Min Dhakhair Ibn Malik fi al-Lugha Masala min Kalam al-Imam Ibn Malik fi al-Ishtiqaq
- Author died
- 672 AH
- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Min Dhakha'ir Ibn Malik fi al-Lugha: Mas'ala min Kalam al-Imam Ibn Malik fi al-Ishtiqaq (From the Treasures of Ibn Malik in Language: A Treatise from the Words of Imam Ibn Malik on Derivation) is a short grammatical tract on Arabic morphological derivation (ishtiqaq) by the grammarian Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH / 1274 CE) .
Background and Attribution
The work was composed in response to an inquiry regarding the formal variations that occur among derived nouns . Ibn Malik remarked that restricting the question to nouns was deficient, arguing that an adequate inquiry should address the morphological transformation of any derivative (mushtaqq) relative to its root (mushtaqq minhu) generally, so as to include the verb, which he considered fundamental to derivation because every verb derives from an actual or implied verbal noun (masdar) .
The text is attributed directly to Ibn Malik in its manuscript header under the title Mas'ala . It is also listed as Risala fi al-Ishtiqaq in biographical and bibliographical references, including Kashf al-Zunun by Hajji Khalifa .
Contents and Structure
The treatise investigates the formal shifts between derived words and their source roots, systematically organizing these differences into categories based on the addition or subtraction of letters, short vowels (harakat), or combinations of both :
- Initial Divisions: Ibn Malik begins by reviewing eight basic permutations presented in the initial query, consisting of isolated additions or deletions of letters, vowels, or both, as well as mixed additions of one element accompanied by the deletion of another, providing lexical examples for each .
- Expanded Classification: He then expands the framework into twenty or more comprehensive divisions—enumerating twenty-four distinct morphological changes—illustrating each category with Arabic root-and-derivative pairs to account for vowel alterations (tabaddul) alongside letter and vowel augmentations and omissions .
Manuscripts and Publication
The text was preserved in a single manuscript copy within a composite volume (majmu') held at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS 1593, fols. 75b–77a) . The same manuscript volume contains another work by Ibn Malik, al-I'timad fi Naza'ir al-Za' wa-l-Dad, copied in 735 AH by Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn Ahmad ibn Malik al-Nafri al-Andalusi in the same hand .
The treatise was edited and studied by Dr. Muhammad al-Mahdi Abd al-Hayy Ammar, who published it alongside an introductory study covering the history and principles of derivation in Arabic linguistic scholarship in the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah in 1423 AH / 2002 CE .
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