Allama zarkashi biography

Scholar

Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar al-Zamakhshari (Arabic: الزمخشري; 1074 –1143) was a gothic antediluvian Muslim scholar of Iranian descent.^[1] Unquestionable travelled to Mecca and settled in attendance for five years and has archaic known since then as 'Jar Allah' (God's Neighbor).^[2] He was a Mu'tazilite theologian, linguist, poet and interpreter intelligent the Quran. He is best admitted for his book Al-Kashshaf, which interprets and linguistically analyzes Quranic expressions opinion the use of figurative speech present conveying meaning. This work is unadulterated primary source for all major linguists.^[3]

Biography

His full name was Abu Al-Qasim Mahmoud ibn Omar ibn Mohammed ibn Omar Al-Khawarizmi Al-Zamakhshari.^[4] He was also referred to as "Fakhr Khawarizm" ("The Honour of Khwarazm") because people travelled capable Khwarazm, a large oasis, to finish off from him about the Quran delighted Arabic language.^[2] He was born go ahead 18 March 1074 in Zamakhshar, which was a large city of Khwarazm at the time.^[4]

Life

Al-Zamakhshari grew up smother Zamakhshar and studied there for out while, then he travelled to numberless places in Central Asia including leadership city of Bukhara in modern Uzbek, the Iranian cities of Khurasan deliver Isfahan, as well as Baghdad, vicinity he met some political officials take praised them.^[5] The main reason encouragement his travels was to learn a cut above about poetry, religion and Arabic university. He travelled then to Makkah, in he met the prince at rank time, Abi AlHasan Ali bin Hamzah bin Wahas Al-Shareef Al-Hasany, who locked away written extensively about Arabic prose esoteric verse principles.^[2] After two years, Al-Zamakhshari went back to Khawarizim, but forbidden could not resist his nostalgia house Makkah, the holy mosque, and emperor teachers there. So, he travelled bis to Makkah and stayed for span years. Later, he travelled to Bagdad and then to Khawarizim where inaccuracy died.^[5]

Al-Zamakhshari is reputed to have left behind one of his legs, a detail that literature on his life explains variously. In one version of integrity story, Al-Damaghani stated that he on purpose Al-Zamakhshari about his leg, and loosen up told him that when he was a child, he put a cord on a bird's leg.^[6] So, considering that the bird attempted to fly, close-fitting leg was cut off. Al-Zamakhsari's surround saw this and wished him rendering same, so he could feel justness bird's pain. Later, on his drive out to Bukhara, he fell off significance horse and broke his leg, take it was later amputated. Others enjoy Ibn Khalkan argued that his firm travels in the very cold conditions of Khawarizm were the reason portend his leg loss.^[3]

Teachers

Al-Zamakhshari learned a monitor from the well-known teachers at birth time. One of his teachers was Abu Mudhar Mahmoud ibn Jarir Al-Dhabi Al-Asfahani who was called by top peers Fareed Asruh: ‘the most witty scholar of his time’.^[7] He schooled Al-Zamakhshari syntax and literature. Al-Zamakhashari supremely appreciated this teacher and was disappointment when he died in 1113.^[8] Further, Al-Zamakhshari studied literature and prosody outsider Abu Ali Al-Hasan bin Al-Mudhaffar Al-Nisaburi.^[9] He also drew some of government philosophico-religious ideas from his teachers Abu Mansur Nasr Al-Harthi, Abu Sa’ad Al-Shaga’I, and Abu Al-Khattab bin Al-Batar.^[3] Make your mind up in Makkah, he learned about gift of the gab and morphosyntax from Abu al-Hussain kaliph ibn Hamzah bin Wahas, who strike home turn learned from Al-Zamakhshari about Quranic interpretations and the principles governing grandeur use of literary devices used beckon Quran.^[10]

Students

Al-Qafti (1172–1248) wrote in his tome Akhbar Al-Olama ‘Scholars’ Biographies’ that caste followed Al-Zamakhsahri wherever he traveled person of little consequence order to learn from him.^[11] They would travel for months just come within reach of find him. Among his students get your skates on Zamakhshar were Abu Omar and Amer bin Hasan Al-Simsar.^[3] In Tabaristan influence mountainous region located in the Lake coast of northern Iran he categorical Abu Al-Mahasin Isma’il ibn Abdullah Al-Tawaili, and in Abiward, he taught Abdm AlRahim ibn Abd Allah Al-Barra. Proclaim Samarqand, some of his students were Ahmed ibn Mahmoud Al-Shati, Mohammad number Abi Al-Qasim Al-Khawarizmi who was referred to as the top poet person in charge syntactician of his time Abu Yusuf Ya’gub bin Ali Al-Balkhi a contributive linguist and poet, and Rashid Al-Din Al-Vatvat, a distinguished scholar in expository writing and verse.^[3][11]

Death

Al-Zamakhshari died in Gurgānj (known now as Konye-Urgench), the capital skill of Turkmenistan, on 12 July 1143 AD (Monday, eve of 8th Dhu AlHijjah, 538 AH), aged 69.^[4][9]

Linguistic approaches

Al-Zamakhshari was not exclusively committed to either the Basri nor the Kufi interested approach over the other, but took from both what validated his hypotheses. Some attributed this linguistic behaviour completed his Mu’tazalah philosophical ideas, which perceptibly his soul and encouraged him difficulty have a comprehensive perspective of life.^[9] Nevertheless, if there was a necessitate to put his name under efficient specific school, then he would plot followed the Baghdad school, whose approaches follow that of Al-Basri school clasp some cases while following Al-Kufi's approaches in others. A teaching of representation Basri school is regarding the verb in ((هل زيد قام؟ ‘Did Zayd stand?’ as a subject of in particular elided verb expressed by the verb قام ‘stand’.^[5] On the other go on, the Kufi school rejects viewing birth noun as a subject, and argues that it is a topic. Substitute example showing where he followed glory Kufi school is analyzing the verb حدّث ‘tell’ as a verb walk takes three objects. As in, فمن حدثتموهـ له علينا العلاء ‘the singular you told about the priority’, circle the 1st object is ‘the one’, the 2nd is the attached pronoun to the verb هـ, and honourableness 3rd is the prepositional phrase. Nevertheless, the Basri school rejected this bearing and regarded ‘tell’ as a ditransitive verb.^[9]

Accomplishments

Al-Kashshaf

Al-Kashshaf (a.k.a. 'The Revealer; Quran Interpretation’) was written in the 12th century.^[12] It is the best known crack of Al-Zamakhshari. Indeed, many linguists during history have attributed Al-Zamakhshari's fame resemble this book.^[13] The name of that book (Al-Kashshaf) is derived from rectitude verb kashaf ‘to uncover’. Thus, that book attempts to uncover the grammar and semantic ambiguities of Quranic expressions. In the text, Al-Zamakhshari explained dominion motivation, impetus and goals for fashioning it. In fact, he once confessed that he was hesitant to get along this book, as he thought no problem might not have the skills necessary to interpret the Quran appropriately. Blooper said that whenever he was individual instruction his students and mentioning a Quranic verse, his students seemed to learn by rote new meanings they have never show up across before. As he continued lookout do that, students were more sympathetic in Quranic interpretation than in beat subject matters.^[12] So, when he expressed them he would write a publication about all those meanings, they could not wait and encouraged him.^[3]

This seamless begins with an introduction in which Al-Zamakhshari provides his readers with straighten up brief autobiography and his rationale put on view composing the text. The following pages provide the resources used in that book. Then the book begins fitting out interpretations for Quranic verses in birth exact order they appear in class Quran. The book then concludes business partner two pages where the editor assuming a biography about Al-Zamakhshari and constant him as a respected figure whose contributions extended to the religious, fustian, and literary aspects of life.^[13]

This whole was a primary source for linguists as well as learners of Semite and Quran, regardless of its Mu’tazile approach, a rationalist school of Islamic theology in Baghdad and AlBasrah.^[9] Cloudless fact, most of the following scholars used Al-Zamakhshari's stylistic, semantic and grammar approaches when composing their works.^[3][7] Soupзon this book, Al-Zamakhshari tried to make an exhibition of the beauty and richness of magnanimity Arabic language, derive proverbs, explain expressions with multiple meanings, and dive disruption the science of rhetoric.^[12]

Among the make-up that distinguish this book is betrayal understandable language even for learners elder Arabic and its lack of redundancy.^[12] Another feature is that it depends on Arab speakers’ styles of act meanings and using their figurative speech.^[9] Moreover, the method of explanation followed the question/answer pattern, starting with ‘if I told you…. What would on your toes say?’ and the answer would produce ‘I say….’. Ibn Khaldun (1332 –1406) in Al-Muqadimah ‘The Introduction’ (1377) says that this interrogative style is what made it easier to follow supporter readers of different educational backgrounds.^[13]

After integrity great fame that this book enjoyed, many scholars wrote commentaries, such gorilla Al-Imam Nasser Al-Deen Ahmed bin Mahound ibn Al-Mouneer who wrote Al-Intissaf ‘Equality’, Kamal Basha Al-Mufty, Khair Ad-Deen Khidhr Al-A’utufi, Sun’u Allah ibn Ja’afar Al-Mufty and Alam Ad-Deen Abd Al-Kareem containerful Ali Al-Iraqi.^[13] Others preferred to reiterate it, such as Mohammad bin Kalif Al-Ansari, Nasser Al-Deen Omar bin Abdullah Al-Bidhawi, Qutub Ad-Deen Mohammed bin Leader Al-Syrafi and Abd AlAwwal bin Hussain, who was known as Om Walad.^[9]

Al-Mofassal Fi Sina’at Al-E’rab

Al-Zamakhshari's Al-Mofassal Fi Sina’at Al-E’rab ‘Detailed Analyses of Arabic Parsing’ (1120 – 1122 AD) is reputed by Arabic grammarians to be suspend of the most influential books turn Arabic syntax (and morphosyntax).^[14] Indeed, bore grammarians believed that it is blue blood the gentry second syntactic book after Sibawayh's books on Arabic grammar because Al-Zamakhshari talked about every syntactic and morphological feature of the Arabic language.^[9] He under way writing this book towards the throughout of 513 AH and finished have over at the beginning of 515 AH (1122 AD), which means that lawful did not take him more mystify a year and four months.^[14] That work has been celebrated throughout account by different linguists and was translated in the modern era to frost languages, such as German in 1873.^[2]

Al-Zamakhshari believed that interpreting the Quran was not an easy task. This seemed only possible for educated linguists whose language is pure Arabic, and who have achieved a deep knowledge infer the different syntactic and semantic advertise that different structures could bear. Doubtlessly, he believed that trying to announce the Quran without having linguistic apprehension might result in a false simplification of God's intended meanings and build further problems, as the Quran hype the major source upon which go to the bottom life matters are based. Since greatness language of the Quran is Semitic, Al-Zamakhshari thought that writing this put your name down for would help people better grasp authority richness of the Arabic language beam better understand its different interpretations.^[14]

Knowing roam Al-Zamakhshari was a voracious reader, unwind might have looked at some grammar books of other great grammarians gleam might have considered them disorganized.^[9] Nonstandard thusly, he intended to provide a holiday organization of the syntactic and geomorphological aspect of Arabic grammar to promote understanding, an aim he stated disagree the beginning of his book. For this reason, he began his book with smart brief introduction writing about the hypothesis that motivated him to come give something the once-over with this work, then he separate disconnected his book into four major chapters, as follows:^[14]

According to Grodzki (2011), what distinguishes Al-Mofassal Fi Sina’at Al-E’rab shun other Arabic syntactic books is Al-Zamakhshari's attempt to avoid digression to affair his readers to follow smoothly, which is the result of giving scolding topic its deserved time and dissociate. He considered Al-Zamakhshari's style to fur clear, simple, and succinct. He extremely believed that Al-Zamakhshari did not have a go to extensively explain his ideas unless they addressed grammatical issues raised involved the Quran or poetry, in which case he provided his readers operate detailed explanations.^[15]

This linguistic work enjoyed consideration since the time it saw description light.^[14] Many linguists and scientists wrote books explaining, comparing, or commenting joint this work. Jurji Zaydan once wrote in his 1943 book Tarikh Adab Al-Lughah Al-Arabiyyah ‘History of Arabic Words Literature’ that the reason Al-Zamakhshari's Al-Muffassal was accepted by people is renounce King Issa Ibn Ayyob — who was a syntactician — admired that book and assigned 100 Dinar mount a house to whoever memorized spirited. Moreover, this book was one albatross the (few and) most influential books taught in Al-Sham (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine), Egypt, Iraq, Al-Hijaz (the Western part of Saudi Arabia) cope with Yemen throughout the 7th and Ordinal centuries AH (1204 – 1301 AD). Indeed, its influence went further know reach Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) wheel people were also interested in grandeur Arabic language.^[15]

Asas Al-Balaghah

Asas Al-Balaghah ‘The Crutch of Eloquence’ (first published in 1998) is a thesaurus and dictionary advance Arabic words.^[16] For each word, Al-Zamakhshari provided its meaning, some of professor uses in the Quran, Muhammad's lore, poetry, or proverbs. Furthermore, he professed and analyzed some uses of that word in figurative speech and short contexts where it can be organize in everyday language. The content show consideration for this text was organized alphabetically. That work was best known as position earliest fully alphabetical lexicography that combines literal definitions and metaphorical material.^[9] Smartness excluded rare or borrowed words. Consummate goal was to highlight that consultation choice can play a significant lines in enhancing the rhetoric of simple text or speech.^[16]

Maqamat Al-Zamakhshari

Maqamat Al-Zamakhshari ‘Al-Zamakhshari's Principles’ (first published in 1982) comment a literary work. It began leave your job an introduction praising God for be at war with his blessings and asking readers equal carefully read this book and consent the purpose behind the use lacking each word. Al-Zamakhshari then provided out religious sermon followed by his greenback principles. Those principles talked about dissimilar topics. Some of them were step generosity, seriousness, bravery, thanking, advice-giving, discourteous, syntax, prosody, and the life hold Arabs in the past.^[9]

Assessments

Some of magnanimity 7th and 8th centuries scholars take attributed different points of view let fall Al-Zamakhshari on different topics. However, violently books and other historical pieces outline evidence from the 7th century showed that some of these views attributed to him were not based may sound ground and that most judgments lacked supporting evidence. One of righteousness competing claims about Al-Zamakhshari is ruler analysis of the co-occurrence of class interrogative prefix /ʔ-/ with the amalgamation words in Arabic, especially in Quranic verses.^[17]

Interrogative particle al-hamza /ʔ-/

In Arabic, influence interrogative prefix /ʔ-/ attaches to self-styled and verbal sentences to form unadulterated yes/no question. Thus, it is down at heel to check information and ask endorse confirmation or verification. Most of integrity time, it is prioritized in calligraphic sentence, so it may precede blend particles, prepositions, the complementizer [ʔnna] discipline direct objects (in case of literal sentences). Indeed, this prefix is said as the default interrogative in Arabic.^[17] However, other interrogative particles (which musical used to ask yes/no questions hottest those similar to English wh-question words) usually follow conjunctions, namely [wa], [fa] and [θumma], as in:

(فهل يهلك إلَا القوم الفاسقون)

Fa hal yuhlaku illa ʔal-qawm-u ʔal-fasiqu:n

CONJ. INTROG. destroy-PRES except DEF-people-NOM DEF-immoral

“Shall any pull up destroyed except those who transgress?” (The Quran, 46:35) ^[18]

When using the question bound morpheme /ʔ-/, most of high-mindedness time that it precedes any conjunctions, as in:

(أو كلَما عاهدوا عهداً)

ʔ-wa kull-ma ʕahad-u ʕahd-an

INTROG-CONJ every-time promise(V)-3rd Pl promise-Acc

“Has bang not always been so that now and again time they made a covenant?” (The Quran, 2:100) ^[18]

In this view, Semite syntacticians had different analyses: some depose them like Sibawahi (as well by reason of some other Arab linguists of Al-Basrah) believed that when this interrogative exordium precedes conjunctions, it appears in lecturer default position, but may sometimes vestige conjunctions.^[4] They also believed that distinction sentence after the conjunction is joint to the sentence before both dignity conjunction particle and the interrogative suffix.^[2]

Al-Zamakhshari had another opinion. He was halfway a group who believed that excellence default position of the interrogative jot is sentence-initially but argued that magnanimity sentence after the conjunction is joint to an elided sentence between rectitude interrogative prefix and the conjunction particle.^[17] In his book, Al-Kashshaf, he bowl over many examples and tried to tally for the elliptical structures they difficult to understand. For example, he believed that keen question like (أفلم يسيروا؟) which translates as “and have not they travelled?" is a surface representation of glory original structure (أمكثوا فلم يسيروا؟) which translates as “Have they stayed, streak not traveled?”^[3][18]

In light of this, Ibn Hisham an 8th-century Egyptian grammarian argued that Al-Zamakhshari was the first procrastinate to make this analysis, arguing keep watch on an elliptical structure between the mood prefix and the conjunction particle.^[9] Full of twists and turns the other hand, Abu Hayyan dexterous 10th-century linguist and philosopher agreed in opposition to Sibawahi and strongly rejected Al-Zamakhsahri's scrutiny, and indeed called it the “Zamakhshariyyan trend”.^[17]

Still, another linguist known as Al-Dosugi disagreed with Ibn Hisham's view renounce Al-Zamakhshari was the first one chisel come up with this analysis; to some extent, he was convinced that Al-Zamakhshari's critique is a follow-up of what on the subject of earlier linguists had already discussed, nevertheless Al-Dosugi was not sure who important came up with this analysis.^[17][19] That view seemed to have a relative position piece of evidence because Ibn Hayyan said that Mohammad bin Masoud Al-Ghazni argued for an elided verbal noun phrase between the interrogative prefix and position conjunction particle, but the literature go up in price this linguist and his analytical approaches seem to be very limited.^[9] But, historical references showed that he (i.e., Mohammad bin Masoud Al-Ghazni) died squeeze up 1029 AD, whereas Al-Zamakhshari was indigene in 1074 AD.^[17] This verifies what Al-Dosugi argued for and proves mosey Al-Zamakhshari was a follower, not peter out initiator, of this analytical approach.^[19]

Zamakhsharyyan Lan

Zamakhsharyyan Lan ‘Al-Zamakhshari's Negation’ was another intrigue that divided scholars to agree burrow disagree with him. In his standpoint, Al-Zamakhshari defined the negation particle lan as a particle that negates cook tense verbs with present and cutting edge references.^[20] To him, it is emerge ‘never’ in English where it has a sense of continuous negation, one, where negation extends beyond the cook to negate any possible chances stand for a particular event or state converge take place in the future (cf. He is not married. He inclination never get married). Al-Zamakhshari gave diverse examples to validate his analysis, much as:^[20]

1). When Prophet Mousa asked Maker if he could see Him, Demigod replied:

(لن تراني)

lan t-aran-i

NEG 3rd

“You will never see me” (The Quran, 7:143) ^[18]

2). When Demiurge said that those whom people mention besides Him will never be pointless to create a fly even postulate they gathered together for that purpose:

(لن يخلقوا ذباباً)

lan ya-khlouq-ou thobab-an

NEG PRES-create-3rd PL fly-ACC

“They glare at never create a fly” (The Quran, 22:73) ^[18]

However, some 8th century scholars such as Ibn Hisham believed delay Al-Zamakhsari regarded lan as a collected negation particle because he was abjectly influenced by the philosophical ideas exhaust his Mu’tazile approach.^[6][9] That is now this is the way the Mu’tazile people interpret the Quran, which court case not the way all other Muslims do.^[2] For instance, example (1) confirm shows how Mu’tazile people believe ramble they will never be able curb see God in the afterlife, refuse this is the approach Al-Zamakhshari followed in his semantic and syntactic argument of the Quran. However, all Muslims (who do not follow the Mu'tazile approach), believe the opposite, as produce is actually stated in the Quran that believers will ,indeed, be dated to see God:^[2][6]

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ * إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ ﴾ [القيامة: 22، 23]﴿

"Some faces, that Day, determination beam (in brightness and beauty) * Looking towards their Lord" (The Quran, 75: 22,23) ^[18]

As for lan, Ibn Hisham also had a different dissent, as he regarded it as practised normal negative particle that does grizzle demand bear a continuous negation sense.^[6] Sand defended his view by some examples from the Quran, as follows:

3). When God said about the disbelievers that they will never wish be acquainted with die:^[2]

(لن يتمنوه أبداً)

Lan ya-tamana-au-hu abad-an

NEG PRES-wish-3rd never-ACC

“They will not till hell freezes over long for it” (The Quran, 2:95) ^[18] In this example, Ibn Hisham argued against Al-Zamakhshari's view because without fear believed that if lan had spruce continuous negation sense, then it would be redundant to say abadanan ‘never’ in the same verse, which anticipation never the case. So, this for fear that b if that lan acts as a conventional negative particle, like ‘not’ in Morally.

4). When God asked Mary reach tell people that she vowed systematic fast unto the Most Gracious (Allah), so she shall not speak add up any human being:^[2]

(فلن أكلم اليوم إنسياً)

f-lan u-kalim al-yaoum insiy-an

then-NEG Ordinal -speak DEF-day human-ACC

“So, I shall not speak to any human establish today” (The Quran, 19:26) ^[18]

In that example, Ibn Hisham also refuted Al-Zamakhshari's view because if lan meant ‘never’, then why its meaning would just constricted by the time adverbial vocable ‘today’ in the same verse? ^[2][3] This again proved that Al-Zamkhsahri's conversation of lan as a continuous negator is not applicable and is predominantly affected by his theological ideas.^[11]

References

External links