The positions of the commentators of Ibn Mālik’s Alfiyya regarding Ibn ʿAqīl’s objections to the author in grammatical issues, from the chapter of the indefinite and definite nouns to the chapter of the relative pronoun: a comparative analytical study

Abstract

This research examines the positions of the commentators of Ibn Mālik’s Alfiyyah regarding Ibn ʿAqīl’s objections to Ibn Mālik’s views on grammatical issues found between the chapter of indefiniteness and definiteness and the chapter of relative pronouns, through a comparative analytical study.
The study adopts the descriptive, analytical, and comparative approaches, while also benefiting from the inductive method in tracing points of disagreement and collecting the commentators’ opinions.
The research concludes that Ibn ʿAqīl’s objections fall into two types: objections related to the formulation of grammatical expressions and the possible meanings they may imply, and objections related to grammatical interpretation and preference among different opinions. It also shows that the commentators of the Alfiyyah did not agree on a single stance regarding these objections; rather, their positions varied between support, opposition, and reconciliation. Their discussions mostly focused on the precision of expression rather than the core grammatical rule itself. Furthermore, the study concludes that Ibn Mālik’s concise style contributed to the diversity of commentators’ interpretations, and that many disagreements stem from differences in understanding grammatical phrasing rather than differences in the underlying rule.