Morphological Causation in al-Khadir al-Yazdi’s Commentary on al-Shafiyah

Abstract

This study investigates the approach to morphological causation adopted by al-Khadir al-Yazdi in his commentary on al-Shafiyah, a seminal work within the Arabic morphological tradition. Given the central status of al-Shafiyah among foundational morphological texts, its commentaries occupy a significant place in grammatical scholarship, and al-Yazdi’s contribution represents a valuable yet understudied example. The research examines his commentary to assess his scholarly efforts and to elucidate his methods in articulating and categorizing morphological causes. Structurally, the study comprises an introduction, a preface, two main sections, and a concluding discussion. The analysis reveals the limited availability of biographical data on al-Yazdi, which heightens the importance of his written legacy. It further demonstrates that his commentary is marked by consistent attention to causation across the morphological issues he addresses. The study shows that the types of causes he employs generally correspond to the established dialectical, pedagogical, and analogical categories known from earlier morphologists, with pedagogical causation emerging as the most prominent. The study concludes that al-Yazdi’s work reflects both continuity with earlier morphological thought and a clear pedagogical orientation in explaining morphological phenomena.