al-Miftah fi al-Sarf
- Author died
- 471 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah
al-Miftah fi al-Sarf (The Key to Morphology) is a concise treatise on Arabic morphology (tasrif) authored by Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (d. 471 AH / 1078–1079 CE) .
Structure and Scope
The work begins with a brief introduction in which al-Jurjani describes the text as containing few words, extensive meanings, easy to memorize, and readily accessible . The text consists of twelve concise chapters on the foundational principles of morphology, concluding with a chapter dedicated to miscellaneous morphological problems entitled Bab al-Uqd (Chapter of Knots) .
The primary chapters cover:
- Morphology (al-Tasrif)
- Noun structures (Abniyat al-Asma')
- Verb structures (Abniyat al-Af'al)
- Semantic meanings of verb forms (al-Ma'ani fi al-Af'al)
- The verbal noun (al-Masdar)
- The verb and its divisions (al-Fi'l)
- Derivation (al-Ishtiqaq)
- Verbal noun patterns (Abniyat al-Masadir)
- Verb conjugations and paradigms (al-Amthilah)
- Letter augmentation (al-Ziyadah)
- Letter substitution (al-Ibdal)
- Omission of letters (al-Hadhf)
Method and Content
Al-Jurjani employs an abridged pedagogical method, presenting core rules accompanied by only one or two illustrative examples . The work contains no poetic evidence (shawahid), includes only three Quranic citations, and mentions only four named scholars . It avoids convoluted theoretical puzzles (mu'ayat) and exercise drills found at the conclusion of larger morphological manuals . In several chapters, the author relies substantially on al-Takmilah by Abu Ali al-Farisi . Its structure and brevity resemble other standard morphological summaries, such as al-Muluki fi al-Tasrif by Ibn Jinni, Nuzhat al-Taraf fi Ilm al-Sarf by al-Maydani, and al-Shafiyah by Ibn al-Hajib .
The treatise employs several specialized morphological terms:
- The doubled verb (al-muda'af) is termed al-mutabiq .
- Verbs with hamzah are classified as al-qat' (initial hamzah), al-nabr (medial hamzah), and al-hamzah (final hamzah) .
- Hollow verbs (al-ajwaf) are called dhu al-thalathah, and defective verbs (al-naqis) are called dhu al-arba'ah, based on their letter count in the first-person past tense (such as qultu and da'awtu) .
- Augmented verbs are termed al-af'al al-muntasha'ibah (branched verbs) .
- A distinction is maintained between general negation (nafy) and past-tense negation (jahd) .
Al-Jurjani also permits morphological weighing (al-wazn) based on the substituted letter (al-badal), such that kisa' may be weighed as either fi'al or fi'a' .
Attribution and Transmission
The title al-Miftah is listed among al-Jurjani's works by biographers including al-Dhahabi, Taj al-Din al-Subki, Ibn Shakir al-Kutubi, and Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali .
The work survives in a single known manuscript held at the Zahiriyyah National Library in Damascus (MS 10603), comprising 17 folios in Nasta'liq script . Scholar Tariq Najm Abd Allah expressed doubt regarding the attribution of this specific text to al-Jurjani, noting that quotations cited by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi from al-Jurjani's al-Miftah concern syntax (nahw), whereas this manuscript is strictly morphological, and that the attribution on the title page appears to be written in a later hand .
The text was edited by Ali Tawfiq al-Hamad and published by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut in 1407 AH / 1987 CE .
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