Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 2 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 12

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الفَنُّ الثَّانِي.

The second art: signification.

الجُمْلَةُ خَبَرُ المُبْتَدَأِ.

The sentence is the predicate of the subject.

فَنَقِيضُهُ المُشَارُ إِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: وَإِلَّا يَكُونُ سَلْبًا جُزْئِيًّا، أَيْ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَالِمًا بِوَضْعِ كُلِّ لَفْظٍ، فَيَكُونُ اللَّازِمُ عَدَمَ دَلَالَةِ كُلِّ لَفْظٍ، وَيَحْتَمِلُ أَنْ يَكُونَ البَعْضُ مِنْهَا دَالًّا؛ لِاحْتِمَالِ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَالِمًا بِوَضْعِ البَعْضِ، وَلِقَائِلٍ أَنْ يَقُولَ: لَا نُسَلِّمُ عَدَمَ التَّفَاوُتِ فِي الفَهْمِ عَلَى تَقْدِيرِ العِلْمِ بِالوَضْعِ، بَلْ يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَحْضُرَ فِي العَقْلِ مَعَانِي بَعْضِ الأَلْفَاظِ المَخْزُونَةِ فِي الخَيَالِ بِأَدْنَى التَّفَاوُتِ؛ لِكَثْرَةِ المُمَارَسَةِ وَالمُوَانَسَةِ وَقُرْبِ العَهْدِ بِهَا، بِخِلَافِ البَعْضِ؛ فَإِنَّهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْتِفَاتٍ أَكْثَرَ وَمُرَاجَعَةٍ أَطْوَلَ مَعَ كَوْنِ الأَلْفَاظِ مُتَرَادِفَةً وَالسَّامِعُ عَالِمًا بِالوَضْعِ، وَهَذَا مِمَّا نَجِدُ مِنْ أَنْفُسِنَا.

Its contradictory, referred to by his saying 'otherwise it would be a partial negation,' means: if he is not knowledgeable of the conventional meaning of every word, then the necessary consequence is the lack of signification of every word, though it is possible that some of them might signify, due to the possibility that he is knowledgeable of the conventional meaning of some of them; and an objector may say: 'We do not concede the lack of disparity in understanding upon the assumption of knowledge of the conventional meaning; rather, it is possible that the meanings of some words stored in the imagination may present themselves to the mind with the slightest disparity due to frequent practice, familiarity, and recent exposure to them, unlike others, for they require more attention and longer review, even though the words are synonymous and the listener is knowledgeable of the conventional meaning, and this is something we find within ourselves.'

وَالجَوَابُ أَنَّ التَّفَاوُتَ إِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنْ جِهَةِ عَدَمِ تَذَكُّرِ الوَضْعِ.

The answer is that the disparity is only from the perspective of not recalling the conventional meaning.

فَنَقِيضُهُ مُبْتَدَأٌ وَقَوْلُهُ يَكُونُ أَيْ ذَلِكَ النَّقِيضُ، وَقَوْلُهُ: سَلْبًا جُزْئِيًّا خَبَرُ يَكُونُ، وَجُمْلَةُ يَكُونُ خَبَرُ المُبْتَدَأِ.

'Its contradictory' is the subject, and his saying 'it would be' refers to that contradictory, and his saying 'a partial negation' is the predicate of 'would be,' and the sentence 'it would be' is the predicate of the subject.

سَلْبًا جُزْئِيًّا: إِنَّمَا كَانَ نَقِيضُهُ سَلْبًا جُزْئِيًّا؛ لِمَا تَقَرَّرَ فِي المَنْطِقِ مِنْ أَنَّ الْإِيجَابَ الكُلِّيَّ إِنَّمَا يُنَاقِضُهُ السَّلْبُ الجُزْئِيُّ لَا الكُلِّيُّ، وَلِذَا لَمْ يَقُلْ: لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهَا دَالًّا عَلَى السَّلْبِ الكُلِّيِّ، ثُمَّ مِنَ المَعْلُومِ أَنَّ السَّلْبَ الجُزْئِيَّ أَعَمُّ مِنَ السَّلْبِ الكُلِّيِّ؛ لِصِدْقِهِ مَعَهُ وَمَعَ الْإِيجَابِ الكُلِّيِّ.

'A partial negation': Its contradictory was only a partial negation because of what has been established in logic, that a universal affirmative is only contradicted by a partial negation, not a universal one; and for this reason, he did not say: 'None of them would signify,' which would be a universal negation; furthermore, it is known that a partial negation is more general than a universal negation, because it is true both with it and with the universal affirmative.

فَيَكُونُ اللَّازِمُ أَيْ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنِ السَّامِعُ عَالِمًا بِوَضْعِ كُلِّ لَفْظٍ، فَاللَّازِمُ عَدَمُ دَلَالَةِ كُلِّ لَفْظٍ عَلَيْهِ، وَهَذَا اللَّازِمُ - أَعْنِي عَدَمَ دَلَالَةِ كُلِّ لَفْظٍ عَلَيْهِ - صَادِقٌ بِأَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لِلَّفْظِ مِنْهَا دَلَالَةٌ أَصْلًا، وَصَادِقٌ بِأَنْ يَكُونَ بَعْضٌ مِنْهَا دَلَالَةٌ.

'Then the necessary consequence would be,' meaning if the listener is not knowledgeable of the conventional meaning of every word, then the necessary consequence is the lack of signification of every word for him; and this necessary consequence—I mean the lack of signification of every word for him—is true in the case where the word has no signification at all, and it is true in the case where some of them have signification.

هَذَا عَلَى مَذْهَبِ مَنْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ المُسْنَدَ إِلَيْهِ المُسَوَّرَ بِكُلٍّ إِذَا أُخِّرَ عَنْ أَدَاةِ النَّفْيِ يُفِيدُ سَلْبَ العُمُومِ.

This is according to the school of thought of those who say: 'The subject qualified by "all" (kull), when placed after a negation particle, signifies the negation of the generality.'

وَأَمَّا عَلَى مَذْهَبِ الشَّيْخِ عَبْدِ القَاهِرِ مِنْ أَنَّهُ إِذَا أُخِّرَ عَنْ أَدَاةِ النَّفْيِ وَمَا فِي مَعْنَاهُ يُفِيدُ النَّفْيَ عَنِ الكُلِّ مَعَ بَقَاءِ أَصْلِ الفِعْلِ، فَلَا يَصِحُّ جَعْلُهُ أَعَمَّ مِنَ السَّلْبِ الكُلِّيِّ، بَلْ يَتَبَايَنَانِ.

As for the school of thought of Sheikh Abd al-Qahir, that when it is placed after a negation particle or what is in its meaning, it signifies the negation of the whole while the essence of the action remains, then it is not correct to consider it more general than a universal negation; rather, they are mutually exclusive.

وَيَحْتَمِلُ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لِلَّفْظِ مِنْهَا دَلَالَةٌ لَا نُسَلِّمُ إِلَخْ: هَذَا وَارِدٌ عَلَى قَوْلِ المُصَنِّفِ؛ لِأَنَّ السَّامِعَ إِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا بِوَضْعِ الأَلْفَاظِ لَمْ يَكُنْ بَعْضُهَا أَوْضَحَ دَلَالَةً مِنْ بَعْضٍ.

'And it is possible that the word has no signification' ... 'We do not concede,' etc.: This is an objection to the author's statement, because if the listener is knowledgeable of the conventional meaning of the words, some of them would not be clearer in signification than others.

لِكَثْرَةِ المُمَارَسَةِ: فَفَهْمُ المَعْنَى مِنْ أَسَدٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْ فَهْمِهِ مِنْ لَيْثٍ وَغَضَنْفَرٍ مَعَ العِلْمِ بِوَضْعِ هَذِهِ الأَلْفَاظِ الأَرْبَعَةِ، وَذَلِكَ لِكَثْرَةِ اسْتِعْمَالِ هَذَيْنِ اللَّفْظَيْنِ فِي المَعْنَى المَوْضُوعِ لَهُ دُونَ الآخَرَيْنِ.

'Due to frequent practice': Understanding the meaning from 'asad' (lion) is closer than understanding it from 'layth' or 'ghadanfar,' despite knowing the conventional meaning of these four words, and that is due to the frequent use of these two words for the meaning they are assigned to, unlike the others.

فَإِنَّهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَخْ يَعْنِي فَحِينَئِذٍ قَدْ وُجِدَ الوُضُوحُ وَالخَفَاءُ فِي دَلَالَةِ المُطَابَقَةِ مَعَ العِلْمِ بِالوَضْعِ، فَقَوْلُ المُصَنِّفِ: لِأَنَّ السَّامِعَ إِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا بِوَضْعِ الأَلْفَاظِ لَمْ يَكُنْ بَعْضُهَا أَوْضَحَ مِنْ بَعْضٍ لَا يُسَلَّمُ.

'For it requires,' etc., means: then, in that case, clarity and obscurity have been found in the signification of correspondence despite knowledge of the conventional meaning; therefore, the author's statement, 'because if the listener is knowledgeable of the conventional meaning of the words, some of them would not be clearer than others,' is not conceded.

وَالجَوَابُ إِلَخْ حَاصِلُهُ أَنَّ المُرَادَ بِالاخْتِلَافِ فِي الوُضُوحِ وَالخَفَاءِ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى نَفْسِ الدَّلَالَةِ، وَدَلَالَةُ الِالْتِزَامِ كَذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ حَيْثُ إِنَّهَا دَلَالَةُ الِالْتِزَامِ قَدْ تَكُونُ وَاضِحَةً كَمَا فِي اللَّوَازِمِ القَرِيبَةِ، وَقَدْ تَكُونُ خَفِيَّةً كَمَا فِي اللَّوَازِمِ البَعِيدَةِ بِخِلَافِ المُطَابَقَةِ؛ فَإِنَّ فَهْمَ المَعْنَى المُطَابِقِيِّ وَاجِبٌ قَطْعًا عِنْدَ العِلْمِ بِالوَضْعِ، وَالتَّفَاوُتُ فِي سُرْعَةِ الحُضُورِ وَبُطْئِهِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنْ جِهَةِ سُرْعَةِ تَذَكُّرِ السَّامِعِ لِلْوَضْعِ وَبُطْئِهِ.

'The answer,' etc.: The gist of it is that what is meant by the difference in clarity and obscurity is that it should be with regard to the signification itself, and the signification of implication is like that; because, in terms of it being a signification of implication, it may be clear, as in close implications, and it may be obscure, as in distant implications, unlike correspondence; for the understanding of the corresponding meaning is definitively necessary when one knows the conventional meaning, and the disparity in the speed or slowness of its presence [in the mind] is only from the perspective of the listener's speed or slowness in recalling the conventional meaning.

Vocabulary · المفردات (23 verbs · 79 nouns)

• كَانَ — to be
• أَشَارَ — to point
• عَلِمَ — to know
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• احْتَمَلَ — to imply
• قَالَ — to say
• سَلَّمَ — to concede
• جَازَ — to be permissible
• حَضَرَ — to be present
• خَزَنَ — to store
• احْتَاجَ — to need
• وَجَدَ — to find
• تَذَكَّرَ — to remember
• تَقَرَّرَ — to be established
• نَاقَضَ — to contradict
• صَدَقَ — to be true
• أَخَّرَ — to delay
• أَفَادَ — to benefit
• صَحَّ — to be correct
• تَبَايَنَ — to differ
• وَرَدَ — to arrive
• اسْتَعْمَلَ — to use
• وَضَعَ — to establish convention
• فَنٌّ — art
• دَلَالَةٌ — indication
• جُمْلَةٌ — sentence
• خَبَرٌ — predicate
• مُبْتَدَأٌ — subject
• نَقِيضٌ — opposite
• قَوْلٌ — saying
• سَلْبٌ — negation
• جُزْئِيٌّ — partial
• عَالِمٌ — scholar
• وَضْعٌ — lexical convention
• لَفْظٌ — word
• لَازِمٌ — necessary
• عَدَمٌ — absence
• بَعْضٌ — some
• قَائِلٌ — speaker
• تَفَاوُتٌ — disparity
• فَهْمٌ — understanding
• تَقْدِيرٌ — estimation
• عِلْمٌ — knowledge
• عَقْلٌ — mind
• مَعْنًى — meaning
• خَيَالٌ — imagination
• أَدْنَى — lowest
• كَثْرَةٌ — abundance
• مُمَارَسَةٌ — practice
• مُوَانَسَةٌ — familiarity
• قُرْبٌ — nearness
• عَهْدٌ — time
• خِلَافٌ — difference
• الْتِفَاتٌ — attention
• مُرَاجَعَةٌ — review
• أَطْوَلُ — longer
• مُتَرَادِفٌ — synonym
• سَامِعٌ — listener
• جَوَابٌ — answer
• جِهَةٌ — side
• تَذَكُّرٌ — recollection
• مَنْطِقٌ — logic
• إِيجَابٌ — affirmation
• كُلِّيٌّ — universal
• أَحَدٌ — one
• مَعْلُومٌ — known
• أَعَمُّ — more general
• صِدْقٌ — truth
• مَذْهَبٌ — school of thought
• مُسْنَدٌ — predicate
• مُسَوَّرٌ — quantified
• أَدَاةٌ — tool
• نَفْيٌ — negation
• عُمُومٌ — generality
• شَيْخٌ — sheikh
• أَصْلٌ — origin
• فِعْلٌ — verb
• صَادِقٌ — truthful
• أَوْضَحُ — clearer
• أَسَدٌ — lion
• لَيْثٌ — lion
• غَضَنْفَرٌ — lion
• أَرْبَعَةٌ — four
• اسْتِعْمَالٌ — usage
• مَوْضُوعٌ — subject
• آخَرُ — other
• وُضُوحٌ — clarity
• خَفَاءٌ — obscurity
• مُطَابَقَةٌ — correspondence
• اخْتِلَافٌ — disagreement
• نَظَرٌ — view
• الْتِزَامٌ — implication
• وَاضِحٌ — clear
• قَرِيبٌ — near
• خَفِيٌّ — hidden
• بَعِيدٌ — far
• مُطَابِقِيٌّ — corresponding
• وَاجِبٌ — obligatory
• قَطْعٌ — certainty
• سُرْعَةٌ — speed
• حُضُورٌ — presence
• بُطْءٌ — slowness