الباب الثالث: في المؤلفين والمؤلفات والتحصيلBab 03 — Authors Works and Acquiring Knowledge

Chapter Three: On Authors, Works, and Acquisition of Knowledge

First Tarsheeh: On the Categories of Writing and the Kinds of Written Works

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Chapter Three: On Authors, Works, and Acquisition of Knowledge

It contains tarsheehs.

First Tarsheeh: On the Categories of Writing and the Kinds of Written Works

Know that books of knowledge are numerous because authors differ in their purposes of composition and authorship, but in terms of meaning they are confined to two categories:

The first is either transmitted reports, namely books of history, or descriptions, parables, and the like, which versification has constrained; these are poetry collections.

The second is the principles of the sciences, which, in terms of extent, are confined to three kinds:

The first is abridgments, made as reminders of the heads of questions. They benefit the advanced student by enabling recollection, and may also benefit some intelligent beginners because of their rapid grasp of meanings from precise expressions.

The second is expanded works, which correspond to abridgments. These are useful for reading. The third is intermediate works, whose benefit is general.

Composition is then of seven kinds; no rational scholar composes except under one of them: either something not previously attempted, which he invents; something incomplete, which he completes; something obscure, which he explains; something lengthy, which he abridges without omitting any of its meanings; something dispersed, which he gathers; something confused, which he orders; or something in which its author erred, which he corrects.

Every author of a book in a discipline already treated should ensure that his book contains five benefits: discovering something that was difficult; gathering it if it was dispersed; explaining it if it was obscure; improving its organization and composition; or removing padding and prolixity.

The condition of composition is to complete the purpose for which the book was written, without addition or omission; to abandon unusual vocabulary and the varieties of metaphor—except in allusion—and to avoid introducing one science into another or adducing as proof that upon which the proof offered depends,

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lest circularity result. Later scholars added the requirements of good arrangement, concise wording, and clarity of indication. It should be presented according to the understanding of the people of the age and in accordance with the needs that call them to it. When minds are penetrating and understandings readily grasp the intended meaning of books, abridgment serves in place of prolixity and allusion suffices in place of explicit statement. Otherwise, exposition, explanation, clarification, and proof are indispensable, alerting the inattentive and awakening the heedless. Authors customarily place at the beginning of every book headings that introduce it; they call them the “heads,” and they are eight: the purpose, which is the goal preceding the act in thought but following it in execution; the benefit, so that the disposition may be eager; the title, which indicates in summary what will later be detailed—this may be expressed through naming, or through words and phrases called a fine opening; the author, so that his status may be known; the kind of science, which is the subject, so that its rank may be known—it may be that the book encompasses one kind of science, is a part of one of its parts, or is an introduction, as previously discussed under the subject; the rank of that book, meaning when it should be read; its arrangement; and the mode of instruction employed, namely an account of the path followed in attaining the goal.

The modes of instruction are five:

The first is division: the division used in the sciences, such as division of the general into the particular, the whole into the part, the universal into its instances, the genus into species, and the species into individuals. This is a division of essential into essential. The universal may also be divided into essential and accidental; the essential into accidental; the accidental into essential and accidental; and the accidental into accidental. The exhaustive division is that which alternates between negation and affirmation.

The second is synthesis, which makes propositions into premises leading to what is known.

The third is analysis, which reconstructs those premises.

The fourth is definition, which mentions things by definitions that indicate their realities in a detailed manner.

The fifth is demonstration, which is a sound syllogism from true premises. It can be used only in the real sciences; in other fields, persuasion suffices.

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Their works arise from strong insight, penetrating thought, and sound judgment, like those of al-Naseer, al-'Adhud, al-Sayyid, al-Sa'd, al-Jalaal, and their like. Each of them combines the refinement of meanings with the cultivation of wording. These men benefited people just as God—Glorious and Exalted is He—had benefited them. Such works are indispensable to everyone.

The second is one with a penetrating mind and fluent expression who reads books, extracts their pearls, and arranges them well. Such works benefit beginners and intermediate students. Among them are those who collect and compose in order to benefit themselves, not to benefit others. There is no objection to this; rather, one should be encouraged to do so once qualified. For the scholars have said: “A student should occupy himself with advanced study and composition concerning what he has understood when people need it, clarifying its expression without departing from technical usage, explaining what is difficult, and revealing what is ambiguous, so that he may acquire a good reputation and perpetuate his name until the end of time.” He should therefore devote his heart to it once he begins and direct all his effort toward it before an obstacle prevents him from attaining that distinction. When he has finished, he should not release what he has composed to the public, nor let it leave his hand, until he has refined, revised, edited, and reread it, for it has been said: “A person remains at ease in his mind and safe from the tongues of his peers until he writes a book or composes poetry.”

It has also been said: “Whoever writes a book exposes himself to praise and blame. If he does well, he becomes a target of backbiting and envy; if he does poorly, he exposes himself to insult and slander.” The sages said: “Whoever wishes to write a book or compose poetry should not let admiration for it and for himself lead him to claim it as his own. Rather, he should present it to its specialists in the form of letters or poems. If he sees that ears incline toward it and that people seek it, he may claim it and proclaim it; otherwise, let him turn to another craft.”

Pause: Some people reject composition in this age altogether. There is no basis for its rejection by those qualified to undertake it; rather, competition and envy prevailing among the people of the ages impel them to do so. Excellent is the verse of the poet:

Tell the one who sees nothing in his contemporaries ...

and sees precedence belonging to the ancients,

That what is ancient was once new ...

and this new thing will remain until it is ancient.

Know that the results of thought do not stop at a limit, nor do the operations of reflection reach an end. Every scholar and learner has a share of them that he secures in his appointed time, and no one may crowd him out of it, for the immaterial world is broad like a surging sea, and the divine effusion has neither cessation nor end. The sciences are divine gifts and gifts from the Self-Sufficient. It is therefore not improbable that something is reserved for some later scholars that was not reserved for many earlier ones. Do not be deceived by the saying, “The first left nothing for the last.” The sound and evident statement is: “How much the first left for the last!” A thing is deemed excellent or despicable because of its excellence or weakness in itself, not because it is old or new. It is said: “No statement has harmed knowledge more than their saying, 'The first left nothing,'” because it cuts off hope in knowledge and encourages withdrawal from learning. The later person then confines himself to what the earlier person presented openly. This is a grave danger and an unsound statement. Although the earlier scholars succeeded in extracting and laying down the foundations, the later scholars succeeded in branching out from those foundations and strengthening them. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “My community is a blessed community; it is not known whether its beginning or its end is better.” Ibn 'Abd Rabbih said in al-'Iqd1: “I have seen that the last of every generation is the one who establishes every wisdom and composes every literary work; his expression is more refined, his language easier, his methods sounder, and his path clearer than that of the first, because he is a reviser who follows up, whereas the first is an early pioneer.” End.

It is related that Khwaaja Zaada used to say: “After the works of al-Sayyid al-Shareef al-Jurjaanee, I never looked at anyone's book with the intention of benefiting.” The author of al-Shaqaa'iq3 mentioned, in the biography of Shams al-Deen al-Fanaaree, that students in his time used to suspend study on Friday and Tuesday, and he added Monday to those days in order to occupy themselves with writing out and acquiring the works of the eminent al-Taftaazaanee—may God have mercy on him. End.

1 In the margin of the original: “This book has recently been printed in Egypt in volumes.” Sayyid 'Alee 'Alee Hasan Khaan, son of the author—may God preserve him.

2 In the margin of the original: “I say: Whoever, at any time in the course of the ages, has gained the works of our shaykh al-Shawkaanee and those who followed his example, and was among the people of piety and fairness, would need no other work in any of the religious sciences, God willing.”

3 That is, al-Shaqaa'iq al-Nu'maaniyya fee 'Ulamaa' al-Dawla al-'Uthmaaniyya, by Ahmad b. Mustafaa, known as Taashkubreezaada, who died in 968 AH.

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Fourth Tarsheeh: On Explaining the Introduction to a Science and the Introduction to a Book

Know that muqaddima—with the daal either geminated and kasrated or fathated—is used for several meanings. One is that upon which a thing depends, whether the dependence is rational, customary, or stipulated. In linguistic usage it became the name for an advance contingent of an army; originally it was an adjective derived from taqdeem, meaning precedence. It may well derive from the transitive sense of taqdeem, because they advance themselves before their enemies through courage in order to prevail. It was then transferred to that upon which a thing depends, and this meaning encompasses all the meanings that follow.

It may also mean that upon which an action depends. This is supported by what al-Sayyid al-Sanad says in his gloss on al-'Adhudee, in the discussion of obligation: among the foundational scholars, the prerequisite is of three kinds. There is what an action depends upon rationally, such as abandoning opposites when performing an obligatory act and performing the opposite when the act is forbidden; this is called a rational prerequisite and a rational condition. There is what an action depends upon customarily, such as washing part of the head in order to wash the whole face; this is called a customary prerequisite and a customary condition. And there is what an action does not depend upon in either of these two ways, but which the Lawgiver makes the action dependent upon and makes a condition for it, such as ritual purity for prayer; this is called a legal prerequisite and a legal condition.1 End.

It may also mean that upon which the validity of an argument directly depends, as is immediately understood; thus subjects and predicates are not included. As for the remote premises of an argument, they are premises of the premise of the argument.

It may also mean a proposition made part of a syllogism or proof. These two meanings are specific to logicians and are used in discussions of syllogism. Mawlawee 'Abd al-Hakeem explicitly states this in his gloss on al-Shamsiyya.

1 Beside it, in the margin of the original, is the comment: “That is because if al-Sayyid al-Sanad did not intend by prerequisite what we have mentioned, the limitation to the three categories would not be valid, as is evident.” “From him—may God have mercy on him—12.”

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They are of two kinds: certain premises, used in certain proofs, of which there are seven—first principles, innate premises, observations, experiences, mass-transmitted premises, intuitive premises, and conjectural premises in sensible matters—and probable premises, used in indications, of which there are four—conceded premises, commonly accepted premises, accepted premises, and premises accompanied by indications, such as the descent of rain when moist clouds are present. This is what may be learned from Sharh al-Mawaaqif.

The term syllogism is intended to include induction and analogy as well. It is followed by the words “or proof” to dispel the supposition that syllogism is restricted to what stands opposite them. It has also been said that “or” signals a difference in technical usage: some say that it is restricted to proof, while others say that it includes what is made part of either of them. This meaning differs from the preceding one. It has also been said that it is narrower than the first, as may be inferred from some of the glosses on Sharh al-Mataali'.

Among them are matters upon which the investigator depends in what follows. If those ensuing discussions constitute the science in its entirety, they are called the introduction to the science; if they constitute the remainder of a section or chapter, they are called the introduction to the section or chapter. In general, the term is annexed to the thing being qualified, as in al-Atwal. It has become well known among them that the introduction to a science is that upon which commencing that science depends; and commencing a science cannot depend upon something that is part of it, for otherwise this would entail circularity, but rather upon something external to it. The necessity involved in commencing, which is a voluntary act, is dependence upon conceiving the general subject in some manner and upon assenting to a benefit that results from it, whether the assent be certain or uncertain, correspondential or not. Yet among the matters mentioned as part of the introduction to a science are things upon which commencing does not depend, such as defining the science, explaining its subject, assenting to the benefit that is appropriately proportionate to the difficulty necessarily involved in acquiring the science, explaining its rank and eminence, and explaining the reason for giving it its name, and so forth. This proved problematic and difficult for some later scholars. Some of them altered the definition of the introduction to mean that upon which commencing depends absolutely, or by way of insight, or by way of increased insight. Others said that it is preferable to interpret the introduction to a science as that by which one is assisted in commencing it; this returns to what was stated above, because assistance in commencing can only occur in one of the mentioned ways. Still others said that what commencing depends upon should not be mentioned in the introduction to a science, but in the introduction to the book. They distinguished the two by saying that the introduction to a science is that upon which its problems depend, whereas the introduction to a book is a group of expressions placed before the intended subject because they indicate what is useful for attaining that subject, whether it is something upon which the subject depends—in which case it is an introduction to the science—or not—in which case it belongs among the meanings of an introduction to a book without being an introduction to the science.

That position was supported on the grounds that knowing the introduction to a book spares one the suspicion that their statement, “The introduction explains the definition, purpose, and subject of the science,” entails making a thing the container of itself, as well as the need for contrived explanations to resolve the matter.

The relation between the two introductions is complete disjunction, while the relation between the expressions “introduction to a science” and the introduction to a book itself is intersection: in the introduction to a book, precedence is considered but dependence is not; in the introduction to a science, dependence is considered but precedence is not. The same applies to the relation between the introduction to a science and the meanings of an introduction to a book. The author of al-Atwal1 said: “The truth is that there is no need for alteration, for everything mentioned in the introduction upon which commencing a science depends is either commencement of the science itself, commencement with insight, or commencement with increased insight. Thus, the description 'that upon which commencing depends' applies to all of it.”

1 See the entry on him, p. 43.

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There is also a legitimate basis for taking commencement in the sense of what has the force of an indefinite expression, as in: “Enter the market.” End quote.

There are further investigations here that we have omitted for fear of prolixity. Whoever wishes to examine them should consult the commentaries on Talkhees al-Miftaah1.

Shaykh Rafee' al-Deen al-Dihlawee2 said in his treatise on this subject: The term “introduction” applies to matters that form one of the parts of a book and are headed by this term; to a part that is likewise headed by a similar term even if it is not headed by that particular expression; and to what deserves to be placed first, whether it has in fact been placed first and headed as such or not. The last is called an introduction to a science, while the first—or rather, the first two—are called an introduction to a book. Thus an introduction to a book is interpreted in terms of what a book is interpreted by: expressions, meanings, and inscriptions, even though the third is metaphorical in such phrases as “I bought the book” and “This is so-and-so's book”; it is not taken into consideration in such phrases as “I composed the book,” “I read it,” “This is a good, solid book,” and “a text, commentary, and gloss.” An introduction to a science is interpreted in terms of what a science is interpreted by: cognition and the objects cognized. Different relations therefore arise between the two, such as disjunction in truth, universality and particularity, or absolute generality and specificity, as when the introduction to a book also contains something other than the introduction to a science; and intersection when the introduction to a science is not placed first and something else is placed in its stead.

This is the account according to the prevailing convention. What sound examination requires is that whatever has a bearing specifically on the book be called its introduction, and whatever has a bearing on the science in general be called the introduction to the science. The two coincide when nothing bears specifically on the book except what bears on the science. To clarify the matter from this perspective, one may say: It has been established in the higher science that complete knowledge of things possessing causes is obtained only through knowledge of their complete causes, namely the totality of the efficient, final, material, and formal causes, together with all other conditions, instruments, proximate means, and the like upon which the existence of a thing depends, where all of these are found; and some of them, where only some are found.

We say, then, that when the earlier scholars separated from the results of their reflections the judgments relating to a single thing in some unity and from a single point of view into distinct sciences, filled their books with them, and wished them to remain through the ages, teaching them to their students generation after generation until they reached us, they deemed it beneficial to place some of their principles before them, so that this might facilitate matters for those seeking them and provide insight for those commencing them. Now that you know the basis of this arrangement, understand that there are two things here. The first is the science as such, which consists of particular problems and specified objects of inquiry. The second is the book, which consists of established expressions and ordered meanings. A single book may concern several sciences, or several books may concern one science; a science may not have been recorded 1 / 201 in a book, or a book may contain no science but only scattered problems and diverting reports in verse or prose. The two also differ in many matters, such as benefit and harm, quality and defect, weakness and strength, and so forth.

The relation of the book in its meanings to the science is like the relation of science

1 Talkhees al-Miftaah fee al-'Uloom wa-al-Bayaan: a book in which Jalaal al-Deen Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Qazweenee, who died in 739 AH, abridged the third section of al-Sakkaakee's Miftaah al-'Uloom on the rhetorical sciences. Talkhees has many commentaries and numerous glosses upon them.

See al-Kashf, 1/473.

2 In the margin of the original: “He is the teacher of my revered father—H.”

He is Rafee' al-Deen ibn Walee Allaah ibn 'Abd al-Raheem al-'Umaree al-Dihlawee, who died in 1233 AH = 1817 CE.

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with reality in terms of correspondence and non-correspondence; hence each has principles distinct from those of the other. It is therefore more appropriate to give each a separate introduction and to make the introduction to the science one of the purposes of the book. Some people, however, combine the two; some content themselves with one of them; and some mention the introduction to the book in the preface, the introduction to the science in a section of the book that begins with the introduction, and mention in each whatever is relevant and happens to arise.. Yet the introduction to the science and the introduction to the book usually lie within the book, because they have not been separated through careful examination.

We shall mention the principles of both, with a measure of organization, and say: Among the principles is the agent. The true agent of a science is the first person to bring it from potentiality into actuality, record it, and set it out distinctly, such as Aristotle in the case of Peripatetic philosophy and logic. Skilled scholars who are qualified to infer and verify its principles take his place. The true agent of a book is its author; those upon whom reliance is placed for transmitting, directing, and correcting it take his place. Among the principles is also the end, namely an explanation of the pressing need to record and compose it. The sciences have a general end, which is the perfection of the soul in its theoretical faculty through knowledge of them, and a specific end, which is mentioned for each discipline. Books likewise have a general end, namely to calm the heart's ardor by expressing what stirs within it, and the desire for recreation and preservation, as it is said: “Every science not set down on parchment is lost.”

And a specific end, such as clarifying what is obscure, abridging what is lengthy, extending the benefit, concealing something from the rabble, making the truth clear, removing doubt, pleasing a dignitary, or rebuking a base person, and so forth.

Then the end in voluntary acts is achieved through two things:

Knowledge of what is sought, to avoid seeking the absolutely unknown; and knowledge of its benefit, to avoid futility. For the first they established knowledge of the book's name and the reason for its being so named, and also a definition for the science.

Second: to state the benefit and harm, in order to encourage its acquisition and treatment and prevent its corruption. This includes matter and form, knowledge of which in reality comes only after completing the acquisition of knowledge and the book, because form is another part of the caused thing, while matter is concomitant with it; indeed, their occurrence is identical with the occurrence of the caused thing, and this is contrary to the purpose of the introduction.

They therefore put two other things in their place. In place of matter, as regards knowledge, they stated its subject, to which the subjects of its problems ultimately lead, as though they were branches, elaborations, and incidental adjuncts of it; and they stated the aspect of investigation to which the predicates of the problems likewise ultimately lead. As regards the book, they stated the language of its words—whether Arabic or Persian—which is often of little utility. They also stated the discipline in which it falls, for composition and exposition occur therein in diverse forms and differing modes. In place of form, as regards knowledge, they stated its chapters and indicated the generalities of its principles and branches; as regards the book, they stated its arrangement and the detail of its parts, consisting of treatises, chapters, sections, and the like, and listed them in an index.

Among these are the conditions. Some are general to every discipline, concerning the teacher, the learner, and the time of teaching and composition. Treatises have been written on this subject, called The Etiquette of Learners and The Etiquette of Authors. Others are specific: each class of disciplines has certain pieces of knowledge without which it is neither understood nor soundly affirmed unless they are employed; these are called definitions, the commonly recognized disciplines, the postulates, and the posited principles. Some books also have symbols and technical terms, without knowledge of which understanding the book becomes difficult. Among them are the instruments: the proximate agent for acquiring the disciplines is thought, and it has methods and modes by which acquisition is made easy; these are called the methods.

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of instruction. These are division, analysis, definition, and demonstration. Books have commentaries and marginal glosses that make them easier to understand through their use. Among them are the proximate aids: the rank of the discipline is explained, so that what should come later is placed later and what should come earlier is placed earlier; likewise, the rank of the book is explained, together with the books from which it takes its material and the disciplines through which preparation for the desired discipline is obtained. This is one way of systematizing them. The rest of the authors are content with some of them, for the reasons mentioned above and because some suffice for the purpose of others. Yet, by way of expanding the matter, one may urge that they all be supplied. And God knows best. Here ends his statement—may God have mercy on him.

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The Fifth Tarsheeh: On Acquisition

The shaykh, the erudite Rafee' al-Deen al-Dihlawee1, said in al-Takmeel: In the acquisition of unknown things, learning came to prevail over reflection, but it had no established rule. My father, the realized knower and accomplished master, Shaykh Walee Allaah ibn Shaykh 'Abd al-Raheem al-'Umaree, therefore codified, through practicing the books as instruction, certain governing principles. I added to them what God, exalted is He, enabled me to add. They are as follows: The discipline of acquisition has as its subject the codified disciplines, insofar as they are acquired and imparted. Its purpose is to engage in them with insight, to save the person who seeks them from misunderstanding, to distinguish their kernel from their chaff, to acquire competence and mastery in them, and to distinguish the complete book and teacher from their deficiencies, so that the deficiencies may be attributed to one or the other. The perfection of people in the disciplines without it does not negate its benefit, as is shown by the mujtahids of the community, the pillars of wisdom, and the critical scholars among the Indians and Franks, with respect to logic and its study. It has five aspects: learning by exposition, from one who is challenged to debate; teaching2 and being apprenticed3 to one to whom one submits; and, through written exposition, composition4 and reading5.

The exposition of debate: the two disputants direct themselves toward a question in order to make the truth manifest, or they address the statement, the one who states it, the proof, or the definer. The first consists of:

1 - Resolving the technical term and the obscure passage

2 - Determining what has been omitted, its antecedent, and what may be understood in more than one way because of homonymy, figurative usage, specification, or qualification

3 - Removing the deficiency caused by complexity and by the immediate occurrence of an opposite meaning

4 - Removing the supplementary objection

5 - Explaining the reason for departing from what is apparent and well known

6 - Calling attention to the harm caused by adding something or leaving it out

7 - Addressing the explicit or entailment-based contradiction between two statements

8 - Addressing the interpenetration of alternatives and divisions

9 - Requesting from them the ruling on something left unmentioned

1 The definition of this was given earlier, on p. 113.

2 In the margin of the original: “That is, from the teacher.”

3 In the margin of the original: “That is, from the learner.”

4 In the margin of the original: “From the teacher.”

5 Margin of the original: “From the examining learner.”

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10 - The claim being devoid of benefit

11 - Establishing hidden claims

12 - And apparent ones

The response is made by exposition:

1 - 2 - Making the contextual indication understood

3 - And the benefit of the expression

4 - And preference

5 - And removing what is harmful

6 - And reconciliation

7 - And distinguishing, even if only generally, or by realities rather than by their instances

8 - And inclusion

9 - And the aspect of benefit

10 - And disclosure

11 - 12 - Or by what is suitable in all cases, followed by inference or transmission

The second consists of:

1 - Establishing the doctrine

2 - Correcting the transmission

3 - Refusing to credit it

4 - Changing its meaning

5 - Preventing the premises, in whole or in part, such as the minor premise, the major premise, the connection, the incompatibility, the positing, and the negation.

6 - The supporting ground: if it is claimed to be self-evident, the equal case establishes its negation and affirmation for both; the more specific case raised as an objection establishes affirmation, and the more general case adduced as proof establishes negation.

7 - The invalidity of the composition through the absence of its condition, the failure to repeat a middle term, and the denial of exhaustiveness; these two objections are often directed at both alternatives.

8 - The suitability of the middle term to the opposite of the greater term, and of the antecedent to the opposite of the consequent.

9 - Refutation by failure to apply to the claim

10 - And by its entailing an impossibility

11 - Begging the question in part

12 - And circular dependence, even when expressed with different wording

13 - Arguing from the consequence: that is, the proof is more general than the claim

14 - Its falling short of the claim because it is more specific

15 - Countering it

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16 - And countering its premises

17 - Invalidating the foundation on which it is built. This is not the same as criticizing its proof; it concerns the proximate premises and is more useful than that for demolishing it at its foundation, but it should be done at both ends of the debate, lest the transition cause confusion.

18 - The equality of proof and claim in acceptance and rejection, because they share a common basis

19 - Establishing the subsidiary conclusions that follow from it after granting it hypothetically

20 - Contradicting the text or the master of the discipline

The response is:

1 - By notification

2 - And presentation

3 - And authentication

4 - And preference based on proximity and the testimony of an expert

5 - And inference

6 - And 7 - Applying the rules

8 - Denying the suitability

9 - Distinguishing between the two cases

10 - And 11 - Mentioned above

12 - Producing a middle term that removes the circular dependence

13 - Directing the approximation

14 - And 15 - Reversing the position

16 - And 17 - Supporting the foundation after clarifying it

18 - Cutting off the subsidiary inference

19 - Correcting the subsidiary conclusions by removing the grounds for rejecting or denying them

20 - And interpreting by the stronger reading, while treating as weak or retracting the criticism in order to employ something else; when unable, one moves on or submits.

The third—that is, the definer—does not admit refutation or counterargument.

The various implicit judgments are claims that must be established:

1 - Such as circularity, explicit and implicit

2 - Some of them concern predication

3 - The conceptual one concerns the self-evident and the quantifier

4 - And clarity, absolutely

5 - And prevention

6 - And complete combination

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7 - And coverage

8 - And inclusion, for complete correspondence

9 - And the aspect of resemblance to dissimilar things, when deficient

10 - And essentiality as a definition, owing to the absence of its properties

All of this concerns what is hidden; after it becomes manifest, it is disputation in which no leniency is shown, and one rarely undertakes to establish anything.

Teaching: making the book understood by the tongue. For the deficient learner,1 its method is translation alone, which makes both minds sluggish. For the slow learner,2 mentioning whatever can be memorized and reviewed makes the easy difficult through haste and lengthens the period of acquisition. The hurried learner may be content with the opening portions of the books, read carefully, but this makes a second period of study necessary for completeness. Restricting oneself to enumeration is for scholars; the proficient learner of every discipline should use an expanded text. At the beginning, one should teach an easy matn in order to learn the technical terms and the foundations of the rules, an exhaustive commentary explaining the benefits of qualifications, proofs, investigations, and well-known disagreements, and a marginal gloss for cultivating critical ability in criticism and accreditation, preference, and the habit of connecting external material and gathering what is dispersed. If need arises, more may be added.

Among the abridgements, one is sufficient,3 and its governing principles are:

1 - Accurately vocalizing the problematic passage through the kind of vowel or vowellessness, marking or unmarking the letters, and advancing or delaying the elements

2 - Explaining the unfamiliar in language and in technical usage

3 - Uncovering the obscure in form and syntax

4 - Representing the question through illustration4 and vocalization5

5 - Bringing the proofs nearer by stating what is folded into them explicitly and connecting them to the original principle

6 - Establishing the rules through the benefits of qualifications and repairing the break, without superfluity or obscurity

7 - Refinement of the definitions of both, and of the common and distinctive deductions from the divisions

8 - The basis of restriction and ordering in the sections and chapters

9 - Distinguishing the confused in the explanations, rationales, and statements

10 - Applying the differing statements of one who shares my school and one who follows a unified school

11 - Calling attention to the exceptions and the evident objections that arise, and answering them

12 - Investigating the citation for its proper place

13 - Explaining what is ambiguous among the perspectives, the preferable course, the correct view, and the question that is implicitly posed

14 - Weighing the explanations against one another and indicating the sounder and nearer of them, and what is incumbent upon each

1 In the margin: “That is, the deficient teacher.”

2 al-Faalee: the rational person after ignorance; he means one who has attained the degree of rational discernment and understanding.

3 Opposite it in the margin: “That is, the deficient teacher.”

4 In the margin of the original: “In the principles.”

5 In the margin of the original: “Concerning matters related to form, such as geometry, astronomy, and the like.”

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15 - The reason for changing the familiar style

16 - Identifying the question and answer according to their type, origin, and occasion

17 - Good exposition through concise clarification

18 - Translation into the language of the learners

19 - Applying one's thought to solving whatever can be solved

20 - Guarding the tongue against bad character

21 - Preserving the position of the objector and the respondent

22 - Summarizing what is scattered

23 - Distributing branches and rationales over what is folded together1 or mentally envisaged2

24 - Remaining alert when arranging questions and answers according to the original basis of affirmation and negation

25 - Cautioning against whatever causes misunderstanding. This applies equally to transmitted and rational knowledge, whether demonstrative or rhetorical, except that in the first the consideration is chiefly the verification and connection of expressions; in the second, reaching the self-evident principles and the accepted derivative propositions; and in the third, the probable correspondences.

He should continue calling attention to these matters as far as he can bear, until he makes them a habit through his own thought. Then he should present his reading to his reading [sic], and to the marginal notes, understand its errors and guard against them, and test himself by composing a commentary or marginal note in which he fulfills its due3 and earns confidence in his judgment.

Apprenticeship: understanding a book by listening, and seeking4 soundness and companionship, even through contentment and eagerness, and earnestness, even through encouragement; understanding and memorizing, even through exertion and perseverance; and maintaining a good opinion of the teacher, even in the discipline and the clear, sound book, and of the skilled, compassionate teacher, even through hope. Its due is:

1 - Sound reading

2 - Distinguishing the sentences

3 - Listening with the heart emptied [of distraction]

4 - Establishing the understanding

5 - Bringing to light what is hidden

6 - Presenting the difficulty with courtesy

7 - Gathering the earlier and later parts of the discussion in the mind

8 - Looking ahead, so that it may be more effective and undertaken with insight; at the beginning, attendance with the teacher is more beneficial

1 In the margin: “In the folding and unfolding [of expressions].”

2 In the margin: “That is, envisaged in the mind but not mentioned.”

3 In the margin: “That is, the teacher.”

4 In the margin: “A circumstantial phrase attached to the subject that follows, namely his words 'its due.'”

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9 - Repetition, so that it becomes settled; exposition is better

10 - Memorization for recall when needed; with writing it is better

11 - Compliance with what he considers most beneficial

12 - Avoiding whatever makes the mind constrict

13 - Avoiding engagement with what is remotely relevant

14 - Avoiding annoyance at citation when the matter is extremely difficult, for:

The days will reveal to you what you were ignorant of ... And one whom you did not provision will bring you news

15 - For the student of verification: stripping imagined expressions from the form of a thing that matches all its attributes and accords with all its agreed branches.

Composition:

Composing discourse to edit it in prose and verse. What is intended here is composition in the sciences: whatever does not explicitly relate to another work is a text; whatever relates to it continuously is an integrated or separate commentary, introduced by “he said” or “I say” and the like, or by a sudden transition, is an annotation or marginal note. Each may be concise, intermediate, or extensive, and its purposes vary according to its context.

1 - Original invention2

2 - Fixing an old work

3 - Reviving something dormant

4 - Collecting what is dispersed

5 - Stripping away verbal or conceptual excess or corruption

6 - Completing it with what follows, such as exceptions, qualifications, examples, proofs, questions, and sources

7 - Making the truth evident, whether initially, in support, or in defense

8 - Removing falsehood by exposing a doubt or error

9 - Sharing in something unique

10 - Correcting the arrangement

11 - Making a closed matter easy by resolving or expanding it

12 - Extracting a principle from something dispersed

13 - Deriving branches from a general statement

14 - Verifying a position, book, or discipline by gathering what pertains to it and what bears against it

15 - Transforming prose into verse

1 In the margin of the original: “That is, the discourse found in the sciences.”

2 In the margin of the original: “That is, the first of the purposes.”

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16 - [Transforming] one language into another; my father—may God Most High have mercy upon him—wrote rules of translation.

17 - And they are often combined1.

After mastering the language and discipline, and acquiring an instinct for concision and elaboration, one employs in composition what has preceded. In commentaries and marginal notes, resolution is achieved through the principles of teaching; in aiding the truth, through logic; in refutation, through the questions of disputation; and in explanation, through their answers together with grammar, rhetoric, and principles of jurisprudence. In some matters one relies on an instinct for exposition, and in others on investigation, breadth of learning, and the like, with added care in transmission and criticism, and sound exposition—concise or extended according to the context—and preservation of the position of the school and office, for whoever composes exposes himself. A particular book also requires preliminaries analogous to those in the introduction to its discipline, together with time, place, and symbols. Let him gather them into one introduction, or place them in the preface before the introduction to the discipline.

Reading: examining a book while understanding its intended meaning and defects. After acquiring the language and technical terminology and the capacity for translation, it is completed through three readings, overlapping or successive:

The first is for comprehending secondary meanings, distinguishing what is mentioned from what is omitted, separating one sentence from another, and distinguishing the two sides from their qualifications.

The second is for knowing its benefits and primary meanings, its novel arrangement, and the connection among proofs and discussions—whether soundly or crookedly—in accordance with teaching.

The third is for criticism, through demolition and construction, criticism and arrangement. The meaning is understood:

1 - From the wording of the discourse, directly and intentionally, without ambiguity.

2 - From its indication, likewise implicitly.

3 - From its generality, to clarify the individual case.

4 - From what is included within it, made clear after being hidden because of completeness or deficiency, the establishment of a pillar and absence of customary concomitants, and the like.

5 - From supplying an omitted element indicated by custom, without deliberation.

6 - From its hint favoring one of two possibilities by decisive or probable evidence, such as the testimony of a second statement supporting it, the absence of all the attributes in any other possibility, its being the more important objective, the least instance or benefit without which the matter would be void and useless, the proximity of its meaning, the greater benefit it yields, or the like.

7 - From what its context suggests, such as precedence and postponement, deviation, answering an anticipated objection, correspondence, omission where it is mentioned, directing attention to an attribute, and the succession that in revelation resembles it.

8 - From its rhetorical register, such as facilitation and strictness, grandeur and contempt, precision and indulgence, importance and subordination.

9 - From its figurative usage when literal meaning is impossible and a contextual indicator exists.

10 - From its allusion, because an explicit expression does not fulfill the purpose, even if it is sound.

11 - From its conventional usage, through an added word, an explanatory annexation, expressing multiplicity by the singular, considering repetition and resolve, generalizing the specific and the reverse, and excluding the speaker from the discourse.

1 In the margin of the original: “That is, the purposes on many occasions.”

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12 - From its entailment, by turning mentally to what is inseparable from it through an essential relation, such as a capacity for its absence, or one of two correlatives for the other; a natural customary relation, such as light for the stars and heat for fire; or a conventional relation, such as generosity for Haatim and courage for Rustam1.

13 - From its incompatibility with the necessity of eliminating an opposition.

14 - From its requiring what its truth depends upon rationally, legally, or customarily2; both are evident in the broader sense of meaning.

15 - From its entailing what follows from it but is known only through practice and thought, not from what is self-evident.

16 - From its implication where its effective cause is established and its occurrence in the branch is recognized by custom and language.

17 - From reasoning by analogy to a similar case through reflection.

18 - From considering the convergence of premises in the mind which, upon hearing them3, produces what does not occur to another person.

19 - From its contrary implication, under its conditions, wherever a benefit is specified.

20 - From its being a conjunction: a syllogism formed from two premises sharing a component, and an exceptive construction formed from a conditional or a branch of a principle, together with an admission or denial of one of its two sides.

21 - From restricting oneself to it instead of the clearer and more fitting expression in a context of exposition. Understanding the meaning is impaired by ignorance of:

1 - The thing for which the expression was instituted

2 - The institution of the expression

3 - The properties of constructions

4 - The determining factor

5 - The diverting indicator

6 - The contextual indicator

7 - Then the orientation of the corruptions

8 - Omission

9 - Confusion

10 - Dispersion

After the instinct has been refined through apprenticeship, one seeks assistance by investigating its sources, consulting commentaries, marginal notes, and books of the discipline, and applying sustained thought. Its greatest benefit is found in the Book and the Sunna.

This is what God's grace and favor have enabled me to set down. Whoever rises to perfection may add to it whatever he wishes, for the sciences increase through the succession of thoughts. God, Glorious and Most High, is ever generous and pours forth mysteries. Praise be to God. It is finished—his words—and this is the second chapter of his book, complete and perfected.

The learned shaykh 'Aleem Allaah b. 'Abd al-Razzaaq4 said in his commentary on the Epistle on Reading the following:

1 Rustam: a legendary hero among the Persians.

2 Above it is the phrase: “That is, the discourse.”

3 In the margin: “That is, the discourse.”

4 We have been unable to identify him or his book.

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Either you find one of the matters presented that cannot be disputed.

There is no deficiency in any of the three states just mentioned except the first, in which deficiency is possible, as previously explained. If it arises from deficiency, and it becomes clear to you that the first state results from the inadequacy of your mind to grasp it, do not slacken your exertion in study and reading. Rather, continue and persevere, for practice and constant engagement with a thing bring perfection in it. When you have finished examining the first discussion in the indicated manner, which guides toward the truth, examine the second discussion from beginning to end in the manner we have shown. If you find that deficiency remains in yourself, in that you have not discovered its claim or any objection to it, do not slacken your exertion in study and reading; persevere and examine the third discussion in the same way, and so on until you have completed the book. If you attain perfection, then that is the result; otherwise, return to another book, and then another, until perfection is attained in you. Consider yourself a place receptive to the outpouring of perfections, and do not despair of God's bounty. O rational person, you are not among those whom the addressees have erased from their registers, and God's bounty toward creation is wider than their thoughts. If your exertion and diligence in reading proceed in this manner for a year, or more—up to two years—I do not think that you will fail to advance; indeed, I am certain that you will advance in reading until you can distinguish acceptable judgments from rejected ones. When you become fully capable of this path, so that deficiency, error, and lassitude no longer approach you, rise to the rank for which you were created, whether as a kind or an individual, among the high degrees of the soul's perfections: knowledge of God Most High in His essence and attributes. He has said: “I did not create jinn and humankind except that they may worship Me”—that is, “know Me,” as some have interpreted it.

Point: Know that when a commentator or glossator adds something to the original, the addition must be either an investigation, an objection, an elaboration of what was concise, or a completion of what was deficient and omitted. If the completion is taken from earlier or later speech, it is an exposition; otherwise, it is an objection. In the first two cases, it may be an explanation of what was obscure: if introduced by a word such as “that is,” by an explanatory statement, or by coordination, it is verbal explanation; if introduced by “meaning” or its equivalent, it is explanation of the intended meaning.

The forms of objection are well known. Some are used where another form may also be used: “it is refuted,” and derivatives of it, are used for what the objector claims cannot be answered; “it follows,” and expressions in the active voice such as “if you say,” introduce a condition whose answer is established and indicate strength in the investigation; “if it is said” and similar expressions indicate weakness; “it may be said” and the like indicate considerable weakness; “someone may say” indicates slight weakness; “there is an investigation” and similar forms indicate strength, whether or not an answer is established. The passive forms, whether past or present, as well as “it is not unlikely,” are all forms of cautious qualification and indicate weakness in what follows, whether an investigation or an answer. “I say” and “I said” are specific to the speaker. It is well known among the two masters that the commentary on al-Kaafiya by the eminent and accomplished shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jaamee1—may God sanctify his secret—is peculiar to him. Likewise, it is sometimes said that the commentary on al-Mawaaqif by al-Sayyid al-Sanad2 is entirely peculiar to him. The choice of cautious forms is an expression of their humility—may God Most High raise their rank.

1 He was Badr al-Deen 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Jaamee, an exegete who also contributed to Arabic. He wrote many works, including his commentary on Ibn al-Haajib's al-Kaafiya, entitled al-Fawaa'id al-Dhiyaa'iyya. He lived from 817–898 AH / 1414–1492 CE.

2 al-Sayyid al-Shareef al-Jurjaanee, whose biography was given earlier on page 23. The al-Mawaaqif he commented on was the work on theology by 'Adhud al-Deen 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Ahmad al-Eejee, who died in 756 AH.

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When they say “its gist,” “its result,” “its redaction,” “its revision,” or the like, this signals a deficiency in the original and its inclusion of redundancy or ambiguity. You find them saying, when one thing is made to stand in place of another, sometimes “it was placed in its position,” sometimes “it substituted for it,” and sometimes “it was made to take its place.” The first is used when a higher thing is placed in the position of a lower one, the second for the reverse, and the third for equality. If you see one used in place of another, there is a subtlety in it. They chose the intensified form in the first case and the fourth form in the latter two because placing the higher in the place of the lower requires treatment and gradual progression.

A discussion may end with something like “consider it carefully.” This sometimes points to the subtlety of the matter and sometimes to a defect in it, whether the preposition is present or omitted. In the works of the learned Mawlaanaa Jalaal al-Deen al-Dawwaanee1—may God illuminate his resting place—the presence of the preposition indicates the second and its absence the first. This is a new convention of his, as transmitted by some of his students, restricted to him and not extending beyond him. End of the abridgement.2

The etiquette of disputation is a science by which one learns how to avoid error in debate. Its subject is debate, since it investigates its states and procedures. We have included here what is the highest aim, and attention to it is the ultimate purpose. We say:

First, it must be known that, so long as the proponent is reporting doctrines and schools and setting out discussions, nothing is required of him beyond accurate transmission and stating that so-and-so said such-and-such in such-and-such a work, if he is asked for it. Once he begins to establish a proof for what he has claimed, the method of disputation applies to him.

Point: Know that the speech of disputants concerns either definitions or questions. If it concerns definitions, the questioner may demand the conditions and raise a counterexample by showing one without the other. The objection of “denial” does not apply, since this is a demand for proof, and proof pertains to assent—unless the opponent asserts an explicit judgment, saying that this is its linguistic, customary, technical, or implicit meaning. Then the questioner may deny it, and the proponent—that is, the respondent—may answer. The answer concerning a nominal definition is easy: it returns to convention, and the proponent says, “By this expression I mean this meaning.” A real definition—meaning a definition of essences existing externally—is difficult, since convention has no role in it. One must know the essential attributes, the accidental attributes, and the distinction between them, distinguishing genus from general accident, differentia from particular property. This is extremely difficult, indeed almost impossible, in definition. Nor do we raise the objection of contradiction against it, for contradiction is a demand for a proof that indicates the contrary of the claim, while no proof is present here.

1 See the earlier discussion on page 36.

2 In the margin: “By the second is meant 'its result' or 'its product'; by the first, 'the abridged statement.'”

3 In the margin of the original: “This is a sufficient statement, dispensing with all the other epistles circulating among students and graduates. Through it one may learn everything learned from those works. Let it be considered, for it is precious, pure benefit, small in volume and abundant in meaning.”

4 In the margin: “There is an objection here, because a counterexample applies to the proof, like denial, unless what is intended by 'counterexample' is other than its immediate meaning.” Ishaaq al-'Abdee—may he have mercy.

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If the discussion concerns questions, then when the proponent begins to establish a proof, the opponent may deny one particular premise or both of them individually; this is called contradiction or detailed refutation and requires no supporting evidence. If he mentions something that strengthens the denial, it is called a supporting ground. If he does not mention it, no objection may be raised against it unless he claims that it is equivalent to the denial, because a supporting ground entails the establishment of the denial, while the nonexistence of the entailment does not entail the nonexistence of what follows from it; but if equivalence is claimed, it may be absent. Since most supporting grounds are cited as equivalents, discussion of them became widespread. If he denies an unspecified premise, saying, “This proof, with all its premises, is not sound,” meaning that one of them contains a defect, this is called general refutation and is not heard unless he cites evidence for the defect. If he denies none of the premises, neither generally nor individually, but responds with a proof indicating the contrary of his claim, this is called opposition; the questioner becomes the proponent and the reverse.

Know that a question intended to secure understanding is called clarification. It is generally a request to explain the meaning of an expression, and is admitted only when the expression is ambiguous or unfamiliar. Likewise, wherever misunderstanding is possible, clarification is appropriate; otherwise it is obstinacy and captiousness, defeating the benefit of debate, for an explanation could be sought for every expression and the process would continue indefinitely. Clarification is answered by showing the expression's evident meaning through transmission from the linguists, general or special convention, or accompanying indicators. If all this is impossible, it is explained by a meaning that is linguistically valid; otherwise it becomes a form of play and departs from the purpose for which debate and the manifestation of truth were established. This clarification may be directed against the proponent's statement, all the premises, or all the proofs; no question is more comprehensive than it.

Notice: It is incumbent upon the proponent not to hasten to answer, but to ask the objector to direct and substantiate his denial, for the objector may be unable to direct it, its invalidity may become apparent, or he may recall the answer. Once an answer is given, the objector likewise should not hasten, but should ask that the answer be directed and detailed, for the respondent may be unable to do so and the answer may prove erroneous.

Among the duties of disputants is that they speak in every science according to its definition and function. They must not apply to the certain the functions of the probable, or to the probable those of the certain.

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They must not apply to the certain the functions of the probable, or to the probable those of the certain.

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