Intertwining Qurʾān and kalām al-ʿarab: Language evidence in Kitāb and Maʿānī al-Qurʾān

This article examines the how Qurʾān and kalām al-ʿarab are used as linguistic evidence in Sībawayhi’s Kitāb and al-Farrāʾ’s Maʿānī al-Qurʾān. It explores how these early representatives of the early Arabic linguistic tradition mobilize distinct yet authoritative corpora in their articulation of linguistic correctness principles. Adopting a comparative close-reading approach, the analysis analyzes selected passages in which Qurʾānic verses and Arab speech are cited, framed, and evaluated within linguistic argumentation. Particular attention is paid to argumentative strategies adopted, the functions that the sources fulfill in the discussion, and the interplay of the two. The discussion outlines how the relationship between the two authoritative sources does not conform to a fixed hierarchy; rather, linguistic analysis unfolds through the dynamic interaction of these bodies of knowledge.