Mujam al-Furuq al-Lughawiya al-Hawi li-Kitabay al-Askari wal-Jazairi
- Author died
- 395 AH
- Editions
- T Qom
Mu'jam al-Furuq al-Lughawiya al-Hawi li-Kitabay al-Askari wal-Jazairi (The Lexicon of Linguistic Nuances: Incorporating the Works of al-Askari and al-Jaza'iri) is a dictionary of Arabic lexical distinctions and near-synonyms, combining the classical text of Abu Hilal al-Askari (d. c. 395 AH) with supplementary material from Sayyid Nur al-Din ibn Nimat Allah al-Jaza'iri (d. 1158 AH) .
Background and Purpose
The work was compiled to facilitate easy reference to Abu Hilal al-Askari's classical treatise on semantic distinctions, al-Furuq al-Lughawiyya, which addresses subtle differences between words that appear synonymous . Because navigating al-Askari's original work was difficult for modern readers, Shaykh Bayt Allah Bayat rearranged its contents into a standard alphabetical sequence . The Islamic Publishing Foundation (Mu'assasat al-Nashr al-Islami), an affiliate of the Teachers' Association in Qom, subsequently expanded Bayat's project by incorporating relevant sections from al-Jaza'iri's treatise Furuq al-Lughat to create a unified reference lexicon .
Editorial Method and Structure
The compilers organized and formatted the text according to specific editorial principles:
- Alphabetical Arrangement: The entries are ordered strictly alphabetically by word form rather than by morphological triconsonantal roots .
- Textual Fidelity: The core wording of al-Askari was preserved without alteration, though his original introduction was omitted, and internal cross-referential phrases (such as ma dhukir and sa-yudhkar) were kept intact .
- Omission of Duplication: Repeated entries were removed and replaced with cross-references to their assigned entry numbers .
- Additions from al-Jaza'iri: Material from Furuq al-Lughat was inserted for cases where al-Jaza'iri differed from al-Askari or discussed distinctions omitted by al-Askari; each of these additions is distinguished by the tag (al-Lughat) appended in parentheses .
- Documentation and Numbering: Quranic verses mentioned across the entries were sourced, and all entries were unified under a single continuous numbering system totaling 2,362 entries, concluding with the distinction between al-yawm (day) and al-nahar (daytime) .
The editorial work relied on the printed edition of al-Askari's text issued by Maktabat Basirati, utilizing several of its marginal notes, and the edited edition of al-Jaza'iri's work published by Daftar-i Nashr .
Publication
The work was prepared and indexed by an editorial committee that included Sayyid Ali al-Tabataba'i, Shaykh Riyad al-Rawi, and Abu Haydar al-Jawahiri, alongside Shaykh Bayt Allah Bayat . It was published in a single volume of 630 pages in Shawwal 1412 AH (April/May 1992 CE) by Mu'assasat al-Nashr al-Islami in Qom in an initial print run of 2,000 copies .
Answer updated