Linguistic jurisprudence

Dr. Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Hamd Praise be to Allah, who made Arabic the noblest language, and revealed His clear Book in its beautiful styles, and blessings and peace be upon the best of Arabs in dialect, the most truthful in argument, and the most upright in calling to the truth, and upon his noble family, and his companions who opened the lands, and spread the language of the revelation in the depths and the heights, and made it beloved to non-Arabs until their tongues became correct in pronouncing the letter "Dhad." To proceed: these are chapters and sections in the jurisprudence of the Arabic language, which Allah facilitated their collection, and the compilation of some of them into others for a long time, during the days of seeking; where I placed them for myself, and for those who want them from my colleagues. And they remained confined to the drawers until Allah willed to revive them from their sleep; to see the light. After the intention to publish them, I thought that the matter was easy, and that it did not require much effort, and that it was just arrangement, attribution of transfer, and rephrasing; but when I delved into it, I saw that I was facing an endless sea. And my friends said: flee or perish... So I said: they are two matters, the bitterest of which is sweet, and one of Allah’s greatest blessings upon the author is to see that when he intends to write, it is easy and manageable, and that no short period passes but he accomplishes and completes it; And when he begins, his mind bursts with issues he had not dreamed of, and researches that he had not imagined come to him, and he finds himself in a branching valley that he must traverse. And if he knew from the beginning what hardship and fatigue he would face, he would keep the idea of authorship away from his mind, and distance himself from the paths of obligation, preferring to sit with friends and enjoy a cold bath and drink. And the difficulty of that research was not in its precision, ambiguity, need for creativity, effort, and long experience, but rather in its dispersion, the divergence of its topics, their renewal, some of which are discussed in the books of the early scholars, and others in the books of modernists. Its difficulty also lies in the fact that some of those topics are detailed in a lengthy book, while others are summarized in a book that contains several topics. And from here was the desire to gather what is possible from the scattered knowledge, arrange its scattered parts, bring closer what is distant in its issues, and shorten some of its lengthy parts. And it is not hidden that all of this is among the aims of authorship, as the one who said: "Know that writings are seven... For every wise person in advice, sincere, Explanation of closure, and correction of mistake... And innovation of an advanced pen, not falling back, And arranging the scattered, and collecting the separated... And shortening the lengthy, and completing the deficient." And great care was taken to facilitate these discussions, bring them closer to their seekers, and distance them from the harshness of linguistic writings and their intense practice. And what prompted me to write about this matter was to give some right to the Arabic language, to demonstrate its greatness, to reveal some of its secrets, to emphasize its vastness, and its capacity to encompass everything new, and to refute the claims calling for its eradication in the spring of its life. And among the motives is to make the reader aware of the genius of the scholars of the Salaf, who had precedence in studying many linguistic and phonetic issues that surpass many modern studies. And one of the greatest motives for that is also to assist students of the jurisprudence of language, and facilitate their access to it, especially those who undertake teaching or studying this science; for they suffer from the dispersion of its topics across various books. Perhaps this book will help them in what they are about, making this science for them at the height of perfection. I have benefited greatly from the books of scholars and researchers who wrote in the jurisprudence of language, whether from the ancient or modern, whose names and works will be mentioned within the pages of this book. As for the title of the book, it bears the following name: "Jurisprudence of Language: Its Concept, Topics, and Issues." Its plan includes an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion, as follows: - Introduction: Contains a glimpse from the Qur'an regarding the praise of Arabic, and some sayings of the Salaf, scholars, and poets about the greatness of Arabic. - Chapter One: A general study of the language and the jurisprudence of language. - Chapter Two: General studies of some topics in the jurisprudence of language. - Chapter Three: Studies in Arabic dictionaries. - Chapter Four: Problems facing the Arabic language. Under each of these chapters are several sections, and under each section are several discussions. - Conclusion: Contains a summary gathering the main points discussed in this book. Finally, I can only thank Allah, the Almighty, for His support, kindness, and facilitation. I ask Him to make this work purely for His Face, and to benefit from it; He is All-Hearing, Near. After thanking Allah, I extend my sincere thanks and pure prayer to everyone who helped in producing this book through copying, editing, proofreading, and guidance. I ask Allah to bless it, and to make it a guiding, righteous, and blessed light wherever it may be. And to the topics of the book, and Allah is the helper, and reliance is on Him, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.