al-Lulu al-Manzum fi Nazm Manthur Ibn Ajurrum
- Author died
- 1430 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Ḥazm
al-Lu'lu' al-Manzum fi Nazm Manthur Ibn Ajurrum (The Strung Pearls in Versifying the Prose of Ibn Ajurrum) is a didactic poetic treatise on Arabic grammar composed by the Algerian scholar Muhammad Bay Balalam (d. 1430 AH / 2009 CE), rendering the famous grammatical primer of Ibn Ajurrum into verse .
Composition and Purpose
In the opening lines of the poem, the author identifies himself as Muhammad Bay ibn Abd al-Qadir and describes incorrect speech and grammatical errors (al-laḥn) as a chronic illness affecting tongues . This prompted him to versify the prose text of Ibn Ajurrum to assist learners, while excusing himself for any technical shortcomings in poetic meter . The composition of the poem was completed in the month of the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ birth in the year 1407 AH (c. November 1986 CE) .
Structure and Content
The text follows the standard progression of Ibn Ajurrum's primer across several thematic sections:
- Introduction and Inflection: Opens with the definition of speech (kalam) and its threefold division into nouns, verbs, and particles, detailing the respective signs of each . It proceeds to define grammatical inflection (i'rab) and outlines the primary and secondary markers for its four grammatical states: the nominative (raf'), accusative (nasb), genitive (khafd), and jussive (jazm) .
- Verbs and Nominatives: Outlines the three verb forms (past, present, and imperative) along with subjunctive and jussive governing particles (al-nawasib and al-jawazim) . It then surveys the seven nominative nouns: the agent (fa'il), the deputy agent (na'ib al-fa'il), the subject and predicate (al-mubtada' wa-l-khabar), the abrogators of the nominal sentence (kana, inna, and zanna and their sisters), and grammatical followers (tawabi') . The followers are subsequently examined across dedicated sections on the adjective (na't), conjunction ('atf), corroboration (tawkid), and substitution (badal) .
- Accusatives and Genitives: Covers the various accusatives, including the direct object (al-maf'ul bihi), verbal noun or absolute object (al-masdar), adverbs of time and place (al-zarf), the circumstantial qualifier (al-hal), specification (al-tamyiz), exception (al-istithna'), the categorical negation particle la, the vocative (al-munada), the object of cause (al-maf'ul min ajlih), and the object of accompaniment (al-maf'ul ma'ahu) . It concludes with the genitive nouns (makhfudat al-asma'), dividing them into nouns made genitive by a particle, by annexation (idafah), or by following another genitive word .
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