RESEARCH PROJECTS
 ARTICLES, BOOKS AND REPORTS
 ABSTRACTS, PRESENTATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
 

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Hayat al-sahra’ fi shi^cr Dhi al-Rummah

Originally the writer’s M.A. thesis (1970), this extremely condensed study of one of the most vital of Arab poets, old and new, is still relevant. Hibernating in a desert inferno for thirteen centuries, Dhu al-Rummah started to receive more attention in the last three decades. This will be the writer’s thesis in book form. (Ready and lined up for publication in 1997). S. S. Agha .

The poetry in Mu^cjam al-Buldan: an inadvertant anthology with a focus

The end product of this long-term project will be a volume of the poetry contained in Yaqut’s geographical dictionary—rearranged, edited, annotated, and indexed from a variety of perspectives. A critical analytical study of the poetry will draw on the material thus streamlined. Yaqut (d.626/1229) had the entire body of classical Arabic poetry behind him. His citations provide a representative showcase of the various aspects of the relation between man and place in Arab culture. The resulting anthology will draw a contour map of an intimate psycho-geographical landscape, an unwithering umbilical chord of sorts between man and place, that has qualified the Arab character. The project is at its intial stages. S. S. Agha. (Supported by URB.)

Qafiyyat Ta’abbata Sharran al-mufaddaliyyah: thuna’iyyat al-wasl wa al-sarm

This is a study of the first poem in the celebrated classical anthology of ancient Arabic poetry, al-Mufaddaliyyat. It painstakingly establishes an extensively annotated text of the poem, with critically oriented and expounded choices of readings from a vast body of recensions; and it offers an in-depth analytical appreciation of this archetypal ode. (Completed, and article submitted for publication). S. S. Agha.

The way of all flesh: the fate some of the nuqaba’ Bani al-^cAbbas met with—Qahtabah ibn Shabib

The first article in a series investigating the enigmatic destinies of some of the leaders of the secret organization which brought about the destruction of the Umayyad Caliphate, and the role Abu Muslim had or may have had in bringing about these destinies. (In progress). S. S. Agha.

The Arab population in Khurasan in the Umayyad period

In the context of refuting the theory which ascribes to the ethnic Arabs of Khurasan the decisive role in the revolution of the masses which destroyed the Umayyad Caliphate, this study tries to establish that the entire Arab population in the province was of a size insufficient to qualify it for such a role. The approach is purely quantative, drawing on numerical data collected from classical Arabic sources, and applying methods and principles borrowed from modern population studies. (Now in final draft form). S. S. Agha.

Lexicological elements in the Arab grammatical theory

The aim of this study is to trace the lexicological elements in grammatical works in order to examine their usage by the grammarians, both as an independent subject of enquiry and as subservient to the overall grammatical theory. R. Baalbaki.

The criteria of grammatical categorization in the second century a.h.

This is an investigation destined to appear in the second jubilee volume for Prof. I. Abbas. The research has been completed and a first draft has been prepared. R. Baalbaki.

Coalescence as a grammatical tool

The aim is to show how the early Arab grammarians use coalescence as a focal point in their analysis of forms and structures, and how they justify linguistic usage by reference to this concept. R. Baalbaki.

Comparative studies in Arabic phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics

This is the title of a book which sets out to examine the position of Arabic within the Semitic group in four major fields of linguistic research. R. Baalbaki. (Supported by URB.)

Adonis aw Qina^c al Huwiyya al Surriya: Adonis or the Mask of the Secret Identity

The aim of this paper is to study Adonis’s attachment to the Tradition, pre-Islamic poetry and the Qur’an. A. Ghosn.

The hero conflict in Khalil Hawi’s “Lazarus 1962”

The aim is to show Khalil Hawi’s dreams about and ambitions towards resurrection in the Arab world, a resurrection that is postponed if not vanishing. A. Ghosn.

Beirut Madinat al Hubb wal Jurh fi Shi^cr Nizar Qabbani

This is a study of Beirut, “city of love and wound” in Nizar Qabbani’s poetry. A. Ghosn.

Al Shi^cr al Hadith wa zilal al lugha al tawratiyya

A study of modern poetry and the shadows of the biblical language. A. Ghosn.

An Arabic translation

Chapter one (pages 1-56) of J. van Ess’, Zwischen Hadit und Theologie has been translated into Arabic and is ready for publication. M. Jarrar.

The Hanbali Credo up to the end of the 3rd/9th century: Kitab sharh al-sunna of Ghulam Khalil (d. 275/888)

A study of the development of the Ahl al-Sunna wa’ l-Jama’a and the formulation of the Hanbali credo during the 3rd/9th century, based on a unique manuscript in the Zhahriyya library. It includes a critical edition compared with the available sources, both printed and in manuscript form; and a German translation of the text. The critical edition has been prepared, the translation is in draft form and the study is still in its initial stage. M. Jarrar and S. Günther.*

Critical edition of Baladhuri’s Ansab al-Ashraf, volume 1

The three manuscripts have been compared. The critical edition is in an advanced stage. M. Jarrar. (Supported by German Orient Institute, Beirut.)

Arba’ rasa’il Zaydiyya mubakkira

This study of four early Zaydite documents will appears in the jubilee volume of Prof. I. Abbas. M. Jarrar.

Tarikh al-Imara al-Tanukhiyya fi Lubnan

The aim of this research is to study the era of the Tanukhid emirs who ruled over Central Lebanon from the early times of the Abbasids until the fall of Syria into the hands of the Ottomans. In this long period of the history of Central Lebanon the Tanukhids were able to fight the Byzantines and then the Crusaders. S. Makarem.

At-Taqiyya fi al-Islam

A study of taqiyya in the following sects and firaq in Islam: Sunni Islam, al-Khawarij, the Twelver Shi^cas and the Batinids, in addition to the Philosophers and the Sufis. S. Makarem.

Critical edition and translation into Arabic of Kahlil Gibran’s English works

The Earth Gods has already appeared, The Madman and The Forerunner are both in the press. Work is now proceeding on The Wanderer and the project is expected to be through by 1998. When completed, this project will be the first scholarly attempt at making Gibran’s mature works available in his native tongue. N. Naimy.
 
 
 
 

ARTICLES, BOOKS AND REPORTS

Agha, S. S., A viewpoint of the Murji’a in the Umayyad period: evolution through application. Journal of Islamic Studies, 8, 1, 1-42, 1997.

Baalbaki, R., Teaching Arabic at university level : problems of grammatical tradition. In Proceedings of the Colloquium on Arabic Linguistics, N. Anghelescu and A. A. Avram (eds.), 85-101, Bucharest, 1995.

———, Review of Ansab al-Ashraf, VI b. Die Welt des Islams, 35, 131-2, 1995.

———, Reclassification in Arab grammatical theory. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 54 (1), 1-13, 1995.

———, Al-wihdah al-dakhiliyyah fi Kitab Sibawayhi. In: The Jubilee Volume of M. Samra, H. Atwan and M. Hawwar (eds.), 113-136, Amman, 1996.

———, Tadris al-Arabiyya wa-tahaddiyat al-mustaqbal. In Proceedings of the Conference on Arabic Language, Bahrain, Sept. 11-14, 1995; Tunis, 83-97, 1996.

———, Baladhuri’s Ansab al-Ashraf, 7a. Beirut: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1997.

Ghosn, A., Al-kitaba li- qatil majhul [writing for an unknown killer.] Bahithat Bulletin, F.M.A, 1995.

Jarrar, M., Akhbar Fakhkh wa-khabar Yahya b. ‘Abd Allah, by Ahmad b. Sahl al-Razi (d. first quarter of the 4th/ 10th century). Beirut, 1995.

———, Review of Bidayat al-kitaba al-tarikhiyya ‘ind al-’Arab: awwal sira fi al-Islam. Al-Abhath, 43, 135-38, 1995.

———, Al-Wafi bi ‘l-wafayat, by Khalil b. Aybak al-Safadi (d.764/1363). Beirut, 29, 1997.

Makarem, S., al-Mithaq: ^cAhd wa withaq. In Citizen of Tomorrow, ed. Antoine Masarra. Beirut: Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace, 14, 207-216, 1995.

———, Wurayqat al-Mardakush: ^cAjjaj Nuwayhid al-Mu’arrikh wal-Mujahid, in al-Mu’al ^cArabi, 52. Baghdad: al-Amana l-’Amma lit-Tihad al Mu’arrikkin al-’Arab, 112-124, 1995.

———, Diwan Amin Takiyy ad-Din. Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1996.

———, Mir’at ^cala Jabal Qaf. Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1997.

———, Introduction, in Badr Ghazzawi, As-Sanabil wa r-Rahiq (collection of poems). Beirut : Dar Kitabat, 1997.

———, Al-Batul. In Fi Jannat Maryam, George Mughamis (ed.),Beirut: Notre Dame University Press, 1997.

Naimy, N., al-Mar’ah wa-l-kitaba [on feminine literature in Lebanon], al-Hikma VII, 13, 212-215, 1997.

ABSTRACTS, PRESENTATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS

Agha, S.S., The Murji’ah in the Umayyad period. Issues and Problems in Arabic-Islamic Civilization, Beirut, November 23-24, 1995.

Baalbaki, R., The fusha today. Conference of the Arabic Language and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century, Bahrain, 11-14 September 1995.

———, The grammatical tools in Sibawayhi’s Kitab. Colloquium on Arabic Grammar and Linguistics, University of Edinburgh, 26-28 August 1996.

———, The relation between Arabic grammar and lexicology. 4th International Conference on Lexicology, Tunisia, 2-5 May 1997.

Ghosn, A., Al-Ta’wil aw qira’at al ithm wal-Giyab wal-Samt, Yarmuk University, Irbid, Jordan, 15-17 July, 1996.

———, Al-ta’wil aw Ta^caddud al ma^cani. Mountada al Naqid al Adabi, Al- Shariqa, 1997.

Jarrar, M., An early Zaydite dogmatic epistle: a case study. Issues and Problems in Arabic Islamic Civilization, Beirut, Lebanon November 23-24, 1995.

———, The forthcoming elections in Lebanon. Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard, April 2, 1996.

———, Holy war as a sacred wedding. Yale University, April 3, 1996; Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard, May 12, 1996; First International Conference of the German Oriental Institute, Beirut: Aspects of Literary Hermeneutics in Arabic: Myth, Historical Archetypes and Symbolic Figures, June 25-30, 1996.

Makarem, S., The Druze point of view of cohabitation in Lebanon. Incontri Internazionali Uomini e Religioni, Comunita’ di S. Egidio. Rome, October 7-10, 1996.
 

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