Sharh Ibn Aqil on Alfiyyat Ibn Malik — Volume 3 (شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك) — Page 9

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وَقَوْلُهُ: وَكَمْ مَوْطِنٍ لَوْلايَ طِحْتُ كَمَا هَوَى بِأَجْرَامِهِ مِنْ قُنَّةِ النِّيقِ مُنْهَوِي.

His words: 'How many a battlefield, were it not for me, I would have perished, just as one falling from a mountain peak plunges down with his whole body.'

الْبَيْتُ لِيَزِيدَ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْعَاصِ، مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ لَهُ يَعْتِبُ فِيهَا عَلَى ابْنِ عَمِّهِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ أَبِي الْعَاصِ.

The verse is by Yazid ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As, from a poem in which he reproaches his cousin, Abd al-Rahman ibn Uthman ibn Abi al-As.

اللُّغَةُ: مَوْطِنٌ: أَرَادَ بِهِ الْمَشْهَدَ مِنْ مَشَاهِدِ الْحُرُوبِ.

Lexicon: 'Mawtin' (place) here refers to a scene of battle.

طِحْتُ: هَلَكْتُ، وَيُقَالُ: طَاحَ يَطُوحُ كَقَالَ يَقُولُ، وَطَاحَ يَطِيحُ كَبَاعَ يَبِيعُ.

'Tihtu' (I perished): I died. It is said 'taha yatuhu' like 'qala yaqulu', or 'taha yatihu' like 'ba'a yabi'u'.

بِأَجْرَامِهِ: الأَجْرَامُ: جَمْعُ جِرْمٍ، وَهُوَ الْجَسَدُ.

'Bi-ajramihi' (with his body): 'Al-ajram' is the plural of 'jirm', meaning the body.

هَوَى: سَقَطَ مِنْ أَعْلَى إِلَى أَسْفَلَ، وَهُوَ بِوَزْنِ رَمَى يَرْمِي.

'Hawa' (fell): To drop from a high place to a low one; it follows the pattern of 'rama yarmi'.

قُنَّةُ النِّيقِ: رَأْسُ الْجَبَلِ.

'Qunnat al-niq': The summit of a mountain.

مُنْهَوِي: سَاقِطٌ.

'Munhawin': One who is falling.

الْمَعْنَى: كَثِيرٌ مِنْ مَشَاهِدِ الْحُرُوبِ لَوْلا وُجُودِي مَعَكَ فِيهَا لَسَقَطْتُ سُقُوطَ مَنْ يَهْوِي مِنْ أَعْلَى الْجَبَلِ بِجَمِيعِ جِسْمِهِ.

Meaning: In many battles, had I not been there with you, I would have fallen like someone plunging from a mountain peak with his entire body.

الإِعْرَابُ: كَمْ خَبَرِيَّةٌ - بِمَعْنَى كَثِيرٍ - مُبْتَدَأٌ، أَوْ ظَرْفٌ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِطِحْتُ.

Grammar: 'Kam' is the quantitative type, meaning 'many'. It acts as the subject, or as an adverb linked to 'tihtu'.

مَوْطِنٍ: تَمْيِيزُ كَمْ مَجْرُورٌ بِإِضَافَتِهَا إِلَيْهِ، وَخَبَرُ الْمُبْتَدَإِ الَّذِي هُوَ كَمْ - عَلَى الأَوَّلِ مَحْذُوفٌ، وَالتَّقْدِيرُ: كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْمَوَاطِنِ لَكَ، مَثَلًا.

'Mawtinin': The specifier of 'kam', in the genitive case by annexation. In the first interpretation, the predicate of the subject 'kam' is omitted, understood as 'Many are the places for you,' for instance.

لَوْلايَ: لَوْلا: حَرْفٌ يَدُلُّ عَلَى امْتِنَاعِ الْجَوَابِ لِوُجُودِ الشَّرْطِ، وَهُوَ حَرْفُ جَرٍّ شَبِيهٌ بِالزَّائِدِ لا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِشَيْءٍ عِنْدَ سِيبَوَيْهِ، وَيَاءُ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ عِنْدَهُ ذَاتُ مَحَلَّيْنِ، أَحَدُهُمَا جَرٌّ بِلَوْلا، وَثَانِيهِمَا رَفْعٌ بِالابْتِدَاءِ، وَلَيْسَ لَهَا إِلا مَحَلٌّ وَاحِدٌ هُوَ الرَّفْعُ بِالابْتِدَاءِ عِنْدَ الأَخْفَشِ، وَعِنْدَهُ أَنَّ الشَّاعِرَ قَدِ اسْتَعَارَ ضَمِيرَ الْجَرِّ لِضَمِيرِ الرَّفْعِ، وَالْخَبَرُ مَحْذُوفٌ عِنْدَهُمَا جَمِيعًا، وَالتَّقْدِيرُ: لَوْلايَ مَوْجُودٌ.

'Lawlaya': 'Lawla' is a particle indicating that the response is blocked by the existence of the condition. Sibawayh considers it a preposition similar to a redundant one, governing nothing. He holds that the first-person pronoun has two roles: one genitive governed by 'lawla', and one nominative as a subject. Al-Akhfash argues it has only one role, the nominative as subject, and that the poet substituted the genitive pronoun for the nominative. Both agree the predicate is omitted, understood as 'Were I not present'.

طِحْتُ: فِعْلٌ وَفَاعِلٌ، وَالْجُمْلَةُ فِي مَحَلِّ صِفَةٍ لِمَوْطِنٍ، وَالرَّابِطُ مَحْذُوفٌ، أَيْ: طِحْتُ فِيهِ، أَوْ هَذِهِ الْجُمْلَةُ لا مَحَلَّ لَهَا جَوَابُ لَوْلا، وَهَذَا أَحْسَنُ.

'Tihtu': A verb and its subject. The clause functions as an adjective for 'mawtin' with an omitted connector, meaning 'I perished in it'. Alternatively, the clause serves as the response to 'lawla' and has no grammatical position, which is the preferred view.

كَمَا: الْكَافُ جَارَّةٌ، وَمَا: مَصْدَرِيَّةٌ.

'Kama': The 'kaf' is a preposition, and 'ma' is a particle creating a verbal noun.

هَوَى: فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ.

'Hawa': A past tense verb.

بِأَجْرَامِهِ: الْجَارُّ وَالْمَجْرُورُ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِهَوَى.

'Bi-ajramihi': The prepositional phrase relates to 'hawa'.

مِنْ قُنَّةِ: جَارٌّ وَمَجْرُورٌ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِهَوَى أَيْضًا.

'Min qunnati': This prepositional phrase also relates to 'hawa'.

النِّيقِ: مُضَافٌ إِلَيْهِ.

'Al-niqi': A noun in the genitive case by annexation.

مُنْهَوِي: فَاعِلُ هَوَى.

'Munhawin': The subject of 'hawa'.

وَمَا الْمَصْدَرِيَّةُ وَمَدْخُولُهَا فِي تَأْوِيلِ مَصْدَرٍ مَجْرُورٌ بِالْكَافِ، وَالْكَافُ وَمَجْرُورُهَا تَتَعَلَّقُ بِمَحْذُوفٍ صِفَةِ الْمَصْدَرِ مَحْذُوفٌ، أَيْ: طِحْتُ طَيْحًا مِثْلَ طَيْحِ مُنْهَوٍ مِنْ قُنَّةِ النِّيقِ بِأَجْرَامِهِ.

The verbal noun formed by 'ma' and its clause is in the genitive case governed by the 'kaf'. The prepositional phrase relates to an omitted adjective modifying an omitted verbal noun, meaning: 'I perished a perishing like the perishing of one falling from a mountain peak with his body'.

Vocabulary · المفردات (12 verbs · 57 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• طَاحَ — to perish
• هَوَى — to fall
• عَتَبَ — to blame
• أَرَادَ — to want
• هَلَكَ — to perish
• بَاعَ — to sell
• سَقَطَ — to fall
• رَمَى — to throw
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• تَعَلَّقَ — to relate
• اسْتَعَارَ — to borrow
• قَوْل — saying
• مَوْطِن — place
• أَجْرَام — bodies
• قُنَّة — top
• نِّيق — mountain peak
• مُنْهَوِي — falling one
• بَيْت — verse
• كَلِمَة — word
• عَمّ — paternal uncle
• لُغَة — language
• مَشْهَد — scene
• حَرْب — war
• جِسْم — body
• أَعْلَى — top
• أَسْفَل — bottom
• وَزْن — measure
• رَأْس — head
• جَبَل — mountain
• سَاقِط — falling one
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• كَثِير — many
• وُجُود — existence
• إِعْرَاب — grammatical analysis
• خَبَرِيَّة — declarative
• مُبْتَدَأ — subject
• ظَرْف — adverb
• تَمْيِيز — specification
• مَجْرُور — genitive
• إِضَافَة — genitive construction
• خَبَر — predicate
• تَقْدِير — estimation
• مَوَاطِن — places
• مَثَل — example
• حَرْف — particle
• امْتِنَاع — impossibility
• جَوَاب — answer
• شَرْط — condition
• زَائِد — extra
• يَاء — ya letter
• مُتَكَلِّم — speaker
• مَحَلّ — place
• جَرّ — genitive case
• رَفْع — nominative case
• ابْتِدَاء — beginning
• شَاعِر — poet
• ضَمِير — pronoun
• مَوْجُود — existing
• فَاعِل — doer
• جُمْلَة — sentence
• صِفَة — adjective
• رَابِط — connector
• كَاف — kaf letter
• مَصْدَرِيَّة — infinitive particle
• مَصْدَر — infinitive
• تَأْوِيل — interpretation
• مَدْخُول — input
• طَيْح — falling