al-Iqtirah fi Usul al-Nahw
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- Ta al-Qalam · T al-Bayruti
al-Iqtirah fi Usul al-Nahw (The Proposal in the Principles of Grammar) is a specialized treatise on the theoretical foundations and methodology of Arabic grammar (usul al-nahw), authored by the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) .
Purpose and Sources
Al-Suyuti framed the discipline of usul al-nahw as standing in the same relation to grammar as the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) stand to substantive law (fiqh) . He defined the science as the study of the overarching proofs of grammar (adillat al-nahw al-ijmaliyyah), the manner of deducing rules from them, and the qualifications of the grammatical practitioner (hal al-mustadill) . Although discussions of linguistic methodology had appeared in earlier grammatical literature, al-Suyuti observed that they remained scattered across various works, prompting him to compile, refine, and arrange them into a systematically ordered handbook following the chapter divisions and subject headings customary in legal theory .
The author drew heavily upon Ibn Jinni's al-Khasa'is (The Distinctive Properties), summarizing its relevant theoretical material while filtering out digressions and unorganized discussions . He also incorporated material from the writings of Abu al-Barakat al-Anbari—including his Luma al-Adillah (The Flashes of Proofs), al-Insaf fi Masa'il al-Khilaf (Fair Assessment Regarding Disputed Issues), and al-Ighrab fi Jadal al-I'rab (The Elucidation of Grammatical Dialectic)—alongside diverse linguistic, literary, and jurisprudential texts and his own intellectual deductions .
Structure and Contents
The work opens with introductory sections (muqaddimat) followed by seven primary divisions, termed "books" (kutub) :
- Book One: On Transmission (al-Sama'): Covers speech transmitted from those whose eloquence is trustworthy, encompassing the Quran, the Prophet's speech, and the poetry and prose of the Arabs prior to linguistic corruption .
- Book Two: On Consensus (al-Ijma'): Examines the consensus of the grammarians of the two foundational schools of Basra and Kufa, as well as the theoretical consensus of the Arabs .
- Book Three: On Analogy (al-Qiyas): Explores grammatical analogy, defined as extending a rule from transmitted speech to non-transmitted speech sharing its underlying rationale, which al-Suyuti described as the predominant proof in grammar .
- Book Four: On Presumption of Continuity (al-Istishab): Focuses on retaining a word's original default status in the absence of a counter-indicator .
- Book Five: On Miscellaneous Proofs (Adillah Shatta): Gathers secondary modes of reasoning, including reverse reasoning (al-istidlal bi-l-'aks) and arguments grounded in grammatical fundamentals (al-istidlal bi-l-usul) .
- Book Six: On Conflict of Proofs and Preference (al-Ta'arud wa-l-Tarjih): Comprises sixteen issues governing how to reconcile or prioritize conflicting grammatical arguments .
- Book Seven: On the Status of the Inferrer (Hal al-Mustadill): Outlines the requirements for a scholar to attain the level of deduction (istinbat) above mere imitation (taqlid), as well as the rules governing the questioner and the imitator, spanning four issues .
Key Methodological Positions
Al-Suyuti adopted a permissive stance toward Quranic variants, maintaining that any reading transmitted as having been recited—whether widely attested (mutawatir), singular (ahad), or irregular (shadhdh)—constitutes valid proof in Arabic grammar . Conversely, regarding prophetic traditions (hadith), he endorsed the stance of Ibn al-Da'i' and Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati, asserting that hadith wording cannot be used to establish rules that run counter to standard grammatical principles, because most narrations were transmitted by meaning rather than verbatim, and their transmissions passed through non-Arabs and later generations who altered phrasing .
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