An Explanation of as-Sarf al-Bahai

Translation and commentary by Ibrahim Farooqi.

From the author’s introduction:

Many works have been written on the sciences of the Arabic language, especially syntax (Nahw) and morphology (Sarf), however not much is available in the English market for beginners. One of the more popular works in the Indian Subcontinent is Sarf e Bahai. In my studies, I have found this text to be from the most concise and beneficial texts in Arabic Morphology (Sarf).

In addition to that, a few years ago it dawned upon me that many valuable works from the Indian Subcontinent which were inherited from the Persian and the Transoxianan (Ma Wara an-Nahr) tradition had not been given the attention that they deserved. Thus, I wanted to serve some of the scholarship of this region, I am aware that this is but a meagre effort and I ask Allah to forgive me for my shortcomings.

Despite that, I believe that many can benefit from this work and so I have written a brief explanation of Sarf e Bahai in English supported with mind maps, examples and exercises in order to make this classical text accessible to a modern audience. I have added a morphological parsing table to every chapter; as a visual aid for beginners so that they may become aware of the different elements in morphological parsing. And these tables can also be utilized by teachers for Ijra or the application of morphological principles and rules.

I have included an Arabic translation of Sarf e Bahai with an English one so that the students do not become dependent on the English and use the Arabic for practice.