al-Sama wa al-Qiyas

al-Sama wa al-Qiyas (Transmission and Analogy) is a treatise on Arabic linguistics and grammar by the Egyptian scholar and historian Ahmad Taymur Pasha (1288–1348 AH / 1871–1930 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. The work investigates the foundational linguistic principles of transmitted usage (sama‘) and analogical reasoning (qiyas), evaluating how classical grammarians and lexicographers resolved conflicts between established textual attestations and standard morphological rules al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1.

Subject Matter and Scope

The treatise gathers rules, divergent opinions, and lexical examples concerning cases where transmitted usage conforms to or departs from analogical rules al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1. Taymur addresses the core linguistic maxim that where explicit transmission is present, analogy is set aside (idha warada al-sama‘ batala al-qiyas), while examining instances where scholars permitted analogy despite existing heard forms al-Sama wa al-Qiyas.

Key topics examined across the work include:

• Verbal Nouns and Morphological Patterns: The dispute over whether the verbal nouns (masadir) of triliteral verbs are strictly determined by transmission, as held by Sibawayh, or whether analogy applies due to their frequency, as maintained by al-Zamakhshari al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1. It likewise discusses noun patterns such as maf‘alah (e.g., ma’sadah) and occupational forms on the pattern of fa‘‘al (e.g., ‘attar) al-Sama wa al-Qiyas.
• Anomalous and Rare Usages: The conceptual distinctions among anomalous (shadhdh), rare (nadir), and weak (da‘if) forms in linguistic theory, detailing how later grammarians like Ibn Malik followed the Kufans in applying analogy to rare or anomalous instances al-Sama wa al-Qiyas.
• Derivation from Non-Derived Nouns: The question of deriving verbs from solid or uninflected nouns (al-ishtiqaq min al-jamid), citing classical precedents such as Ibn al-Sikkit using tajawraba from jawrab ("sock") and discussing whether such usage is strictly heard or admits of analogy al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1.
• Verbal Augmentation and Semantic Shifts: Analyses of the augmented pattern af‘ala, detailing when the causative hamzah turns a transitive verb into an intransitive one or functions for privation (salb, removing a quality from the object) Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.

Method and Sources

Taymur compiles and compares citations across classical lexicography, grammar, and philology al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1. Among his cited references are Ibn Jinni's al-Khasa'is, Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-‘Arab, al-Suyuti's al-Muzhir and Ham‘ al-Hawami‘, Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi's Khizanat al-Adab, al-Firuzabadi's al-Qamus al-Muhit, and al-Ashmuni's commentary on the Alfiyyah along with its gloss by Muhammad al-Sabban al-Sama wa al-Qiyas+1.

Publication

Following Ahmad Taymur's death, a dedicated committee was formed to edit and publish his manuscripts al-Alam lil-Zirikli. The treatise was printed in Cairo by Matabi‘ Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi in 1955 (1374 AH) Ilm al-Lugha Muqaddima li…+1.