The Distinctive Terminology in Šarḥ al-Kāfiya by Raḍī al-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī

In The distinctive terminology in Šarḥ al-Kāfiya by Raḍī l-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī Beata Sheyhatovitch presents a structured and systematic study of a seminal treatise in the medieval Arabic linguistic tradition. The treatise’s author, al-ʾAstarābāḏī (d. circa 1289), is widely considered the most brilliant grammarian of the later classical period. The author's analysis of his terminology reveals the extent of his originality, and of the influence that other Islamic sciences (logic, jurisprudence, theology) had on his writings.

The comprehensiveness and the unique approach, which uses texts from various medieval Islamic disciplines to clarify the terminology, make this book an excellent and innovative tool. It provides scholars and ordinary readers with tools for a deeper understanding of al-ʾAstarābāḏī as well as other medieval Arab grammarians.

Beata Sheyhatovitch, Ph.D. (2016), Tel Aviv University. She currently teaches at the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies of her alma mater.

"Sh[eyhatovitch] ist beides gelungen, wobei sie in ihrer vorzüglichen Analyse aufzeigt, daß entgegen früheren weit verbreiteten Vorurteilen gegenüber 'späten' Grammatikern wegen scheinbar fehlender Originalität Kreativität und innovatives Denken nicht nur bei den Altvorderen der arabischen Philologie zu finden sind. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt der Arbeit ist das Einbeziehen der Terminologie anderer Bereiche, etwa der Theologie, Logik, Philosophie und Recht, die oft bei der Entwicklung der Grammatiktermini Pate gestanden haben mögen."
- Reinhard Weipert, Orientalische Literaturzeitung, Vol. 115, Iss. 2, 2020, pp.142-150