Ammā, Lawlā and Lawmā
أَمَّا وَلَوْلَا وَلَوْمَا
Verses 712–716 · chapter 60 of 78
The chapter first treats ammā, the particle of detailing and conditional emphasis: it stands for 'whatever may be the case', and it requires the fā' on its answer, which may be dropped only rarely or together with a verb of saying. It then treats lawlā and lawmā. When they mean 'were it not for', a subject (mubtadaʾ) must follow them. When they urge someone to act, they share that use with hallā, allā and alā, and a verb must follow them. A noun may take the verb's place if a verb is understood or comes later. AI
- 712
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–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.
Ammā is equivalent to mahmā yaku min shayʾin ['whatever may be the case']. A fā' is regularly found, as an obligation, on what follows the word that follows it [i.e. on the second element after ammā, which is its answer]: ammā Zaydun fa-munṭaliqun, 'as for Zayd, he is leaving'.
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 712Arabic
أما حرف تفصيل وهي قائمة مقام أداة الشرط وفعل الشرط ولهذا فسرها سيبويه بمهما يك من شيء والمذكور بعدها جواب الشرط فلذلك لزمته الفاء نحو أما زيد فمنطلق والأصل مهما يك من شيء فزيد منطلق فأنيبت أما مناب مهما يك من شيء فصار أما فزيد منطلق ثم أخرت الفاء إلى الخبر فصار أما زيد فمنطلق ولهذا قال وفا لتلو تلوها وجوبا ألفا
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 6845 · vol. 4, p. 51 ↗ - 713
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–∪∪–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.
Omitting this fā' is rare in prose when no verb of saying has been dropped along with it. [An example of the rare case is the Prophet's ammā baʿdu, mā bālu rijālin…. When a verb of saying is dropped with the fā', omission is regular: fa-ammā lladhīna swaddat wujūhuhum a-kafartum (Q 3:106) stands for fa-yuqālu lahum a-kafartum, 'then it will be said to them: did you disbelieve?'. In poetry the fā' is also dropped under metrical necessity.]
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 713Arabic
قد سبق أن هذه الفاء ملتزمة الذكر وقد جاء حذفها في الشعر كقوله
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 6851 · vol. 4, p. 52 ↗349 ( فأما القتال لا قتال لديكم … ولكن سيرا في عراض المواكب
أي فلا قتال وحذفت في النثر أيضا بكثرة وبقلة فالكثرة عند حذف القول معها كقوله عز وجل ﴿ فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم ﴾ أي فيقال لهم أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم والقليل ما كان بخلافه كقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أما بعد ما بال رجال يشترطون شروطا ليست في كتاب الله هكذا وقع في صحيح البخاري ما بال بحذف الفاء والأصل أما بعد فما بال رجال فحذفت الفاء
- 714
الرَّجَزal-rajaz––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ–∪∪–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.
Lawlā and lawmā must be followed by a mubtadaʾ [a nominal subject] when they tie non-occurrence to existence [i.e. when they mean that one thing did not happen because another exists]: lawlā Zaydun la-atāytuka, 'were it not for Zayd, I would have come to you'. [The predicate of this mubtadaʾ is normally left unexpressed.]
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 714Arabic
للولا ولوما استعمالان
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 6861 · vol. 4, p. 54 ↗أحدهما أن يكونا دالين على امتناع الشيء لوجود غيره وهو المراد بقوله إذا امتناعا بوجود عقدا ويلزمان حينئذ الابتداء فلا يدخلان إلا على المبتدأ ويكون الخبر بعدهما محذوفا وجوبا ولا بد لهما من جواب فإن كان مثبتا قرن باللام غالبا وإن كان منفيا بما تجرد عنها غالبا وإن كان منفيا بلم لم يقترن بها نحو لولا زيد لأكرمتك ولوما زيد لأكرمتك ولوما زيد ما جاء عمرو ولوما زيد لم يجيء عمرو فزيد في هذه المثل ونحوها مبتدأ وخبره محذوف وجوبا والتقدير لولا زيد موجود وقد سبق ذكر هذه المسألة في باب الابتداء
- 715
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪∪∪–فَعِلَتُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪––فَعُولُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ–––مَفْعُولُنْ
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.
Identify taḥḍīḍ [urging someone to act] by these two [lawlā and lawmā] and by hallā, allā and alā. Place a verb directly after them [in this use]: hallā ḍarabta Zaydan, 'why did you not strike Zayd?'; lawmā taʾtīnā, 'why don't you come to us?'
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 715Arabic
أشار في هذا البيت إلى الاستعمال الثاني للولا ولوما وهو الدلالة على التخضيض ويختصان حينئذ بالفعل نحو لولا ضربت زيدا ولوما قتلت بكرا فإن قصدت بهما التوبيخ كان الفعل ماضيا وإن قصدت بهما الحث على الفعل كان مستقبلا بمنزلة فعل الأمر كقوله تعالى ﴿ فلولا نفر من كل فرقة منهم طائفة ليتفقهوا ﴾ أي لينفر
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 6871 · vol. 4, p. 55 ↗وبقية أدوات التحضيض حكمها كذلك فتقول هلا ضربت زيدا وألا فعلت كذا وألا مخفة كألا مشددة
- 716
الرَّجَزal-rajaz∪–∪–مَفَاعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ––∪–مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ–∪∪–مُفْتَعِلُنْ∪–∪–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.
Sometimes a noun comes directly after them. The noun is then attached either to an understood verb or to an overt verb placed after it. [With a later verb: hallā Zaydan ḍarabta. With an understood verb, as in the verse: … banī ḍawṭarā lawlā l-kamiyya l-muqannaʿā, meaning lawlā taʿuddūna l-kamiyya, 'why do you not count the armed warrior?']
Ibn ʿAqīl on verse 716Arabic
قد سبق أن أدوات التخضيض تختص بالفعل فلا تدخل على الاسم وذكر في هذا البيت أنه قد يقع الاسم بعدها ويكون معمولا لفعل مضمر أو لفعل مؤخر عن الاسم فالأول كقوله
Ibn ʿAqīl, OpenITI line 6879 · vol. 4, p. 56 ↗350 ( هلا التقدم والقلوب صحاح …
فالتقدم مرفوع بفعل محذوف وتقديره هلا وجد التقدم ومثله قوله
351 ( تعدون عقر النيب أفضل مجدكم … بنى ضوطرى ولا الكمى المقنعا
فالكمى مفعول بفعل محذوف والتقدير لولا تعدون الكمى المقنع والثاني كقولك لولا زيدا ضربت فزيدا مفعول ضربت
- التَّحْضِيضُ at-taḥḍīḍ · urging; incitement to act · حضض
- الِابْتِدَاءُ al-ibtidāʾ · being the subject of a nominal sentence (mubtadaʾ) · بدأ
- الِامْتِنَاعُ al-imtināʿ · non-occurrence · منع
- الوُجُودُ al-wujūd · existence, actual occurrence · وجد
- الحَذْفُ al-ḥadhf · omission, ellipsis · حذف
- مُضْمَرٌ muḍmar · understood, unexpressed (element) · ضمر
- ظَاهِرٌ ẓāhir · overt, expressed (element) · ظهر