Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 2 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 216

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وُجُوهُ تَحْسِينِ الْكَلَامِ جَمْعٌ بَيْنَ أَمْرَيْنِ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ بِالْجَمْعِ بَيْنَ ثَلَاثَةِ أُمُورٍ نَحْوَ قَوْلِهِ فِي صِفَةِ الْإِبِلِ: كَالْقِسِيِّ، يَجْرِيَانِ بِحِسَابٍ مَعْلُومٍ.

The modes of beautifying speech involve combining two things, and it may also be by combining three things, such as his saying in describing camels: 'Like bows, they run with a known calculation.'

الْبُحْتُرِيُّ بِالْهَزَالِ، قَوْسُ الْمُعَطَّفَاتِ الْمُنْحَنِيَاتِ بَلِ الْأَسْهُمُ جَمْعُ سَهْمٍ مَبْرِيَّةٍ مَنْحُوتَةٍ بَلِ الْأَوْتَارُ جَمْعُ وَتَرٍ، مِنَ الِانْحِنَاءِ، حَالٌ مِنَ الْأَسْهُمِ.

Al-Buhturi [describes them] as emaciated; 'qaws' (bow) refers to the bent, curved things; 'al-ashum' (arrows), the plural of 'sahm', are whittled and carved; 'al-awtar' (bowstrings), the plural of 'watar', [are mentioned]; 'min al-inhina' (from the bending) is a state describing the arrows.

جَمْعٌ بَيْنَ ثَلَاثَةِ أُمُورٍ، وَمِنْهَا أَيْ مِنْ مُرَاعَاةِ النَّظِيرِ مَا يُسَمِّيهِ بَعْضُهُمْ تَشَابُهَ الْأَطْرَافِ وَهُوَ الْقَوْسُ وَالسَّهْمُ وَالْوَتَرُ أَنْ يَخْتِمَ الْكَلَامَ بِمَا يُنَاسِبُ ابْتِدَاءَهُ فِي الْمَعْنَى نَحْوَ: لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ، فَإِنَّ اللَّطِيفَ يُنَاسِبُ كَوْنَهُ غَيْرَ مُدْرَكٍ بِالْأَبْصَارِ، وَالْخَبِيرُ يُنَاسِبُ كَوْنَهُ مُدْرِكًا لِلْأَبْصَارِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمُدْرِكَ لِلشَّيْءِ يَكُونُ خَبِيرًا عَالِمًا، وَيَلْحَقُ بِهَا أَيْ بِمُرَاعَاةِ النَّظِيرِ أَنْ يَجْمَعَ بَيْنَ مَعْنَيَيْنِ غَيْرِ مُتَنَاسِبَيْنِ بِلَفْظَيْنِ يَكُونُ لَهُمَا مَعْنَيَانِ مُتَنَاسِبَانِ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمَا وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا مَقْصُودَيْنِ هَهُنَا، جَمْعٌ بَيْنَ أَمْرَيْنِ وَهُمَا الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ، وَلَا يَخْفَى تَنَاسُبُهُمَا مِنْ حَيْثُ تَقَارُنُهُمَا فِي الْخَيَالِ؛ لِكَوْنِ كُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا جِسْمًا نُورَانِيًّا سَمَاوِيًّا، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ لَا حَاجَةَ لِقَوْلِهِ: جَمْعٌ بَيْنَ أَمْرَيْنِ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ: قَدْ يَكُونُ الْجَمْعُ بَيْنَ أَمْرَيْنِ فَهُوَ تَأْكِيدٌ لَهُ.

This is a combination of three things; among them—that is, among the types of 'observing the counterpart' (mura'at al-nazir)—is what some call 'similarity of the extremities' (tashabuh al-atraf), which are the bow, the arrow, and the bowstring, [defined as] concluding the speech with something that corresponds in meaning to its beginning, such as: 'Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.' For 'the Subtle' (al-Latif) corresponds to His being imperceptible to vision, and 'the Acquainted' (al-Khabir) corresponds to His being the perceiver of vision, because one who perceives a thing is acquainted and knowledgeable. Attached to this—that is, to 'observing the counterpart'—is combining two meanings that are not related by using two words that have meanings that are related in themselves, even if they are not intended here; [this is] a combination of two things, which are the sun and the moon, and their relationship is not hidden in terms of their association in the imagination, as each of them is a luminous celestial body; furthermore, there is no need for his saying 'a combination of two things' along with his saying 'the combination may be of two things,' so it is an emphasis of it.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (19 verbs · 78 nouns)

• جَمَعَ — to collect
• كَانَ — to be
• جَرَى — to flow
• وَجْهٌ — aspect
• تَحْسِينٌ — improvement
• كَلَامٌ — speech