al-Firaq li al-Sijistani
- Author died
- 248 AH
- Editions
- Journal of the Iraqi Academy of Sciences
al-Firaq li al-Sijistani (also known as Kitab al-Farq or Kitab al-Farq bayna al-adamiyyin wa-bayna kull dhi ruh) is an early Arabic lexicographical treatise by the Basran philologist and Quranic reader Abu Hatim al-Sijistani (d. 248 AH / 862 CE; other reports give 250 or 255 AH) . The book documents lexical distinctions in Arabic vocabulary between the anatomy and physical attributes of human beings and those of various animal species .
Subject Matter and Context
The work belongs to the specialized philological genre of kutub al-farq (lexical distinctions) and bodily nomenclature treatises compiled by early scholars of the Basran and Kufan grammatical traditions . The primary scope of such works is delineating terms where anatomical nomenclature for human organs differs from or coincides with that of quadrupeds, beasts of prey, livestock, and birds . Several contemporary and near-contemporary philologists produced parallel works under the same title, including Abu Ubaydah, al-Asma'i, Thabit ibn Abi Thabit, and al-Zajjaj .
Reception and Transmission
The book is recorded in major classical bibliographical compendia. Ibn al-Nadim listed it in al-Fihrist among Abu Hatim's linguistic compositions under both Kitab al-Farq and Kitab al-Farq bayna al-adamiyyin wa-bayna kull dhi ruh . It was likewise documented by Yaqut al-Hamawi in Mu'jam al-udaba' , by Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili in his Fahrasah , and by Hajji Khalifa in Kashf al-zunun .
A modern edition of the text was prepared by Hatim Salih al-Damin and published in Beirut in 1407 AH / 1987 CE .
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