al-Tarifat
- Author died
- 816 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
Al-Tarifat (The Definitions) is an Arabic dictionary of technical and scholarly terms compiled by al-Sharif al-Jurjani (740–816 AH / 1339–1413 CE) . The work provides concise explanations of terms across the traditional Islamic and rational disciplines .
Scope and Content
The dictionary is comprehensive in scope, compiling terminology rather than restricting itself to a single discipline . It includes terms from the Arabic language sciences (grammar, rhetoric, and prosody), theology (kalam and aqida), jurisprudence (fiqh) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh), Sufism, Hadith, Quranic sciences, and philosophy, along with terms from arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, as well as entries defining various theological sects . While predominantly treated as a reference for technical terminology across disciplines, some bibliographers have also classified it among works of Arabic lexicography .
Method and Structure
Al-Jurjani gathered the majority of his definitions from earlier specialized literature and expanded upon them, aiming to make scholarly nomenclature accessible to students and researchers . The text opens with the praise of God and is organized alphabetically from alif to ya without reducing words to their root forms, enabling direct lookups . It is divided into alphabetical chapters (abwab) determined by the first letter of each entry, which are further subdivided into sections (fusul) according to the second letter .
Entries typically present the literal linguistic meaning (al-ma‘na al-lughawi) before the technical scholarly meaning (al-ma‘na al-istilahi), maintaining conciseness while expanding on terms that require elaborate distinctions . The author also incorporates citations from Quranic verses and hadiths throughout his definitions .
Critics have noted that al-Jurjani incorporated many Sufi concepts—including citations reflecting the doctrine of the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud) from Ibn Arabi—without critical commentary, and that his theological definitions (such as those of faith, monotheism, and sorcery) reflect the perspectives of Ash‘ari kalam .
Influence and Editions
Al-Tarifat became a widely utilized reference work and served as the foundation for later terminology compilations . The Ottoman scholar Ibn Kamal Pasha (d. 940 AH) authored an expansion containing supplementary definitions, and al-Munawi (d. 1031 AH) later drew upon these materials in his dictionary al-Tawqif ‘ala muhimmat al-ta‘arif .
The book has been printed in numerous editions, beginning with early lithographs and printings in Istanbul (1253 AH / 1837 CE and 1307 AH) and Cairo (1283 AH, 1306 AH / 1888 CE, and 1308 AH / 1890 CE) . It was edited in Europe by Gustav Flügel and published in Leipzig in 1845 alongside a treatise on Ibn Arabi's Sufi terminology from al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya, and was also printed in St. Petersburg (1897 CE) . Modern scholarly editions include those edited by Ibrahim al-Ibyari (1405 AH) and Abd al-Rahman Umayra (1407 AH) .
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