📜 Author’s Text (ṣ):

**”Speech (الكلام) is a composed expression (اللَّفْظُ المُرَكَّب) that conveys meaning (المُفِيد) by convention (بِالوَضْع). Its categories are three: noun (اسْم), verb (فِعْل), and particle (حَرْف) used for meaning. A noun is recognized by:

• The genitive case (الخَفْض)
• Tanwīn (التَّنْوِين)
• The definite article (الأَلِفِ وَاللَّامِ)
• And prepositional particles (حُرُوفِ الخَفْض), which are:
  • مِنْ، إِلَى، عَنْ، عَلَى، فِي، رُبَّ، البَاءُ، الكَافُ، اللَّامُ
• As well as oath particles (حُرُوفِ القَسَم):
  • الوَاوُ، البَاءُ، التَّاءُ.”**

🎙️ Commentary (sh):

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muḥammad, his family, and all his companions.

📚 The Noble Science of Grammar (النحو)

• Grammar (النحو) is a noble science—a means by which two major aims are fulfilled:
  1. Understanding the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. One cannot comprehend the Qur’an and Hadith without knowledge of grammar.
  2. Correcting the tongue to speak in the pure Arabic language in which the Qur’an was revealed.

🔹 For this reason, grammar holds immense value. Though difficult at first, it becomes easy with progress.

🗝️ It is like a house made of reeds with a door of iron—hard to enter but easy to walk inside once you pass the entrance.

🧠 A Common Misconception

Some say:

“Grammar is difficult, a long staircase.
He who climbs it without knowing,
Wants to parse—but ends up mumbling!”

📛 But this is incorrect.
✅ We say, by Allah’s will: Grammar is easy, its staircase is short, and its steps are smooth—just understand it from the beginning!

🧾 Definition of “Speech” (الكلام)

The author—رحمه الله— begins with defining speech, since grammar is centered on it.

🎯 “Speech is a composed expression conveying meaning by convention.”

Let’s break that down 🔍:

1️⃣ “اللفظ – Expression”

🗣️ Meaning: Articulated sound—i.e., spoken by the tongue.

❌ It excludes:

• Writing: Not considered speech in grammar.
• Gestures: Even if understood, they’re not “speech” by grammatical standards.

📌 Example:
If you motion to someone to sit down—🪑 that’s not “speech.”
But if you say “Sit,” it is speech.

📝 If you write “Sit” on a paper—it may count as speech in Islamic law or fiqh, but not in Arabic grammar.

➡️ The Prophet ﷺ said:

“No Muslim should sleep for two nights while having something to bequeath, without having his will written beside him.”
📖 (al-Bukhārī 2738, Muslim 1627)

2️⃣ “المركب – Composed”

🧩 It must consist of two or more words, forming a complete structure.

Types of composition:

• Isnādī (predicate-based) – ✅ considered speech.
• Iḍāfī (construct/possessive phrases) – ❌ not considered speech.

📌 Examples of predicate-based :

• “Qāma Zayd” (Zayd stood): Two-word sentence – ✅ speech.
• “Qum” (Stand!) – Only one word? But contains an implied subject (you), so ✅ speech by estimation.

📌 Examples of possessive phrases:

• كتاب الطالب – “The student’s book”
• غرفة المدير – “The manager’s room”
• اسم الرجل – “The man’s name”

👉 These are combinations of nouns showing ownership or relation.
But they don’t make a full statement like “The book is on the table” or “The man arrived.”

So, even though they’re composed of more than one word, they:

🔸 ❌ don’t count as “speech” (كلام)
🔸 ✅ are only “phrases” (تركيب إضافي)

3️⃣ “المفيد – Meaningful”

🧠 The speech must give a complete meaning, such that the listener does not anticipate anything more.

📌 Examples:

• ✅ “The student succeeded.” – Full meaning.
• ❌ “If the student succeeds…” – Incomplete. The listener awaits the result.

Even if the statement is obvious or already known, like:

• “The sky is above us.”
• “The earth is beneath us.”

✅ It is still called speech—because it is grammatically complete.

💡 Poetic Line:

كَأَنَّنَا والمَاءُ مِنْ حَوْلِنَا
قَوْمٌ جُلُوسٌ حَوْلَهُمْ مَاءُ
“As if we, with water around us,
are a people sitting, surrounded by water.”

It gives meaning—even if that meaning is redundant.

4️⃣ “بالوضع – By Convention”

📌 Two key implications:

1. Intentional usage:
   • ❌ Excludes the speech of the drunk, insane, or sleeping—they don’t intend to speak.
2. In Arabic language:
   • Must be within Arabic norms.
   • Even if meaningful, if not in Arabic, ❌ not “speech” in grammar.

🔒 Summary: The Four Conditions of Speech

For something to be “speech” in Arabic grammar, it must be:

1. لفظ – Expressed vocally
2. مركب – Composed of 2+ words
3. مفيد – Meaningful
4. بالوضع – Conventional (intentional & in Arabic)

❓Application Example

🗣️ “Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm”
Is it speech?

Yes—if you estimate a verb like:
➡️ “Bismillāh aqra’” – “In the name of Allah, I read.”

Otherwise, just saying adjectives like:

“The man… the capable… the skilled…”
🚫 Not speech—because the listener is still expecting more.