The Unfamiliar Vocabulary of Usul al-Kafi: Lexical and Morphological Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Al-Mostafa International University/Language and Literature Complex/Qom

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran

10.22034/pht.2025.16809.1457

Abstract

This article attempts to address the central question: What is the analysis of the obscure lexical items in Usul al-Kafi from linguistic and morphological perspectives? This inquiry arises from the identification of a considerable number of ambiguous, cryptic, and semantically obscure words and expressions in the text-obscure both in their lexical meaning and in their morphological structure.
The primary objective of this study is to clarify the meanings of the uncommon vocabulary found in the work, which is obscure due to disuse or rarity of usage, as well as the multiplicity and similarity of meanings. A further aim of the research is to resolve the morphological obscurity resulting from complex structures, the difficulty in distinguishing root letters from augmented ones, or due to incidental morphological phenomena such as metathesis (al-qalb al-makānī), substitution (al-ibdāl), and elision (al-haḏf). The significance of this article lies in paving the way for students and researchers to study this esteemed volume and contemplate its expressions and constructions, which contain profound meanings originating from the Prophet's Household (peace be upon them) across various chapters covering topics such as intellect and ignorance, the merit of knowledge, divine unity, and others. The research methodology employs an analytical approach, which involves parsing each word and distinguishing its root letters from the augmented ones. This method aligns closely with a descriptive approach as well, as it elucidates the relationships between different words—whether they share a common meaning or not—and describes them through grammatical functions such as agency and objecthood, among other attributes, to accurately ascertain their meanings. The mechanisms applied in this article to resolve obscurity are: linguistic analysis, the Qur'an, and Hadith

Keywords

References

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11- Pajooheshname Hadith Tatbighee
Volume 12, Issue 22 - Serial Number 22
September 2025
Pages 168-200

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History

  • Receive Date: 09 June 2024
  • Revise Date: 04 April 2024
  • Accept Date: 05 May 2025

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