ايّ في (اكرم ايّهم افضل) بين سيبويه وبقية النحاة

Grammarians have expressed various views concerning ‘ayyu (which one), to the extent that some believe that this word is not used as a conjunction in Arabic. This difference of opinion has found its way into other rulings in connection to ‘ayyu, too. The most evident example is the ruling of ‘ayyu where it has been applied as a correlation (muḍāf) and the beginning of its elision, which has also been its accrual, has been eliminated. Sῑbwayh believes that ‘ayyu in this case is based on vowel u (ḍamm); whereas, some of his teachers know ‘ayyu in this case as in its other cases to be inflected (mu’arrab).The divergence of views regarding ‘ayyu as being basis or inflected has been led to disagreement on factor condition in ‘ayyu and that in which diacritical states it turns into basis.As a result of this research, it was clarified that most of the grammarians tend toward Sῑbwayh’s viewpoint, which is due to the versatility of his speech, his avoidance of esoteric interpretation and hypothetical imperative, and his closeness to correct lexical comprehension. However, other opinions have been challenged and criticized by the grammarians, especially by the later ones; and this indicates that these opinions have not been relied on a solid proof.Keywords: ‘ayyu, Sῑbwayh, grammarians, factor in ‘ayyu, top of elision.