Quranic Linguistics Institute
The 3-level Introduction to Quranic Linguisticsseries attempts to explain Quranic Arabic through the theoretical linguistic models whose foundations were developed in the 7th century, decades after the Quran was revealed. The series introduces morphology, semantics, syntax, inflection, grammar, rhetoric, and style of the Quranic Arabic. It is designed to help establish strong foundations for understanding Quran, Hadeeth, Fiqh, and other Islamic disciplines. Intended primarily for high school and college students, the prerequisite is a basic course based on a textbook such as Easy intro to Arabic Nouns & Verbs . Ample exercises throughout the series help review, reinforce, and apply the concepts learned by systematically and gradually analyzing hundreds of carefully selected verses of the Quran.
Level 1, Morphology, Semantics, Syntax, & Inflection, designed for beginner/intermediate students, orients the student in noun and verb conjugation, roots, word types, common noun and verb patterns (الأوزان), vocabulary derivation, syntax, inflection and its signs. Translation has been provided for most of the concepts. Included also in this level is morphological semantics—a branch of Arabic that examines how internal changes caused by the addition of certain letters to basic roots affect change in meaning. The level is concluded with a brief study of weak lettered nouns and verbs.
Level 2, Essentials of Arabic Grammar, looks at the details of the theory of Arabic grammar (theoretical linguistics) by analyzing major types of nominatives, accusatives, genitives, jussives, sentences, and quasi-sentences. Challenging topics such as conditionals, numbers, and inflection of weak lettered nouns and verbs are also explained in detail. Moreover, frequently appearing particles in the Quran and the Arabic language in general along with their various types have been listed in the Quick Reference Guide for Common Particles. The book has been designed to be a “one-stop shopping” place for Arabic grammar. It contains useful charts and tables necessary for syntactic analysis. In this level, the student is expected to make the transition into an Arabic-only environment. Thus, translation has been kept to a minimum.
Level 3, Linking Morphology and Grammar, Introduction to Rhetoric, does what its title suggests. The first part begins by reexamining the infinitive and the derivatives (i.e. the verbal nouns) introduced in level 1 in terms of their various functions, inflecting action (العَمَل), and noun-verb conversions (التأويل). Thus, it integrates the study of grammar and morphology to prepare the student for the next part—rhetoric (البلاغة). Rhetoric, the highest discipline in Arabic, combines just about all of the fields of Arabic into a language that is effective and eloquent. In this level, we travel 1400 years into history to get glimpses of the powerful rhetorical effects of the Quranic Arabic on the people of the Arabian Peninsula as it was being revealed at the tongue of the last prophet of God, Muhammad. صلى الله عليه و سلم
In short, learning Quranic linguistics is a three-step process. The first step, Arabic morphology, is like planting seeds into the ground. The second step is Arabic grammar which is like watering the tree until its branches are fully developed. The third step, Arabic rhetoric, is the sweet fruit.
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