al-Muntakhab min Kalam al-Arab
- Author died
- 310 AH
- Editions
- Umm Al-Qura University (Institute of Scientific Research and Revival of Islamic Heritage)
al-Muntakhab min Kalam al-Arab (Arabic: المنتخب من كلام العرب, also titled al-Muntakhab min Gharib Kalam al-Arab) is a classical Arabic thematic lexicon composed by the philologist and lexicographer Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Huna'i, commonly known as Kura al-Naml (d. after 309 AH / 921 CE) .
Scope and Contents
In the preface, the author outlines the scope of the work, noting that it brings together distinct names and expressions applied to physical entities and accidental attributes, encompassing both animate and inanimate beings across different categories . The text details the lexical distinctions between human beings and other creatures regarding physical creation, characteristics, and actions; follows developmental stages (abwab al-tarikh) from small to large or from scarce to abundant; and concludes with specialized chapters on Arabic speech considered essential for scholars and litterateurs .
Modern researchers divide the text into three major sections :
- Thematic Vocabulary: Occupying roughly two-thirds of the book, this opening section functions as an onomasiological dictionary organized around semantic topics, living things, physical traits, and bodily descriptions .
- Variant Vocalizations: A section dedicated to words that admit multiple pronunciations and vocalization patterns (ma yudbat bi-akthar min wajh) .
- Specialized Philological Chapters: A concluding section of thirty-six distinct chapters addressing phonetic, morphological, syntactic, and semantic topics . These include chapters on rare morphological forms (amthilat al-nawadir), contranyms (al-addad), foreign loanwords (ma dakhala min lughat al-ajam), points of articulation (makharij al-kalam), and poetic rhymes (qawafi al-shi'r) .
Scholarly Reception and Value
Kura' al-Naml was noted for preserving an abundant store of rare linguistic usages (gharib), transmitting numerous vocabulary items documented on his sole authority . Later lexicographers utilized his writings as essential sources, with major works such as Ibn Sida's al-Muhkam and al-Mukhassas, and Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-Arab, quoting him extensively .
Manuscripts and Publication
Al-Muntakhab is one of only three works by Kura' al-Naml known to have survived, alongside al-Munjad and al-Mujarrad . A manuscript lacking its opening and concluding folios is preserved at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya under shelfmark 858 Lugha . Another manuscript copy in the General Library in Rabat was mistakenly attributed by Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli to the Andalusian scholar Abu al-Walid al-Waqqashi, because the scribe's colophon indicated it had been transcribed from al-Waqqashi's personal handwritten copy .
The book was edited by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Omari based on the Cairo and Rabat manuscripts, and published in two volumes by Umm al-Qura University in 1409 AH / 1989 CE . A comprehensive index volume for its lexical entries, prepared by Mustafa Abd al-Hafiz Salim, was subsequently published in 1414 AH .
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