Author: Abu Raef
The Role of Muslims in the Formation and Development of Sciences (Part 52)
The Science of Lexicons (ʿIlm al-Maʿājim)
Another significant Islamic science that Muslim scholars worked tirelessly to develop is the science of lexicography and dictionaries. Through this science, one can learn the meanings, motivations, and purposes of words, expressions, and terminologies. It serves as a crucial tool for understanding Islamic concepts and meanings accurately.
Dr. Adnan Khatib states: “If every language takes pride in its dictionary, then the Arabic language is most deserving of such pride—because no nation has shown such dedication to its language or exerted as much effort in collecting, compiling, and analyzing its vocabulary, even tracking the meaning of a single letter depending on its position in a word.” [1]
The maʿjam is a book that contains a large number of vocabulary items in a specific order, along with their pronunciation, definitions, and explanations. It is sometimes also called a qamus (dictionary). Its importance lies in the fact that it includes meanings of many words that no individual can fully master on their own, since vocabulary is distributed among members of society according to their environment and culture.
The concept of the maʿjam among the Arabs emerged after the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, particularly when various Arabic dialects became visible in the sacred text and with the entry of non-Arabs into Islam, who often found it difficult to understand certain words. This created a pressing need to explain the unfamiliar words in the Qur’an, Hadith, and the Arabic language in general.
Thus, Arab scholars began compiling dictionaries based on the rich linguistic heritage of the Arabs. Their work was a pioneering achievement, and they developed various methods of compilation that enriched the study of lexicography. Even scholars of other languages acknowledged their superiority. For example, the German Orientalist August Fischer (1865–1949) stated: “Except for China, no nation can boast of as many books on its language sciences or such early awareness of the need to arrange vocabulary according to specific principles as the Arabs.” [2]
The renowned Orientalist John A. Haywood, a senior professor of Arabic studies at Durham University in England, wrote in his book The Making of Arabic Dictionaries: “The Arabs had a comprehensive dictionary titled Lisann al-Arab, which, before the 19th century, had no equal in other languages in terms of accuracy and comprehensiveness.” [3]
The First compilations in the style of Maʿājim (dictionaries)
The earliest known works resembling dictionaries were on the unfamiliar words (Gharib) in the Qur’an, attributed to Abdullah ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH / 687 CE). He responded to questions from Nafi ibn al-Azraq (d. 65 AH / 684 CE), a Kharijite, in a series known as Masiel Nafi ibn al-Azraq fi Gharib al-Qur’an. Other works followed, such as: Gharīb al-Qurʾān by Abū Saʿīd Abān ibn Taghlab [4], Tafsir Gharib al-Qur’an by Imam Mālik, Gharib al-Qur’an by Abu Fayd Muʿarrij ibn Amr al-Sadusi and many more. [5]
The Official Start of Maʿājim (dictionary) Writing
Comprehensive dictionaries (maʿājim) in the formal sense began in the second half of the 2nd century AH with the compilation of al-ʿAyn by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad. He organized it based on phonetic articulation (makhārij al-ḥurūf). Later, Abū ʿAlī al-Qālī (d. 356 AH / 966 CE) in Andalusia followed the same method in his dictionary al-Bāriʿ. Other contributors included: Abu Mansur al-Azhari in Tahzib al-Lugha, [6] al-Sahib ibn Abbad (d. 385 AH / 995 CE) in al-Muhkam wa al-Muḥīṭ al-Azam
Ibn Durayd al-Azdī attempted a different approach in Jamharat al-Lugha, favoring alphabetical order over phonetic ordering, though he did not fully implement it. Aḥmad ibn Fāris also employed a hybrid method in Maqāyīs al-Lugha, combining alphabetic order with root derivation.
Then came Abū Naṣr al-Jawharī (d. 400 AH / 1009 CE) with his dictionary al-Ṣiḥāḥ, introducing a new technique: he still used alphabetic ordering, but grouped entries based on the final letter of each root, differing from previous traditions.
In the late 5th and early 6th centuries AH, Imām Jar Allāh al-Zamakhsharī compiled Asās al-Balāghah [7], uniquely using alphabetic order based on the first, then second, then third letters—much like the method used in modern dictionaries. However, ʿAlī ibn Ḥasan al-Hanāʾī, known as Kurāʿ al-Naml, had already used this system two centuries earlier in his dictionary al-Munaḍḍad, as attested by Yaqoot and others. [8]
Lexicographical writing continued and evolved. Imam Ibn Manzur used al-Jawhari’s method in compiling his monumental Lisann al-Arab.
Imam al-Firouzabadi followed suit in al-Qamus al-Muḥīṭ. Then Murtaza al-Zabīdī, in his Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawahir al-Qamas, not only adopted this tradition but added innovations—for example, offering detailed discussions of the characteristics and uses of each letter. [9]
Alongside the development of word-based dictionaries (explaining word meanings), a new type emerged: thematic or conceptual dictionaries, designed to help writers find suitable expressions and phrases for particular ideas. These were organized topically rather than alphabetically. The earliest known example was al-Alfāẓ by Ibn al-Sikkīt (d. 244 AH), followed by al-Alfaz al-Kitābiyyah by Abd al-Rahman ibn ʿĪsā al-Hamadani, arranged by themes.
Imam Qudamah ibn Jaʿfar, after studying al-Hamadani’s work and finding it lacking, authored Jawahir al-Alfaz. Abū Hilāl al-Askari compiled al-Talkhīṣ, a well-organized and extensive work that functioned almost as a complete dictionary. Abū Manṣūr al-Thaʿālibī made a similar contribution in his Fiqh al-Lugha. The pinnacle of this genre was reached by Ibn Sīda of Al-Andalus in his masterpiece al-Mukhaṣṣaṣ, which is considered the most comprehensive and systematic thematic dictionary in the Arabic language to date.
European lexicography expert Haywood said about the Arabs’ contributions: “In truth, the Arabs occupy a central position in the field of lexicography—both in relation to the ancient and modern worlds, as well as the East and the West.” [10]
Therefore, Arabic dictionaries—with all their diversity—are original products of Islamic and Arab intellectual traditions and represent the efforts of Muslim scholars from the 2nd century AH to the present day.
Continues…
Previous Part
[1]. Khateeb, Adnan, The Arabic Dictionary Between Present and Past, p. 5, second edition, 1414 A.H., Beirut, Lebanon.
[2]. What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 390
[3]. The Arabic Dictionary Between Past and Present, p. 5
[4]. He was a reciter, linguist, and literati, and was among the followers of the Shia sect.
[5]. What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 391
[6]. He was one of the imams of language and literature, and his birthplace and place of death were Herat, Afghanistan.
[7]. He was among the skilled literati and commentators and was also a follower of the Mu’tazila doctrine.
[8]. The Arabic Dictionary Between Past and Present, pp. 37-46
[9]. Omar, Ahmad Mukhtar, Linguistic Research among the Arabs, p. 255, sixth edition, House of the World of Books, Cairo, Egypt
[10]. What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 394
