Ikmal al-Ilam bi-Tathlith al-Kalam
- Author died
- 672 AH
- Editions
- Umm Al-Qura University
Ikmal al-Ilam bi-Tathlith al-Kalam (Completing the Notification on the Tripling of Words) is an Arabic lexicographical treatise by the grammarian and philologist Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH / 1274 CE) dedicated to the study of muthallathat—words whose consonants remain constant while changing meaning or maintaining identical meaning under three alternate vowelings (fathah, kasrah, and dammah) .
Background and Composition
In his introduction, Ibn Malik identifies the study of lexical triplets (tathlith al-kalam) as a beneficial branch of Arabic philology that clarifies homographs and distinguishes ambiguous forms . He observes that the earliest scholar to write on this topic was Muhammad ibn al-Mustanir, known as Qutrub, though his treatise was brief and contained omissions . Later scholars expanded the genre, foremost among them Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Sid al-Batalyawsi, whose comprehensive work demonstrated broad erudition but suffered from long-winded phrasing that impeded memorization and an arrangement that separated related forms .
Ibn Malik notes that he had compiled a treatise of his own on the subject before coming across Ibn al-Sid's work . Upon examining it, he found that Ibn al-Sid omitted items he himself had recorded, while also transmitting material he had overlooked . Ibn Malik consequently combined and unified the material from both traditions into an exhaustive single work, entitling it Ikmal al-I'lam bi-Tathlith al-Kalam (or Ikmal al-I'lam fi Tathlith al-Kalam) .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into two primary divisions based on whether variation in vocalization alters the definition of the word :
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Part One (al-Muthallath al-muttafiq al-ma'ani): Covers triplets that retain a uniform meaning across all three vowelings, organized into four chapters :
- Words whose initial consonant takes three vowelings .
- Nouns whose middle radical ('ayn) takes three vowelings .
- Verbs whose middle radical takes three vowelings .
- Words whose first and third consonants take three vowelings .
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Part Two (al-Muthallath al-mukhtalif al-ma'ani): Encompasses triplets whose meanings vary depending on their vowelings . This division is arranged alphabetically according to the initial letter of each entry, whether that letter is a root radical or an augmentative letter .
Methodology and Sources
Ibn Malik adopted a concise presentation, pairing each entry with a brief definition . To avoid excessive notation, he established a consistent ordering convention: words are cited first with fathah, followed by kasrah, and finally dammah, allowing the reader to infer the vocalizations without repetitive naming of the vowel marks . Unless otherwise noted, the tripling occurs on the initial letter of nouns, while in verbs it applies to the middle radical .
For his material, Ibn Malik relied primarily on Tahdhib al-Lughah by Abu Mansur al-Azhari and Kitab al-Af'al by Ibn al-Qatta' . He also drew upon Diwan al-Adab, al-Jamharah, al-Sihah, Gharibay al-Harawi, and selected items from Ibn al-Sid al-Batalyawsi .
Related Works and Publication
In addition to this prose compendium, Ibn Malik composed a versified treatment of lexical triplets titled Al-I'lam bi-Tathlith al-Kalam .
Ikmal al-I'lam bi-Tathlith al-Kalam was edited by Sa'd ibn Hamdan al-Ghamdi and published by the Center for Scientific Research and Islamic Heritage Revival at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca (1404 AH / 1984 CE), as well as by Maktabat al-Madani in Jeddah (1404 AH) .
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