Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 1 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 20

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَيَانٌ لِمَا صُنِّفَ نَفْعًا تَمْيِيزٌ مِنْ أَعْظَمَ؛ لِكَوْنِهِ أَيِ الْقِسْمُ الثَّالِثُ أَحْسَنُهَا أَيْ أَحْسَنُ الْكُتُبِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ تَرْتِيبًا هُوَ وَضْعُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فِي مَرْتَبَتِهِ وَلِكَوْنِهِ أَتَمَّهَا تَحْرِيرًا هُوَ تَهْذِيبُ تَخْلِيصِهِ مِنَ الزَّوَائِدِ.

The phrase 'a clarification of what was compiled in terms of benefit' is a specification (tamyiz) for 'greatest'; this is because it—meaning the third section—is the best of them, that is, the best of the famous books in terms of arrangement, which is placing every thing in its proper rank, and because it is the most complete of them in terms of editing, which is the refinement of purging it of superfluities.

الْكَلَامُ، وَأَكْثَرُهَا أَيْ أَكْثَرُ الْكُتُبِ لِلْأُصُولِ، هُوَ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِمَحْذُوفٍ يُفَسِّرُهُ قَوْلُهُ: جَمْعًا؛ الْمُرَادُ الشَّوَاهِدُ وَالْقَوَاعِدُ لِأَنَّ مَعْمُولَ الْمَصْدَرِ لَا يَتَقَدَّمُ عَلَيْهِ، وَالْحَقُّ جَوَازُ ذَلِكَ فِي الظُّرُوفِ؛ لِأَنَّهَا مِمَّا تَكْفِيهِ رَائِحَةٌ مِنَ الْفِعْلِ.

The speech, and 'most of them'—meaning most of the books on principles—is connected to an omitted element explained by his saying: 'a collection'; the intended meaning is the evidences and the rules, because the object (ma'mul) of a verbal noun (masdar) cannot precede it, though the truth is that this is permissible in the case of adverbial phrases (zuruf), because they are among those things for which a 'scent' of the verb suffices.

بَيَانٌ لِمَا صُنِّفَ أَيْ أَعْظَمُ الْكُتُبِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ الَّتِي صُنِّفَ فِيهِ، وَفِيهِ أَنَّ هَذَا يَسْتَلْزِمُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْقِسْمُ الثَّالِثُ كِتَابًا؛ لِأَنَّ أَفْعَلَ التَّفْضِيلِ يَكُونُ بَعْضَ مَا يُضَافُ إِلَيْهِ مَعَ أَنَّ الْقِسْمَ لَيْسَ بِكِتَابٍ، بَلْ جُزْءُ كِتَابٍ وَأُجِيبَ بِأَجْوِبَةٍ:

The phrase 'a clarification of what was compiled' means the greatest of the famous books in which it was compiled; there is an issue here in that this necessitates that the third section be a book, because the superlative (af'al al-tafdil) must be a part of that to which it is annexed, even though the section is not a book, but rather a part of a book, and this has been answered with several responses:

الْأَوَّلُ: أَنَّ جَعْلَهُ كِتَابًا بِاعْتِبَارِ الْمَعْنَى اللُّغَوِيِّ؛ إِذِ الْكُتُبُ لُغَةً الضَّمُّ وَالْجَمْعُ الثَّانِي: أَنَّهُ أُفْرِدَ بِالتَّدْوِينِ فَصَارَ كَأَنَّهُ كِتَابٌ مُسْتَقِلٌّ، الثَّالِثُ: لَمَّا كَانَ هُوَ الْعُمْدَةُ مِنَ الْمِفْتَاحِ صَارَ كَأَنَّهُ أَيِ الْقِسْمُ الثَّالِثُ كِتَابٌ كُلُّهُ.

The first: that considering it a book is based on the linguistic meaning, since 'books' (al-kutub) linguistically means gathering and collecting. The second: that it was singled out for recording, so it became as if it were an independent book. The third: since it was the mainstay of the Miftah, it became as if it—meaning the third section—were the entire book.

نَفْعًا إِلَخْ: مُحَوَّلٌ مِنَ الْفَاعِلِ أَيْ نَفْعُهُ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ نَفْعِ كُتُبٍ صُنِّفَ فِيهِ.

'Benefit, etc.': this is transformed from the subject (fa'il), meaning its benefit is greater than the benefit of the books in which it was compiled.

مِنْ أَعْظَمَ أَيْ مِنْ نِسْبَةِ أَعْظَمَ إِلَى مَا صُنِّفَ فِيهِ، فَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ تَقْدِيرِ مُضَافٍ فِي الْقِسْمِ الثَّالِثِ أَيْ لَمَّا كَانَ نَفْعُ الْقِسْمِ الثَّالِثِ أَعْظَمَ مَنَافِعِ مَا صُنِّفَ فِيهِ.

'From greatest' means from the attribution of 'greatest' to what was compiled in it; therefore, it is necessary to posit an omitted annexed noun (mudaf) in the third section, meaning: since the benefit of the third section is the greatest of the benefits of what was compiled in it.

أَحْسَنُ الْكُتُبِ: أَيْ فَتَرْتِيبُ الْكُتُبِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ حَسَنٌ، وَتَرْتِيبُ الْقِسْمِ الثَّالِثِ أَحْسَنُ لِوَضْعِ مَسَائِلِهِ فِي الْمَرَاتِبِ الْعُلْيَا، وَبَعْضُ الْمَرَاتِبِ يَكُونُ أَحْسَنَ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، وَاشْتِمَالُ الْقِسْمِ الثَّالِثِ عَلَى الْحَشْوِ وَالتَّطْوِيلِ كَمَا يُصَرَّحُ بِهِ لَا يُخِلُّ بِحُسْنِ التَّرْتِيبِ كَمَا لَا يَخْفَى.

'The best of books': meaning the arrangement of the famous books is good, and the arrangement of the third section is better because of the placement of its issues in the highest ranks, and some ranks are better than others; the inclusion of the third section of padding and prolixity, as is explicitly stated, does not impair the goodness of the arrangement, as is not hidden.

تَرْتِيبًا إِلَخْ قِيلَ: لَمَّا كَانَتْ كُلُّ مَسْأَلَةٍ وَكُلُّ كَلِمَةٍ تَجُوزُ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهَا مَرَاتِبُ تُنَاسِبُ أَنْ تُوقَعَ فِيهَا، وَبَعْضُ تِلْكَ الْمَرَاتِبِ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ جَازَ أَنْ يَكُونَ تَأْلِيفُهُ أَحْسَنَ مِنْ آخَرَ فِي تَرْتِيبِ كَلِمَاتِهِ وَفُصُولِهِ وَمَسَائِلِهِ، فَيَكُونُ الْحُسْنُ كُلِّيًّا مُشَكِّكًا بَعْضُ أَفْرَادِهِ أَوْلَى مِنْ بَعْضٍ.

'Arrangement, etc.': it has been said that since every issue and every word may have ranks that are appropriate for it to be placed in, and some of those ranks are better than others, it is permissible for one composition to be better than another in the arrangement of its words, chapters, and issues; thus, 'goodness' is a universal concept that is graded (mushakkik), where some of its instances are superior to others.

فِي مَرْتَبَتِهِ قِيلَ عَلَيْهِ: إِنَّ الضَّمِيرَ إِنْ عَادَ إِلَى كُلٍّ لَزِمَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الشَّيْءُ مَوْضُوعًا فِي مَرْتَبَتِهِ وَمَرْتَبَةِ مَا سِوَاهُ وَهُوَ لَا يَصِحُّ، وَإِنْ عَادَ إِلَى الشَّيْءِ لَزِمَ أَنْ تَكُونَ جَمِيعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ فِي مَرْتَبَةِ شَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ وَهُوَ أَيْضًا لَا يَصِحُّ.

Regarding 'in its rank', it was objected: if the pronoun refers to 'every' (kull), it would necessitate that the thing be placed in its own rank and the rank of everything else, which is not correct; and if it refers to 'the thing' (al-shay'), it would necessitate that all things be in the rank of one single thing, which is also not correct.

وَأُجِيبَ بِأَنَّ الضَّمِيرَ رَاجِعٌ لِكُلٍّ، وَالْمُرَادُ بِالْمَرْتَبَةِ الْمَرْتَبَةُ اللَّائِقَةُ بِهِ، وَالْإِضَافَةُ لِلْعُمُومِ، وَالْمَعْنَى وَضْعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ فِي مَرَاتِبِهَا اللَّائِقَةِ بِهَا، وَهُوَ مِنْ مُقَابَلَةِ الْجَمْعِ بِالْجَمْعِ فَيَقْتَضِي الْقِسْمَةَ عَلَى الْآحَادِ فَيُوضَعُ شَيْءٌ فِي مَرْتَبَتِهِ اللَّائِقَةِ بِهِ وَشَيْءٌ آخَرُ فِي مَرْتَبَتِهِ اللَّائِقَةِ بِهِ كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ.

It was answered that the pronoun refers to 'every', and the intended meaning of 'rank' is the rank appropriate to it, and the annexation is for generalization; the meaning is placing things in their appropriate ranks. This is a case of matching a plural with a plural, which necessitates distribution among individuals, so one thing is placed in its appropriate rank and another thing in its appropriate rank, as in His saying, the Exalted: 'Wash your faces and your hands to the elbows'.

وَأَتَمُّهَا تَحْرِيرًا: فِيهِ أَنَّ تَمَامَ الشَّيْءِ نِهَايَتُهُ فَلَا يَقْبَلُ الزِّيَادَةَ، وَمَا لَا يَقْبَلُهَا لَا يُصَاغُ مِنْهُ التَّفْضِيلُ وَالْجَوَابُ: أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِالتَّمَامِ الْقَرِيبُ إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يَقْبَلُهَا، فَالْكُتُبُ قَرِيبَةٌ إِلَى تَمَامِ التَّحْرِيرِ، وَالْقِسْمُ الثَّالِثُ أَقْرَبُهَا إِلَيْهِ أَوْ يُقَالُ: التَّمَامُ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْكَمِّ وَالزِّيَادَةُ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْكَيْفِ أَوْ بِالْعَكْسِ.

And 'the most complete of them in editing': there is an issue here that the completion of a thing is its end, so it does not accept increase, and what does not accept it cannot be used to form a superlative. The answer is that what is intended by 'completion' is that which is close to it, and that does accept increase; thus, books are close to the completion of editing, and the third section is the closest of them to it, or it may be said: completion is in terms of quantity and increase is in terms of quality, or vice versa.

لِأَنَّ مَعْمُولَ عِلَّةٌ لِمَحْذُوفٍ أَيْ لَيْسَ مُتَعَلِّقًا بِجَمْعًا الْمَذْكُورِ لِأَنَّ الْمَعْمُولَ إِلَخْ.

'Because the object' is the reason for an omitted element, meaning it is not connected to the aforementioned 'collection' because the object, etc.

ذَلِكَ: أَيْ جَوَازُ تَقْدِيمِ مَعْمُولِ الْمَصْدَرِ عَلَيْهِ فِي الظُّرُوفِ رَائِحَةٌ مِنَ الْفِعْلِ أَيْ مَا لَهُ أَدْنَى مُلَابَسَةٍ بِالْفِعْلِ كَالْمَصْدَرِ؛ فَإِنَّهُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى الْحَدَثِ، وَهُوَ أَحَدُ جُزْأَيْ مَدْلُولِ الْفِعْلِ هَذَا هُوَ الْمُرَادُ بِرَائِحَةِ الْفِعْلِ.

'That': meaning the permissibility of advancing the object of the verbal noun before it in the case of adverbial phrases; 'a scent of the verb' means that which has the slightest connection to the verb, like the verbal noun, for it indicates the event, and it is one of the two parts of the verb's meaning; this is what is intended by 'a scent of the verb'.

Vocabulary · المفردات (24 verbs · 89 nouns)

• صَنَّفَ — to author
• فَسَّرَ — to explain
• تَقَدَّمَ — to precede
• كَفَى — to suffice
• أَضَافَ — to add
• أَجَابَ — to answer
• أَفْرَدَ — to isolate
• صَارَ — to become
• حَوَّلَ — to transform
• صَرَّحَ — to declare
• خَفِيَ — to be hidden
• جَازَ — to be permissible
• نَاسَبَ — to suit
• وَقَعَ — to fall
• عَادَ — to return
• صَحَّ — to be correct
• رَجَعَ — to refer back
• اقْتَضَى — to require
• وَضَعَ — to place
• غَسَلَ — to wash
• قَبِلَ — to accept
• صَاغَ — to formulate
• قَالَ — to say
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• بَيَانٌ — statement
• نَفْعٌ — benefit
• تَمْيِيزٌ — distinction
• أَعْظَمُ — greatest
• قِسْمٌ — part
• ثَالِثٌ — third
• حَسَنٌ — good
• كِتَابٌ — book
• مَشْهُورٌ — famous
• تَرْتِيبٌ — arrangement
• وَضْعٌ — placement
• شَيْءٌ — thing
• مَرْتَبَةٌ — rank
• تَمَامٌ — perfection
• تَحْرِيرٌ — editing
• تَهْذِيبٌ — refinement
• تَخْلِيصٌ — summary
• زَائِدَةٌ — additional
• كَلَامٌ — speech
• أَصْلٌ — origin
• مُتَعَلِّقٌ — related
• مَحْذُوفٌ — omitted
• قَوْلٌ — saying
• جَمْعٌ — collection
• مُرَادٌ — intended
• شَاهِدٌ — evidence
• قَاعِدَةٌ — rule
• مَعْمُولٌ — governed word
• مَصْدَرٌ — verbal noun
• حَقٌّ — truth
• جَوَازٌ — permissibility
• ظَرْفٌ — adverb
• رَائِحَةٌ — trace
• فِعْلٌ — verb
• تَفْضِيلٌ — preference
• جُزْءٌ — part
• جَوَابٌ — answer
• اعْتِبَارٌ — consideration
• مَعْنًى — meaning
• لُغَوِيٌّ — linguistic
• لُغَةٌ — language
• ضَمٌّ — joining
• تَدْوِينٌ — recording
• مُسْتَقِلٌّ — independent
• عُمْدَةٌ — pillar
• مِفْتَاحٌ — key
• مُحَوَّلٌ — transformed
• فَاعِلٌ — agent
• نِسْبَةٌ — relation
• تَقْدِيرٌ — estimation
• مُضَافٌ — genitive
• مَنْفَعَةٌ — benefit
• مَسْأَلَةٌ — issue
• عُلْيَا — highest
• اشْتِمَالٌ — inclusion
• حَشْوٌ — padding
• تَطْوِيلٌ — prolixity
• كَلِمَةٌ — word
• تَأْلِيفٌ — composition
• فَصْلٌ — chapter
• كُلِّيٌّ — universal
• مُشَكِّكٌ — ambiguous
• فَرْدٌ — individual
• أَوْلَى — worthier
• ضَمِيرٌ — pronoun
• جَمِيعٌ — all
• رَاجِعٌ — referring
• لَائِقٌ — suitable
• إِضَافَةٌ — addition
• عُمُومٌ — generality
• مُقَابَلَةٌ — comparison
• قِسْمَةٌ — division
• آحَادٌ — units
• وَجْهٌ — face
• يَدٌ — hand
• مِرْفَقٌ — elbow
• نِهَايَةٌ — end
• زِيَادَةٌ — increase
• قَرِيبٌ — near
• جِهَةٌ — side
• كَمٌّ — quantity
• كَيْفٌ — quality
• عَكْسٌ — opposite
• عِلَّةٌ — cause
• مَذْكُورٌ — mentioned
• أَدْنَى — lowest
• مُلَابَسَةٌ — connection
• حَدَثٌ — event
• مَدْلُولٌ — signified