Sharh Qatr an-Nada by Ibn Hisham (شرح قطر الندى وبل الصدى) — Page 452

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بِأَنَّهُ لَا يُخْبَرُ بِالْمُفْرَدِ عَنِ الْجَمْعِ ، وَأُجِيبَ : بِأَنَّ فَعِيلاً قَدْ يُسْتَعْمَلُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ ، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ﴿ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ

The objection is that a singular form cannot predicate a plural subject. The response is that the pattern 'fa'il' can indeed refer to a group, as in the Almighty's words: 'And the angels after that are assistants.'

خَاتِمَةٌ : الْأَصْلُ فِي عَمَلِ اسْمِ الْفَاعِلِ أَنْ يَنْصِبَ مَفْعُولَهُ ، فَتَقُولُ : أَنَا ضَارِبٌ زَيْداً ، بِتَنْوِينِ ضَارِبٍ وَنَصْبِ قَوْلِكَ زَيْداً ، وَتَجُوزُ إِضَافَتُهُ إِلَى هَذَا الْمَعْمُولِ لِلتَّخْفِيفِ ، فَتَقُولُ : أَنَا ضَارِبُ زَيْدٍ ، بِحَذْفِ تَنْوِينِ ضَارِبٍ وَإِضَافَتِهِ إِلَى زَيْدٍ ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الْأَصْلُ هُوَ نَصْبَ الْمَعْمُولِ لِأَنَّ اسْمَ الْفَاعِلِ عَمِلَ بِالْحَمْلِ عَلَى الْفِعْلِ ، وَالْفِعْلُ لَا يُضَافُ ، فَكَانَ يَسْتَوْجِبُ أَلَّا تَجُوزَ إِضَافَتُهُ أَصْلاً ، وَلَكِنَّ الْعَرَبَ اسْتَجَازُوهَا نَظَراً إِلَى حَقِيقَتِهِ وَكَوْنِهِ اسْماً ، وَجَرَى اسْتِعْمَالُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْصِبُوا بِهِ مَعْمُولَهُ أَحْيَاناً وَأَنْ يَجُرُّوا الْمَعْمُولَ بِالْإِضَافَةِ أَحْيَاناً أُخْرَى ؛ مُرَاعَاةً لِلْحَقَّيْنِ

Conclusion: Normally, an active participle takes its object in the accusative. You say 'Ana daribun Zaydan' (I am hitting Zayd), using the tanwin on 'darib' and the accusative for 'Zayd'. You may also use the genitive construction for brevity, saying 'Ana daribu Zaydin' (I am Zayd's hitter), by dropping the tanwin and adding the participle to Zayd. The accusative is the standard because the active participle functions like a verb, and verbs cannot take genitive objects. Strictly speaking, this should forbid the genitive construction entirely. However, because it is a noun, the Arabs allowed it. Usage shifted between the accusative and the genitive to accommodate both the verbal and nominal natures of the word.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّكَ إِذَا أَرَدْتَ إِتْبَاعَ الْمَعْمُولِ بِمَعْطُوفٍ نَظَرْتَ ، فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ الْمَعْمُولُ مَنْصُوباً عَلَى مَا هُوَ الْأَصْلُ ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَجْرُوراً

If you wish to follow an object with a conjunction, you must first determine if the object is in the accusative, which is standard, or the genitive.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (24 verbs · 43 nouns)

• أَخْبَرَ — to inform
• أَجَابَ — to answer
• اِسْتَعْمَلَ — to use
• مُفْرَد — singular
• جَمْع — plural
• جَمَاعَة — group