth, with their tongues, or in speech, [saying,] Go ye on, or continue ye, in your course of action &c. (Mughnee.) For this usage of أَنْ certain conditions are requisite : [...]
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