The Qur'anic Readings Cited by the Kufan Grammarians in Ibn Malik's Commentary on Al-Tashil - An Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines the Quranic readings cited by the Kufan grammarians as grammatical evidence within Ibn Malik's seminal work Commentary on Al-Tashil, approaching the subject through an analytical methodology. The research investigates Ibn Malik's stance toward both recurrent and anomalous Quranic readings as grammatical proofs, and traces how he presented the Kufan grammarians' arguments alongside the Basran grammarians' rebuttals in the course of discussing grammatical issues. The study is organized into three main chapters: the first addresses Ibn Malik's general position on citing Quranic readings; the second analyzes readings pertaining to nouns and verbs; and the third deals with readings relating to particles. The findings reveal that Ibn Malik did not restrict himself to a single grammatical school, but rather exercised independent judgment in evaluating competing arguments, at times siding with the Basrans, at times with the Kufans, and occasionally advancing opinions of his own. The study concludes with a set of recommendations emphasizing the importance of further scholarly engagement with Quranic evidence in classical Arabic grammatical works.