The characteristics of Ibn Jinni 3/1

Othman Junaikat The characteristics is one of the most famous books written in jurisprudence of language and its philosophy, and secrets of Arabic and its facts, authored by Ibn Jinni, who says in the introduction of his book about it: "A book I have always been on a state of excess, and with the passage of time, observing it, contemplating it, attracted by opinion and insight to it, and I could not find a neglected to compensate with it, or a defect to repair with its work, and the time with its gatherings becomes more narrow, and it does not follow a way to start, this with my reverence for it, and my reliance on the reasons attached to it, and my belief in it that it is among the noblest of what has been classified in the science of Arabs, and the most comprehensive in the way of measurement and reasoning... and its compilation of evidence for what I have embedded in this noble language...". Ibn Jinni discusses in this book the structure of language, its jurisprudence, and its principles, beginning with a chapter discussing the inspiration of language and its terminology, and presenting issues from the fundamentals of language: such as analogy, preference, causes, truth and metaphor, precedence and postponement, roots and branches, ending with a discussion of Arab mistakes and scholars' slips. Ibn Jinni opened new doors for studying Arabic with this book. I dedicate this book to Sultan Baha al-Dawla al-Buwayhi, and it was first printed in Egypt in 1913 AD, but at that time the book was not published in full. Later, the complete verified edition was published by Muhammad Ali Al-Najjar in 1955. Ibn Jinni says in the introduction about it: "A book I have always been on a state of excess, and with the passage of time, observing it, contemplating it, attracted by opinion and insight to it, and I could not find a neglected to compensate with it, or a defect to repair with its work, and the time with its gatherings becomes more narrow, and it does not follow a way to start, this with my reverence for it, and my reliance on the reasons attached to it, and my belief in it that it is among the noblest of what has been classified in the science of Arabs, and the most comprehensive in the way of measurement and reasoning... and its compilation of evidence for what I have embedded in this noble language...". Book specifications: Author: Othman ibn Jinni Abu al-Fath Number of pages: 1101 pages Number of parts: 3 parts Subject of the book: Arabic language, jurisprudence, and its principles Contents of the book: First volume Introduction This chapter on the distinction between speech and saying The chapter on language and what it is The chapter on grammar The chapter on syntax The chapter on building The chapter on the origin of language: inspiration or terminology? Chapter on causes of Arabic: are they linguistic or jurisprudential? Chapter on consistency and anomaly Chapter on the recurrence of hearing and the confrontation of extraction Chapter on measures of Arabic Chapter on permissible analogy and its rejection in more cases Chapter on conflict between hearing and analogy Chapter on preference Chapter on specifying causes Chapter on the difference between a necessary cause and an enabling cause Chapter on conflicting causes Chapter on the ruling of the affected with two causes Chapter on including and abbreviating causes Chapter on the cycles of affliction Chapter on refuting those who believe in the invalidity of grammarians' causes due to their weakness in judgments of causes Chapter on their affliction with their actions Chapter on the argument from the saying of the opponent Chapter on the generalization of the people of Arabic when it is a proof Chapter on increasing the cause's attribute as a precaution Chapter on the absence of a counterpart Chapter on dropping evidence Chapter on the two words with the same meaning, which are rejected by the scholar, being contradictory Chapter on the burden of assigning the best and the worst Chapter on refuting those who claimed to Arabs Chapter on the difference between substitution and compensation Chapter on being independent of something from something else Chapter on the opposite estimation Chapter on the difference between estimating syntax and interpreting meaning Chapter on invalidating ranks if an obstacle appears Chapter on the dominance of branches over roots Chapter on correcting expressions Chapter on the meeting of languages Chapter on whether we are allowed in poetry from necessity what was permissible for the Arabs first Chapter on objection Chapter on different estimations for two different meanings Chapter on the gradual development of language Chapter that what is measured against the speech of Arabs is from their speech Chapter on the eloquent language that combines two or more languages in its speech Chapter on the composition of languages Second volume Chapter on abandoning taking from the people of the school as taken from the people of the web Chapter on the differences of languages, all of which are evidence Chapter on the eloquent Arabic that the tongue moves to Chapter on the Arabic that hears another's language: does it observe and rely on it or cancel it and discard its ruling? Chapter on the impossibility of constructing what is outside the scope of hearing Chapter on hearing from the eloquent Arab what is not heard from others Chapter on this language: was it established at the same time or followed one after another? Chapter on the language taken by measurement Chapter on the overlap of the three, four, and five roots Chapter on the similars: what is their state in original and increase, and if one is increased, which one is it? Chapter on the two original words that are similar in structure by addition and subtraction Chapter on the similarity of the two in structure through precedence and delay Chapter on reversing a word to another by craft and delicacy, not by boldness and arrogance Chapter on the agreement of two words and the difference in meaning in letters, movements, and silence Chapter on the agreement of the destinations despite the difference in origins and foundations Chapter on the raising of judgments Chapter on the meeting of meanings despite different origins and foundations Chapter on derivation of the greatest Chapter on the most difficult assimilation Chapter on the substitution of the verb Chapter on the sequence of words for the similarity of meanings Chapter on touching words with similar meanings Chapter on the similarity of the meanings of syntax and poetry Chapter on removing evidence Chapter on attaching labels to meanings rather than to objects Chapter on something that is returned with its counterpart and its subject with its opposite Chapter on the occurrence of agreement despite the presence of disagreement Chapter on breaking the custom Chapter on the clash of apparent meanings Chapter on voluntary addition that is not obligatory Chapter on complete addition that becomes a defect when increased Chapter on adding and deleting letters Chapter on the substitution of a letter instead of a deleted last letter Chapter on using some letters in place of others Chapter on the position of vowels in letters: with them, before them, or after them? Chapter on the silent and moving letters Chapter on reviewing the nearest origin rather than the farther one Chapter on reviewing an origin and starting anew Chapter on reviewing from some origins that are not reviewed Chapter on considering roots sometimes and neglecting others Chapter on carrying roots over to branches Chapter on the judgment stopping between two judgments Chapter on the courage of the Arabic language Chapter on the difference between truth and metaphor Chapter on that metaphor, if frequent, joins with truth Chapter on confirming words according to their original positions unless there is a reason to abandon or change them Chapter on presenting the intended meaning without the usual word Chapter on gentle handling of craft Chapter on abstraction Chapter on the dominance of the added over the original Chapter on what is not solely for command but may be for other purposes if combined with other things Chapter on the weakness of the causes Chapter on the purpose in issues of morphology Chapter on the word that can carry two matters, one stronger than the other Chapter on what is judged by analogy that is not permissible to speak with Index of the second part of the characteristics Third volume Chapter on preserving ranks Chapter on shifting from the heavy to what is heavier, as a form of belittling Chapter on reducing the pomp with which the judgment is softened Chapter on adding the name to the named, and the named to the name Chapter on the exclusive use of labels for what is not like it in the branches Chapter on naming the verb Chapter on the necessity of a position for a word, even if it is with you but not your companion Chapter on the possibility of changing a word's form to imply a judgment and its allowance or prohibition by hearing Chapter on the obligation to limit division to what is close and good, not to what is distant and ugly Chapter on what is permissible in the general rules of syntax Chapter on the composition of doctrines Chapter on negativity Chapter on the obligation of the permissible Chapter on making the necessary seem like the unnecessary and vice versa Chapter on the operation of the connected as if it were disconnected, and vice versa Chapter on the possibility of the heavy expression for necessity of representation Chapter on the semantic and industrial and moral indication Chapter on caution Chapter on breaking the forms Chapter on the quantity of movements Chapter on the duration of movements Chapter on the duration of letters Chapter on the attack of movements on movements Chapter on the odd hamza Chapter on deleting the hamza and replacing it Chapter on the unknown soft letter Chapter on the retention of judgment despite the disappearance of the cause Chapter on the direction of a single word to two meanings Chapter on sufficing with the cause from the effect, and the effect from the cause Chapter on the discussion of the book's lost benefits Chapter on dialogue Chapter on the impossibility of breaking the purpose Chapter on retreating when reaching the limit Chapter on what the science of Arabic can secure from religious beliefs Chapter on the tug of meanings and syntax Chapter on interpretation based on meaning rather than words Chapter on the strength of the word for the strength of the meaning Chapter on invalidating the positions if an emergency occurs Chapter on the dominance of branches over roots Chapter on refuting the usual Chapter on the clash of apparent meanings Chapter on voluntary addition that is not obligatory Chapter on complete addition that becomes a defect when increased Chapter on adding and deleting letters Chapter on the substitution of a letter instead of a deleted last letter Chapter on using some letters in place of others Chapter on the position of vowels in letters: with them, before them, or after them? Chapter on the silent and moving letters Chapter on reviewing the nearest origin rather than the farther one Chapter on reviewing an origin and starting anew Chapter on reviewing from some origins that are not reviewed Chapter on considering roots sometimes and neglecting others Chapter on carrying roots over to branches Chapter on the judgment stopping between two judgments Chapter on the courage of the Arabic language Chapter on the difference between truth and metaphor Chapter on that metaphor, if frequent, joins with truth Chapter on confirming words according to their original positions unless there is a reason to abandon or change them Chapter on presenting the intended meaning without the usual word Chapter on gentle handling of craft Chapter on abstraction Chapter on the dominance of the added over the original Chapter on what is not solely for command but may be for other purposes if combined with other things Chapter on the weakness of the causes Chapter on the purpose in issues of morphology Chapter on the word that can carry two matters, one stronger than the other Chapter on what is judged by analogy that is not permissible to speak with Index of the third part of the characteristics General indexes Index of rhymes