‘… Except the people of Yunus’

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Some thoughts over Surah Yunus. Hope it benefits…

وَقَالَ مُوسَى رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ آتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلأهُ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَالاً فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِكَ رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُواْ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الأَلِيمَ

“And Musa said: “Our Lord! You have indeed bestowed on Fir’awn and his chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of this world, our Lord, that they may lead men astray from Your Path. Our Lord! Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment.”
[Yunus: 88]

Fawa’id:

• From the ayah, it is clear that only Musa (`alayhisalam) made the du’a for Fir’awn’s destruction. However, in the next verse, Allah `azza wa jall responds by saying: قَالَ قَدْ أُجِيبَت دَّعْوَتُكُمَا – “Verily, the invocation of you both is accepted.” It was Musa who made the du’a but in the response Harun was also included as if he too made the du’a.

This is because Harun was in the presence of Musa and according to the mufassirin: كان يؤمِّن – he was saying ‘Amin after his brother. Now, there is the existing rule: المؤمن يأخذ حكم الداعي – the Mu’ammin (one saying ‘Amin) takes the same ruling as the Da’i (one making du’a) and as Imam al-Tabari said in his tafsir of this verse: فلذلك نسبت الإجابة إليهما لأن المؤمن داع – ‘For this reason the answer came for both for them because the mu’ammin is also a da’i’. Hence, the du’a of a person becomes the du’a of another if they pronounce the Ta’min (Amin) and consequently because of this strong link, if the du’a is answered for the da’i it is also answered for the mu’ammin.

• The end of Musa’s supplication was a call for destruction. But as a lesson for Fir’awn and his mala’ (chiefs), Musa asked that this punishment take place just after they saw the indisputable signs of Allah which would leave with no choice except to believe. Allah `azza wa jall fulfilled this completely when the end came for Fir’awn and his mala’:

وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ وَجُنُودُهُ بَغْياً وَعَدْواً حَتَّى إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ آمَنتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلِـهَ إِلاَّ الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

‘And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Fir’aun (Pharaoh) with his hosts followed them in oppression and enmity, till when drowning overtook him, he said: “I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in Whom the Children of Israel had believed, and I am one of the Muslims.’

• Allah `azza wa jall says ‘حتى إذا أدركه الغرقُ’ – this literally means: ‘until the deep sea/drowning’ caught up with him.’ The فاعل (subject) here is the sea, although it’s غير عاقل (an inanimate object); and this in the Arabic language is what’s referred to as تشخيص – personification.

The sea has been made out to be a living & moving entity, almost as if Allah `azza wa jall describes it as being an army from among His armies which has been sent ahead to take down an enemy – just like one would say: أدرك الجيشُ العدوَ عند مكان ما (the army met their enemy at such and such a place etc), the sea is the force which caught up with Fir’awn and his chiefs. وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ – ‘… And no-one knows the forces of your Lord except He Himself…’ [al-Muddathir: 31] 

• Fir’awn’s disbelief blinded him. He saw how Allah saved Musa by parting the sea for him and the believers, but he forgot the ultimate qadhiyya and Divine plan: That he was destined to be drowned and that the sorcerers’ news from beforetime was to take place any moment (the news that a man from Bani Isra’il would take over his kingdom was what caused Fir’awn to begin killing every male newborn on alternate years). The reason the ayah says بغيا و عدوا (in oppression and enmity) is because these characteristics are what blind a person from the truth and encourage him to persist in wrongdoing and in seeking unachievable (and often wrong) aims. These two characteristics are what caused Fir’awn to go after the believers and hasten to his place of destruction – so it should be realized that if these characteristics persist in a person (enmity and oppression of the believers), they will also eventually cause a person’s destruction in this world and ruin their affairs in the Hereafter.

 

• The audacity and boldness of Fir’awn didn’t seem to halt even at the time of destruction. The ayah states his ’shahadah’ (testimony of faith) but we find that it is devoid of the Name of Allah. He surrendered, but in his own words he surrendered to ‘the One whom Bani Isra’il believed in’ – even though he may have intended to avoid uttering the name of Allah, in effect he ended up giving Bani Isra’il full credit for being right and him being wrong.

This highlights 2 things: Firstly, when Signs come to a person, if they’ve previously lived a life of arrogance, this arrogance will not let him fully and completely acknowledge or submit to a superior being or even allow him to have the humbleness he needs to surrender to Allah `azza wa jall. And secondly, opposing the believers doesn’t do a person any good because in the end he will be forced to recognize the virtue of the believers and the correctness of the path they have taken. So every oppressor and opponent of a believing people should realize that he will one day be humbled to these ‘Ibad and forced to recognize them as being superior.

• The response of Allah `azza wa jall to Fir’awn was clear:

آلآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

“Now? When you had refused to believe before and you were from the Mufsidin?’

• Fir’awn proclaimed the testimony of belief but his time had run out (hence: ءآلآن وقد عصيت قبل…؟) and his soul had reached the point of yaqin (certainty) – the point at which no-one’s Iman or deeds are accepted any longer. His was an Iman of اضطرار (coercion) and not إختيار (choice), and thus it was further rejected.

 

• It is interesting to note how Allah `azza wa jall responded. It wasn’t a direct answer, in fact it was a question – a rhetorical one: استفهام إنكاري – i.e. ‘Do you claim belief now?’ Fir’awn’s act was insulting and didn’t deserve a direct response. He claimed by saying ‘… And I am one of the Muslimin.’ But Allah responded by saying , ‘… You were from the Mufsidin.‘  – Fasad (corruption and wrong-doing) is therefore not something compatible with one’s true practice of Islam and to be a Muslim means to be a Muslih (one who rectifies things) and not a Mufsid (who corrupts).

 

• As is known, when Fir’awn claimed belief at this point, Jibril (`alayhisalam) stuffed the dirt from the seabed into the mouth of Fir’awn out of fear that Fir’awn would praise Allah which in turn would bring the Mercy of Allah*. This act of Jibril tells us a number of things:

1) The knowledge that Jibril had of the Greatness of Allah’s Mercy (that it can reach even the staunchest of enemies)

2) His hatred of Fir’awn, and we know this from his own statement in a hadith narrated by al-Tabarani: يا محمد ما أبغضت أحدا كبغضي لفرعون عندما قال: “ما علمت لكم من إله غيري” – ‘O Muhammad, I have never hated anyone as much as I’ve hated Fir’awn when he said (to the people): ‘I do not know of another God for you, apart from me.’ [Al-Qasas: 38]

3) The angels are aware of the slaves of Allah `azza wa jall and accordingly they love and hate for the sake of Allah.

 

Major point of benefit: These details of how Fir’awn decided to believe at the last minute and utter his (rejected) statement of belief are mentioned in the Qur’an here only. Nowhere else in the Qur’an is this statement of his quoted. Why? Well, perhaps this is where the name of the Surah comes into the discussion:

Surah Yunus is the first surah (in chronological order) named after a Prophet and interestingly it tells us of one major exception that took place in the history of the Da’wah of the Messengers and in the history of Mankind – an exception to the rule of disbelief and destruction. As is known, nations who belied and disbelieved in their Messengers were often destroyed, and their belief at time of punishment was not accepted nor did it benefit them in the least. But…

فَلَوْلاَ كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلاَّ قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُواْ كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ

“And there was not a single town which believed (at the time of destruction) and whose faith saved them, except the people of Yunus (Jonah); when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the world, and permitted them enjoyment for a while.”
[Yunus: 98]

Belief at the time of halak (destruction) never benefited a person or a nation, except for the people of Yunus (`alayhisalam). The scholars differed as to why this nation was exempt from the Sunnah of perished Nations, but it’s something that happened by the Will of Allah for a wisdom that none knows except the Lord of Mankind, `azza wa jall.

Therefore, for Fir’awn, claiming to believe when he saw the descent of halak, was a lost cause. It is impossible for a disbelieving nation to be saved at the time of destruction, and the one & only exception to this Divine Law had already taken place with the people of Yunus – for they were given what everyone else (including Fir’awn) was denied; Decree thereafter is sealed upon Mankind:

يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْساً إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْراً

“… The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he did not believe before, nor earned good (deeds)…”
[Al-An'am: 158]

• Verses 90 and 91 are held by some scholars and linguists to be from the most eloquent verses in the Qur’an which hold the greatest form of balagha (rhetoric).

الله تعالى أعلى وأعلم

______________________________

* According to the narration:

قال جبريل: يا محمد لو رأيتني وأنا آخذ من حال البحر وأدسه في فيه مخافة أن تدركه الرحمة
Jibril said: ‘O Muhammad, if you could but see me as I took from the dust of the sea and thrust it into his mouth out of fear that Mercy would come to him.’ – Sahih (al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad)

- Some points were based on Silsilat Ta’ammulat al-Qur’an by Shaykh al-Maghamisi

Al-Kisa’ee: Of Nahw and Nobility

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Imam al-Kisa’ee (one of the 7 Qurra’) penned the following poem regarding Nahw (grammar):

.
إنما النحو قياس يتبع *** وبه في كل أمر ينتفع
Indeed grammar is only a scale that’s followed
And by it, benefit is derived in every matter

فإذا ما أتقن النحو الفتى *** مر في المنطق مرا فاتسع
So if a youth perfects his knowledge of grammar
Then he excels in eloquence and expands therein

واتقاه كل من يسمعه *** من جليس ناطق أو مستمع
All who hear him stand wary of him
Every companion who sits either speaking or listening

وإذا لم يعرف النحو الفتى *** هاب أن ينطق جبنا فانقمع
And if a youth has no knowledge of grammar
Then he cowardly fears to speak, so he remains restrained

يقرأ القرآن لا يعرف *** ما صرّف الإعراب فيه وصنع
He reads the Qur’an but he does not know
What changes the I’rab brings and what function it has

فتراه ينصب الرفع وما *** كان من نصب ومن خفض رفع
So you see him cause the marfu’ to become mansub
And whatever was mansub or makhfud, he makes marfu’!

وإذا حرف جرى إعرابه *** صعب الحرف عليه وامتنع
And if a letter has no sign of I’rab
That letter puts him in difficulty and so he holds back!

يتقى اللحن إذا يقرأه *** وهو لا يدرى وفي اللحن وقع
He is fearful of falling into error when he does read
But he has no knowledge and so in error does he fall!

يلزم الذنب الذى أقرأه *** وهو لا ذنب له فيما اتبع
The sin of this is upon the one who taught him so
And there is no sin on him for what he has followed

والذى يعرفه يقرأه *** وإذا ما شاك في حرف رجع
As for him who has knowledge, reads it well (Qur’an)
And if he is doubtful over a letter, he takes to review

ناظرا فيه وفي إعرابه *** فإذا ما عرف الحق صدع
He looks to it precisely and to its I’rab
And when he finds the answer, he overcomes (the difficulty)

أهما قيه سواء عندكم *** ليست السنة فينا كالبدع
Are they one and the same in your perspective?
In our perspective, the Sunnah is not like the Bid’ah!

وكذلك العلم والجهل فخذ *** منهما ما شئت من شيء ودع
And likewise is the case of ‘ilm and jahl (ignorance)
So take from it what you wish, and leave what you wish

كم وضيع رفع النحو وكم *** من شريف قد رأيناه وضع
How many a debased one was elevated by Nahw
And how many a noble one have we seen debased?

- Imam al-Kisa’ee

Name: ‘Ali ibn Hamza ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Bahman (Abul Hasan)

Originally from Persia, he settled in Kufa. When asked about his nickname (al-Kisa’ee), he said, ‘Because I entered into Ihram (Hajj/’Umrah) dressed in a Kisaa’ (garment).’

He (rahimahullah) was not only an Imam in the Qira’at, but he was also skilled and proficient in Nahw (grammar). It is said that he sought knowledge in nahw in his later years due to the following incident:

One day, he was out walking when he became tired and sat down with a group of people whom he used to sit with a lot due to their virtue. So he said to them قد عيَّيْتُ (‘I’ve become tired’). They said to him, ‘How can you sit with us whilst making such errors in language?!’ He said, ‘And how have I erred?’ They said, ‘If you meant to say ‘out of tiredness’ then say أعْيَيت and if you meant to say ‘out of incapacity and confusion’ then say عّيِيت’

He rejected this statement and got up immediately. He began to ask around for someone to teach him Nahw and they guided him to Mu’adh al-Harraa’ whom he studied from much. He then went to Basra and studied from the likes of ‘Isa ibn ‘Umar, al-Khalil and Yunus.

Imam al-Shafi’i: ‘Whoever wishes to delve deep into Nahw, then he’ll be like a child compared to al-Kisa’ee.’

Ibn al-Anbar: ‘They concurred that he (al-Kisa’ee) was the most knowledgeable of Nahw, leading in understanding the gharib (unique terms in language) and the foremost in having knowledge of the Qur’an (Qira’at etc).’

A humbling experience

Imam al-Kisa’ee relates: ‘I lead Haroon al-Rashid in prayer one day and I took a liking to my recitation. But then I made a mistake that not even a child makes! I wanted to say,

ولعلهم يرجعون
‘… So that they may return’

But instead I said,

ولعلهم يرجعين
‘… So that they (she) may return’ – [In other words, he mixed up the verb indicating a single fem. subject rather than the masc. plural]

He said, ‘By Allah, Haroon didn’t have the boldness to say ‘You have made a mistake,’ but when I finished the prayer he asked me, ‘O Kisa’ee, what language/Qira’ah is this?’ I said, ‘O leader of the faithful, even the fine horses stumble at times.’ He said, ‘Yes, this is true.’

- أهميت تعلم علم النحو ومكانته عند السلف

Adab: The Courage of ‘Antara

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

‘Antara ibn Shaddad was a poet from the ‘Asr al-Jahili (Pre-Islamic era). Sadly, his father, Shaddad had refused to acknowledge him as his son because ‘Antara’s mother was a habashi slave whilst he himself (Shaddad) was from the chieftains of the tribe of ‘Abs. Many attempts were made on the part of ‘Antara so as to gain his father’s recognition, his tribe’s acknowledgement and as a result gain his freedom. ‘Antara as a result left his role of shepherding and instead took to furusiyyah (becoming skilled in the art of war and knighthood) in order to fulfil this aim. He used to compose poetry exhibiting and speaking much of his heroism, bravery and valiancy. His talent in the arts of war reached such heights that his tribe finally paid him recognition and this forced his father to acknowledge him in the end.

‘Antara was also in love with ‘Abla bint Malik, a cousin of his and a great deal of his poetry is actually directed to her. One such poem is his mu’allaqah (one of 7 famous poems written in Pre-Islamic era), a small portion of which has been analysed below.

A particular aspect of ‘Antara’s poems are the style which he employs – fine description to set the scene and excellent imagery to draw home the extent and depth of his words…

A portion of his mu’allaqah:

هلا سألتِ القوم يابنة مالكٍ *** إن كنتِ جاهلة بما لم تعلمي
يخبركِ من شهد الوقائع أنني *** أغشى الوغى وأعفُّ عند المغنم
If only you were to ask the people, O’ daughter of Malik.
If you are ignorant of what you do not know,
Then whoever witnesses the battles shall inform you
That I plunge into the uproar of war, and yet abstain from the spoils

‘Antara addresses ‘Abla (Bint Malik) who like his father is also skeptical and cautious due to him being the son of a slave. Should she accept him, should she not? Her tribe for one thing would never allow it – not only is she from noble descent and he from a lowly class (despite them being cousins), but there was also the prevailing custom of that era: any man who eulogized a woman and publically expressed his love for her was never allowed to marry her! ‘Antara here takes to winning the heart of ‘Abla and so he begins to describe to her his courage and heroism when it comes to war and defending his tribe and land. Two noble traits are mentioned here:

1 – That he is a true knight who fears nothing in the midst of battles and hence he throws himself into the heat of war.

2 – He abstains from the spoils (material gains in war). By mentioning this, ‘Antara alludes to the fact that he does not fight for the sake of spoils but rather for nobler principles such as defending his people despite them refusing to acknowledge his noble lineage.

لما رأيتُ القوم أقبل جمعهم *** يتذامرون كررتُ غير مذمم
When I see the people and their ranks encouraging one another
I go forth and crush (the enemy) without any blame

Here ‘Antara shows his swiftness and independency in battle. When the ranks of his tribe begin to falter and therefore try to give confidence to one another, ‘Antara (totally not in need of that) has no time for that and so, on his own he goes forth into the enemy ranks and crushes their frontlines single-handedly. ‘Ghayra mudhammam’ (without any blame) is another way of ‘Antara saying ‘this act of mine of penetrating the frontlines actually deserves praise.’

يدعو عنتر والرماح كأنها *** أشطان بئر في لبان الأدهم
They call ‘Antara when the arrows become like
Ropes hung from a well as they pierce the chest of my horse

Remarkable use of metaphor… The army calls out to ‘Antara for help when the battle intensifies. What is meant by ‘ropes hung from a well’ is that back in the days, each tribe had a central well and whenever people wanted to fetch some water, each family would hang down their own rope (and bucket). Hence there would at times be some competition as numerous families try to draw up clean water, and so lots of ropes would be cast into one well. ‘Antara uses that scene to describe how scores of arrows rain down on the chest of his horse just like ropes being pitched into a well.

مازلتُ أرميهم بثغرة نحره *** ولبانه حتى تسربل بالدم
فازور من وقع القنا بلبانه *** وشكا إلي بعبرة وتحمحُم
لو كان يدري ما المحاورة اشتكى *** ولكان لو علم الكلام مكلمي
I do not cease casting them with the neck of my horse
And (casting) with his chest until it becomes covered with blood
So he swayed with the strikes of spears upon his chest
And he complained to me with tears and groans
Were he to know what dialogue was, he would’ve complained to me
And he would’ve spoken to me if he but knew what speech was

Every knight takes great pride in his horse and ‘Antara being no less than a knight dedicates these lines to his fighting horse. There’s powerful personification here and ‘Antara so effectively steals the heart of readers by illustrating the horse as if he were also a fighter in battle – he describes the scenes in a manner that makes one sympathise with the horse as one would sympathise with a fellow human being. The way ‘Antara speaks of his horse makes you see the love and bond between these two companions.

ولقد شفى نفسي وأبرأ سقمها *** قيل الفوارس ويك عنتر أقدم
Indeed my soul was healed and cured of its illness
By the statement of the knights: ‘Woe to you O Antara, go forth!’

The theme of fakhr (pride and honour) reaches a height with these lines and the purpose/aim behind the poem draws in. ‘Antara puts himself a step above the rest by saying that even the great knights and fighters call out to ‘Antara and tell him to go forth as a fighting leader ahead of them in the frontlines. He says that it’s for this reason he does not feel pain when injured and were he to be injured, his soul quickly becomes cured because the knights have finally recognised him for who he is: A valiant and courageous horseman and not just the son of a slave who’s own father refuses to acknowledge him.

Man, you just gotta love Arabic literature

When a Single Mistake Leads You to Become an Imam for the Ummah

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

How often we frown at ourselves when we make mistakes in life, and indeed how often we become disheartened when we fall into error! But yet how little we realise that sometimes it’s these small mistakes that shape our lives and renew our focus. The Qadr of Allah is certainly amazing in that a failure on one day can become the cause of our triumph on another day…

When a single mistake leads you to become an Imam (leader) for the Ummah…

The Story of Sibawayh: The Imam of Grammarians

- Name: ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Qinbar (Abu Bishr) originally from the lands of Persia

Sibawayh was a laqab (nickname) given to him by his mother, meaning: ‘the scent of apples.’

Sibawayh at the beginning of his youth sought knowledge in the field of hadith. He studied with the likes of Hammad, the famous muhaddith in Basra, and it was here with Shaykh Hammad that a particular incident took place which changed Sibawayh’s entire focus…

One day Hammad (rahimahullah) asked him to read out a hadith and Sibawayh began by saying: “ليس من أصحابي أحد إلا ولو شئت لأخذت عليه ليس أبا الدرداء…”  – however, he read Aba as: Abu in a state of raf’ (nominative) thinking that it was the Ism of Laysa. Hammad al-Basri corrected him and said, أخطأتَ يا سيبويه إنما هو استثناء – ‘You’re mistaken O’ Sibawayh, it is in fact an Exception,’ (i.e. meaning: ‘… except for Abu al-Darda’). So Sibawayh said, لأطلبنّ علما لا يُنازعني فيه أحد – ‘I will certainly seek knowledge [grammar] such that none can dispute with me therein.’

So he traveled to the learned scholars and grammarians of his time in Basra and studied extensively with the famous al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (who established ‘ilm al-’Aroodh) and other grammarians such as al-Akhfash. It was here that Sibawayh established the foundations of grammar for the people and wrote his huge scholarly work ‘al-Kitab.’ However, at the time, he did not release it to the people. It is stated that he would travel through towns and villages, sitting with the folks and recording their poetry as well as historical statements (handed down through tribes) in an attempt at gathering shawahid (linguistical evidences) for each point and argument that he mentioned in his book.

After his death, one of his students took it upon himself to make this book available to the public. Not only did his book benefit the people of Basra, but it thereafter became one of the greatest books on grammar to have ever been written in history, such that the people began to call it: Qur’an al-Nahw (the ‘Qur’an of Grammar’).

Sibawayh, rahimahullah died at the young age of 34, but despite that, the Ummah to this day has not stopped benefiting from his book and the knowledge which he left behind. جزاه الله عن الأمة خير الجزاء

… This really highlights out (particularly for the students amongst us) that sometimes you may wish for one thing but Allah has wished for something else – better than what you perceive. So be patient and ask your Lord for Tawfiq in all affairs and who knows, one day you may become a leader for the righteous in one thing or another!

One Word Says it All

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Uslub al-Taghlib

One interesting expression used in the Arabic language is what’s termed as Uslub al-Taghlib. This is an expression that consists of just one word, but it indicates two different things at the same time. How is that possible?!

Let’s take a look at the verse in Surah al-Kahf:

وَأَمَّا الْغُلَامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَا أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَاناً وَكُفْراً

“And as for the boy, his parents (abawaa) were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.” [al-Kahf: 80]

The word for parents here is not the usual ‘walidaahu.’ It’s actually abawaahu - the dual form of ‘Ab‘ meaning father. Of course, the verse does not mean ‘his two fathers’ but rather it’s uslub al-taghlib where one of the two being spoken of (in this case, the father) has taken on its dual form to indicate both parties – the mother as well as the father.

The expression is called taghlib because that is what happens here – one of the words takes preference or is treated as being in the majority, for a particular reason.

Other examples include:

قمران – qamaran (lit. 2 moons) this is the uslub al-taghlib used to indicate both the moon and the sun. The moon has taken preference here due to it being masculine.

عُمَران – ‘Umaran (lit. the 2 ‘Umars) – used to indicate Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The name Abu Bakr should have taken preference here however it’s murakkab (consisting of 2 words itself), which means it cannot be placed into dual. Therefore uslub al-taghlib has taken the name ‘Umar into its expression as it’s mufrad (single).

مكتان – Makkatan (lit. the 2 Makkahs) – an expression for Makkah and Madinah. Makkah has taken preference here because of its virtue over Madinah.

الحسنان – al-Hasnan (lit. the 2 Hasans) – an expression for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, grandchildren of the Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam). Preference has gone to al-Hasan due to him being older than al-Husayn (radhiallahu `anhuma).

The word that takes preference may do so for different reasons e.g. its grammatical make-up (a singular word will take preference over a plural/murakkab), it’s gender in language, it’s virtue and so on etc.