Fiqh al-Lugha wa Sirr al-Arabiyya
- Author died
- 429 AH
- Editions
- Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī
Fiqh al-Lugha wa Sirr al-Arabiyya (The Understanding of Language and the Secret of Arabic) is a classical Arabic thematic lexicon and philological treatise by the Nishapuri man of letters and philologist Abu Mansur al-Thaalibi (d. 429 AH / 1038 CE). The work organizes Arabic vocabulary according to semantic fields and nuanced gradations of meaning, while also expounding upon the stylistic, grammatical, and rhetorical conventions of the Arabic language.
Composition and Dedication
Al-Thaalibi composed and dedicated the book to the prince Abu al-Fadl Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Mikali (also cited as Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, d. 436 AH / 1044 CE). During a four-month stay at al-Mikali's court in Firuzabad in the district of Juwayn, the two engaged in literary discussions regarding rare lexicographical nuances that earlier philologists had noted only sporadically. While traveling together, al-Mikali urged al-Thaalibi to compile a comprehensive, systematically organized reference book on the subject.
Al-Thaalibi subsequently retired to his rural estate to write, utilizing reference materials supplied directly from al-Mikali's private library. Despite enduring external disruptions and distress caused by the incursions of the Qufs during his stay, he completed the draft and presented it upon his return to al-Mikali's court.
Structure and Contents
The work is divided into two distinct principal parts:
- Fiqh al-Lugha: An onomasiological and thematic dictionary structured into 30 chapters (abwab), encompassing roughly 600 subchapters (fusul). It classifies terms by meaning and semantic domain rather than alphabetical order. Subjects covered include universals, things whose names vary with changing conditions, beginnings and endings, stages of magnitude and diminutive size, dryness and softness, degrees of abundance and scarcity, antithetical attributes, anatomical terms, illnesses and remedies, animals, physical motions and strikes, sounds, garments and weaponry, foods and drinks, terrain and stones, plants, semantic comparisons between Arabic and Persian, and various classifications of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Within these categories, the text meticulously details fine semantic gradations, such as the progressive stages of love or courage, and specific designations for actions across different beings (such as distinct verbs for human death versus the dying of animals).
- Sirr al-Arabiyya: Formatted as the thirty-first major division of the compendium and subtitled fi Majari Kalam al-Arab wa Sunaniha wa al-Istishhad bi-al-Quran ala Akthariha ("On the Idiomatic Usage and Conventions of the Speech of the Arabs, with Attestation Primarily from the Quran"). It investigates syntax, structural rules, and rhetorical patterns of Arabic discourse, opening with topics such as fronting and postponing elements within a sentence (al-taqdim wa al-ta'khir).
Sources and Methodology
In the opening preface, al-Thaalibi affirms the religious and literary significance of Arabic as the medium of divine revelation and the key to religious understanding. He cites and builds upon material from classical lexicographers, grammarians, and literary figures, explicitly naming al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, al-Asma'i, Abu Amr al-Shaybani, al-Kisa'i, al-Farra', Abu Zayd al-Ansari, Abu Ubayda, Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, Ibn al-A'rabi, al-Nadr ibn Shumayl, al-Mubarrad, Tha'lab, Ibn Durayd, Niftawayh, Ibn Khalawayh, al-Kharzanji, and Abu Mansur al-Azhari. He also draws on prose masters and later philologists, including al-Sahib ibn Abbad, Hamza al-Isfahani, Abu al-Fath al-Maraghi, Abu Bakr al-Khwarizmi, Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Jurjani, and Ahmad ibn Faris.
The title adopted the term fiqh al-lugha, a phrase popularized shortly prior by Ibn Faris in his work al-Sahibi fi Fiqh al-Lugha. Philologist Ignaz Goldziher noted strong thematic and textual connections between al-Thaalibi's compendium and Ibn Faris's al-Sahibi.
Transmission and Editions
Manuscripts of the text circulated under varying titles and redactions, including Sirr al-Adab fi Majari Kalam al-Arab, Shams al-Adab fi Isti'mal al-Arab, and Asrar al-Lugha al-Arabiyya wa Khasa'isuha.
The work was printed early in Marseille, Cairo (1284 AH), and Beirut (1888 CE, fully vocalized with appended excerpts from works by Ibn al-Ajdabi and Ibn Qutayba). Modern critical and annotated editions include:
- The edition edited by Mustafa al-Saqqa, Ibrahim al-Ibyari, and Abd al-Hafiz Shalabi (Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, 1373 AH / 1954 CE).
- The edition edited by Sulayman Salim al-Bawwab (Damascus: Dar al-Hikma, 1409 AH / 1989 CE).
- The edition edited by Khalid Fahmi (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1418 AH / 1998 CE).
- The edition edited by Yasin al-Ayyubi (Sidon: al-Maktaba al-Asriyya, 1419 AH / 1999 CE).
- The edition edited by Abd al-Razzaq al-Mahdi (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 1422 AH / 2001 CE).
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