Dr. Saad Jasim Al-Zubaidi has issued a new book titled "Abu Nasr Al-Farabi and Grammar," raising fundamental questions about whether Arabic grammar is subject to the authority of Aristotelian logic, or whether Arab philosophers could formulate an independent linguistic thought that preserves the specificity of the letter "Dad" (ض).
Examining Terminology and Re-reading the Heritage
The book begins by presenting Al-Farabi's views on language, comparing his classifications with what Arab grammarians achieved in studying words and structures, aiming to achieve a fair scientific reading of the heritage. In the book's introduction, Dr. Ali Faraj, a researcher and professor of Arabic language at the Italian University of Milano-Bicocca, believes that the author subjects common judgments to scrutiny in light of texts and historical evidence.
Faraj pointed out that Al-Zubaidi treats Al-Farabi as a philosopher who left a prominent mark in linguistic studies, not merely as a theorist in logic alone, emphasizing that the epistemological intersection between grammar and logic does not imply subordination or severing roots.
Words, Structures, and Definite Particles
Al-Zubaidi organizes his study into four chapters preceded by an introductory preface, which discusses the relationship between grammar, logic, and linguistics, then moves to individual and composite words and particles. The book pauses at Al-Farabi's division of speech, his treatment of the noun, verb, and particle, and the difference in some of his technical usages from the terminology adopted by Arab grammarians.
Another aspect of the study highlights Al-Farabi's interest in interrogative tools such as "when," "where," "how," "whether," and "why," and the questions they open up that go beyond pure linguistic function to their close connection with thought and knowledge, allowing for a reading of the relationship from a perspective that combines semantics and philosophical analysis.
Towards a Logic of the Boundaries of Epistemological Convergence
The importance of the book lies in re-examining the relationship between Arabic grammar and Aristotelian logic away from general judgments, through studying terminology and divisions in their contexts and comparing them with what is mentioned in grammatical heritage. The approach presented by the book concludes with the necessity of distinguishing between the existence of clear points of convergence between the two sciences and claiming the subordination of Arabic grammar to logic.
The book was published by Dar Al-Fikr in Damascus and Dar Al-Fikr Al-Mu'asir in Beirut, consists of 96 pages, and was issued in 2026. Dr. Saad Jasim Al-Zubaidi is a professor of Arabic grammar at the University of Nizwa in the Sultanate of Oman, and is interested in linguistic and grammatical studies.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Comments (0)