Mujmal al-Lugha li-Ibn Faris
- Author died
- 395 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risalah
Mujmal al-Lugha is an Arabic dictionary compiled by the philologist Ibn Faris (d. 395 AH / 1004 CE) to provide a concise and accessible reference for the core vocabulary of the Arabic language .
Background and Purpose
Ibn Faris stated in his introduction that he composed the work in response to a student who sought to learn Arabic lexicography but was daunted by the sheer size, intricate divisions, and difficult terminology of foundational lexicons such as Kitab al-'Ayn by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad and al-Jamhara by Ibn Durayd . To facilitate study and safeguard against textual corruption (tashif), Ibn Faris designed a dictionary of compact size and systematic arrangement, naming it Mujmal al-Lugha ("Summary of the Language") because he deliberately summarized the material, curtailing extensive poetic citations (shawahid) and morphological variations (tasarif) in favor of brevity .
Method and Scope
The dictionary restricts its coverage to authentic and clear Arabic speech, omitting obscure or rejected vocabulary (al-wahshi al-mustankar) . Ibn Faris focused on well-known words that elucidate unfamiliar terms in Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, or poetry, relying on reliably transmitted sources and verified texts .
Structure and Arrangement
The dictionary is organized alphabetically into twenty-eight main books (kutub), starting with Kitab al-Alif (or al-Hamza) and ending with Kitab al-Ya' . Within each letter, Ibn Faris classifies roots according to their morphological length into three sequential divisions:
- Doubled roots (al-muda'af wa-al-mutabaq).
- Triliteral roots (al-thulathi).
- Roots exceeding three letters (ma zada 'ala al-thalatha) .
Within these sections, entries follow a cyclical alphabetical order. In combining the first letter with subsequent letters, Ibn Faris begins with the letter immediately following it in the standard alphabet; after reaching the end of the alphabet (Ya'), he cycles back to the beginning (Alif, Ba', etc.) until he reaches the letter immediately preceding the chapter's main letter .
Reception and Editions
Mujmal al-Lugha achieved wide renown and is considered by scholars among Ibn Faris's most prominent works . Qadi 'Iyad noted its acknowledged superiority over other compilations in its field, and al-Bakharzi in Dumyat al-Qasr described it as one of the finest works written on the subject .
A portion of the work was printed in Cairo at Matba'at al-Sa'ada in 1331 AH from a manuscript copied in 591 AH . The complete text was later edited by Zuhayr 'Abd al-Muhsin Sultan and published in two volumes by Mu'assasat al-Risala in Beirut .
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