Near and far genera; the highest and the lowest

Conceptions · marātib al-ajnās · pp. 61–62

مَراتِبُ الأَجْناسِ

مسوّدة · بانتظار المراجعة

Persian text after the print of Kanpur 1279/1862–63 · translation by The Mantiqi, draft

About this text

al-Kubrā الكُبْرَى

al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 816/1413)

Text: Persian, transcribed by The Mantiqi from the lithograph, without its marginal glosses: Majmūʿa-yi manṭiq, Maṭbaʿ-i Alṭāfī, Kanpur 1279/1862–63, pp. 1–42 View the scan
Lessons follow: al-Manṭiq al-manhajī li-l-mubtadiʾīn: al-Ṣughrā wa-l-Awsaṭ wa-l-Kubrā, Arabic version and arrangement by Muḥammad Anwar al-Badakhshānī (Jāmiʿat al-ʿUlūm al-Islāmiyya, ʿAllāma Banūrī Town), Islam Insight, Karachi 1420/1999, pp. 42–86. The lessons are The Mantiqi's own explanations in the order of this edition; its text is under copyright and is not reproduced.
Translation: The Mantiqi's own, into English and into vocalised Arabic; a draft. The Arabic is translated from the Persian, not taken from a printed Arabic version.
Review: Draft, awaiting review by Ustadh Muhammad Yusuf.

The text

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Persian original, Majmūʿa-yi manṭiq, Kanpur 1279/1862–63

و شاید که یک حقیقت را اجناس متعدده باشد بعضی فوق بعضی تحت، چون حیوان که جنس انسان است و فوق او جسم نامی است و فوق جسم نامی جسم مطلق است و فوق جسم مطلق جوهر است. و آن جنس که در جواب از جمیع مشارکات در آن جنس واقع شود آن را جنس قریب خوانند، چون حیوان که هر چه با انسان در حیوانیت شریک است چون او را با انسان در سؤال جمع کنی جواب حیوان باشد، و آن جنس که در جواب از جمیع مشارکات واقع نشود آن را جنس بعید خوانند، چون جسم نامی که مشترک است میان انسان و حیوانات و نباتات، لیکن در جواب سؤال از انسان با نباتات مقول میشود و در جواب سؤال از انسان با حیوانات دیگر مقول نمیشود. و هر جنس که جواب از جمیع مشارکات در وی دو مرتبه باشد بعید بیک مرتبه باشد چون جسم نامی، و اگر جواب آن جنس سه مرتبه باشد بعید بدو مرتبه باشد چون جسم مطلق، و علی هذا القیاس. و ابعد اجناس را جنس عالی خوانند چون جوهر در مثال مذکور، و اقرب اجناس را جنس سافل خوانند چون حیوان درین مثال، و آنچه میان جنس عالی و سافل باشد آن را جنس متوسط خوانند چون جسم نامی و جسم مطلق درین مثال. این است بیان آن جزو که تمام مشترک است.

A single reality may have several genera, some above others: like animal, which is the genus of man; above it is growing body, above growing body is body as such, and above body as such is substance. The genus given in answer for everything that shares with the thing in that genus is called the near genus, like animal: whatever shares animality with man, if you put it together with man in the question, the answer is “animal”. The genus that is not given in answer for everything that shares with the thing is called a far genus, like growing body, which is shared by man, the animals and the plants: it is said in answer to the question about man together with the plants, but not in answer to the question about man together with the other animals. Every genus whose answer for all that share with the thing comes at the second step is far by one rank, like growing body; if it comes at the third step it is far by two ranks, like body as such; and so on. The farthest of genera is called the highest genus, like substance in this example; the nearest of genera is called the lowest genus, like animal in this example; and what lies between the highest and the lowest is called an intermediate genus, like growing body and body as such in this example. This is the account of the part that is the whole of what is shared.

Arabic translation

وَقَدْ تَكُونُ لِحَقِيقَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ أَجْنَاسٌ مُتَعَدِّدَةٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ، كَالْحَيَوَانِ فَإِنَّهُ جِنْسُ الْإِنْسَانِ، وَفَوْقَهُ الْجِسْمُ النَّامِي، وَفَوْقَ الْجِسْمِ النَّامِي الْجِسْمُ الْمُطْلَقُ، وَفَوْقَ الْجِسْمِ الْمُطْلَقِ الْجَوْهَرُ. فَالْجِنْسُ الَّذِي يَقَعُ فِي الْجَوَابِ عَنْ جَمِيعِ الْمُشَارِكَاتِ فِيهِ يُسَمَّى جِنْسًا قَرِيبًا، كَالْحَيَوَانِ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ مَا يُشَارِكُ الْإِنْسَانَ فِي الْحَيَوَانِيَّةِ إِذَا جُمِعَ مَعَهُ فِي السُّؤَالِ كَانَ الْجَوَابُ الْحَيَوَانَ، وَالْجِنْسُ الَّذِي لَا يَقَعُ فِي الْجَوَابِ عَنْ جَمِيعِ الْمُشَارِكَاتِ يُسَمَّى جِنْسًا بَعِيدًا، كَالْجِسْمِ النَّامِي الْمُشْتَرَكِ بَيْنَ الْإِنْسَانِ وَالْحَيَوَانَاتِ وَالنَّبَاتَاتِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُقَالُ فِي جَوَابِ السُّؤَالِ عَنِ الْإِنْسَانِ مَعَ النَّبَاتَاتِ، وَلَا يُقَالُ فِي جَوَابِ السُّؤَالِ عَنْهُ مَعَ سَائِرِ الْحَيَوَانَاتِ. وَكُلُّ جِنْسٍ كَانَ الْجَوَابُ بِهِ عَنْ جَمِيعِ الْمُشَارِكَاتِ فِي مَرْتَبَتَيْنِ فَهُوَ بَعِيدٌ بِمَرْتَبَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ كَالْجِسْمِ النَّامِي، وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي ثَلَاثِ مَرَاتِبَ فَهُوَ بَعِيدٌ بِمَرْتَبَتَيْنِ كَالْجِسْمِ الْمُطْلَقِ، وَعَلَى هٰذَا الْقِيَاسُ. وَأَبْعَدُ الْأَجْنَاسِ يُسَمَّى الْجِنْسَ الْعَالِيَ كَالْجَوْهَرِ فِي الْمِثَالِ الْمَذْكُورِ، وَأَقْرَبُهَا يُسَمَّى الْجِنْسَ السَّافِلَ كَالْحَيَوَانِ فِيهِ، وَمَا بَيْنَ الْعَالِي وَالسَّافِلِ يُسَمَّى الْجِنْسَ الْمُتَوَسِّطَ كَالْجِسْمِ النَّامِي وَالْجِسْمِ الْمُطْلَقِ فِيهِ. هٰذَا بَيَانُ الْجُزْءِ الَّذِي هُوَ تَمَامُ الْمُشْتَرَكِ.

Google Translate ↗pp. 19–21

The lesson

One thing can have several genera, one above another. Man has animal; above it, growing body; above that, body as such; above that, substance. The that answers for all that share with a thing is its near genus (jins qarīb): gather everything that shares animality with man, ask “what are they?”, and the answer is animal.

A that does not answer for all that share with it is a far genus (jins baʿīd). Growing body is shared by man, the animals and the plants, but it answers only when man is asked about together with plants; asked about man and the animals, the answer is animal. A genus that comes as the answer at the second step is far by one rank; at the third, by two ranks; at the fourth, by three. Man and horse: growing body? No — animal. Man and plant: growing body. Man and stone: body. Man and an intellect: substance.

The farthest is the highest genus (jins ʿālī), like substance; the nearest is the lowest genus (jins sāfil), like animal; anything between them, like growing body and body as such, is an intermediate genus (mutawassiṭ).

Terms

الجِنْسُ القَرِيبُ al-jins al-qarīb: near genus: answers for all that share with the thing
الجِنْسُ البَعِيدُ al-jins al-baʿīd: far genus: answers only for some
الجِنْسُ العالِي al-jins al-ʿālī: highest genus: substance
الجِنْسُ السّافِلُ al-jins al-sāfil: lowest genus: animal
الجِنْسُ المُتَوَسِّطُ al-jins al-mutawassiṭ: intermediate genus
الجِسْمُ النّامِي al-jism al-nāmī: growing body
الجَوْهَرُ al-jawhar: substance

Examples

الإِنْسانُ وَالنَّباتُ ما هُما؟ — جِسْمٌ نامٍ
growing body: far from man by one rank
الإِنْسانُ وَالحَجَرُ ما هُما؟ — جِسْمٌ
body: far by two ranks
الإِنْسانُ وَالعَقْلُ ما هُما؟ — جَوْهَرٌ
substance: far by three ranks

اخْتَبِرْ نَفْسَك

3 questions on this lesson. With 6 out of 10 or more (two stars) the next lesson opens.

السؤال 1
Asked “man and stone — what are they?”, the answer is…
السؤال 2
Substance, above which there is no genus, is…
السؤال 3
Why is growing body a far genus of man?

الدَّرْسُ التّالِي: Differentia, and the relative species

تابِع ←