Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 1 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 13

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ.

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

هُوَ الثَّنَاءُ بِاللِّسَانِ عَلَى قَصْدِ التَّعْظِيمِ سَوَاءٌ تَعَلَّقَ بِالنِّعْمَةِ أَوْ بِغَيْرِهَا،

It is praise with the tongue intended for veneration, whether it relates to a blessing or otherwise.

وَالشُّكْرُ فِعْلٌ يُنْبِئُ عَنْ تَعْظِيمِ الْمُنْعِمِ لِكَوْنِهِ مُنْعِمًا سَوَاءٌ كَانَ بِاللِّسَانِ أَوْ بِالْجَنَانِ أَوْ بِالْأَرْكَانِ.

Gratitude is an action that indicates the veneration of the benefactor for being a benefactor, whether it is by the tongue, the heart, or the limbs.

فَمَوْرِدُ الْحَمْدِ لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا اللِّسَانَ وَمُتَعَلِّقُهُ يَكُونُ النِّعْمَةَ وَغَيْرَهَا،

The source of praise is only the tongue, and its object is the blessing and otherwise.

وَمُتَعَلِّقُ الشُّكْرِ لَا يَكُونُ الْمَوْرِدَ.

The object of gratitude is not the source.

افْتَتَحَ كِتَابَهُ بِالْبَسْمَلَةِ الَّتِي الِافْتِتَاحُ بِهَا مِنْ أَجْلِ الِافْتِتَاحِ بِاسْمِهِ تَعَالَى

He opened his book with the Basmala, which is opened with for the sake of opening with His name, the Exalted.

ثُمَّ بِالْحَمْدِ الْبَالِغِ أَعْلَى دَرَجَاتِ الْكَمَالِ اقْتِدَاءً بِالْكَلَامِ الْمَجِيدِ،

Then with praise that reaches the highest degrees of perfection, following the Glorious Speech.

وَهَرَبًا عَمَّا جَاءَ بِهِ السُّنَّةُ لِتَارِكِهِمَا بِالْوَعِيدِ،

And fleeing from what the Sunnah brought for those who abandon them, with a threat.

وَاخْتَارَ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ مُوَافِقًا لِلْمُنْزَلِ عَلَى قَوْلِهِ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ؛

And he chose 'Praise be to Allah' in agreement with what was revealed, upon His saying: 'Praise be to Allah'.

تَحْسِينًا لِلْبَيَانِ بِبَدِيعِ الِاقْتِبَاسِ وَتَنْبِيهًا لِاخْتِصَاصِهَا بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ.

Improving the expression with beautiful quotation and alerting to its specificity to the Lord of the people.

الثَّنَاءُ: أَيِ الذِّكْرُ بِالْخَيْرِ مَأْخُوذٌ مِنْ أَثْنَيْتُ إِذَا ذَكَرْتَ بِخَيْرٍ

Praise: meaning mentioning with good, taken from 'I praised' if you mentioned with good.

إِنْ قُلْنَا: إِنَّ الثَّنَاءَ يَعُمُّ وَيَشْمَلُ فِعْلَ اللِّسَانِ وَغَيْرَ اللِّسَانِ،

If we say: Praise encompasses and includes the action of the tongue and other than the tongue.

وَإِنَّهُ الْإِتْيَانُ بِمَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى التَّعْظِيمِ مُطْلَقًا سَوَاءٌ كَانَ فِعْلَ اللِّسَانِ أَوْ غَيْرَهُ،

And it is bringing what indicates veneration absolutely, whether it was the action of the tongue or otherwise.

فَالِاحْتِيَاجُ إِلَى قَيْدِ اللِّسَانِ بَعْدَ الثَّنَاءِ ظَاهِرًا يُفِيدُ الِاحْتِرَازَ،

So the need for the restriction of the tongue after praise apparently benefits precaution.

وَإِنْ قُلْنَا: إِنَّ الثَّنَاءَ مُخْتَصٌّ بِاللِّسَانِ وَإِنَّهُ الذِّكْرُ بِخَيْرٍ فَذِكْرُ اللِّسَانِ لِدَفْعِ تَوَهُّمِ الْمَجَازِ فِي الثَّنَاءِ بِجَعْلِهِ عَامًّا.

And if we say: Praise is specific to the tongue and it is mentioning with good, then mentioning the tongue is to push away the illusion of metaphor in praise by making it general.

بِاللِّسَانِ أَرَادَ بِاللِّسَانِ مَا يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ لَا الْحِرْمَ لِئَلَّا يَنْقُضَ بِحَمْدِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ.

With the tongue: he meant by the tongue what one speaks with, not the prohibited, so that it does not invalidate his praise, Glory be to Him.

قَصْدُ التَّعْظِيمِ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّكَ إِذَا تَلَفَّظْتَ بِقَوْلِكَ: زَيْدٌ عَالِمٌ مَثَلًا تَارَةً تَكُونُ قَاصِدًا بِذَلِكَ التَّعْظِيمَ،

Intention of veneration: and know that if you uttered your saying: 'Zayd is a scholar' for example, sometimes you are intending by that veneration.

وَتَارَةً تَكُونُ مُكَذِّبًا لِذَلِكَ وَقَاصِدًا بِهِ الْهُزْءَ وَالسُّخْرِيَةَ،

And sometimes you are lying about that and intending by it mockery and ridicule.

وَتَارَةً لَا تَقْصِدُ شَيْئًا،

And sometimes you do not intend anything.

فَلَوْ لَمْ تَقْصِدْ شَيْئًا أَوْ قَصَدْتَ الِاسْتِهْزَاءَ فَظَاهِرُهُ أَنَّهُ لَا يَكُونُ حَمْدًا عَلَى قَوْلِ الشَّارِحِ

So if you did not intend anything or intended derision, then its appearance is that it is not praise according to the commentator's saying.

مَعَ أَنَّهُ حَمْدٌ لُغَةً وَالْجَوَابُ: أَنَّ الشَّارِحَ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُبَيِّنَ الْحَمْدَ اللُّغَوِيَّ الْأَكْمَلَ الْمُعْتَدَّ بِهِ

Even though it is praise linguistically, and the answer is: that the commentator wanted to clarify the complete linguistic praise that is counted.

وَلَا يُعْتَدُّ بِالْحَمْدِ إِلَّا إِذَا وُجِدَ قَصْدُ التَّعْظِيمِ وَإِلَّا كَانَ غَيْرَ أَكْمَلَ.

And praise is not counted unless the intention of veneration is found, otherwise it is incomplete.

سَوَاءٌ: اسْمُ مَصْدَرٍ بِمَعْنَى الِاسْتِوَاءِ، وَهُوَ هُنَا خَبَرٌ مُقَدَّمٌ.

Sawa'an: a verbal noun meaning equality, and it is here a fronted predicate.

الشُّكْرُ: إِنَّمَا عَرَّفَ الشُّكْرَ مَعَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُذْكَرْ فِي الْمَتْنِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ أَخُو الْحَمْدِ،

Gratitude: he only defined gratitude even though it was not mentioned in the text; because it is the brother of praise.

وَلَمْ يُعَرِّفِ الْمَدْحَ كَأَنَّهُ مُرَاعَاةٌ لِمَا قَالَ الزَّمَخْشَرِيُّ: إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالْمَدْحَ شَيْءٌ وَاحِدٌ.

And he did not define praise (madh) as if it were in consideration of what al-Zamakhshari said: that praise (hamd) and praise (madh) are one thing.

فِعْلٌ اعْتُرِضَ بِأَنَّ الْفِعْلَ مَا قَابَلَ الْقَوْلَ وَالِاعْتِقَادَ كَمَا هُوَ الْمُتَعَارَفُ،

Action: it was objected that action is what opposes speech and belief as is commonly known.

وَحِينَئِذٍ فَيَكُونُ الْفِعْلُ فِي كَلَامِهِ غَيْرَ شَامِلٍ لِلشُّكْرِ اللِّسَانِيِّ وَالْجَنَانِيِّ؛

And then the action in his speech would not include linguistic and heart-based gratitude.

لِأَنَّ الَّذِي بِاللِّسَانِ قَوْلٌ وَالَّذِي بِالْجَنَانِ كَيْفِيَّةٌ نَفْسَانِيَّةٌ،

Because that which is by the tongue is speech, and that which is by the heart is a psychological manner.

وَحِينَئِذٍ فَلَا يَصِحُّ تَعْمِيمُهُ فِي الْفِعْلِ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ سَوَاءٌ إِلَخْ،

And then it is not correct to generalize it in action after that by his saying 'whether' etc.

فَكَانَ الْأَوْلَى أَنْ يُعَبِّرَ بِأَمْرٍ يَشْمَلُ الْمَوَارِدَ الثَّلَاثَةَ.

So it would have been better to express it with a matter that includes the three sources.

وَيُجَابُ بِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ بِالْفِعْلِ الْأَمْرَ وَالشَّأْنَ عَلَى اصْطِلَاحِ أَهْلِ اللُّغَةِ لَا مَا قَابَلَ الْقَوْلَ وَالِاعْتِقَادَ كَمَا هُوَ الْمُتَعَارَفُ.

And it is answered that he meant by action the matter and affair according to the terminology of the linguists, not what opposes speech and belief as is commonly known.

فَمَوْرِدٌ بَدَأَ بِالْمَوْرِدِ فِي جَانِبِ الْحَمْدِ، وَبِالْمُتَعَلِّقِ فِي جَانِبِ الشُّكْرِ تَقْدِيمًا لِلْأَخَصِّ فِي جَانِبِ كُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا.

Source: he began with the source in the side of praise, and with the object in the side of gratitude, prioritizing the more specific in the side of each of them.

وَمُتَعَلِّقُهُ هُوَ مَا يَكُونُ الْحَمْدُ فِي مُقَابَلَتِهِ وَهُوَ الْمَحْمُودُ عَلَيْهِ.

And its object is what praise is in correspondence to, and it is the one praised for it.

Vocabulary · المفردات (42 verbs · 56 nouns)

• تَعَلَّقَ — to relate
• أَنْبَأَ — to inform
• كَانَ — to be
• اِفْتَتَحَ — to open
• بَلَغَ — to reach
• جَاءَ — to come
• تَرَكَ — to leave
• اِخْتَارَ — to choose
• وَافَقَ — to agree
• أَنْزَلَ — to send down
• حَسَّنَ — to improve
• نَبَّهَ — to alert
• أَثْنَى — to praise
• ذَكَرَ — to mention
• قَالَ — to say
• عَمَّ — to encompass
• شَمِلَ — to include
• أَتَى — to come
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• أَفَادَ — to benefit
• اِخْتَصَّ — to be specific
• دَفَعَ — to push
• تَوَهَّمَ — to imagine
• جَعَلَ — to make
• أَرَادَ — to want
• تَكَلَّمَ — to speak
• نَقَضَ — to invalidate
• عَلِمَ — to know
• تَلَفَّظَ — to utter
• قَصَدَ — to intend
• كَذَبَ — to lie
• بَيَّنَ — to clarify
• اِعْتَدَّ — to count
• وَجَدَ — to find
• عَرَّفَ — to define
• رَاعَى — to observe
• اِعْتَرَضَ — to object
• قَابَلَ — to face
• صَحَّ — to be correct
• عَبَّرَ — to express
• أَجَابَ — to answer
• بَدَأَ — to begin
• حَمْدٌ — praise
• شُكْرٌ — gratitude
• ثَنَاءٌ — praise
• لِسَانٌ — tongue
• قَصْدٌ — intention
• تَعْظِيمٌ — veneration
• نِعْمَةٌ — blessing
• فِعْلٌ — matter or affair
• مُنْعِمٌ — benefactor
• جَنَانٌ — heart
• رُكْنٌ — pillar
• مَوْرِدٌ — source
• مُتَعَلِّقٌ — related object
• كِتَابٌ — book
• بَسْمَلَةٌ — basmala
• افْتِتَاحٌ — opening
• اسْمٌ — name
• دَرَجَةٌ — degree
• كَمَالٌ — perfection
• اقْتِدَاءٌ — following
• كَلَامٌ — speech
• سُنَّةٌ — tradition
• وَعِيدٌ — threat
• بَيَانٌ — clarification
• إِقْتِبَاسٌ — quotation
• رَبٌّ — lord
• نَاسٌ — people
• ذِكْرٌ — mention
• خَيْرٌ — good
• إِتْيَانٌ — bringing
• قَيْدٌ — restriction
• احْتِرَازٌ — precaution
• مَجَازٌ — metaphor
• حِرْمٌ — prohibited thing
• عَالِمٌ — scholar
• هُزْءٌ — mockery
• سُخْرِيَةٌ — ridicule
• اسْتِهْزَاءٌ — derision
• شَارِحٌ — commentator
• لُغَةٌ — language
• جَوَابٌ — answer
• اسْتِوَاءٌ — equality
• خَبَرٌ — predicate
• مَتْنٌ — text
• أَخٌ — brother
• مَدْحٌ — praise
• اعْتِقَادٌ — belief
• كَيْفِيَّةٌ — manner
• نَفْسَانِيَّةٌ — psychological
• أَمْرٌ — matter
• شَأْنٌ — affair
• اصْطِلَاحٌ — terminology
• أَهْلٌ — people
• جَانِبٌ — side
• مُقَابَلَةٌ — correspondence
• مَحْمُودٌ — praised object