Sharh Qatr an-Nada by Ibn Hisham (شرح قطر الندى وبل الصدى) — Page 272

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

يُقَالُ : كَانَ قَائِمًا زَيْدٌ ، وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَهُمَا أَنَّ الْأَفْعَالَ أَمْكَنُ فِي الْعَمَلِ مِنَ الْحُرُوفِ ، فَكَانَتْ أَحْمَلَ لِأَنْ يُتَصَرَّفَ فِي مَعْمُولِهَا ، وَمَا أَحْسَنَ قَوْلَ ابْنِ عَنِينٍ يَشْكُو تَأَخُّرَهُ : كَأَنِّي مِنْ أَخْبَارِ إِنَّ ، وَلَمْ يُجَزْ لَهُ أَحَدٌ فِي النَّحْوِ أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَا

They say, 'Zayd was standing.' The difference is that verbs are more capable of governing than particles, making them more flexible regarding their objects. How clever is Ibn 'Unayn’s complaint about being held back: 'I am like the predicates of inna, which no grammarian allows to come first.'

وَيُسْتَثْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا إِذَا كَانَ الْخَبَرُ ظَرْفًا ، أَوْ جَارًّا وَمَجْرُورًا ؛ فَإِنَّهُ إِنْ مَحَلًّا وَإِنَّ مُرْتَحَلًا وَإِنَّ فِي السَّفْرِ - إِذْ مَضَوْا - مَهَلًا

An exception is made when the predicate is an adverb or a prepositional phrase, as in the lines: 'If there is a place, if there is a departure, and if there is a delay in the journey—once they have passed.'

هَذَا الْبَيْتُ كَمَا قَالَ الْمُؤَلِّفُ لِابْنِ عَنِينٍ وَهُوَ شَرَفُ الدِّينِ أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ مُحَمَّدُ ابْنُ نَصْرِ الدِّينِ بْنِ نَصْرِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَنِينٍ ، الْأَنْصَارِيُّ ، الْكُوفِيُّ الْأَصْلِ ، الدِّمَشْقِيُّ الْمَوْلِدِ وَالْوَفَاةِ ، وُلِدَ بِدِمَشْقَ فِي سَنَةِ ٥٣٩ وَتُوُفِّيَ بِهَا فِي سَنَةِ ٦٣٠ مِنَ الْهِجْرَةِ ، وَلَيْسَ ابْنُ عَنِينٍ مِمَّنْ يُحْتَجُّ بِشِعْرِهِ فِي قَوَاعِدِ النَّحْوِ وَالصَّرْفِ وَاللُّغَةِ ، وَلَكِنَّكَ تَرَى أَنَّ الْمُؤَلِّفَ لَمْ يُنْشِدْهُ لِلِاسْتِشْهَادِ بِهِ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، وَإِنَّمَا أَنْشَدَهُ اسْتِظْرَافًا لِمَعْنَاهُ ، وَلِأَنَّهُ تَضَمَّنَ بِعِبَارَتِهِ بَيَانَ قَاعِدَةٍ نَحْوِيَّةٍ

As the author notes, this verse is by Ibn 'Unayn—Sharaf al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Din ibn Nasr ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Unayn. He was an Ansari of Kufan descent, born and raised in Damascus, where he was born in 539 and died in 630 AH. While his poetry is not cited as authority for grammatical or linguistic rules, the author included it not for evidence, but for its wit and because it happens to illustrate a grammatical rule.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (19 verbs · 76 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• كَانَ — to be
• تَصَرَّفَ — to be inflected
• فَرْقٌ — difference
• فِعْلٌ — verb
• عَمَلٌ — work