The Sample

The Sample (Onmuzaj), is the name of an Arabic book on Arabic syntax, by great Sunni scholar and jurist, Zamakhshari.

The author
Abul Qasem Muhammad Zamakhshari, Persian-born Arabic scholar, theologian and philologist from Khawrazm (1075-1144). As a theologian he followed the teachings of Mu’tazila and as a philologist, in spite of his Persian descent, he championed the absolute superiority of#### Arabic. His principle work is a commentary on the Koran. At the very beginning of the work, he declares the Koran created, but notwithstanding this clearly Mu’tazila point of view, it was widely read in orthodox circles. He also wrote grammatical works, a collection of old proverbs and composed a series of moral discourses.

The book structure
It begins with a brief introduction on definition of word and speech.
It is arranged in 3 sections as follows:
- On definition of word and its different sorts
- On definition of verbs and its different tenses and sorts (past, imperative, future, transitive, intransitive, etc.)
- On the alphabetic letters

Several glosses have been written on this book which the most famous was done by Jamal al-Din Muhammad Ardebili.