عطف البيان - Extension
عطف البيان is one of the five categories of توابع, those words that follow the اعراب of a proceeding word (متبوع)
This post will explain one of the five categories of توابع words, عطف البيان. Whereas the تابع in this situation is called المعطوف, the متبوع is called المعطوف عليه.
Definition of معطوف البيان
The definition of معطوف البيان is:
تابع غيرُ صفةٍ يوضح متبوعَه و هو أشهر اسمي شيء
It is such a tāb’i, which is not an adjective, that clarifies the matbū’. It is the most famous name of something.
The عطف البيان serves two primary functions in grammar:
To clarify a معرفة word. This usually entails mentioning a noun that is more common than the متبوع.
To specify a نكرة word.
The below examples will serve to elucidate these functions.
Examples of عطف البيان
Example 1
قام أبو حفصٍ عُمَرُ
ِAbū Ḥafṣ stood, no ‘Umar
‘Umar is the most famous of his names, more common than Abū Ḥafṣ. This serves to clarify أبو حفص since it may be that someone else also has that same nasab. By mentioning a more popular name, عمر, it becomes clear who is being referred to. Hence عمر is considered the معطوف البيان.
The sentence structure is below:
Example 2
جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِّلنَّاسِ
Allāh made the ka’bah, the sacred house, as an asylum for people [al-Mā’idah: 97]
البيت الحرام is the معطوف البيان in this case. This example is a bit tricky and could be confused with بدل, but know that one of the signatures of عطف البيان is to mention another name or honorific title of the previous word. In this case, البيت الحرام serves to clarify what the الْكَعْبَةَ is referring to.
Example 3
وَ يُسْقَى مِن ماءٍ صديدٍ
And they will be forced to drink from a liquid that is pus and blood [Ibrāhīm: 16].
In this case, ماء is معطوف به and صديد is معطوف البيان. This is an example of the معطوف به being نكرة. Hence, صديدٍ serves to specify what kind of liquid it is (a mixture of pus and blood).
Difference between البدل and عطف البيان
عطف البيان may seem to resemble the بدل الكل من الكل, however, they are different.
In البدل, the second word is more important than the first, and it is what is actually intended. For example, when you say جاءني زيدٌ أخوك (Your brother Zaid came to me), what you actually intend is to highlight that your brother came, not necessarily that Zaid came. In other words, the first word is almost disregarded.
In the case of معطفوع البيان, both words are equally important (though one may be more common). In the case of الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ, both parts are equally significant.
And Allāh knows best.
Source:
Hidāyat al-Nahw m’a As’ilatin wa Ajwabatin bil Lughatil Angalaziyyah
https://www.alukah.net/literature_language/0/130425/عطف-البيان-في-اللغة/