Decoding Qatr un-Nada | Introductory Webinar

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Qaṭr al-Nadā: Parsing Arabic & Pre-Balāghah
About the Course
The entire text of Qaṭr al-Nadā will be covered during the course, with a special emphasis on two skills: syntactic parsing and understanding the semantic implications of such parsing. When ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī was perfecting his theory of naẓm, or the miraculous composition of the Qur’an, he defined it as: ‘the pursuance of syntactic meanings.’ His refinement of this theory led to the development of maʿānī and bayān, two thirds of Arabic rhetoric. Thus, a huge portion of balāghah is simply reflecting upon grammar.
Upon completing this course, you can expect to:
1. be within the top 80th percentile of Sharia graduates with respect to parsing Arabic, allowing you to read works that parse the Qur’an, Hadith & Classical Arabic poetry;
2. internalize what inflection (iʿrāb) means practically, including how to render variant grammatical interpretations & recitations of the Qur’an into English;
3. be able to study works like the Alfiyyah of Ibn Mālik; and
4. know enough Arabic grammar to research the answer you need in advanced references.
About Qaṭr al-Nadā
Ibn Hishām al-Anṣārī (708-761 A.H. / 1309-1360 C.E.) was an Egyptian authority in Arabic grammar. His works, along with those of Ibn Mālik (600-672 A.H. / 1204-1274 C.E.), are the de facto definition of orthodoxy among late grammarians of Arabic. Ibn Khaldūn, the famous historian and proto-anthropologist, famously said: ‘While we were in Morocco, we did not cease hearing that there appeared a scholar of Arabic in Egypt, referred to as Ibn Hishām, who outdid Sībawayh in grammar.’
Ibn Hishām authored a number of books on Arabic grammar, the greatest and most advanced being al-Mughnī. The text at hand is his simplest work, and hence the title. The author’s intent is to offer knowledge-thirsty students just enough moisture to wet their parched throats. Having said this, the text is, at minimum, intermediate-level for most contemporary students of Arabic.
Course Instructor:
Ustadh Moustafa Elqabbany
www.the-arabic-school.com