Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 2 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 314

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الْخَاتِمَةُ وَهُوَ كَشْطُ الْجِلْدِ عَنْ بَابِهِ ضَرَبَ الشَّاةِ وَنَحْوِهَا فَكَأَنَّهُ كَشَطَ مِنَ الْمَعْنَى جِلْدًا هُوَ اللَّفْظُ وَأَلْبَسَهُ جِلْدًا آخَرَ؛ فَإِنَّ اللَّفْظَ لِلْمَعْنَى بِمَنْزِلَةِ اللِّبَاسِ وَهُوَ ثَلَاثَةُ أَقْسَامٍ كَذَلِكَ أَيْ مِثْلُ مَا يُسَمَّى إِلْمَامًا إِغَارَةً يُسَمَّى وَمَسْخًا؛ لِأَنَّ الثَّانِيَ إِمَّا أَبْلَغُ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِ أَوْ دُونَهُ أَوْ مِثْلُهُ

The conclusion: it is the flaying of the skin from its source, like the slaughtering of a sheep or the like, so it is as if he has flayed a skin from the meaning, which is the wording, and clothed it in another skin; for the wording is to the meaning like a garment, and it is three categories as well, meaning like what is called 'ilmam' (allusion), 'igharah' (raid), and 'maskh' (distortion); because the second is either more eloquent than the first, or less than it, or equal to it.

أَوَّلُهَا أَيْ أَوَّلُ الْأَقْسَامِ وَهُوَ أَنْ فَيَكُونُ مَمْدُوحًا فَيَكُونُ مَذْمُومًا فَيَكُونُ بَعِيدًا عَنِ الذَّمِّ الثَّلَاثَةِ الشَّأْنُ، يَكُونُ الثَّانِي أَبْلَغَ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِ كَقَوْلِ أَبِي تَمَّامٍ: هُوَ ضَمِيرُ الصُّنْعِ أَيِ الْإِحْسَانُ، أَحْسَنُ مُبْتَدَأٌ أَوَّلُ مُبْتَدَأٌ ثَانٍ وَالصُّنْعُ مُبْتَدَأٌ وَخَبَرُهُ الْجُمْلَةُ الشَّرْطِيَّةُ، أَعْنِي قَوْلَ إِنْ يَعْجَلْ فَخَيْرٌ وَإِنْ يَرِثْ أَيْ يَبْطُؤُ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ بَابُهُ بَاعَ يَتَأَخَّرُ فَالرَّيْتُ فِي بَعْضِ الْمَوَاضِعِ أَنْفَعُ، وَالْأَحْسَنُ أَنْ يَكُونَ هُوَ عَائِدًا إِلَى حَاضِرٍ فِي الذِّهْنِ وَهُوَ مُبْتَدَأٌ وَخَبَرُهُ الصُّنْعُ، وَالشَّرْطِيَّةُ ابْتِدَاءُ الْكَلَامِ، وَهَذَا كَقَوْلِ أَبِي الْعَلَاءِ هُوَ الْهَجْرُ حَتَّى مَا يَلُمُّ خَيَالٌ وَبَعْضُ صُدُودِ الزَّائِرِينَ وِصَالٌ

The first of them, meaning the first of the categories, is that it may be praiseworthy, blameworthy, or far from blame, the three being of the 'sha'n' (state) type, where the second is more eloquent than the first, like the saying of Abu Tammam: 'Huwa' (it) is the pronoun of 'al-sun'' (the act), meaning benevolence; 'Ahsan' (better) is the first subject, 'awwal' (first) is the second subject, and 'al-sun'' is a subject whose predicate is the conditional sentence, I mean the saying: 'If he hastens, it is good, and if he 'yarith' (meaning slows down), it is good.' Its root is 'ba'a' (to sell), meaning to delay, for slowness in some places is more beneficial. The better interpretation is that 'huwa' refers to something present in the mind, and it is a subject whose predicate is 'al-sun'', and the conditional sentence is the beginning of the speech; this is like the saying of Abu al-'Ala': 'It is abandonment, until not even a phantom visits, and some of the visitors' turning away is a union.'

مَا فِي الذِّهْنِ الْإِعْرَاضُ وَهُوَ مَوْعُودٌ بِهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَهُوَ: أَيِ السَّلْخُ فِي اللُّغَةِ كَشْطُ الْجِلْدِ إِلَخْ أَيْ وَاللَّفْظُ لِلْمَعْنَى بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْجِلْدِ فَكَأَنَّ الشَّاعِرَ الثَّانِيَ كَشَطَ الْمَعْنَى جِلْدًا وَأَلْبَسَ ذَلِكَ الْمَعْنَى جِلْدًا آخَرَ.

What is in the mind is the turning away, and it is what is promised by that, and it is: meaning 'al-salkh' (flaying) in the language is the scraping of the skin, etc., meaning the wording is to the meaning like the skin, so it is as if the second poet flayed the meaning of a skin and clothed that meaning in another skin.

…7 more translated lines, 18 more verbs and 64 more nouns on this page — subscribe to study every page.

Vocabulary · المفردات (21 verbs · 67 nouns)

• كَشَطَ — to scrape
• ضَرَبَ — to strike
• أَلْبَسَ — to clothe
• خَاتِمَة — conclusion
• جِلْد — skin
• بَاب — chapter