Nahw al-Fuqaha = Mujarrad Maqalat Abi Ishaq al-Shatibi fi al-Arabiyya
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Nahw al-Fuqaha = Mujarrad Maqalat Abi Ishaq al-Shatibi fi al-Arabiyya (The Jurists' Grammar: A Compilation of Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's Treatises on Arabic) is a contemporary scholarly work compiled and edited by the researcher Ahmad Fathi al-Bashir, dedicated to collecting and arranging the linguistic and grammatical thought of the Andalusian jurist Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH / 1388 CE) .
Background and Purpose
The compiler originally conceived the idea for the book while preparing his master's thesis, titled Usul al-Arabiyya bayna Mutaqaddimi al-Nuhat wa-Muta'akhkhirihim: Dirasa fi Fikr Abi Ishaq al-Shatibi (The Principles of Arabic Between Early and Late Grammarians: A Study of Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's Thought) . During that research, he gathered extracts and quotations demonstrating al-Shatibi's emphasis on Arabic philology as the essential prerequisite for legal interpretation (ijtihad) and the foundation for understanding Islamic law (Sharia) .
After completing later academic commitments, al-Bashir re-examined these materials, systematically re-surveyed al-Shatibi's corpus, and organized them into an independent volume . The title adopts the concept of "the jurists' grammar" (nahw al-fuqaha), referring to grammatical analysis utilized specifically as an instrument to deduce rulings and comprehend divine discourse, in contrast to abstract grammatical inquiries detached from textual comprehension .
Sources and Methodology
The compilation primarily extracts al-Shatibi's explicit statements and arguments across his major writings, as well as secondary citations preserved by later scholars :
- al-Shatibi's major treatises: al-Muwafaqat, al-Maqasid al-Shafiya, al-I'tisam, and al-Ifadat wa-l-Inshadat .
- Rawdat al-I'lam bi-Manzilat al-Arabiyya min Ulum al-Islam by Ibn al-Azraq .
- Fatawa al-Imam al-Shatibi, collected and edited by Muhammad Abu al-Ajfan .
Al-Bashir arranged the excerpts thematically into coherent thematic essays (maqalat), placing al-Shatibi's verbatim words between quotation marks with exact source citations . The compiler also cross-referenced cited Quranic readings, hadiths, historical reports (athar), and poetic verses, while appending analytical and contextual commentaries delineated clearly under the heading "Qultu" (I say) .
Structure and Contents
The book begins with an introduction outlining its methodology and providing a biographical profile of al-Shatibi, drawing upon Ahmad Baba al-Tunbukti's biographical dictionary Nayl al-Ibtihaj . The core text is divided as follows:
- Introductory Essays (al-Muqaddimat): Six essays treating fundamental definitions of grammar and morphology, the historical origins of grammatical codification, grammatical schools (Basra and Kufa), and the primary versus complementary objectives of linguistic science .
- Chapter One: The necessity of Arabic in the Sharia (five essays) .
- Chapter Two: Principles and guidelines for interpreting the Lawgiver's discourse according to Arabic usage (six essays) .
- Chapter Three: The impact of Arabic linguistics on the Quran, the Sunnah, and substantive legal rulings (five essays) .
- Chapter Four: Linguistic inquiries treated within legal theory (usul al-fiqh) (two essays) .
- Chapter Five: Legal rulings directly relating to the Arabic language (seven essays) .
- Chapter Six: Clarification of points that might superficially suggest a diminished status of Arabic in Sharia (four essays) .
- Conclusion (Khatima): Ethical guidelines and practical advice for students and scholars of Arabic (four essays) .
The volume concludes with detailed analytical indices for Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, ancestral reports, poetry, cited individuals, book titles, and references .
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