Old Hijazi: Difference between revisions

Old Hijazi is the underlying Language of the Qur'an, as revealed by investigation into the Quranic Consonantal Text (QCT), the underlying consonantal skeleton (in Arabic, rasm رسم) of the Qur'an.

Introduction to the I'Arab

In order to understand how the language of the QCT differs from the later classical Arabic it is now read in, it's important to understand the i'arab.

The i'arab system in Arabic is a set of grammatical endings attached to words to convey aspects such as case, mood, and voice in a sentence. This system has its origin in classical Arabic as formulated by the classical Arabic grammarians after the 8th century, and it continues to be used, with very little change, in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), known in Arabic as fusha, the lingua franca of the Arab world and the language of books and official media such as government proclamations and news media.

In Classical Arabic and MSA, nouns (asma') can be marked for three grammatical cases: nominative (marfu'), accusative (mansub), and genitive (majrur). The markings consist of either a short vowel, a short vowel and an “n” sound, or (occasionally) a long vowel. Nouns can also be in the state of definiteness or indefiniteness, which each take different endings. The system of i'arab specifies the vowel endings for nouns in these different states (Fischer, 86).

It should be noted that Classical Arabic had a sentence structure of VSO: verb, subject, object, with some variation for emphasis and other reasons. MSA has moved (along with the Arabic dialects) to use more of an SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) system, although VSO is still more common in literature (kamal hasan, 7). In Classical Arabic and sometimes in MSA the case system was essential to understanding the meaning of some sentences; as MSA has changed to mirror the dialects, though, the importance of the system for understanding has diminished. Arabic has become a more “analytical” language relying on the positions of words in sentences to convey meaning, whereas classical Arabic was a more “synthetic” language that used the i’arab system to convey this information.

Here is a basic outline of i'arab for singular nouns:

1. Nominative case (marfu'): the noun takes a short -u for definite and -un for indefinite nouns. This case is typically used for the subject of a sentence. 2. Accusative case (mansub): the noun takes a short -a for definite and -un for indefinite nouns. This case is often used for the direct object of a sentence. 3. Genitive case (majrur): the noun takes a short -i for definite and -in for indefinite nouns. This case is commonly used for objects of prepositions and to express ownership or relation of one noun to another (Karing Ryding, 183-184).

These are the basic form for regular, singular nouns, there are other variations on these three cases for other types and classes of noun.

As for verbs (afa'al), they can take different endings based on tense, mood, and voice.

Present tense (al-mudari') verbs can have different endings based on the mood:

•Indicative mood (marfu'): The verb ends in -u. This is used when the verb is in an independent clause. •Subjunctive mood (mansub): The verb ends in -a. This is used after certain particles or in clauses beginning with “that” id est “I wish that I was a swimmer” or “I wish that he goes” (in Arabic, it is normal to say “I want that he goes” or “I wish that he goes” rather than “I want him to go” or “I wish him to go” with an infinitive, as infinitive verbs strictly speaking do not exist; the closest equivalent to the infinitive is the verbal noun (“going” “being” etc), but most forms of Arabic prefer the subjunctive to the verbal noun). •Jussive mood (majzum): The verb ends in a sukun, indicating a full stop/lack of vowel. This is used in certain negative commands or after certain particles (Karin Ryding, 445).

The endings for nouns are thus u, a, and i, and for verbs they are u, a, and sukun (full stop, silent, no vowel). As with the nouns, modern Arabic dialects have completely lost these endings, and MSA may be spoken with or without them and be understood. They were, however, essential for understanding classical Arabic. All of the classical Islamic reading traditions feature full use of the I’arab system, for nouns and verbs. Despite the presence of the diacritical markings on every word indicating the presence of these short vowels, these endings are not pronounced at the end of a line of Quranic recitation. If the i’arab were to be pronounced at the end of all lines, the Qur’an would cease to rhyme; meanwhile, if the Qur’an is read without the i’arab, hundreds of new rhymes emerge.