Sharh Qatr an-Nada by Ibn Hisham (شرح قطر الندى وبل الصدى) — Page 41

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الِاسْمُ الْمُعْرَبُ أَوِ الْمَبْنِيُّ

The Declinable or Indeclinable Noun

ش - لَمَّا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ تَعْرِيفِ الِاسْمِ بِذِكْرِ شَيْءٍ مِنْ عَلَامَاتِهِ عَقَّبْتُ ذَلِكَ بِبَيَانِ انْقِسَامِهِ إِلَى مُعْرَبٍ ، وَمَبْنِيٍّ ، وَقَدّ��مْتُ الْمُعْرَبَ لِأَنَّهُ الْأَصْلُ ، وَأَخَّرْتُ الْمَبْنِيَّ لِأَنَّهُ الْفَرْعُ

Commentary: Having finished defining the noun by listing some of its signs, I proceeded to explain its division into declinable and indeclinable forms. I placed the declinable first as it is the primary form, leaving the indeclinable for later as it is secondary.

وَذَكَرْتُ أَنَّ الْمُعْرَبَ (١) هُوَ « مَا يَتَغَيَّرُ آخِرُهُ بِسَبَبِ مَا يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعَوَامِلِ ، كَزَيْدٍ ، تَقُولُ : ( جَاءَنِي زَيْدٌ ) ، وَ ( رَأَيْتُ زَيْدًا ) ، وَ « مَرَرْتُ بِزَيْدٍ » ، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ آخِرَ ) زَيْدٍ ( تَغَيَّرَ بِالضَّمَّةِ ، وَالْفَتْحَةِ ، وَالْكَسْرَةِ ، بِسَبَبِ مَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ ( جَاءَنِي ) ، وَ ( رَأَيْتُ ) ، وَالْبَاءِ ، فَلَوْ كَانَ التَّغَيُّرُ فِي غَيْرِ الْآخِرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ إِعْرَابًا ، كَقَوْلِكَ فِي « فَلْسٍ » إِذَا صَغَّرْتَهُ « فُلَيْسٌ » ، وَإِذَا كَسَّرْتَهُ ) « أَفْلُسٌ ، وَفُلُوسٌ » ، وَكَذَا لَوْ كَانَ التَّغَيُّرُ فِي الْآخِرِ ، وَلَكِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِسَبَبِ الْعَوَامِلِ ، كَقَوْلِكَ : « جَلَسْتُ حَيْثُ جَلَسَ زَيْدٌ » ؛ فَإِنَّهُ يَجُوزُ أَنْ تَقُولَ : ( حَيْثُ ) بِالضَّمِّ ، وَ ( حَيْثَ ) بِالْفَتْحِ وَ « حَيْثِ » بِالْكَسْرِ ، إِلَّا أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَوْجُهَ الثَّلَاثَةَ لَيْسَتْ بِسَبَبِ الْعَوَامِلِ ، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ الْعَامِلَ وَاحِدٌ ، وَهُوَ « جَلَسَ » وَقَدْ وُجِدَ مَعَهُ التَّغَيُّرُ الْمَذْكُورُ

I defined the declinable noun (1) as one whose ending changes due to the influence of governing agents. Take 'Zayd' for example: you say 'Ja'ani Zaydun' (Zayd came to me), 'Ra'aytu Zaydan' (I saw Zayd), and 'Marartu bi-Zaydin' (I passed by Zayd). Notice how the end of 'Zayd' changes with damma, fatha, and kasra depending on the preceding agent—'Ja'ani', 'Ra'aytu', or the preposition 'bi'. If the change occurs elsewhere, it is not considered declension; for instance, when you make 'fals' (coin) diminutive, it becomes 'fulaysun', or when you make it a broken plural, it becomes 'aflusun' or 'fulusun'. Similarly, if the change occurs at the end but is not caused by governing agents, it does not count. In the phrase 'Jalastu haythu jalasa Zaydun' (I sat where Zayd sat), you may use 'haythu' (with damma), 'haytha' (with fatha), or 'haythi' (with kasra). Yet, these three forms are not the result of governing agents, as the agent—'jalasa'—remains the same despite the variations.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (26 verbs · 56 nouns)

• فَرَغَ — to finish
• عَقَّبَ — to follow up
• قَدَّمَ — to place before
• اِسْم — noun
• مُعْرَب — inflected word
• مَبْنِيّ — indeclinable word