The Use of the Qur’an in Correcting Common Language Mistakes in Modern Arabic –A Study of Mu‘jam al-Aghlāš al-Lughawiyya al-Mu‘āŝira by Muģammad al-‘Adnānī–

In this study, I concentrate on Mu‘jam al-aghlāŧ al-lughawiyya al-mu‘āśira by Muĥammad al-‘Adnānī. In this lexicon al-‘Adnānī explores the subject matter of how to make references to the Qur’an in correcting language mistakes commonly made in the Arabic language. Even though the author numbers his cases as 2113, he uses Qur’anic corrective testimonies only in approximately 400 cases. In the rest of his cases al-‘Adnānī refers to other sources. This situation indicates that the Qur’an is not a grammar book, nor is it the only source of the Arabic language. On the other hand, as we see in al-‘Adnānī’s work, throughout the Islamic history the Qur’an has constituted the foundation of linguistic studies, because of the fact that it has been the primary reference source of the Arabic language. In the lexicon, al-‘Adnānī presents a spectrum of language mistakes and examines them in light of the Qur’anic references: he focuses on mistakes in relation to the dialectal-classical language, words with two opposite meanings, nouns, idioms, resemblance, verbal nouns, foreign words, singularity and plurality of words, transitivity and intransitivity of verbs, and to masculinity and femininity of words.