33 ظَنَّ and its sisters
THIS BOOK IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. IT IS INCOMPLETE AND MAY HAVE TYPOGRAPHICAL AND OTHER ERRORS. IT IS NOT YET READY TO BE STUDIED FROM.
33.1 Introduction
There are some verbs that, in addition to a doer, also generally require two direct doees. ظَنَّ is one of these verbs. For example:
- ظَنَنْتُ زَيْدًا أَخَاكَ [Peled, Sentence types 188]
« I thought Zayd to be your brother. »
There are other verbs similar to ظَنَّ. We will study them collectively as “ظَنَّ and its sisters.”
33.2 The lean of the ظَنَّ sentence
The basic nounal sentence consists of a subject and a info. For example:
- زَيْدٌ أَخُوكَ
« Zayd is your brother. »
In example () above, زَيْدٌ is the subject and أَخُوكَ is its info. Both are in the u-case because it is a basic nounal sentence. In terms of its lean, زَيْدٌ is the leaned-against element and أَخُوكَ is the leaning element. (Technically, the leaning element is أَخ. And it in turn is a annexed noun to the annexed-to noun كَ. But loosely speaking, we can say that the leaning element is the bundled أَخُوكَ.) With the leaned-against element and the leaning element in place, the sentence is leaned.
Now consider the following sentence:
- ظَنَنْتُ زَيْدًا أَخَاكَ [Peled, Sentence types 188]
« I thought Zayd to be your brother. »
In example () above, the verb ظَنَّ takes the subject and info of example (), and makes them into direct doees. The verb ظَنَّ requires a doer (as usual), which is the pronoun تُ « I ». And it also requires two direct doees: زَيْدًا is the first direct doee and أَخَاكَ is the second direct doee.
This sentence is peculiar in its lean. This is because the indispensable elements are the two direct doees. زَيْدًا is the leaned-against element and أَخَاكَ is the leaning element.1 The sentence is only leaned when both direct doees are in place. Unlike normal verbal sentences, the verb ظَنَّ and its doer are not the indispensable elements of the sentence. Rather ظَنَّ is the foundational government. Figure () depicts the government of example ().
DIAGRAM
If one or both of the direct doees are missing, then the sentence is not (generally) sufficiently leaned:
✗ ظَنَنْتُ زَيْدًا
« I thought Zayd »✗ ظَنَنْتُ
« I thought »
In examples () and () above, depending on context, the listener may be left wondering, “You thought Zayd to be what?” and “You thought what?”, respectively. However, as we will see in the examples, sometimes, some of these verbs that fall in ظَنَّ and its sisters don’t require two direct doees. In which cases the sentence will be leaned without them.
Parallels of the lean of the ظَنَّ sentence may be found in the كَانَ and إِنَّ sentences:
كَانَ زَيْدٌ أَخَاكَ [Peled, Sentence types 188]
« Zayd was your brother. »
(زَيْدٌ, the doer/subject, is the leaned-against element. أَخَاكَ, the direct doee/info, is the leaning element. كَانَ is the foundational government.)إِنَّ زَيْدًا أَخُوكَ [Peled, Sentence types 188]
« Indeed Zayd is your brother. »
(زَيْدًا, the subject, is the leaned-against element. أَخُوكَ, the info, is the leaning element. إِنَّ is the foundational government.)
Similar to (deficient) كَانَ sentences, the ظَنَّ sentence may be categorized as a verbal sentence. And, like in the case of deficient كَانَ, the verb and its doer don’t make the sentence leaned.
33.3 Categories of ظَنَّ and its sisters
There are many verbs that behave similar to ظَنَّ, in that they require two direct doees.
In this chapter, we will refer to the first direct doee, (the one which is the subject in the basic nounal sentence) as x. And we will refer to the second direct doee, (the one which is the info in the basic nounal sentence) as y.
These verbs constituting ظَنَّ and its sisters may be sub-categorized into:
Verbs of perception. These verbs indicate that the doer believes the first direct doee to be something that is indicated by the second direct doee. For example: ظَنَّ « to think, conjecture x to be y », عَلِمَ « to know x to be y », حَسِبَ « to deem, reckon x to be y », خَالَ « to imagine x to be y », زَعَمَ « to claim x to be y », رَأَىٰ « to opine x to be y », and more.
Verbs of rendering. These verbs indicate that the doer changes or leaves the direct doee in a state that is indicated by the second direct doee. For example: صَيَّرَ « to make x become y », اتَّخَذَ « to take x for oneself as y », تَرَكَ « to leave x as y », جَعَلَ « to make x into y », and more.
Some verbs, like جَعَلَ can fall into both categories, where جَعَلَ can also mean « to believe x to be y », in addition to « to make x into y ».
We will discuss these verbs individually in section () below.
33.4 ظَنَّ and its sisters in passive voice
When ظَنَّ and its sisters are used in the passive voice, the first direct doee (the one which is the subject in the basic nounal sentence) is made the deputy doer in the u-case. And the second direct doee (the one which is the info in the basic nounal sentence) remains a direct doee in the a-case. So, example () above, becomes in the passive voice:
- ظُنَّ زَيْدٌ أَخَاكَ
« Zayd was thought to be your brother. »
Similarly,
- زَيْدٌ مَظْنُونٌ شُجَاعًا [Wright 2/52D]
« Zayd is thought to be brave. »
33.5 Example sentences of ظَنَّ and its sisters
ظَنَّ
The basic meaning of ظَنَّ is to believe, with a variable range of conviction, x to be y. Due to the conjectural nature of this meaning, it can be used in a range of circumstances from where its doer believes something to be certain, to cases where he is doubtful.
Here are some examples:
وَإِنِّی لَأَظُنُّكَ یَـٰفِرۡعَوۡنُ مَثۡبُورࣰا [سورة الإسراء 17:102 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/331]
« and indeed I think, O Pharaoh, that you are destroyed. »قُلۡتُم مَّا نَدۡرِی مَا ٱلسَّاعَةُ إِن نَّظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنࣰّا وَمَا نَحۡنُ بِمُسۡتَیۡقِنِینَ [سورة الجاثية 45:32 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/331]
« you said, ‘We know not what is the Hour. We assume only assumption, and we are not convinced.’ »ظَنَنْتُكَ إِنْ شَبَّتْ لَظَى الْحَرْبِ صَالِيًا [cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/331]
« I thought you, if the blaze of war is kindled, to be entering (therein) »
ظَنَّ following examples is interpreted to have certainty in its meaning:
قَالَ ٱلَّذِینَ یَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَـٰقُوا۟ ٱللَّهِ كَم مِّن فِئَةࣲ قَلِیلَةٍ غَلَبَتۡ فِئَةࣰ كَثِیرَةَۢ بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِینَ2 [سورة البقرة 2:249 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/332]
« But those who were certain that they would meet Allāh said, “How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allāh. And Allāh is with the patient.” »إِنِّی ظَنَنتُ أَنِّی مُلَـٰقٍ حِسَابِیَهۡ [سورة الحاقة 69:20 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/332]
« Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.” »وَرَءَا ٱلۡمُجۡرِمُونَ ٱلنَّارَ فَظَنُّوۤا۟ أَنَّهُم مُّوَاقِعُوهَا وَلَمۡ یَجِدُوا۟ عَنۡهَا مَصۡرِفࣰا3 [سورة الكهف 18:53 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/332]
« And the criminals will see the Fire and will be certain that they are to fall therein. And they will not find from it a way elsewhere. »
ظَنَّ can also have the meaning of « to suspect (someone) ». With this meaning, it is no longer a verb of perception, and will only need one direct doee. For example:
- ظَنَّ القَاضِي فُلَانًا [النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/331]
« The judge suspected so-and-so. »
عَلِمَ
عَلِمَ means « to know ». Examples:
عَلِمْتُكَ الْبَاذِلَ الْمَعْرُوفَ [Wright 2/49B]
« I have known you to be liberal in the exercise of bounty. »فَإِنۡ عَلِمۡتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤۡمِنَـٰتࣲ فَلَا تَرۡجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى ٱلۡكُفَّارِۖ [سورة الممتحنة 60:10 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/325]
« And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; »
When عَلِمَ has only the meaning « to know (something) » and not « to know (something) to be (something) » then it may take only one direct doee. For example:
وَٱللَّهُ أَخۡرَجَكُم مِّنۢ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ شَیۡـࣰٔا [سورة النحل 16:78 cited by النحو العربي: أحكام ومعان 1/236]
« And Allāh has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing »لَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ النَّظَائِرَ الَّتِي كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقْرَأُ بِهِنَّ سُورَتَيْنِ فِي رَكْعَةٍ [صحيح مسلم :822e]
« I know the manners in which the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ recited two sūrahs in one rakɛah. »
رَأَىٰ
33.6 Second direct doee can be a prepositional phrase or sentence
baseet 443
- مَا عَلِمْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَكَحَ شَيْئًا مِنْ نِسَائِهِ وَلاَ أَنْكَحَ شَيْئًا مِنْ بَنَاتِهِ عَلَى أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ثِنْتَىْ عَشْرَةَ أُوقِيَّةً [جامع الترمذي :1114b]
33.7 one maful
baseet 445ff
33.8 No maful?
إن هم إلا يظنون
إن ظن خيرا
33.9 Suspension of government
33.10 Cancelation of government
Peled, “ʿAmal and ʾibtidāʾ in medieval Arabic grammatical tradition”
البسيط لابن أبي الربيع 433↩︎