What does Ibn Aajuroom (rahimahullah) mean when he mentions الزوائد الأربع
az-Zawaaid al-Arba’ (the Four Added Letters) and uses the example أنَيْتُ
“Anaytu”? What is the significance between these four letters and the word “Anaytu”?
This is found in the section entitled باب الأفعال (The Chapter on Verbs) where he (rahimahullah) says:
والمضارع مَا كَانَ فِي أَوَّلِهِ إِحْدَى اَلزَّوَائِدِ اَلْأَرْبَعِ اَلَّتِي يَجْمَعُهَا قَوْلُكَ "أَنَيْتُ" وَهُوَ مَرْفُوعٌ أَبَدًا
{And the present tense is that which contains one of the four added letters that are connected to it, such as your saying:
أَنَيْتُ
And it is always in the state of ar-Rafu’ (meaning it takes a Dhammah sign at the end of the last letter).}
According to ash-Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahmaan al-Maakoodee (rahimahullah) in his explanation of this text, the four letters Alif, Noon, Yaa, and Taa are all connected together so that the student of knowledge can memorize the following five types of present tense verbs:
أفْعَلُ (I am doing)
نَفْعَلُ (We are doing)
يَفْعَلُ (He is doing)
تَفْعَلُ (She is doing) or (You are doing) said to a male.
The late Shaykh Muhammad Muhyee-ud-Deen ‘Abdil-Hameed al-Azharee (rahimahullah) in his at-Tuhfat-us-Saniyyah mentions that there are other variants as well such as:
نَأَيْتُ
أتَيْنَ
نَأْتَى
Although Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) in his explanation of the text stated that it is better to use the word given by the author (rahimahullah). Also keep in mind that each of these abbreviations actually have meanings in the Arabic language.
At first this may confuse the beginner but this usage of abbreviations was actually implemented by the people of knowledge to reinforce comprehension of the Islamic texts. I remember when I used to study with my Quran teacher Dr. Ahmad Mas’ood (hafithahullah) he used to traditionally break down the various rulings for the letters of Tajweed into simple words so that we would not forget the letters. For example in the subject concerning the rules of Noon Saakin and Tanween there are six letters that are either pronounced with Ghunnah or without Ghunnah:
يرملون
Pronounced “Yarmaloon” which is a collection of the letters Yaa, Raa, Meem, Laam, Waaw, and Noon. So every science in the Islamic sciences may or may not use abbreviations to assist in retaining certain subjects. Here the Imaam (rahimahullah) used this abbreviation to remind the student of the five types of present tense verbs.
The chart below will illustrate a better understanding of this portion of the text, Allah willing.
Your brother in Islaam,
Aboo ‘Imraan al-Mekseekee
az-Zawaaid al-Arba’ (the Four Added Letters) and uses the example أنَيْتُ
“Anaytu”? What is the significance between these four letters and the word “Anaytu”?
This is found in the section entitled باب الأفعال (The Chapter on Verbs) where he (rahimahullah) says:
والمضارع مَا كَانَ فِي أَوَّلِهِ إِحْدَى اَلزَّوَائِدِ اَلْأَرْبَعِ اَلَّتِي يَجْمَعُهَا قَوْلُكَ "أَنَيْتُ" وَهُوَ مَرْفُوعٌ أَبَدًا
{And the present tense is that which contains one of the four added letters that are connected to it, such as your saying:
أَنَيْتُ
And it is always in the state of ar-Rafu’ (meaning it takes a Dhammah sign at the end of the last letter).}
According to ash-Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahmaan al-Maakoodee (rahimahullah) in his explanation of this text, the four letters Alif, Noon, Yaa, and Taa are all connected together so that the student of knowledge can memorize the following five types of present tense verbs:
أفْعَلُ (I am doing)
نَفْعَلُ (We are doing)
يَفْعَلُ (He is doing)
تَفْعَلُ (She is doing) or (You are doing) said to a male.
The late Shaykh Muhammad Muhyee-ud-Deen ‘Abdil-Hameed al-Azharee (rahimahullah) in his at-Tuhfat-us-Saniyyah mentions that there are other variants as well such as:
نَأَيْتُ
أتَيْنَ
نَأْتَى
Although Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) in his explanation of the text stated that it is better to use the word given by the author (rahimahullah). Also keep in mind that each of these abbreviations actually have meanings in the Arabic language.
At first this may confuse the beginner but this usage of abbreviations was actually implemented by the people of knowledge to reinforce comprehension of the Islamic texts. I remember when I used to study with my Quran teacher Dr. Ahmad Mas’ood (hafithahullah) he used to traditionally break down the various rulings for the letters of Tajweed into simple words so that we would not forget the letters. For example in the subject concerning the rules of Noon Saakin and Tanween there are six letters that are either pronounced with Ghunnah or without Ghunnah:
يرملون
Pronounced “Yarmaloon” which is a collection of the letters Yaa, Raa, Meem, Laam, Waaw, and Noon. So every science in the Islamic sciences may or may not use abbreviations to assist in retaining certain subjects. Here the Imaam (rahimahullah) used this abbreviation to remind the student of the five types of present tense verbs.
The chart below will illustrate a better understanding of this portion of the text, Allah willing.
Your brother in Islaam,
Aboo ‘Imraan al-Mekseekee
