Al-muqaddimah Al-ajurrumiyyah [on the Science of Arabic Grammar]

KALĀM and its Constituent Parts

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Kalam[^1] is a compound[^2] utterance[^3] that conveys a complete and self-contained meaning[^4] according to (the rules and conventions of Arabic) usage[^5] .

Its constituent parts are three: the Ism[^6] (noun), the Fi‘l[^7] (verb) and the Ḥarf[^8] (particle) that is used to signify a meaning[^9] .

The Ism is marked and identified by:

Khafḍ[^10]

the Tanin[^11]

the prefixing of the Alif and am (i.e. the definite article Al)

being governed by the Ḥuruf al-Khafḍ (prepositions/Genitive particles), and they are[^12] :

من (e.g.رجع زيدمن المسجدِ “Zayd returnedfrom the mosque”)[^13]

إلى (e.g.ذهب زيدإلى المدرسة “Zayd wentto the school”)

عن (e.g.رميت السهمعن القوس “I shot the arrowfrom the bow”)

على (e.g.ركبتُعلى الفرس “I rodeon the horse”)

في (e.g. الطالبفيالفصل “The student isin the classroom”)

رُبّ (e.g.ألارُبّ مولودٍ وليس له أبٌ (Alas, theremight be a child who has no father”)

الباء (e.g. مررتُب المدرسة ”I passedby the school”)

الكاف (e.g.زيدك البدر “Zayd islike the full moon”)

اللام (e.g. الكتابلزيدٍ “The bookbelongs to Zayd”)

(being preceded) by the Ḥurūf al-Qasam[^14] (Particles of Oath), and they are:

الواو (e.g.و اللهِ “By Allah!”)

الباء (e.g.بِ اللهِ “By Allah!”)

التاء (e.g.تَ اللهِ “By Allah!”)

The Fi‘l is marked and identified by:

قدْ (e.g.قد جاء زيد “Indeed , Zayd came”,

قد يجيء زيدٌ “Zaydmay come”)

السين (e.g.س أَزُوْرُ ك هذا المساءَ “Iwill visit you this evening”)

سوفَ (e.g.سوف نقوم أمام الله جميعاً “Wewill all stand in front of Allah”)

تاء التأنيث الساكنة (unvowelled Tā’ of Femininity[^15] )

(e.g.جاء تْ زينبُ “Zaynab came”)

The Ḥarf is that for which the sign of the Ism and the sign of the Fi‘l are not valid[^16] .