An Analysis of the Lughz Literature Prior to Ibn Hishām al-Nahwī

Bünyamin Aydın

Article Details

An Analysis of the Lughz Literature Prior to Ibn Hishām al-Nahwī

Authors:

Bünyamin Aydın

Publisher:

Harran University

Main Topics:

Arap Dili ve Belagatı

Journal:

Harran İlahiyat Dergisi Issue 53, pp.338-368

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342581

pISSN:

2791-6812

Keywords:

Abstract:

 This study examines the theoretical and methodological development of the lughz riddle literature in Arabic literature, focusing on works composed before the time of Ibn Hishām d. 7611360. It aims to analyze these pre-Ibn Hishām lughz texts in terms of subject matter and methodology, thus contributing to a more comprehensive perspective on the relevant literature. As a qualitative study, it employs literature review and textual analysis methods, along with comparative analysis. The time frame has been limited to the pre-Ibn Hishām period because, during this time, distinct works representing various lughz types had been completed. Furthermore, Ibn Hishām authored multiple works, particularly on grammatical iʿrāb riddles. The research reveals that the earliest lughz works, often structured around polysemy and homonymy, emerged contemporaneously with the early development of Arabic lexicography. In the following centuries, lughz texts diversified across various linguistic levelsphonology, morphology, syntax, and semanticsresulting in a rich and multifaceted lughz literature in both theoretical and practical fields. After laying out the relevant terminology and conceptual framework, the study categorizes lughz primarily into abyāt al-maʻānī, alghāz, and malāḥin. Three classification systemsboth classical and modernare presented, followed by a chronological examination of pre-Ibn Hishām sources with textual references. The study also briefly discusses fragmentary lughz examples found in literary works and manuscripts, as well as references to lost texts, but focuses mainly on independent lughz compositions. The earliest examples of lughz in Arabic literature can be traced back to ancient Arabic poetry and prose. References to such riddles can be found in the works of notable litterateurs such as al-Jāḥiẓ d. 255869, Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih d. 328940, and Abū ʿAlī al-Qālī d. 356967. Later lughz compilations often refer to riddles and prose from the pre-Islamic Jāhilī period. Moreover, some late-period poets and literary critics included lughz as independent chapters in their poetry collections and critical texts. After these scattered examples and separate sections in literary works, more comprehensive and independent lughz texts appeared. While definitions differ across sources, lughz is often mentioned alongside uhjiyya and muʿammā in encyclopedic works. Taşköprizāde d. 9681561 described uhjiyya as a sub-branch of lexicology, morphology, and grammar, dealing with ambiguous expressions that appear to contradict grammatical norms. He categorized lughz under ʿilm al-bayān science of rhetorical clarity and defined muʿammāwhich is more prevalent in Persian than Arabicas a riddle whose referent is always a noun. Similarly, Kātib Çelebī d. 10671657 classified lughz as a sub-branch of ʿilm al-bayān, based on the clarity or obscurity of expression.

 This study examines the theoretical and methodological development of the lughz riddle literature in Arabic literature, focusing on works composed before the time of Ibn Hishām d. 7611360. It aims to analyze these pre-Ibn Hishām lughz texts in terms of subject matter and methodology, thus contributing to a more comprehensive perspective on the relevant literature. As a qualitative study, it employs literature review and textual analysis methods, along with comparative analysis. The time frame has been limited to the pre-Ibn Hishām period because, during this time, distinct works representing various lughz types had been completed. Furthermore, Ibn Hishām authored multiple works, particularly on grammatical iʿrāb riddles. The research reveals that the earliest lughz works, often structured around polysemy and homonymy, emerged contemporaneously with the early development of Arabic lexicography. In the following centuries, lughz texts diversified across various linguistic levelsphonology, morphology, syntax, and semanticsresulting in a rich and multifaceted lughz literature in both theoretical and practical fields. After laying out the relevant terminology and conceptual framework, the study categorizes lughz primarily into abyāt al-maʻānī, alghāz, and malāḥin. Three classification systemsboth classical and modernare presented, followed by a chronological examination of pre-Ibn Hishām sources with textual references. The study also briefly discusses fragmentary lughz examples found in literary works and manuscripts, as well as references to lost texts, but focuses mainly on independent lughz compositions. The earliest examples of lughz in Arabic literature can be traced back to ancient Arabic poetry and prose. References to such riddles can be found in the works of notable litterateurs such as al-Jāḥiẓ d. 255869, Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih d. 328940, and Abū ʿAlī al-Qālī d. 356967. Later lughz compilations often refer to riddles and prose from the pre-Islamic Jāhilī period. Moreover, some late-period poets and literary critics included lughz as independent chapters in their poetry collections and critical texts. After these scattered examples and separate sections in literary works, more comprehensive and independent lughz texts appeared. While definitions differ across sources, lughz is often mentioned alongside uhjiyya and muʿammā in encyclopedic works. Taşköprizāde d. 9681561 described uhjiyya as a sub-branch of lexicology, morphology, and grammar, dealing with ambiguous expressions that appear to contradict grammatical norms. He categorized lughz under ʿilm al-bayān science of rhetorical clarity and defined muʿammāwhich is more prevalent in Persian than Arabicas a riddle whose referent is always a noun. Similarly, Kātib Çelebī d. 10671657 classified lughz as a sub-branch of ʿilm al-bayān, based on the clarity or obscurity of expression.

 This study examines the theoretical and methodological development of the lughz riddle literature in Arabic literature, focusing on works composed before the time of Ibn Hishām d. 7611360. It aims to analyze these pre-Ibn Hishām lughz texts in terms of subject matter and methodology, thus contributing to a more comprehensive perspective on the relevant literature. As a qualitative study, it employs literature review and textual analysis methods, along with comparative analysis. The time frame has been limited to the pre-Ibn Hishām period because, during this time, distinct works representing various lughz types had been completed. Furthermore, Ibn Hishām authored multiple works, particularly on grammatical iʿrāb riddles. The research reveals that the earliest lughz works, often structured around polysemy and homonymy, emerged contemporaneously with the early development of Arabic lexicography. In the following centuries, lughz texts diversified across various linguistic levelsphonology, morphology, syntax, and semanticsresulting in a rich and multifaceted lughz literature in both theoretical and practical fields. After laying out the relevant terminology and conceptual framework, the study categorizes lughz primarily into abyāt al-maʻānī, alghāz, and malāḥin. Three classification systemsboth classical and modernare presented, followed by a chronological examination of pre-Ibn Hishām sources with textual references. The study also briefly discusses fragmentary lughz examples found in literary works and manuscripts, as well as references to lost texts, but focuses mainly on independent lughz compositions. The earliest examples of lughz in Arabic literature can be traced back to ancient Arabic poetry and prose. References to such riddles can be found in the works of notable litterateurs such as al-Jāḥiẓ d. 255869, Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih d. 328940, and Abū ʿAlī al-Qālī d. 356967. Later lughz compilations often refer to riddles and prose from the pre-Islamic Jāhilī period. Moreover, some late-period poets and literary critics included lughz as independent chapters in their poetry collections and critical texts. After these scattered examples and separate sections in literary works, more comprehensive and independent lughz texts appeared. While definitions differ across sources, lughz is often mentioned alongside uhjiyya and muʿammā in encyclopedic works. Taşköprizāde d. 9681561 described uhjiyya as a sub-branch of lexicology, morphology, and grammar, dealing with ambiguous expressions that appear to contradict grammatical norms. He categorized lughz under ʿilm al-bayān science of rhetorical clarity and defined muʿammāwhich is more prevalent in Persian than Arabicas a riddle whose referent is always a noun. Similarly, Kātib Çelebī d. 10671657 classified lughz as a sub-branch of ʿilm al-bayān, based on the clarity or obscurity of expression.

 Arap edebiyatında lugaz literatürünün kuramsal ve metodolojik gelişim süreçlerini konu alan bu çalışma, İbn Hişâm ö. 7611360 öncesinde telif edilmiş lugaz eserlerini konu ve yöntem bakımlarından analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Böylesi bir tahlil, ilgili literatüre ilişkin bütüncül bir bakış açısı oluşturmaya katkı sağlayacaktır. Nitel araştırmalar kategorisine dâhil olan çalışmada kaynak taraması ve metin analizi yöntemleri kullanılmış, karşılaştırma yöntemine de yer verilmiştir. Çalışmanın İbn Hişâma kadar olan süreyle sınırlandırılmasının sebebi, bu süre zarfında farklı lugaz türlerine dair müstakil eserlerin tamamlanmış olması, bunun yanında İbn Hişâmın özellikle iʻrâb lugazları üzerine birden çok eser telif etmiş olmasıdır. Araştırma sonucunda, bilhassa çok anlamlılık polysemy ve eş adlılık homonymy olguları üzerinden kurgulanan ilk lugaz eserlerinin, Arap dili ilimleri arasında en erken dönemlere tarihlenen sözlükçülükle yakın bir zamanda ortaya çıktığı, devam eden yüzyıllarda ise ses, biçim, sözdizimi ve anlam gibi farklı dilbilimsel düzeyler üzerinden çeşitlenen lugaz eserlerinin gerek teorik gerekse uygulamalı alanda zengin bir lugaz literatürü oluşturduğu görülmüştür. Çalışmada konuya ilişkin terminoloji ve kavramsal çerçeve ortaya konulduktan sonra, temelde ebyâtul-meʻânî, elgāz ve melâhin türlerine ayrılabilecek lugazlar hakkında klasik ve modern dönemde yapılmış üç tasnife yer verilmiş; ardından ilgili literatüre ait İbn Hişâm öncesi kaynaklar, kronolojik sırayla ve metinlere atıflar yapılmak suretiyle tetkik edilmiştir. Bu bağlamda çeşitli edebiyat kitaplarında müteferrik parçalar halinde zikredilen şiirnesir parçalarıyla yazmalar halinde bulunan veya kaynaklarda adı geçen ancak günümüze ulaşmamış eserlere kısaca değinilmiş; çalışma lugazlara dair müstakil eserlere tahsis edilmiştir. Arap edebiyatında lugaz türünün en eski örnekleri, Eski Arap şiirinde ve nesrinde görülür. Câhız ö. 255869, İbn Abdirabbih ö. 328940 ve Ebû Ali el-Kālî ö. 356967 gibi ediblerin eserlerinde buna dair aktarımları görmek mümkündür. Lugazların cemʻ ve telif edildiği geç dönem eserlerinde de câhiliye dönemi şiir ve nesir örneklerine atıflarda bulunulmuştur. Yine lugaz, bazı geç dönem şairlerin divanlarında ve edebiyat tenkitçilerinin eserlerinde müstakil bablarda yer verdikleri bir husus olmuştur. Edebiyat eserlerinde müteferrik parçalar halindeki aktarımlar ve şiir divanlarındaki müstakil bâblardan sonra farklı lugaz türlerini bir araya getiren müstakil eserler gelmektedir. Kaynaklarda aralarında birtakım farklılıklar bulunmakla birlikte genellike uhciyye ve muammâ terimleriyle bir arada kullanılan lugaz, ilimler ansiklopedisi niteliğindeki kitaplarda müstakil başlıklarda ele alınmıştır. Taşköprizâde ö. 9681561; zahiri itibariyle Arap dili kaidelerine muhalif olan lafızları ele alan uhciyye ilmini, lügat, sarf ve nahiv ilimlerinin bir ferʻi olarak tarif etmiş; lugaz ilmini beyân ilmi altında değerlendirmiş, medlûlü daima bir isim olan lugaz türü olarak tanımladığı ve Fars edebiyatında Arap edebiyatına göre daha yaygın olduğunu belirttiği muammâyı ise yine beyân ilmi altında ele almıştır. Benzer şekilde Kâtip Çelebi ö. 10671657 de lugaz ilmini delâletin açık veya kapalı olması bakımından beyân ilminin bir ferʻi olarak tarif etmiştir.

Article Details

An Analysis of the Lughz Literature Prior to Ibn Hishām al-Nahwī

Authors:

Bünyamin Aydın

Publisher:

Harran University

Main Topics:

Arap Dili ve Belagatı

Journal:

Harran İlahiyat Dergisi Issue 53, pp.338-368

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342581

pISSN:

2791-6812

Arabic Language and Rhetoric

Lughz

Riddle

Abyāt al-Maʿānī

Malāḥin

Ibn HishāmArap Dili ve Belagatı

Lugaz

Bilmece

Ebyâtu’l-meʻânî

Melâhin

İbn Hişâm

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Bünyamin Aydın

Publisher: Harran University

Main Topics: Arap Dili ve Belagatı

Journal: Harran İlahiyat Dergisi Issue 53, pp.338-368

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001342581

pISSN: 2791-6812

Issues

Authors:

Bünyamin Aydın

Publisher:

Harran University

Main Topics:

Arap Dili ve Belagatı

Journal:

Harran İlahiyat Dergisi Issue 53, pp.338-368

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342581

pISSN:

2791-6812