Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to His Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to a Question
The Imperative Verb (Fi’l al-Amr) To: Abdul Rahman Al-Zyoud
Question:
Our honorable brother and Ameer, may Allah protect and care for you, support you with the sincere and strong believers, and help you carry your heavy burden. May Allah gather us with you soon to strike our hands with yours, pledging allegiance to hear and obey in ease and hardship.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
While I was studying The Islamic Personality (Ash-Shakhsiyyah al-Islamiyyah), Volume 3, regarding the subject of the verb (page 168 of the electronic version), I came across the following text: "As for the imperative verb, it is that from which the prefix of the present tense has been removed and nothing else."
The question is: If the prefix of the present tense is removed from a verb like يفعل (yaf’alu), does it not become a verb in the past tense? That is, it is not an imperative verb.
Is there a word missing from the text due to a printing error?
May Allah bless you, and may you remain under Allah’s care.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
May Allah bless you for your kind prayer, and I ask Allah (swt) to grant us and you success and guidance.
The statement mentioned in the book The Islamic Personality, Volume 3, regarding the imperative verb: "As for the imperative verb, it is that from which the prefix of the present tense has been removed and nothing else," is found in the books of Usul (Foundations). For example, it appears in Al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam by Al-Amidi (1/58):
"A verb is what indicates an occurrence linked to a specific time. The occurrence is the Masdar (infinitive), which is the name of the verb. The specific times are the past, the present, and the future. It is divided according to the division of time; the past is like قام (qama) and قعد (qa'ada).
The present and the future share the same form and are called the Mudari' (present tense). It is that which has at its beginning one of the four additional letters, namely: Alif, Ta, Nun, and Ya, such as your saying: أقوم (aqumu), تقوم (taqumu), نقوم (naqumu), and يقوم (yaqumu). Distinguishing the future from the present is done by adding the prefix Seen or Sawfa, such as سيقوم (sayaqumu) and سوف يقوم (sawfa yaqumu). As for the imperative verb, it is that from which the prefix of the present tense has been removed and nothing else, such as your saying for يقوم (yaqumu): قم (qum) and the like." [End quote]
Likewise, it is mentioned in Sharh Alfiyyah Ibn Malik by Al-Uthaymeen (3/11, automated Shamilah numbering):
"The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'The imperative and past verbs are built (mabni), while the present tense is inflected (mu'rab) unless it is attached to the direct Nun of emphasis or the Nun of females...' Then he said: (And the imperative and past verbs are built), meaning that the imperative verb is mabni and the past tense is mabni...
So the imperative verb is mabni. It was said it is mu'rab, but the correct view is that it is mabni, and it is built upon that which its present tense is made jussive (majzum) with. If its present tense is made jussive with Sukun, then it is built on Sukun. If its present tense is built on the omission of the final weak letter or the omission of the Nun, then it is likewise built on the omission of the weak letter or the omission of the Nun. For this reason, they say: if you want to formulate the imperative verb, then bring a jussive present tense verb, then strip from it the prefix of the present tense and the jussive particle." [End quote]
To clarify this based on the research of linguistic grammar in its sources, we say, and success is from Allah:
The imperative verb is derived, in terms of its form, from the present tense verb after removing the prefix of the present tense (harf al-mudara'ah). However, because the imperative verb is jussive in state, its form is taken from the jussive present tense verb after removing the prefix, and naturally after dropping the jussive tool because it is not part of the verb. If you want to reach the imperative form from the present tense, first enter a jussive particle like لم (lam) upon the present tense verb so it becomes a jussive verb. Then drop the jussive particle لم—meaning keep the jussive form of the verb without the tool—then remove the prefix of the present tense from the jussive verb, and the imperative verb will be purely manifested for you.
For example, the verb يخاف (yakhafu) becomes, by entering لم (lam) upon it, لم يخَفْ (lam yakhaf). By dropping لم, it becomes يخَفْ (yakhaf). By removing the prefix Ya at the beginning of the verb, it becomes خَفْ (khaf), which is the imperative of خاف (khafa). The same applies to verbs like (ينام، يقوم، يقول، يزور...).
For example, the verb يفي (yafi) becomes, by entering لم upon it, لم يفِ (lam yafi). By dropping لم, it becomes يفِ (yafi). By removing the prefix Ya at the beginning of the verb, it becomes فِ (fi), which is the imperative of وفى (wafa). The same applies to verbs like (وعى، وقى، رأى...).
For example, the verb يضرب (yadribu) becomes, by entering لم upon it, لم يضْرِبْ (lam yadrib). By dropping لم, it becomes يضْرِبْ (yadrib). By removing the prefix Ya at the beginning of the verb, it becomes ضْرِبْ (drib). However, the first letter is Dad, which is a silent letter (sakin), and a silent letter cannot be pronounced at the beginning except by using the Hamzat al-Wasl (connecting Hamza). Thus it becomes اضْرِبْ (idrib), which is the imperative of ضرب (daraba). The same applies to verbs like (عمل، دعا، بنى...).
The conclusion is that if the prefix of the present tense is removed from a jussive present tense verb, it results in the imperative verb and not the past tense verb. Accordingly, what appeared in the book The Islamic Personality, Volume 3, is correct according to what was explained above, and there is no "missing text from printing."
I hope the matter is now clear.
Your Brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
14 Shawwal 1440 AH Corresponding to 17/06/2019 CE
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