Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 1 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 8

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

خُطْبَةُ الْكِتَابِ

The Preface of the Book.

وَجْهُ تَأْلِيفِ الْمُخْتَصَرِ

The reason for compiling the abridgment.

"تَلْخِيصُ الْمِفْتَاحِ"، وَأَغْنَيْتُهُ بِالْإِصْبَاحِ عَنِ الْمِصْبَاحِ، وَأَوْدَعْتُهُ غَرَائِبَ نُكَتٍ سَمَحَتْ بِهِ جَمْعُ غَرِيبَةٍ جَمْعُ نُكْتَةٍ الْأَنْظَارُ، وَوَشَّحْتُهُ بِلَطَائِفِ فِقَرٍ سَبَكَتْهَا يَدُ الْأَفْكَارِ، ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُ الْكَثِيرَ مِنَ الْفُضَلَاءِ وَالْجَمَّ النَّظَرُ هُوَ الْفِكْرُ الْغَفِيرَ مِنَ زَيَّنَتْهُ جَمْعُ فِقْرَةٍ وَالْمُرَادُ بِهِ الْكَلَامُ جَمْعُ فَضِيلٍ كَكَرِيمٍ وَكُرَمَاءَ الْأَذْكِيَاءِ سَأَلُونِي صَرْفَ الْهِمَّةِ نَحْوَ اخْتِصَارِهِ وَالِاقْتِصَارِ عَلَى بَيَانِ مَعَانِيهِ أَيْ طَلَبُوا مِنِّي وَكَشْفِ أَسْتَارِهِ لَمَّا شَاهَدُوا

I have compiled 'Talkhis al-Miftah' (The Summary of the Key), and I have made it sufficient—by means of the 'Morning Light'—to replace the 'Lamp,' and I have deposited within it rare subtleties that insights have yielded, and I have adorned it with delicate passages that the hand of thought has forged; then I saw many of the virtuous and a vast multitude of the intelligent asking me to direct my efforts toward abridging it and limiting myself to explaining its meanings and uncovering its veils, when they witnessed...

بِالْبُعْدِ، فَيُفْهَمُ مِنْهَا بَعْدَ زَمَانِ تَأْلِيفِ "الْمُطَوَّلِ"، وَالْمَعْنَى الْمَفْهُومُ مِنْ "شَرَحْتُ" أَعَمُّ مِنَ الْبَعِيدِ وَالْقَرِيبِ.

With distance, so it is understood from it after the time of the compilation of 'al-Mutawwal' (The Long Commentary), and the meaning understood from 'I explained' is more general than the distant and the near.

تَلْخِيصُ الْمِفْتَاحِ لِلْعَلَّامَةِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْقَزْوِينِيِّ خَطِيبٍ بِجَامِعِ دِمَشْقَ.

'Talkhis al-Miftah' is by the eminent scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qazwini, the preacher at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

وَأَغْنَيْتُهُ أَيْ صَيَّرْتُهُ غَنِيًّا، وَالضَّمِيرُ فِي "أَغْنَيْتُهُ" وَفِي "مَعَانِيهِ" وَ"أَسْتَارِهِ" لِـ "تَلْخِيصِ" "الْمَعْنَى" وَبَاقِي الضَّمَائِرِ الْآتِيَةِ رَاجِعَةٌ لِلشَّرْحِ، وَهَذَا وَإِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ تَشْتِيتُ الضَّمَائِرِ لَكِنِ اتَّكَلَ الشَّارِحُ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى ظُهُورِ الْمَعْنَى.

'And I have made it sufficient' means I have made it rich; the pronoun in 'I have made it sufficient,' 'its meanings,' and 'its veils' refers to the 'Summary,' while the remaining upcoming pronouns refer to the commentary; although this involves a scattering of pronouns, the commentator relied in that upon the clarity of the meaning.

بِالْإِصْبَاحِ: الْإِصْبَاحُ هُوَ الدُّخُولُ فِي وَقْتِ الصَّبَاحِ أُرِيدَ بِهِ لَازِمُهُ وَهُوَ الصُّبْحُ، وَالْمِصْبَاحُ هُوَ السِّرَاجُ، وَالصُّبْحُ اسْتِعَارَةٌ مَا شَرَحَ الشَّارِحُ أَعْنِي "الْمُطَوَّلَ"، وَالْمِصْبَاحُ اسْتِعَارَةٌ لِشَرْحِ غَيْرِهِ وَالْمَعْنَى وَصَيَّرْتُ ذَلِكَ الْمَتْنَ غَنِيًّا بِـ"الْمُطَوَّلِ" الشَّبِيهِ بِالْإِصْبَاحِ عَنْ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ الشُّرُوحِ الشَّبِيهَةِ بِالْمِصْبَاحِ.

'By the Morning Light': The 'Morning Light' is the entry into the time of morning, and what is intended by it is its necessary consequence, which is the dawn; the 'Lamp' is the lantern; the dawn is a metaphor for what the commentator explained, meaning 'al-Mutawwal,' and the 'Lamp' is a metaphor for the commentary of others; the meaning is: I have made that text rich by means of 'al-Mutawwal,' which is similar to the morning light, replacing other commentaries that are similar to the lamp.

ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُ عَطْفٌ عَلَى قَوْلِهِ: "شَرَحْتُ"، وَعَبَّرَ بِـ "ثُمَّ" الَّتِي لِلتَّرْتِيبِ لِلتَّرَاخِي بَيْنَ الْفِعْلَيْنِ، وَ"رَأَى" يُحْتَمَلُ أَنَّهَا عِلْمِيَّةٌ فَتَكُونُ جُمْلَةُ "سَأَلُونِي" فِي مَحَلِّ نَصْبٍ مَفْعُولًا ثَانِيًا، وَيُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ تَكُونَ بَصَرِيَّةً، فَتَكُونُ الْجُمْلَةُ الْمَذْكُورَةُ فِي مَحَلِّ النَّصْبِ عَلَى الْحَالِ [الدُّسُوقِيُّ: ١٥/١٢] مِنَ الْفُضَلَاءِ حَالٌ مِنَ الْكَثِيرِ أَوْ صِفَةٌ.

'Then I saw' is a conjunction to his statement 'I explained,' and he expressed it with 'then' (thumma), which is for sequence with a delay between the two verbs; 'saw' (ra'a) may be intellectual, in which case the sentence 'they asked me' is in the position of a second object, or it may be visual, in which case the mentioned sentence is in the position of an accusative state (hal); 'of the virtuous' is a state from 'the many' or an adjective.

وَالْجَمُّ الْغَفِيرُ مَأْخُوذٌ مِنَ الْجُمُومِ وَهُوَ الْكَثْرَةُ، وَالْغَفِيرُ مِنَ الْغَفْرِ وَهُوَ السَّتْرُ أَيِ الْجَمْعُ الْعَظِيمُ السَّاتِرُ لِكَثْرَةِ وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ أَوْ مَا وَرَاءَهُ، وَالْخُطَبُ مَحَلُّ إِطْنَابٍ فَلَا يُعْتَرَضُ بِأَنَّ هَذَا بِمَعْنَى مَا قَبْلَهُ وَقَدْ يُمْنَعُ بِأَنَّ الْجَمَّ الْغَفِيرَ أَبْلَغُ فِي الْكَثْرَةِ مِنْ لَفْظِ الْكَثِيرِ، وَالْأَذْكِيَاءُ أَعَمُّ مِنَ الْفُضَلَاءِ بِنَاءً عَلَى أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِالْفُضَلَاءِ مَنِ اتَّصَفَ بِكَثْرَةِ الْعِلْمِ.

'The vast multitude' (al-jamm al-ghafir) is derived from 'jumum,' which is abundance, and 'ghafir' is from 'ghafra,' which is covering, meaning the great gathering that covers the face of the earth or what is behind it; prefaces are a place for elaboration, so it should not be objected that this has the same meaning as what preceded it, and it may be refuted that 'the vast multitude' is more eloquent in denoting abundance than the word 'many'; the 'intelligent' are more general than the 'virtuous,' based on the fact that what is intended by the 'virtuous' is one who is characterized by an abundance of knowledge.

الْأَذْكِيَاءُ: جَمْعُ ذَكِيٍّ وَهُوَ كَامِلُ الْعَقْلِ وَسَرِيعُ الْفَهْمِ صَرْفُ الْهِمَّةِ بِفَتْحِ الْهَاءِ وَكَسْرِهَا لُغَةً: الْإِرَادَةُ، وَعُرْفًا: حَالَةٌ لِلنَّفْسِ تَتْبَعُهَا غَلَبَةُ انْبِعَاثٍ إِلَى نَيْلِ مَقْصُودٍ مَا وَالْمُرَادُ هَهُنَا الْمَعْنَى اللُّغَوِيُّ أَيْ سَأَلُونِي أَنْ أَصْرِفَ إِرَادَتِي.

'The intelligent': plural of 'intelligent' (dhakiyy), who is one with a perfect mind and quick understanding; 'directing the effort' (sarf al-himma)—with the 'ha' opened or kasra—linguistically means: the will; and conventionally: a state of the soul followed by a dominant impulse toward attaining a certain goal; what is intended here is the linguistic meaning, i.e., they asked me to direct my will.

وَالِاقْتِصَارُ عَطْفٌ عَلَى "اخْتِصَارِهِ" أَوْ عَلَى مَفْعُولِ "سَأَلُونِي" الثَّانِي، وَفِي الِاقْتِصَارِ إِشَارَةٌ إِلَى أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ بِالِاخْتِصَارِ الْمَسْؤُولِ السَّابِقِ لِإِتْيَانِ جَمِيعِ الْمَسَائِلِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ فِي "الْمُطَوَّلِ" فِي أَلْفَاظٍ قَلِيلَةٍ، بَلِ الْمُرَادُ بِهِ الِاقْتِصَارُ عَلَى بَيَانِ مَعَانِيهِ وَحَذْفِ مَا زَادَ، فَالِاقْتِصَارُ تَفْسِيرٌ لِلِاخْتِصَارِ الدُّسُوقِيُّ (وَالتَّجْرِيدُ لَمَّا شَاهَدُوا مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِـ"سَأَلُونِي" أَيْ لَمَّا عَلِمُوا عِلْمًا فَاشِيًا كَالْمُشَاهَدَةِ، ثُمَّ يُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ يُقْرَأَ "لَمَّا" بِالتَّخْفِيفِ تَعْلِيلًا لِـ"سَأَلُونِي"، وَيُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ يُقْرَأَ بِالتَّشْدِيدِ فَيَكُونُ ظَرْفًا لِـ"سَأَلُونِي"، وَ"مِنْ" مِنْ" وَ"أَنْ" زَائِدَتَانِ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ التَّقَاصُرُ وَالتَّقَاعُدُ عَمَّا ذُكِرَ وَالتَّقْلِيبُ وَالْمَدُّ الْمَذْكُورَانِ عِلَّةً لِطَلَبِ الِاخْتِصَارِ؛ لِأَنَّ اخْتِصَارَهُ نَفْعُ الْمُتَقَاصِرِينَ بِإِعْطَائِهِمْ مَقْدُورَهُمْ وَقَمْعُ الْمُنْتَحِلِينَ بِاسْتِغْنَاءِ النَّاسِ بِذَلِكَ الْمُخْتَصَرِ عَنْ مَصْنُوعِهِمْ، فَيَتْرُكُونَ الِانْتِهَابَ وَالْمَسْخَ؛ لِبُطْلَانِ مَرْجُوِّهِمْ مِنْ مُلَاحَظَةِ النَّاسِ لَهُمْ وَاعْتِنَائِهِمْ بِمَا يَنْتَهِبُونَهُ.

'And limiting' is a conjunction to 'abridging it' or to the second object of 'they asked me'; in 'limiting' there is an indication that what is intended by the requested 'abridgment' is not bringing all the issues mentioned in 'al-Mutawwal' in few words, but rather what is intended by it is limiting oneself to explaining its meanings and deleting what is extra; thus, 'limiting' is an interpretation of 'abridgment' (al-Dasuqi and al-Tajrid); 'when they witnessed' is related to 'they asked me,' meaning when they knew with a knowledge as widespread as witnessing; then it is possible that 'when' (lamma) be read with light articulation as a justification for 'they asked me,' and it is possible that it be read with heavy articulation, in which case it is an adverb for 'they asked me'; 'min' and 'an' are extra; the falling short and lagging behind from what was mentioned, and the flipping and extending mentioned, were the cause for requesting the abridgment, because its abridgment is a benefit to those who fall short by giving them their capacity, and a suppression of the plagiarists by people becoming independent of their work through that abridgment, so they abandon plundering and distortion due to the invalidity of their hopes for people's attention to them and their concern for what they plunder.

Vocabulary · المفردات (13 verbs · 26 nouns)

• أَغْنَى — to enrich
• أَوْدَعَ — to deposit
• سَمَحَ — to be generous with
• وَشَّحَ — to adorn
• سَبَكَ — to forge
• رَأَى — to see
• سَأَلَ — to ask
• صَرَفَ — to direct
• اِخْتَصَرَ — to summarize
• اِقْتَصَرَ — to limit
• بَانَ — to clarify
• كَشَفَ — to reveal
• شَاهَدَ — to witness
• خُطْبَة — preface
• كِتَاب — book
• وَجْه — aspect
• تَأْلِيف — compilation
• مُخْتَصَر — summary
• تَلْخِيص — summarizing
• مِفْتَاح — key
• إِصْبَاح — morning
• مِصْبَاح — lamp
• غَرِيبَة — rarity
• نُكْتَة — witticism
• نَظَر — view
• لَطِيفَة — subtlety
• فِقْرَة — paragraph
• يَد — hand
• فِكْر — thought
• كَثِير — many
• فَضِيل — virtuous man
• جَمّ — multitude
• غَفِير — numerous
• ذَكِيّ — intelligent man
• هِمَّة — ambition
• بَيَان — clarification
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• كَشْف — revelation
• سِتْر — veil