Taj al-Arus Min Jawahir al-Qamus: A Literary Study

Abstract

Lexicography is the art of compiling dictionaries. Arabic lexicography has a long history, influenced by Islam's expansion and the Qur'an. Early lexicographers experimented with various macrostructures, eventually adopting the current root-based arrangement. Early lexicography focused on pre-Islamic poetry, Qur'an, and Hadith, with subsequent refinements incorporating old material into new compilations. Allama Syed Murtaza Al-Husaini Al-Zubaidi was a prominent Arabic lexicographer, linguist, hadith specialist, genealogist, biographer, historian, philologist, mystic, and theologian. He was a highly prolific author. His books and writings are still relied on and worth reading and contemplating. One of his big achievements in Arabic lexicography was "Taj al-Arus Min Jawahir al-Qamus." This book is the best and most copious of the preceding Arabic lexicons and other lexicological works. Taj Al-Aros is a comprehensive review of the book "Al-Qamoos Al-Muhait" by Allama Majiduddin Ferozabadi. This book covers all the sciences that existed until the twelfth century Hijri, including history, animal science, botany, medicine, and philosophy, all sciences related to the Qur'an, hadith, jurisprudence, vocabulary, etymology, syntax, only, and eloquence and prosody. The dictionary took him fourteen years to complete, which is considered one of the most important sources on said subject. In this paper, I have presented a literary study of his said book so that Urdu readers can benefit from this scholarly investment.