al-Afal - Ibn al-Qutiyya
- Author died
- 367 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
al-Af‘āl (Arabic: كتاب الأفعال, lit. 'The Book of Verbs'), also referred to as Taṣārīf al-af‘āl, is a major 10th-century treatise on Arabic verbal morphology and lexicography by the Andalusian scholar Ibn al-Qūṭiyya (d. 367 AH / 977 CE) . It is one of the earliest specialized dictionaries dedicated exclusively to Arabic verbs and their morphological patterns .
Structure and Content
The work systematically classifies triliteral and quadrilateral verbs according to their root letters, morphological measures, and semantic variations . Within its alphabetical and structural divisions, it covers sound, geminate, hamzated, and weak verbs, examining differences in vocalization and conjugations—such as the patterns fa‘ala, fa‘ula, fa‘ila, and their augmented form af‘ala—while detailing instances where different forms share identical meanings or carry distinct semantic values .
In terms of style, Ibn al-Qūṭiyya adopted an exceptionally concise presentation, avoiding superfluous explanations and prioritizing dense lexical enumeration .
Reception and Influence
Kitāb al-Af‘āl was widely praised by biographical authorities; Ibn al-Faraḍī considered it among Ibn al-Qūṭiyya's finest compositions, and Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī noted that the author executed it with great mastery . The book inaugurated a specialized tradition of verb lexicography in al-Andalus and the wider Islamic West, prompting subsequent grammarians to build upon its foundation . His direct pupil, Abū Marwān ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ṭarīf (d. ca. 400 AH), composed a notable treatise on verbs following his teacher's precedent .
Later scholars reworked and expanded Ibn al-Qūṭiyya's material:
- Sa‘īd ibn Muḥammad al-Ma‘āfirī (Ibn al-Ḥaddād, d. after 400 AH) composed a comprehensive expansion of the work, supplying omitted verbs, reorganizing entries, and citing extensive poetic and textual attestations to resolve the difficulties posed by Ibn al-Qūṭiyya's brevity .
- Ibn al-Qaṭṭā‘ (d. 515 AH) followed Ibn al-Qūṭiyya's model in his own dictionary of verbs, which Ibn Khallikān evaluated as superior in execution despite Ibn al-Qūṭiyya's chronological priority .
Publication History
The text was first edited by the Italian Orientalist Ignazio Guidi and published in Leiden in 1894 . It was later published in Cairo in 1371 AH / 1952 CE, and subsequently re-edited by ‘Alī Fūdah and printed by Maktabat al-Khānjī in Cairo .
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