The Science of Morphology

عِلْمُ الصَّرْفِ

By the eminent Grand Muftī, Shaykh Muḥammad Rafīʿ al-ʿUthmānī, may Allah preserve and protect him,
President of Jāmiʿah Dār al-ʿUlūm, Karachi, Pakistan.

لِفَضِيلَةِ الْمُفْتِي الْأَعْظَمِ الشَّيْخِ مُحَمَّدٍ رَفِيعٍ الْعُثْمَانِيِّ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ وَرَعَاهُ
رَئِيسِ الْجَامِعَةِ دَارِ الْعُلُومِ بِكَرَاتْشِي، بَاكِسْتَانَ.

Ṣarf and taṣrīf, linguistically: change and transformation.

الصَّرْفُ وَالتَّصْرِيفُ لُغَةً: التَّغْيِيرُ وَالتَّحْوِيلُ.

Technically: it is a science in which the intrinsic properties of the individual words of Arabic speech are studied with respect to their forms and structures, such as vowel-change and assimilation.

وَاصْطِلَاحًا: هُوَ عِلْمٌ يُبْحَثُ فِيهِ عَنِ الْأَعْرَاضِ الذَّاتِيَّةِ لِمُفْرَدَاتِ كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ مِنْ حَيْثُ صُوَرُهَا وَهَيْئَاتُهَا، كَالْإِعْلَالِ وَالْإِدْغَامِ.

Its subject matter: the specific individual words, considered from the aforementioned perspective.

مَوْضُوعُهُ: الْمُفْرَدَاتُ الْمَخْصُوصَةُ مِنَ الْحَيْثِيَّةِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ.

Its purpose: to acquire a faculty by which the aforementioned states are known.

غَرَضُهُ: تَحْصِيلُ مَلَكَةٍ يُعْرَفُ بِهَا مَا ذُكِرَ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ.

Its ultimate aim: to guard against error in those respects.

غَايَتُهُ: الِاحْتِرَازُ عَنِ الْخَطَإِ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْجِهَاتِ.

Its founder: Muʿādh ibn Muslim al-Harrāʾ. It is also said that it was our master ʿAlī, may Allah ennoble his countenance.

وَاضِعُهُ: مُعَاذُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ الْهَرَّاءُ، وَقِيلَ: سَيِّدُنَا عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ.

The First Compiler of This Discipline

The well-known view is that the first compiler of this discipline was Abū ʿUthmān Bakr al-Māzinī, who died in 248 AH or 249 AH. Before him, it had not been compiled as an independent discipline. Rather, its issues were discussed within grammar. This is the famous view, as mentioned in Kashf al-Ẓunūn and Miftāḥ al-Saʿādah.

الْمُدَوِّنُ الْأَوَّلُ لِهَذَا الْفَنِّ:

الْقَوْلُ الْمَشْهُورُ بِأَنَّ الْمُدَوِّنَ الْأَوَّلَ لِهَذَا الْفَنِّ هُوَ أَبُو عُثْمَانَ بَكْرٌ الْمَازِنِيُّ الْمُتَوَفَّى سَنَةَ 248هـ أَوْ 249هـ، وَلَمْ يُدَوَّنْ قَبْلَهُ كَفَنٍّ مُسْتَقِلٍّ، بَلْ كَانَتْ مَسَائِلُهُ يُبْحَثُ عَنْهَا فِي النَّحْوِ، وَهَذَا الْقَوْلُ مَشْهُورٌ، كَمَا ذُكِرَ فِي «كَشْفِ الظُّنُونِ» وَ«مِفْتَاحِ السَّعَادَةِ».

Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī was one of the leading scholars of the Arabic sciences. He studied under al-Akhfash and, due to his skill and brilliance, would debate his teacher al-Akhfash until he persuaded him. Al-Mubarrad said of him that no one had preceded him in the science of grammar except Sībawayh…

أَبُو عُثْمَانَ الْمَازِنِيُّ أَحَدُ أَئِمَّةِ الْعُلُومِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ، قَرَأَ عَلَى الْأَخْفَشِ، وَكَانَ يُنَاظِرُ أُسْتَاذَهُ الْأَخْفَشَ، لِمَهَارَتِهِ وَعَبْقَرِيَّتِهِ حَتَّى يُقْنِعَهُ، قَالَ الْمُبَرِّدُ فِيهِ: إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَسْبِقْهُ أَحَدٌ فِي عِلْمِ النَّحْوِ غَيْرُ سِيبَوَيْهِ، …..

Among His Most Famous Works

Kitāb al-Qurʾān
ʿIlal al-Naḥw
Tafāsīr Kitāb Sībawayh
Mā Yalḥanu Fīhi al-ʿĀmmah
al-Taṣrīf
al-Alif wa al-Lām
al-ʿArūḍ
al-Qawāfī
al-Dībāj fī Kitāb Sībawayh

وَمِنْ أَشْهَرِ مُصَنَّفَاتِهِ:

كِتَابُ الْقُرْآنِ
عِلَلُ النَّحْوِ
تَفَاسِيرُ كِتَابِ سِيبَوَيْهِ
مَا يَلْحَنُ فِيهِ الْعَامَّةُ
التَّصْرِيفُ
الْأَلِفُ وَاللَّامُ
الْعَرُوضُ
الْقَوَافِي
الدِّيبَاجُ فِي كِتَابِ سِيبَوَيْهِ

The stronger view is that the Greatest Imām, Abū Ḥanīfah al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit, may Allah have mercy on him, who died in 150 AH, was the first compiler of this discipline.

وَالْقَوْلُ الرَّاجِحُ أَنَّ الْإِمَامَ الْأَعْظَمَ أَبَا حَنِيفَةَ النُّعْمَانَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - الْمُتَوَفَّى 150هـ - هُوَ الْمُدَوِّنُ الْأَوَّلُ لِهَذَا الْفَنِّ.

In addition to being the first compiler of Ḥanafī jurisprudence, the Imām also authored a treatise in the discipline of morphology and named it al-Maqṣūd. It was printed in Egypt by Maṭbaʿat al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī in 1359 AH, corresponding to 1940 CE.

وَالْإِمَامُ بِالْإِضَافَةِ إِلَى أَنَّهُ هُوَ الْمُدَوِّنُ الْأَوَّلُ لِلْفِقْهِ الْحَنَفِيِّ، قَدْ صَنَّفَ رِسَالَةً فِي فَنِّ الصَّرْفِ أَيْضًا، وَسَمَّاهَا بِـ«الْمَقْصُودِ» الَّتِي طُبِعَتْ فِي مِصْرَ فِي مَطْبَعَةِ الْبَابِي الْحَلَبِيِّ سَنَةَ 1359هـ الْمُوَافِقِ 1940م.

Note: The science of morphology and the science of derivation are two different sciences. However, this matter becomes confused for some people, and they do not distinguish between them. Therefore, after explaining the science of morphology, the definition, subject matter, and ultimate aim of the science of derivation are presented here.

الْمَلْحُوظَةُ: إِنَّ عِلْمَ الصَّرْفِ وَالِاشْتِقَاقِ عِلْمَانِ مُخْتَلِفَانِ، وَلَكِنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ يَلْتَبِسُ عَلَى بَعْضِ النَّاسِ، فَلَا يُمَيِّزُونَ بَيْنَهُمَا، وَلِهَذَا يُقَدَّمُ هُنَا تَعْرِيفُ عِلْمِ الِاشْتِقَاقِ وَمَوْضُوعُهُ وَغَايَتُهُ بَعْدَ بَيَانِ عِلْمِ الصَّرْفِ.

The Science of Derivation

عِلْمُ الِاشْتِقَاقِ

Ishtiqāq, linguistically: splitting. Its meaning is: cleaving. Derivation means extracting one word from another word.

الِاشْتِقَاقُ لُغَةً: الشَّقُّ، مَعْنَاهُ: الْخَرْقُ، وَالِاشْتِقَاقُ: إِخْرَاجُ كَلِمَةٍ مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ أُخْرَى.

Technically: it is a science concerned with transforming a single root into different patterns for intended meanings.

وَاصْطِلَاحًا: هُوَ عِلْمٌ بِتَحْوِيلِ الْأَصْلِ الْوَاحِدِ إِلَى أَمْثِلَةٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ لِمَعَانٍ مَقْصُودَةٍ.

Its subject matter: the individual words of Arabic speech with respect to originality and derivation in their essential form.

وَمَوْضُوعُهُ: مُفْرَدَاتُ كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ مِنْ حَيْثُ الْأَصَالَةُ وَالْفَرْعِيَّةُ فِي الْجَوْهَرِ.

Its purpose: to acquire a faculty by which correct derivational relationship is known.

وَغَرَضُهُ: تَحْصِيلُ مَلَكَةٍ يُعْرَفُ بِهَا الِانْتِسَابُ عَلَى وَجْهِ الصَّوَابِ.

Its ultimate aim: to guard against error in derivational attribution.

وَغَايَتُهُ: الِاحْتِرَازُ عَنِ الْخَلَلِ فِي الِانْتِسَابِ.