The Use of Prophetic Hadith as Grammatical Evidence by Ibn Abī al-Rabīʿ al-Qurashī (d. 688 AH) in His Work “Al-Basīṭ fī Sharḥ Jumal al-Zajjājī”

Abstract

This study investigates the grammatical evidential use of the Prophetic Hadith in Arabic linguistic scholarship through the lens of the prominent Andalusian grammarian Ibn Abī al-Rabīʿ al-Qurashī (d. 688 AH) in his seminal commentary “Al-Basīṭ fī Sharḥ Jumal al-Zajjājī”.Employing a rigorous descriptive-analytical and inductive methodology, the research examines the structural, textual, and methodological contexts in which Hadith citations occur. The study collates the cited formulations with canonical Hadith compilations (e.g., Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and al-Muwaṭṭaʾ), distinguishing between authentic Marfūʿ traditions, Mawqūf reports, and later editorial annotations. The findings demonstrate that Ibn Abī al-Rabīʿ adopted a sophisticated, nuanced approach that balances textual veneration with grammatical analogical reasoning (Qiyās). He utilized Hadith across four primary functional domains: corroborating established rules, adjudicating conflicting syntactic interpretations, directly validating non-standard variants, and critically interrogating the arguments of classical authorities such as Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī. Moreover, he displayed profound awareness of lexical variants, textual transmission, and the boundary between syntactic plausibility and definitive evidence.