Zahirat al-Taqass fi al-Nahw al-Arabi
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- الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة
Zahirat al-Taqass fi al-Nahw al-Arabi (The Phenomenon of Mutual Offset in Arabic Grammar) is a grammatical study by Dr. Dardir Muhammad Abu al-Saud, an associate professor at the College of Arabic Language at the Islamic University of Medina, examining the concept of reciprocal compensation (al-taqass) across Arabic syntax, morphology, and phonology.
Background and Definition
Abu al-Saud states that earlier classical grammarians—such as Ibn Jinni in Sirr Sina'at al-I'rab, Ibn al-Anbari in Manthur al-Fawa'id, and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in al-Ashbah wa-al-Naza'ir—mentioned the phenomenon of taqass only briefly without offering a comprehensive treatment. He composed the treatise to define the phenomenon systematically and analyze its applications in Arabic linguistic rules.
Linguistically, al-taqass derives from al-qass and al-qisas (retribution, tracking, or mutual offset of debts). Terminologically, the author defines it as the process wherein one word or linguistic element receives a grammatical ruling from another element that has likewise received an equivalent ruling from the first, creating an exchange of reciprocal rules.
Scope and Structure
The treatise examines taqass across three principal areas:
Inflectional Descriptors (Alqab al-I'rab)
The study analyzes mutual offset between the genitive (al-jarr) and the accusative (al-nasb). In diptotes (al-mamnu' min al-sarf), the genitive is assimilated to the accusative by taking fathah because of their resemblance to verbs. Conversely, the accusative is carried over to the genitive in the sound feminine plural (taking kasrah), as well as in the dual and sound masculine plural forms (taking ya'), in pursuit of mutual compensation (talaban li-l-muqassah). Citing Abu Ali al-Farisi, the author explains that this interchange is reinforced because both cases function as non-essential complements (fadlatayn) that require overt grammatical operators.
Consonant Substitution (Ibdal)
The work details reciprocal consonant exchanges:
- Hamzah and Ha': Following the view of Ibn Ya'ish, the reciprocal substitution between hamzah and ha' is categorized as taqass. The author documents instances where ha' replaces hamzah in nouns, verbs, and particles (such as hayyaka for iyyaka), alongside cases where hamzah replaces ha' (such as ma' for mawh and al for ahl).
- Hamzah and Waw: The study outlines the rules where waw is transformed into hamzah for phonological lightening, balanced against cases where hamzah is shifted into waw (such as feminine duals and plurals like sahra', becoming sahrawan and sahrawat). Abu al-Saud critiques Ibn Falah for restricting this offset to sound feminine plurals, arguing instead that taqass encompasses all instances where hamzah shifts to waw.
Letter Addition (Ziyadat al-Huruf)
The final section examines the combination lam-alif (la / لا). Because an unvowelled alif cannot be articulated at the start of speech, it was supported by prefixing a vowelled lam. This mirrors how the unvowelled definite article lam was supported by prefixing a connective alif (hamzat al-wasl), which the author presents as a reciprocal compensation between the two letters.
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