“Iẓhār al-Asrār fī al-Naḥw” by al-Birkawī (981H.): A Study of its Classification, Epistemological Structure, and Comparison with Selected Grammatical Texts

Abstract

This study examines the work “Iẓhār al-Asrār fī al-Naḥw” by Imām al-Birkawī as a pedagogical grammatical model belonging to the Ottoman school. The work is distinguished by its tripartite organization; al-ʿāmil (the governing element), al-maʿmūl (the governed element), and al-iʿrāb (inflection). The study seeks to analyze this structure in terms of its content, its internal logic of arrangement, and the extent to which it is connected to a systematic epistemological vision in conceptualizing grammatical rules. Adopting a descriptive methodology, the study traces the internal structure of the book, analyzes the sequencing of its chapters, and compares it with the organization prevalent in other grammatical primers. The findings reveal that al-Birkawī’s arrangement of grammatical topics is not based merely on facilitation or surface-level organization; rather, it proceeds from a vision that takes the ʿāmil as the point of departure for grammatical analysis, then moves to explicate its effect on the maʿmūl, and finally culminates in iʿrāb as the outward manifestation of this relationship. In doing so, the work reflects an advanced understanding of the structure of the Arabic sentence from a functional perspective. The study’s results confirm that this tripartite arrangement represents a conscious attempt to reconstruct the pedagogical entry point to grammar, departing from widely adopted traditional classifications. This renders the text a significant example worthy of scholarly attention, as it serves as evidence of a shift in the methodology of grammatical composition during the Ottoman period.