the letters upon which those movements occur, in speech and writing; consult their discussion there. Movements have simple constituents, states, and stations, just as the letters do. We shall mention them, God willing, in The Beginnings (and Ends: The Wonders and Signs Contained in the Letters of the Alphabet), which is devoted to the science of letters.
(Stability and Variation)
Just as variation and stability are established for the essence, so they are established for the event and the link, but through rafʿ, naṣb, removal of the attribute, and removal of the written form. Variation in the composition of the link occurs for two reasons: agreement, borrowing, and necessity. Agreement means following, as in “This is a son” (hādhā ibnumma), “I saw a son” (raʾaytu ibnuman), and “I marvelled at a son” (ʿajibtu min ibnumin). Borrowing includes the movement transferred from another letter, such as the movement of dāl in the opening of Sūrat al-Muʾminūn: [quotation absent in the supplied text] [al-Muʾminūn 23:1], in the reading of one who transfers the vowel. (This differs from the familiar reading with an unvocalized dāl: [quotation absent in the supplied text].) Necessity means giving a vowel to avoid the meeting of two unvocalized letters.
(Stability Is the Foundation)
A movement that follows another in agreement may occur within the composition of an essence, although the foundation of all letters is stability—that is, fixed form—like the primordial disposition within us. Here are secrets for one who is perceptive. Parents, however, move one away from a restricted primordial disposition, not from the unrestricted primordial disposition.
Likewise, the letters are stable in their stations, without disturbance: all are firm, fixed in form, and at rest in their own state. The speaker wished to convey to the hearer what was within himself, and thus needed variation. According to Abū Ṭālib, he set in motion the sphere from which movements arise. According to another view, the sphere comes first, and spoken or written expression proceeds from that sphere. This is—
Notes
Translator’s note TN334-1: Rafʿ denotes the nominative in nouns and the indicative in verbs; naṣb denotes the accusative in nouns and the subjunctive in verbs. The expressions “removal of the attribute” and “removal of the written form” are retained as given.
Translator’s note TN334-2: The supplied text announces “two reasons” but lists three. Its ibnum examples are transcribed with the supplied vocalization, although those markings do not consistently illustrate the vowel agreement being described.
