Usul al-Nahw 1 - Jamiat al-Madina
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- Al-Madinah International University
Usul al-Nahw 1 is an academic textbook prepared and published by Al-Madinah International University (course code GARB5353) as part of its master's degree curriculum in Arabic language studies, examining the theoretical foundations and evidentiary methodology of Arabic grammar (usul al-nahw) .
Scope and Classical Foundations
The work introduces usul al-nahw by analogy to legal methodology (usul al-fiqh), defining it as the discipline concerned with the overarching proofs of grammar, the methods of grammatical deduction, and the qualifications of the grammarian deriving such rules . It builds upon classical works that established grammatical methodology, drawing primarily from al-Suyuti's al-Iqtirah, Abu al-Barakat al-Anbari's Luma' al-Adilla and al-Ighrab fi Jadal al-I'rab, and Ibn Jinni's al-Khasa'is .
Major Grammatical Proofs and Methodology
The textbook is organized into structured lessons detailing the primary sources of grammatical evidence (al-adillah al-ghalibah) and their modes of application:
- Attested Transmission (al-Sama'): Covers authoritative spoken and textual sources, beginning with the Qur'an and its various recitations—including non-canonical (shadhdh) variants—followed by Prophetic hadith and the attested speech and poetry of eloquent pre-modern Arabs prior to linguistic corruption . It highlights that attested transmission takes precedence over theoretical analogy where anomalies occur, such as the vocalization in اسْتَحْوَذَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ .
- Consensus (al-Ijma'): Explores the concept of agreement borrowed from legal theory, distinguishing between the consensus of eloquent native Arab speakers (ijma' al-'Arab)—including tacit agreement (al-ijma' al-sukuti)—and the consensus of grammarians from the rival schools of Basra and Kufa .
- Analogy (al-Qiyas): Examines the extension of grammatical rulings from attested precedents (al-manqul) to unattested expressions based on shared underlying causes ('illah), presenting the definitions articulated by al-Anbari and other classical theorists .
- Presumption of Continuity (Istishab al-Hal): Treats the methodological principle of maintaining the original baseline rule (such as default inflectedness in nouns and uninflectedness in verbs) in the absence of contrary evidence, tracing its formal introduction into grammar to al-Anbari .
The book also addresses disputational dialectics, methods for answering scholarly objections (al-i'tirad) against transmission, analogy, and presumption, as well as secondary proofs such as deduction through foundational norms (al-istidlal bi-l-usul) and rules for resolving conflicts between competing linguistic origins .
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