Linguistic Phonetics in al-itqan fi ulum al-Quran by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH)

Abstract

Language is a phonetic system through which humans communicate with one another, by virtue of the countless blessings God has endowed them with—particularly the speech organs that alone are capable of performing this communicative function. Accordingly, we structured this research as a descriptive–analytical study on the subject of linguistic sound in Al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), with the aim of identifying the various phonetic issues addressed by al-Suyuti in his work. Our findings show that these issues belong to two main fields: Qur’anic recitation studies (‘ilm al-qirā’āt) and phonetics (‘ilm al-aṣwāt). Following the methodological principles of modern phonetic analysis as adopted by contemporary scholars, we concluded that this work stands as one of the valuable references in this domain, and remains indispensable to modern and contemporary linguistic science.