Sharh Qatr an-Nada by Ibn Hisham (شرح قطر الندى وبل الصدى) — Page 217

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الثَّانِيَةُ: قَبْلَ جَوَابِ الْقَسَمِ الصَّرِيحِ، نَحْوَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ﴾ أَيْ: لَعَمْرُكَ يَمِينِي، أَوْ قَسَمِي، وَاحْتَرَزْتُ بِالصَّرِيحِ عَنْ نَحْوَ: «عَهْدُ اللهِ»؛ فَإِنَّهُ يُسْتَعْمَلُ قَسَمًا وَغَيْرَهُ، تَقُولُ فِي الْقَسَمِ: «عَهْدُ اللهِ لَأَفْعَلَنَّ» وَفِي غَيْرِهِ: «عَهْدُ اللهِ يَجِبُ الْوَفَاءُ بِهِ»؛ فَلِذَلِكَ يَجُوزُ ذِكْرُهُ تَقُولُ: «عَلَى عَهْدُ اللهِ».

Second: before the answer to an explicit oath, as in the Almighty's words, "By your life, they are wandering in their intoxication." This means "By your life" is my oath or swearing. I specified "explicit" to exclude phrases like "God's covenant," which can function as an oath or otherwise. You say in an oath, "By God's covenant, I shall do it," but in other contexts, "God's covenant must be fulfilled." Thus, it is permissible to mention it, as in the phrase, "Upon God's covenant."

الثَّالِثَةُ: قَبْلَ الْحَالِ الَّتِي يَمْتَنِعُ كَوْنُهَا خَبَرًا عَنِ الْمُبْتَدَأِ، كَقَوْلِهِمْ: ضَرْبِي زَيْدًا قَائِمًا (أَصْلُهُ: ضَرْبِي زَيْدًا حَاصِلٌ إِذَا كَانَ قَائِمًا، فَحَاصِلٌ: خَبَرٌ، وَإِذَا: ظَرْفٌ لِلْخَبَرِ مُضَافٌ إِلَى «كَانَ» التَّامَّةِ، وَفَاعِلُهَا مُسْتَتِرٌ فِيهَا، عَائِدٌ عَلَى مَفْعُولِ الْمَصْدَرِ، وَقَائِمًا، حَالٌ مِنْهُ، وَهَذِهِ الْحَالُ لَا يَصِحُّ كَوْنُهَا خَبَرًا عَنْ هَذَا الْمُبْتَدَأِ؛ فَلَا تَقُولُ: ضَرْبِي قَائِمٌ؛ لِأَنَّ الضَّرْبَ لَا يُوصَفُ بِالْقِيَامِ، وَكَذَلِكَ أَكْثَرُ شُرْبِي السَّوِيقَ مَلْتُوتًا، وَأَخْطَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْأَمِيرُ قَائِمًا وَتَقْدِيرُهُ: حَاصِلٌ إِذَا كَانَ مَلْتُوتًا، أَوْ قَائِمًا، وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ فَقِسْ.

Third: before a circumstantial accusative (hal) that cannot function as the predicate of the subject. An example is the phrase, "My striking of Zayd is while he is standing." The underlying structure is "My striking of Zayd occurs when he is standing," where "occurs" is the predicate, "when" is an adverb modifying the predicate, and it is linked to the complete verb "kana." The subject of "kana" is hidden, referring to the object of the verbal noun, while "standing" is the circumstantial accusative. This cannot be a predicate for the subject; you cannot say "My striking is standing," because the act of striking is not described by standing. The same applies to "My drinking of the gruel is when it is mixed" and "The prince is most eloquent when he is standing." The implied meaning is "occurs when it is mixed" or "when he is standing," and you may derive other examples from this.

فَإِنْ كَانَ الْحَالُ صَالِحًا لِأَنْ يُخْبَرَ بِهِ عَنِ الْمَصْدَرِ، نَحْوَ أَنْ تَقُولَ: «ضَرْبِي زَيْدًا شَدِيدٌ» وَجَبَ جَعْلُهُ خَبَرًا وَرَفْعُهُ لِذَلِكَ، وَلَا يَجُوزُ جَعْلُهُ حَالًا، وَنَصْبُهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْحَالَةِ شَاذٌّ، وَوَرَدَ مِنْهُ قَوْلُ الْعَرَبِ: «حُكْمُكَ مَسْمَطًا»، أَيْ ثَابِتًا، فَإِنَّ مَسْمَطًا صَالِحٌ لِأَنْ يُخْبَرَ بِهِ عَنِ الْمُبْتَدَأِ، وَقَدْ نَصَبُوهُ عَلَى الْحَالِ شُذُوذًا، وَخَرَّجُوا عَلَيْهِ قَوْلَ الزَّبَّاءِ: مَا لِلْجِمَالِ مَشْيُهَا وَئِيدًا أَجَنْدَلًا يَحْمِلْنَ أَمْ حَدِيدًا، وَذَلِكَ شَاذٌّ.

If the circumstantial accusative can function as a predicate for the verbal noun—such as in "My striking of Zayd is severe"—it must be treated as a predicate and put in the nominative case. It is not permissible to treat it as a circumstantial accusative, and doing so is anomalous. One such anomalous example is the Arab saying, "Your judgment is fixed," meaning firm. Since "fixed" can serve as a predicate, using it as a circumstantial accusative is irregular. Scholars have interpreted al-Zabba's verse, "What is with the camels, their walking is slow; are they carrying boulders or iron?" in this light, though it remains anomalous.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 62 nouns)

• عَمِهَ — to be confused
• احْتَرَزَ — to be cautious
• اسْتَعْمَلَ — to use
• ثَانِيَة — second
• جَوَاب — answer
• قَسَم — oath