Durus al-Balagha — First Lessons in Arabic Rhetoric (دروس البلاغة) — Page 32

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

أَمَّا الْأَمْرُ فَهُوَ طَلَبُ الْفِعْلِ عَلَى وَجْهِ الِاسْتِعْلَاءِ.

As for the imperative, it is the request for an action from a position of superiority.

وَلَهُ أَرْبَعُ صِيَغٍ: فِعْلُ الْأَمْرِ، نَحْوَ: وَخُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ [مَرْيَم: ١٢] وَالْمُضَارِعُ الْمَقْرُونُ بِاللَّامِ، نَحْوَ: لِيُنْفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ [الطَّلَاق: ٧]، وَاسْمُ فِعْلِ الْأَمْرِ نَحْوَ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ وَالْمَصْدَرُ النَّائِبُ عَنْ فِعْلِ الْأَمْرِ، نَحْوَ: سَعْياً فِي الْخَيْرِ.

It has four forms: the imperative verb, such as: 'And take the Book with strength' [Maryam: 12]; the present tense verb prefixed with the lam of command, such as: 'Let a man of wealth spend from his wealth' [At-Talaq: 7]; the imperative verbal noun, such as: 'Come to success'; and the verbal noun acting in place of the imperative verb, such as: 'Strive in goodness'.

وَقَدْ تَخْرُجُ صِيَغُ الْأَمْرِ عَنْ مَعْنَاهَا الْأَصْلِيِّ إِلَى مَعَانٍ أُخَرَ تُفْهَمُ مِنْ سِيَاقِ الْكَلَامِ، وَقَرَائِنِ الْأَحْوَالِ:

Imperative forms may depart from their original meaning to other meanings understood from the context of the speech and the surrounding circumstances:

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Vocabulary · المفردات (17 verbs · 37 nouns)

• أَمَرَ — to command
• طَلَبَ — to request
• فَعَلَ — to do
• أَمْر — command
• طَلَب — request
• فِعْل — action