The Specifying Accusative (tamyīz)
التَّمْيِيزُ
Verses 356–363 · chapter 28 of 78
The tamyīz is an indefinite noun, carrying the sense of min, that clarifies a vague word or a vague relation and stands in the accusative. The chapter covers tamyīz after measures, weights and quantities, when such a tamyīz may instead be put in the genitive, and tamyīz after the elative (afʿal) and after expressions of wonder. It then says when min may be used, and says the governor normally precedes the tamyīz. AI
Topic:The accusative
- 356
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
A noun that has the sense of min, that clarifies, and that is indefinite is put in the accusative as tamyīz by the [vague] word it has explained.
AI note on the transcription: اسم بمعنى من مبين نكره: the transcription writes إسم with a hamza under the alif, but the alif of ism is hamzat al-waṣl and carries no hamza sign.
- 357
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–––مَفْعُولُنْ∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ∪––فَعُولُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
As in shibrun arḍan 'a span of land' [a measure of length], qafīzun burran 'a qafīz of wheat' [a measure of volume], and manawayni ʿasalan wa-tamran 'two manās of honey and dates' [a measure of weight].
Ibn ʿAqīl on verses 356–357Arabic
تقدم من الفضلات المفعول به والمفعول المطلق والمفعول له والمفعول فيه والمفعول معه والمستثنى والحال وبقي التمييز وهو المذكور في هذا الباب ويسمى مفسرا وتفسيرا ومبينا وتبيينا ومميزا وتمييزا
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4055 · vol. 2, p. 285 ↗وهو كل اسم نكرة متضمن معنى من لبيان ما قبله من إجمال نحو طاب زيد نفسا وعندي شبر أرضا
واحترز بقوله متضمن معنى من من الحال فإنها متضمنه معنى في
وقوله لبيان ما قبله احتراز مما تضمن معنى من وليس فيه بيان لما قبله كاسم لا التي لنفي الجنس نحو لا رجل قائم فإن التقدير لا من رجل قائم
وقوله لبيان ما قبله من إجمال يشمل نوعي التمييز وهما المبين إجمال ذات والمبين إجمال نسبة
فالمبين إجمال الذات هو الواقع بعد المقادير وهي الممسوحات نحو له شبر أرضا والمكيلات نحو له قفيز برا والموزونات نحو له منوان عسلا وتمرا والأعداد نحو عندي عشرون درهما
وهو منصوب بما فسره وهو شبر وقفيز ومنوان وعشرون
والمبين إجمال النسبة هو المسوق لبيان ما تعلق به العامل من فاعل أو مفعول نحو طاب زيد نفسا ومثله ﴿ واشتعل الرأس شيبا ﴾ وغرست الأرض شجرا ومثله ﴿ وفجرنا الأرض عيونا ﴾
فنفسا تمييز منقول من الفاعل والأصل طابت نفس زيد وشجرا منقول من المفعول والأصل غرست شجر الأرض فبين نفسا الفاعل الذي تعلق به الفعل وبين شجرا المفعول الذي تعلق به الفعل
والناصب له في هذا النوع هو العامل الذي قبله
- 358
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
After these [measure words] and words like them, put it [the specifying noun] in the genitive if you annex them to it, as in muddu ḥinṭatin ghidhan 'a mudd of wheat is food'.
- 359
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
The accusative is obligatory after a word that is [already] annexed [to something else], if it is like milʾu l-arḍi dhahaban 'the earth's fill of gold' [milʾ is annexed to al-arḍ, so it cannot also be annexed to dhahab].
Ibn ʿAqīl on verses 358–359Arabic
أشار بذي إلى ما تقدم ذكره في البيت من المقدرات وهو ما دل على مساحة أو كيل أو وزن فيجوز جر التمييز بعد هذه بالإضافة إن لم يضف إلى غيره نحو عندي شبر أرض وقفيز بر ومنوا عسل وتمر
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4079 · vol. 2, p. 287 ↗فإن أضيف الدال على مقدار إلى غير التمييز وجب نصب التمييز نحو ما في السماء قدر راحة سحابا ومنه قوله تعالى ﴿ فلن يقبل من أحدهم ملء الأرض ذهبا ﴾
وأما تمييز العدد فسيأتي حكمه في باب العدد
- 360
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
Put in the accusative with afʿal, when it expresses preference, the noun that is subject in meaning, as in anta aʿlā manzilan 'you are higher in rank' [meaning manziluka aʿlā 'your rank is higher'].
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 360Arabic
التمييز الواقع بعد أفعل التفضيل إن كان فاعلا في المعنى وجب نصبه وإن لم يكن كذلك وجب جره بالإضافة
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4087 · vol. 2, p. 288 ↗وعلامة ما هو فاعل في المعنى أن يصلح جعله فاعلا بعد جعل أفعل التفضيل فعلا نحو أنت أعلى منزلا وأكثر مالا فمنزلا ومالا يجب نصبهما إذ يصح جعلهما فاعلين بعد جعل أفعل التفضيل فعلا فتقول أنت علا منزلك وكثر مالك
ومثال ما ليس بفاعل في المعنى زيد أفضل رجل وهند أفضل امرأة فيجب جره بالإضافة إلا إذا أضيف أفعل إلى غيره فإنه ينصب حينئذ نحو أنت أفضل الناس رجلا )
- 361
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
After every expression that conveys wonder, add a tamyīz, as in akrim bi-abī bakrin aban 'how noble Abū Bakr is as a father!'
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 361Arabic
يقع التمييز بعد كل ما دل على تعجب نحو ما أحسن زيدا رجلا وأكرم بأبي بكر أبا ولله درك عالما وحسبك بزيد رجلا وكفى به عالما 193 -
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4096 · vol. 2, p. 289 ↗ويا جارتا ما أنت جاره …
- 362
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
If you wish, put [the tamyīz] in the genitive with min, except the tamyīz of number and the tamyīz that is subject in meaning, as in ṭib nafsan tufad 'be of good heart and you will be benefited' [one cannot say *ṭib min nafsin, or *ʿishrūna min dirhamin; one can say rāqūdun min khallin 'a jar of vinegar'].
AI note on the transcription: والفاعل المعنى كطب نفسا تفد: the transcription has المعني with a dotted yāʾ. The phrase is al-maʿnā, as in bayt 360, and the metre requires maʿnā. The form maʿniyyi would break the rajaz foot.
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 362Arabic
يجوز جر التمييز بمن إن لم يكن فاعلا في المعنى ولا مميزا لعدد فتقول عندي شبر من أرض وقفيز من بر ومنوان من عسل وتمر وغرست الأرض من شجر ولا تقول طاب زيد من نفس ولا عندي عشرون من درهم
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4100 · vol. 2, p. 291 ↗ - 363
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ
Ibn Jinnī on al-rajaz, “the trembling”
وهو على ستة أجزاء مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن
It has six feet: mustafʿilun, six times. Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, lines 842–843 (p. 101) ↗
Scanned by rule, not by a model. The vowelled text is read as it is pronounced, as Ibn Jinnī says scansion must be: doubled letters count twice, tanwīn adds an n, long vowels lengthen, the connecting alif drops inside the line, the article's l merges into a sun letter, and the last vowel of a line is drawn out. The syllables, long (–) and short (∪), are then fitted to each metre's feet with the common licences (zihāfāt) and line-endings. A poem has one metre: the one that fits most of its verses. A verse that does not fit it is marked 'not scanned'; nothing is guessed. Vowels scanned: AI vowelling (no vowelled edition is available to us).
Scanned by rule English: AI translation AI
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Kitāb al-ʿArūḍ, ed. Aḥmad Fawzī al-Hayb (Kuwait: Dār al-Qalam, 1407/1987). Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.Carud.JK000956-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
Place the governor of the tamyīz first in every case. A fully conjugable verb has been preceded [by its tamyīz] only rarely [e.g. in poetry, nafsan ṭāba 'in soul he was good'].
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 363Arabic
مذهب سيبويه رحمه الله أنه لا يجوز تقديم التمييز على عامله سواء كان متصرفا أو غير متصرف فلا تقول نفسا طاب زيد ولا عندي درهما عشرون
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 4104 · vol. 2, p. 292 ↗وأجاز الكسائي والمازني والمبرد تقديمه على عامله المتصرف فتقول نفسا طاب زيد وشيبا اشتعل رأسي ومنه قوله 194 -
أتهجر ليلى بالفراق حبيبها … وما كان نفسا بالفراق تطيب ) وقوله 195 -
ضيعت حزمي في إبعادي الأملا … وما ارعويت وشيبا رأسي اشتعلا
ووافقهم المصنف في غير هذا الكتاب على ذلك وجعله في هذا الكتاب قليلا
فإن كان العامل غير متصرف فقد منعوا التقديم سواء كان فعلا نحو ما أحسن زيدا رجلا أو غيره نحو عندي عشرون درهما
وقد يكون العامل متصرفا ويمتنع تقديم التمييز عليه عند الجميع وذلك نحو كفى بزيد رجلا فلا يجوز تقديم رجلا على كفى وإن كان فعلا متصرفا لأنه بمعنى فعل غير متصرف وهو فعل التعجب فمعنى قولك كفى بزيد رجلا ما أكفاه رجلا
- تَمْيِيزٌ tamyīz · specification; the specifying accusative · ميز
- مُبِينٌ mubīn · clarifying, making clear · بين
- نَكِرَةٌ nakira · indefinite noun · نكر
- تَفْسِيرٌ tafsīr · explanation; the vague word explained by the tamyīz · فسر
- إِضَافَةٌ iḍāfa · annexation (genitive construct) · ضيف
- أَفْعَلُ التَّفْضِيلِ afʿal al-tafḍīl · the elative (comparative/superlative) pattern · فضل
- تَعَجُّبٌ taʿajjub · expression of wonder (the exclamatory construction) · عجب
- فَاعِلٌ فِي الْمَعْنَى fāʿil fī l-maʿnā · subject in meaning (logical subject) · فعل
- عَدَدٌ ʿadad · number, numeral · عدد
- عَامِلٌ ʿāmil · governor, operative element · عمل
- تَصْرِيفٌ taṣrīf · full conjugability (inflection through all forms) · صرف