Sharh Ibn Aqil on Alfiyyat Ibn Malik — Volume 2 (شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك) — Page 213

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الِاسْتِثْنَاءُ: وَإِلَّا زَيْدًا، وَلَا يَقُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا زَيْدٌ، وَإِلَّا زَيْدًا، وَهَلْ قَامَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا زَيْدٌ؟ وَإِلَّا زَيْدًا، وَمَا ضَرَبْتُ أَحَدًا إِلَّا زَيْدًا، وَلَا تَضْرِبْ أَحَدًا إِلَّا زَيْدًا، وَهَلْ ضَرَبْتَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا زَيْدًا؟

Exception: [You say] 'wa-illa Zaydan' [except Zayd], 'wa-la yaqum ahadun illa Zaydun' [let no one stand except Zayd], 'wa-illa Zaydan' [except Zayd], 'wa-hal qama ahadun illa Zaydun?' [did anyone stand except Zayd?], 'wa-illa Zaydan' [except Zayd], 'wa-ma darabtu ahadan illa Zaydan' [I did not hit anyone except Zayd], 'wa-la tadrib ahadan illa Zaydan' [do not hit anyone except Zayd], 'wa-hal darabta ahadan illa Zaydan?' [did you hit anyone except Zayd?].

فَيَجُوزُ فِي زَيْدٍ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَنْصُوبًا عَلَى الِاسْتِثْنَاءِ، وَأَنْ يَكُونَ مَنْصُوبًا عَلَى الْبَدَلِيَّةِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ، وَتَقُولُ: مَا مَرَرْتُ بِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ حَرْفُ عَطْفٍ، وَمَا بَعْدَهُ مَعْطُوفٌ عَطْفَ النَّسَقِ عَلَى الِاسْمِ الَّذِي قَبْلَهَا، وَكَانَ أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى ثَعْلَبٌ -وَهُوَ كُوفِيٌّ- يَقُولُ: كَيْفَ يَكُونُ بَدَلًا، وَهُوَ مُوجَبٌ وَمَتْبُوعُهُ مَنْفِيٌّ؟

Zayd may be in the accusative case as an exception, or it may be in the accusative as a substitute for 'anyone', which is the preferred view. You say: 'I did not pass by anyone except...', where the particle in this position acts as a conjunction, and what follows is conjoined to the preceding noun. Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya Tha'lab, a Kufan scholar, used to ask: How can it be a substitute when it is affirmative while its antecedent is negative?

وَقَدْ أَجَابَ عَنْ هَذَا الِاعْتِرَاضِ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ السِّيرَافِيُّ شَارِحُ كِتَابِ سِيبَوَيْهِ بِأَنَّا إِنَّمَا جَعَلْنَاهُ بَدَلًا مِنْهُ فِي عَمَلِ الْعَامِلِ فِيهِ، وَتَخَالُفُهُمَا فِي النَّفْيِ وَالْإِثْبَاتِ لَا يَمْنَعُ الْبَدَلِيَّةَ، لِأَنَّ سَبِيلَ الْبَدَلِ أَنْ يُجْعَلَ الْأَوَّلُ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُذْكَرْ وَالثَّانِي فِي مَوْضِعِهِ، وَقَدْ رَأَيْنَا التَّوَابِعَ تَتَخَالَفُ فِي النَّفْيِ وَالْإِثْبَاتِ، مِنْ ذَلِكَ النَّعْتُ فِي نَحْوِ قَوْلِكَ: مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ لَا كَرِيمٍ وَلَا لَبِيبٍ.

Abu Sa'id al-Sirafi, the commentator on Sibawayh's book, countered this objection by stating that we treat it as a substitute only regarding the operation of the governor. Their disagreement in negation and affirmation does not prevent substitution, because the nature of a substitute is that the first noun is treated as if it were unmentioned, with the second taking its place. We have seen followers disagree in negation and affirmation, such as the adjective in the phrase: 'I passed by a man who is neither generous nor intelligent.'

…3 more translated lines, 13 more verbs and 68 more nouns on this page — subscribe to study every page.

Vocabulary · المفردات (16 verbs · 71 nouns)

• قَامَ — to stand
• ضَرَبَ — to hit
• جَازَ — to be permitted
• اسْتِثْنَاءٌ — exception
• زَيْدٌ — Zayd
• أَحَدٌ — anyone