{"id":2638,"date":"2014-05-31T19:37:56","date_gmt":"2014-05-31T23:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=2638"},"modified":"2014-05-31T19:37:56","modified_gmt":"2014-05-31T23:37:56","slug":"beginnings-arabic-grammar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=2638","title":{"rendered":"The Beginnings of Arabic Grammar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Beginnings of Arabic Grammar\"images\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nBy Masood Ranginwala
\n\u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627 \u0623\u064e\u0646\u0632\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0627\u0647\u064f \u0642\u064f\u0631\u0652\u0622\u0646\u064b\u0627 \u0639\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0628\u0650\u064a\u0651\u064b\u0627 \u0644\u0651\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u062a\u064e\u0639\u0652\u0642\u0650\u0644\u064f\u0648\u0646\u064e
\n\u201cIndeed, We have sent it, an Arabic Qur\u2019an so that you all may understand.\u201d (12:2)
\n\u0642\u064f\u0631\u0652\u0622\u0646\u064b\u0627 \u0639\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0628\u0650\u064a\u0651\u064b\u0627 \u063a\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0631\u064e \u0630\u0650\u064a \u0639\u0650\u0648\u064e\u062c\u064d \u0644\u0651\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u064a\u064e\u062a\u0651\u064e\u0642\u064f\u0648\u0646\u064e
\n\u201cIt is a Qur\u2019an in Arabic, without any crookedness, in order that they may have Taqwa.\u201d (39:28)
\nImam Shafi\u2019 said, \u201cEvery Muslim is obligated to learn the Arabic tongue to the utmost of his power in order to profess through it that \u2018There is no God but Allah and Muhammad \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645 is His Messenger\u2019 and to utter what is mandated upon him\u2026\u201d (al-Risalah, pg.93)
\nShaykh Ibn Taymiyyah said, \u201cThe Arabic language is part of the religion, and knowing it is obligatory. This is because the ability to understand the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah is obligatory on every Muslim, and yet they cannot be understood without knowing Arabic, and the (general Islamic principle is that) every act that is an essential prerequisite to perform an obligatory act is also obligatory.\u201d (Iqtida Sirat al-Mustaqeem, pg.469)
\nIt is through the medium of Arabic that Islam has been preserved; primarily through the Qur\u2019an and the Sunnah, and secondarily through the numerous classical books on Islam written by the scholars over the past 1400 years or so. Translations are important, but we need to know Arabic in \u201creal\u201d time. We cannot take out our translations during Salah, Jumu`ah khutbah, or Tarawih in Ramadan. It is through this language that Allah speakers to us, and to His Messenger \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645. Translations are often inaccurate and cannot equal the beauty of the actual Arabic language.
\nArabic at the Time of the Prophet \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645
\nArabic had evolved to a very high level as a language when the Qur\u2019an was revealed. The Arabs knew their language so well that illiteracy only made them better in mastering their native tongue. In terms of writing, Arabic words at the time did not even have any dots on its letters besides not having any Harakaat (diacritical vowel marks). The Arabs prided their language to such a degree that they would call non-Arabs \u0639\u064e\u062c\u064e\u0645\u064a or \u201cone who is illiterate in language.\u201d It was at this time that the lofty and [inimitable] words of the Qur\u2019an were revealed to them through Prophet Muhammad \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645. In fact, the Qur\u2019an directly challenged the Arabs in their language to produce something like it:
\n\u0648\u064e\u0625\u0650\u0646 \u0643\u064f\u0646\u062a\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u0641\u0650\u064a \u0631\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0628\u064d \u0645\u0651\u0650\u0645\u0651\u064e\u0627 \u0646\u064e\u0632\u0651\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0627 \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0649\u0670 \u0639\u064e\u0628\u0652\u062f\u0650\u0646\u064e\u0627 \u0641\u064e\u0623\u0652\u062a\u064f\u0648\u0627 \u0628\u0650\u0633\u064f\u0648\u0631\u064e\u0629\u064d \u0645\u0651\u0650\u0646 \u0645\u0651\u0650\u062b\u0652\u0644\u0650\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0627\u062f\u0652\u0639\u064f\u0648\u0627 \u0634\u064f\u0647\u064e\u062f\u064e\u0627\u0621\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0645 \u0645\u0651\u0650\u0646 \u062f\u064f\u0648\u0646\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u0650 \u0625\u0650\u0646 \u0643\u064f\u0646\u062a\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u0635\u064e\u0627\u062f\u0650\u0642\u0650\u064a\u0646\u064e
\n\u201cAnd if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down to Our slave, then produce a chapter of the like thereof and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful.\u201d (Qur\u2019an, 2:23)
\nThe people of Makkah were well acquainted with the life of Muhammad \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645, who they recognized as the most exemplary and trustworthy among them. Further, it was also known that he \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645 had no ability to read or write. Muhammad \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645 was commanded to say,
\n\u0642\u064f\u0644\u0652 \u064a\u064e\u0627 \u0623\u064e\u064a\u0651\u064f\u0647\u064e\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627\u0633\u064f \u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u0650\u064a \u0631\u064e\u0633\u064f\u0648\u0644\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u0650 \u0625\u0650\u0644\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u062c\u064e\u0645\u0650\u064a\u0639\u064b\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0630\u0650\u064a \u0644\u064e\u0647\u064f \u0645\u064f\u0644\u0652\u0643\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0651\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0627\u0648\u064e\u0627\u062a\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0627\u0644\u0652\u0623\u064e\u0631\u0652\u0636\u0650 \u06d6 \u0644\u064e\u0627 \u0625\u0650\u0644\u064e\u0670\u0647\u064e \u0625\u0650\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0627 \u0647\u064f\u0648\u064e \u064a\u064f\u062d\u0652\u064a\u0650\u064a \u0648\u064e\u064a\u064f\u0645\u0650\u064a\u062a\u064f \u06d6 \u0641\u064e\u0622\u0645\u0650\u0646\u064f\u0648\u0627 \u0628\u0650\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0633\u064f\u0648\u0644\u0650\u0647\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0628\u0650\u064a\u0651\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0623\u064f\u0645\u0651\u0650\u064a\u0651\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0630\u0650\u064a \u064a\u064f\u0624\u0652\u0645\u0650\u0646\u064f \u0628\u0650\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0643\u064e\u0644\u0650\u0645\u064e\u0627\u062a\u0650\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0627\u062a\u0651\u064e\u0628\u0650\u0639\u064f\u0648\u0647\u064f \u0644\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u062a\u064e\u0647\u0652\u062a\u064e\u062f\u064f\u0648\u0646\u064e
\n\u201cSay: \u2018Oh mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. None has the right to be worshipped but He; it is He who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write; who believe in Allah and His Words, and follow him so that you may be guided.\u2019\u201d (Qur\u2019an, 7:158)
\nDespite his lack of ability in reading and writing, which was a sign of his prophethood mentioned in the prior scriptures [1], the Messenger of Allah \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645 had been given the gift of eloquence by Allah and was the most eloquent of the Arabs. He \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645 said,
\n\u0628\u064f\u0639\u0650\u062b\u0652\u062a\u064f \u0628\u0650\u062c\u064e\u0648\u0627\u0645\u0650\u0639\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0643\u064e\u0644\u0650\u0645
\n\u201cI have been sent with comprehensive speech.\u201d (Bukhari, Hadith #6845)
\nEvolution of Arabic Grammar
\nThe earliest attempt to write the Arabic grammar began when `Ali (R) commissioned one of his students, Abu al-Aswad ad-Du\u2019ali (69 AH) to codify Arabic grammar. During the time of the caliphate of `Ali (R), it was apparent that Arabic grammar needed to be systemized. This was because many of the non-Arabs who had embraced Islam were making critical errors in the Arabic language. Here is an excerpt from ad-Du\u2019ali [2]:
\n\u201cI came to the leader of the Believers, `Ali ibn Abi Talib, and found that he was holding a note in his hand. I asked, \u2018What is this, oh Leader of the Believers?\u2019 He said, \u2018I have been thinking of the language of the Arabs, and I came to find out that it has been corrupted through contacts with these foreigners. Therefore, I have decided to put something that they (the Arabs) refer to and rely on.\u2019 Then, he gave me the note, and on it wrote: \u2018Speech is made of nouns, verbs, and particles. Nouns are names of things, verbs provide information, and particles complete the meaning.\u2019 Then he said to me, \u2018Follow this approach and add to it what comes to your mind.\u2019
\nAd-Du\u2019ali continued saying, \u201cI wrote two chapters on conjunctions and attributes then two chapters on exclamation and interrogatives. Then I wrote about \u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e \u0648\u064e \u0623\u064e\u062e\u064e\u0648\u064e\u0627\u062a\u0650\u0647\u0627 and I skipped \u0644\u064e\u06a9\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e . When I showed that to him, he ordered me to add \u0644\u064e\u06a9\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e . Therefore, every time I finished a chapter I showed it to him, until I covered what I thought to be enough. He said, \u2018How beautiful is the approach you have taken!\u2019\u201d
\nAt this point in history, the science of grammar called \u0627\u064e\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u062d\u0652\u0648 (Nahw) started to evolve and blossom. Following ad-Du\u2019ali came many other grammarians, who studied and developed the science of the language. The period between 750 AD and 1500 AD saw more than 4000 grammarians who have been recorded in history [3]. Of these, the most famous was Sibaway. (180 AH), who compiled the work \u201cal-Kitab\u201d, which became the standard reference for Arabic grammar. The teacher of Sibaway, al-Khalil (75 AH), is credited with compiling the first complete Arabic dictionary \u0643\u0650\u062a\u0627\u0628\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0639\u064e\u064a\u0646 based on Arabic roots.
\nThe work of these grammarians and their counterparts set the paradigm for subsequent generations of grammarians. These grammarians studied the Arabic of the Qur\u2019an, pre-Islamic poetry, and other literature from Bedouin Arabs as the ideal standard of language. Interestingly, the pure, unadulterated language of the Bedouins became regarded as what we now know as Classical Arabic or \u0627\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0641\u064f\u0635\u0652\u062d\u0670\u0649 (al-Fus\u2019ha). This pure Arabic was spoken for the first 300 years AH. Until today however, the rules of Classical Arabic have been preserved in the numerous voluminous works of Islamic scholarship. We hope that Insha\u2019Allah our Ummah will once again be able to understand and speak the original language that was spoken by the Prophet \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648 \u0633\u0644\u0645, his Companions (R), and the early successors.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014
\nFootnotes:
\n[1] \u201cThose who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written with them in the Torah and the Injil (Gospel), who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him, and followed the light which was sent down with him it is those who will be the successful.\u201d (Qur\u2019an, 7:157)
\n[2] Adapted from Ibn al-Anbari in his book
\n[3] Jiyad, Mohammed. A Hundred and One Rules! A Short Reference for Syntactic, Morphological, & Phonological Rules for Novice and Intermediate Levels of Proficiency. Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010.
\nExtracted from Essentials of Qur\u2019anic Arabic, Vol.1
\n(Taken from ilmgate.org)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Beginnings of Arabic Grammar By Masood Ranginwala \u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627 \u0623\u064e\u0646\u0632\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0627\u0647\u064f \u0642\u064f\u0631\u0652\u0622\u0646\u064b\u0627 \u0639\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0628\u0650\u064a\u0651\u064b\u0627 \u0644\u0651\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u062a\u064e\u0639\u0652\u0642\u0650\u0644\u064f\u0648\u0646\u064e \u201cIndeed, We have sent it, an Arabic Qur\u2019an so that you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,57,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-motivators","category-tazkiyah","wpcat-33-id","wpcat-57-id","wpcat-24-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}