The Department of Arabic Language at Al-Qunfudhah organized a grammatical and linguistic lecture entitled "Ibn Mada Al-Qurtubi and His Renewal of Arabic Grammar", held at the college theater and delivered by Dr. Abdul-Jabbar Tawami.
The lecture was introduced by Prof. Ali Al-Shahri, head of the Department of Arabic Language. He spoke about the significance of the attempts that have been made to revive Arabic grammar, both at present and in the past. Then he tackled the significance of a particular prominent Andalusian grammarian, Ibn Mada Al-Qurtubi.
Dr. Abdul-Jabbar Tawami, a professor of language and grammar in the department, provided a half-hour overview of the academic life of Ibn Mada. He outlined the content of his book, "Al-Radd `ala Al-Nuhah (In Refutation of the Grammarians)," which is regarded the most important classic criticizing the traditional rules of Arabic grammar founded by Sibawaih in the third century A.H. He then described the approach of the book in presenting its argument and criticism, which focused on philosophical reasoning and the method adopted by Basra School in the literature of Arabic grammar. The lecturer then reviewed the most significant and most recent linguistic and intellectual analyses of the book written by Ibn Mada' "Al-Radd `ala Al-Nuhah (In Refutation of the Grammarians)." Notable among these critical studies is the work of Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Hajj Salih, who criticizes the approach of Ibn Mada and defends the methodology adopted by Sibawaih; the work of Dr. Nassir Hamid Abu Zaid, who defends traditional grammatical rules; and the work of Dr. Muhammad Al-Auraghi, who criticizes the traditional grammatical methodology and defends the approach adopted by Ibn Mada. Following this, the lecturer expressed his opinion on these critical readings.
At the end of the lecture, the floor was opened for discussion and questions. Dr. Ibrahim Sunba` began by posing some questions about certain texts in the books of some grammarians that were criticized by Ibn Mada, which the lecturer briefly answered. Next, Dr. Nu`man Buqarah spoke, praising the lecture, and commenting on some of its topics, including the importance of critical readings in Arabic grammar.
Dr. Lotfi Dibish then expressed appreciation for the lecture and commented on some of its topics, including the historical context of Andalusian grammar versus Oriental grammar. Finally, Dr. Sami Sulaiman talked about some aspects of the lecture and discussed the point of view presented by Dr. Nassir Hamid Abu Zaid, defending it as being an interpretive critical analysis of the book, "Al-Radd `ala Al-Nuhah "(In Refutation of the Grammarians)."