Irregular Attributive Nouns in Al-Misbah Al-Munir: Collection and Study

In this study, titled "Non-Standard Attributed Names in Al-Misbah Al-Munir: Collection and Study," I encountered a distinguished scholar of the Qur'an and Arabic language through a truly valuable book he authored, titled "Al-Misbah Al-Munir fi Gharib Al-Sharh Al-Kabir." His meticulous research style and numerous linguistic analyses, particularly in the morphological domain, stand out. Through this study, I identified twenty-four instances of non-standard attribution (irregular nisba). The analysis reveals the author's vast knowledge and his mastery of refined scholarly writing, as the linguistic insights he presented are both substantial and deeply rooted in authoritative references, interpretations, and linguistic evidence. Among the key findings: Non-standard nisba occurs due to vowel modification, omission, addition, or metathesis. An example of vowel modification is the attribution to (al-sahl), meaning "plain" as opposed to rough terrain), which becomes (suhliyy) with a dammah on the initial letter, to distinguish it from (sahliyy), which refers to a man named Sahl. This distinction between vowel patterns is a fundamental principle of Arabic eloquence, carefully noted by early grammarians in their works. If one were to say for a mans name and for the geographic term, it would be considered an error that is immediately recognizable. An example of omission is found in the attribution to (Badia, meaning "desert"), which is (badawiyy). The regular form should be (badiyy) or (badawiyy). However, linguistic observation suggests that the shift to (badawiyy) was motivated by phonetic lightness, as Arabic naturally favors more effortless pronunciation when possible without compromising grammatical correctness. An example of addition appears in the attribution to (bahr, meaning "sea"), which is (bahraniyy), whereas the regular form is (bahriyy). The insertion of alif and nun (-ani) serves an intensifying function, emphasizing the deep association with the referent. An example of metathesis is found in the attribution to (Bahr, a tribal name), which becomes (bahraniyy) instead of the expected (bahrawiyy). This transformation is driven by phonetic constraints: the Arabic glottal stop (hamza) is among the most challenging sounds to pronounce, requiring greater muscular effort than other consonants. Additionally, the shaddah (gemination) in (the nisba suffix -yaa) contributes to the difficulty. To ease pronunciation, Arabic speakers replaced the glottal stop with (non) rather than (wow), as "non" is closer in articulation to the nisba suffix and maintains phonetic harmony. This study highlights the linguistic mechanisms that shape non-standard nisba formations, demonstrating the historical and phonetic logic behind these deviations from regular morphological rules.