Abd Allah Darwish
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Abd Allah Darwish was a modern scholar of Arabic language and lexicography, noted for his analytical studies on classical dictionaries and his work on Kitab al-Ayn.
Scholarly Contributions
In his monograph al-Ma‘ājim al-‘Arabiyya ma‘a I‘tinā’ Khāṣṣ bi-Mu‘jam al-‘Ayn li-l-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad (Arabic Dictionaries, with Special Attention to the Dictionary al-Ayn of al-Khalil ibn Ahmad), published in Cairo in 1375 AH / 1956 CE, Darwish classified the historical progression of Arabic lexicography into three major methodological stages: the phonological-anagrammatic arrangement (ṭarīqat al-taqlīb) initiated by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, the rhyme-based arrangement (ṭarīqat al-qāfiya) organizing roots by their final consonants, and the conventional alphabetical arrangement (al-ṭarīqa al-abjadiyya al-‘ādiyya). His research engaged extensively with the attribution and compositional structure of Kitab al-‘Ayn, arguing for its authentic design by al-Khalil through manuscript and textual evidence. Beyond lexicography, he also authored Dirāsāt fī al-‘Arūḍ wa-l-Qāfiya (Studies in Metrics and Rhyme).
Lexicographical Editing
Darwish produced the first modern printed edition of part of Kitab al-‘Ayn, publishing its first volume in 1967 based on three manuscript copies. He discontinued the project after the first volume, whereupon Ibrahim al-Samarra'i and Mahdi al-Makhzumi undertook the editing of the complete work, publishing their initial volume in 1980 and completing the dictionary in eight volumes by 1985.
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List of Works
This study examines the history, structural methods, and development of Arabic lexicography, first published in Cairo in 1375 AH / 1956 CE. Providing a comprehensive survey of classical and modern Arabic dictionaries, the work centers on Kitāb al-‘Ayn as the foundational text of the tradition.