Dirasat fi Usul al-Lughat al-Arabiya
- Author died
- 1444 AH
- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Dirasat fi Usul al-Lughat al-Arabiya (Studies on the Origins of the Arabic Language) is a linguistic treatise by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz al-Qari (d. 1444 AH / 2022 CE), examining the historical genesis of the Arabs and the evolutionary stages of the Arabic language within the Semitic language family.
Background and Purpose
The work was composed while al-Qari was an instructor at the secondary institute of the Islamic University of Madinah and was published in the university's academic journal (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah). Al-Qari was prompted to write the treatise during his ongoing research into the prophetic tradition stating that the Qur'an was revealed in seven modes of recitation ( أنزل القرآن على سبعة أحرف ) and the related scholarly discussion concerning foreign and Arabized vocabulary in the Qur'an (al-Mu'arrab).
He conceived the study as a supplementary continuation of a research paper published in the journal (Muharram 1391 AH) by his teacher Muhammad Taqi al-Din al-Hilali, who had applied comparative analysis involving Hebrew and other Semitic languages to investigate non-Arabic words in the Qur'an. Al-Qari also sought to clarify misconceptions raised in a subsequent article published in Rajab 1393 AH regarding Arabized terms in scripture.
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized around two interdependent core subjects:
- The Origins and Homeland of the Arabs (أصل العرب ومنشؤهم): Al-Qari presents the consensus of genealogists, historians, and ethnologists tracing the Arabs back to Sem (Sam ibn Nuh) and the broader Semitic family. He examines ancient migration theories from the primary civilization basin—stretching between Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley, and southern Arabia—and details the early settlements of the extinct Arab tribes (العرب البائدة), such as Ad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, the Amalekites, and early Jurhum, across regions like al-Yamamah, al-Hijr, and the Hijaz.
- The Emergence and Historical Stages of the Arabic Language (اللغة العربية: نشأتها والمراحل التي مرت بها): The study classifies Arabic within the Semitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic linguistic family alongside Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramaic, Canaanite (Hebrew), Phoenician, and Ethiopic. Al-Qari outlines the developmental trajectory of Arabic through distinct historical phases:
- The Genesis Phase (مرحلة النشأة): The early formative period branching out from Proto-Semitic.
- The Extinct Arabs' Tongue (لغة العرب البائدة): The stage wherein Arabic established an independent character separate from the parent Semitic trunk.
- The Qahtani / Himyaritic Tongue (لغة القبائل القحطانية): The southern Arabian idiom that incorporated distinct vocabulary and exhibited close affinities with Ethiopic due to geographic proximity and historical contact.
- The Adnani / Classical Arabic Stage (العربية العدنانية): The final, refined evolutionary stage of the language that served as the vehicle for the revelation of the Qur'an.
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