Abd al-Fattah Shalabi
- Died
- 1422 AH
- Born in
- -
Abd al-Fattah Ismail Shalabi (1925–1422 AH / 1925–2001 CE) was an Egyptian scholar of Arabic linguistics and Quranic studies, known for his research on Quranic orthography and variant readings (qiraat) .
Early Life and Education
Abd al-Fattah Ismail Shalabi was born in 1925 CE in Kafr al-Battikh in the Damietta Governorate of Egypt . He worked as a grain and agricultural merchant before dedicating himself to Arabic philology and Quranic sciences . He pursued his higher academic studies at the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum, where he defended his master's thesis on vowel inclination in Quranic readings and Arabic dialects (al-Imala fi al-qiraat wa-al-lahajat al-Arabiyya), published in 1376 AH / 1957 CE . During his academic training in the historical and phonetic dimensions of the Quranic readings, he was among the university researchers who sought guidance from the Quranic scholar Amir al-Sayyid Uthman to resolve complex questions in the discipline .
Scholarly Career and Contributions
Shalabi became a prominent scholar and editor of classical heritage texts, focusing on Arabic linguistic treatises and works on Quranic readings . He made a notable contribution to modern Quranic scholarship in his treatise Rasm al-Mushaf al-Uthmani wa-awham al-mustashriqin fi qiraat al-Quran al-Karim ("The Orthography of the Uthmanic Codex and the Misconceptions of Orientalists Regarding Quranic Readings"), in which he refuted arguments advanced by Ignaz Goldziher and Arthur Jeffery claiming that variant readings originated from the ambiguities of early unpointed Arabic script . In the field of text editing, he co-edited Ibn Jinni's major work on non-canonical readings, al-Muhtasab fi tabyin wujuh shawadhdh al-qiraat wa-al-idah anha, alongside Ali al-Najdi Nasif and Abd al-Halim al-Najjar .
Death
Shalabi died in 1422 AH (2001/2002 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Rasm al-Mushaf al-Uthmani wa Awham al-Mustashriqin fi Qiraat al-Quran al-Karim is a scholarly treatise in Quranic studies completed in 1379 AH / 1960 CE. It investigates the relationship between the orthography (rasm) of the Uthmanic codices and the variant Quranic readings (qiraat), refuting orientalist claims that the readings were arbitrary vocalizations born out of ambiguities in early unpointed Arabic script.