Here’s a little something I prepared for my students.
Whilst teaching Arabic, I tend to discuss why Arabic is called Arabic and briefly elaborate on what the Qu’ran means when it says “we revealed the book in clear Arabic.”
Students are acquainted with the notion that Arabic, like Sanskrit, is a mechanical and logical language in that nouns are, for the most part, *derived* or *variants* from a basic three letter root known as the masdar, or root noun. So, for example, the three letters K-T-B means to write. From here, we get derivations like KiTaB (book), maKTuB (letter), maKTaB (desk), maKTaBah (library), KaTib (scribe) and so on.
During some time off work I was able to browse through Allamah Sayyid Sulayman al-Nadwi’s Tarikh-e-Ardh al-Qur’an, which one of my colleagues, Mufti Ashraf Zaman -hafizahuallahu wa ra’aahu - had recommended. Therein I found a passage that put considerable light on the etymology of Arab.
I’m not fully convinced with Sayyid Sahib’s conclusions, however, I find it a wonderful starting point due to its comprehensiveness. Let all discussions generate from here. I’ll post up my critical observations later.
Enjoy and devour!
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Etymology of the Word Arab
Why are Arabs called “Arab”? Many explanations have been given for this.
[Theory 1]
‘Arab is derived from i’A-Ra-B (إِعْرَاب) (pronounced i’rab, and from the trilateral root ‘A-R-B), which means proficiency in language and the ability to express one’s inner feelings clearly (إعراب ما في الضمير). Given that the Arabs are masters of language and champions of eloquence they named themselves ‘ARAB and called all others ‘ajam, the latter meaning tongueless or dumb. This is nothing but hair splitting in reality. The language of every nation is just as basic as Arabic.
[Theory 2]
Genealogists argue the first settler in the Arabian lands was a person by the name of Ya͑rub ibn Qahtan, who is also considered the forefather and progenitor of Yemeni Arabs. Therefore, the people of that area and the area itself contracted their names from him. This theory, however, defies grammar and contradicts historical records. Neither Ya’rub was the first settler nor can the word Arab be considered a substitute [variation] for the noun Yemen based on any grammatical rule. Were it the case then surely Yemen, i.e. the Southern part of the Arabian peninsula, should have been the first to be called Arab. This is not the case and, as we shall see, its first usage in fact appears in the North. More detail on this will follow.
[Theory 3]
Geographers argue the noun ‘Arab was originally ‘Arabatun’ (عَرَبَـــةٌ) and ‘Arabtun’ (عَرْبَـــةٌ), and rightly so. It underwent a linguistic transformation (‘adl tahqiqi), resulting in the common usage of Arab. It was the name given to the region and people gradually contracted their affiliation from it. The pre-Islamic poetry, which is the sole dictionary of the Arabs, upholds this connotation.
Asad ibn JaHil chants:
وعربة أرض جد في الشر أهلها
كما جد في شرب النفاخ ظماء
And the vast barren land in which its people strived in mischief
like the thirsty man strives to drink pure cool water.
Here is a quateret from Ibn Munqidh al-Thawri
لنا إبل لم يطمث الذل نيبها
بعربة مأواها بقرن فأبطحا
فلو أن قومي طاوعتني سراتهم
أمرتهم الأمر الذي كان أربحا
We have camels, humility has not sullied even its elderly
with a tether; the barren lands and Abtah are its abode
And only if my people, their leaders, agreed with me
I would command them with that which is most profitable
This noun and its usage survived after Islam too. Abu Sufyan al-Kalbi (al-Alabi) eulogises the Prophet thus:
أبونا رسول الله وابن خليله
بعربة بوأنا فنعم المركب
Our Father is the Messenger of Allah and the Son of His Friend (refs. to Isma’il and Abraham)
In Arabia, he housed us; a wonderful combination/settlement it is
And the ode attributed to Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (irrespective of its dubious attribution) contains the following couplet:
وعربة دار لا يحل حلالها
من الناس إلا اللوذعي الحلاحل
And the destination of Arabia, whose prohibition is not made permissible
by people except the brave genius
If the people got their name from the area, then this begs for the question as to why the area (peninsula) is called Arab in the first place?
In all Semitic languages, ‘‘Araba/Arava” (عربا) gives the meaning of desert, open, rural and barren land. In Hebrew ‘Arbaa means desert and open land, and traces of this old Hebrew usage survived in Arabic. ‘Uraabat (عُرَابَــةٌ) means nomadism or Beduin and ‘A’raab (أَعْرَابٌ) is still used for desert dwellers and rural folk till this day.
Since the majority of Arabia is a waterless and barren deserted plain, especially the area of Hijaz which is spread between the Arab desert land, Syria and Sinai, it was given the designation ‘Araba (عربا). This progressively resulted in the people of that area being called ‘Arab.
The Qur’an does not use the word Arab for the area. With reference to Prophet Isma’il’s settlement it mentions “a non arable valley” (واد غير ذي زرع) (Ibrahim:37), considered as the natural habitat of proper Arabs, and that being a clear translation of ‘Arab. This is because no proper name was given to that uninhabited country, and hence the Qur’an’s use of the above “non arable valley” phrase. Even in the Torah, Isma’il’s settlement is named “Mudd-e-Baar” which means ‘vast plain and uninhabited land’, thus making it an accurate translation of ‘Arab and a synonym to the aforementioned Qur’anic expression.
‘Arab has been used repetitively in the Torah to connote an exclusive piece of land but never comprising of the vastness with which it is assumed today. It referred to the area which expanded from the Hijaz to Sinai and Syria. Arabia in general was referred to as ‘the East‘ or ‘the land of the East‘ and occasionally as ‘the South’. This is because Arabia is situated both East and South of Palestine.
Earliest usage of the word ‘Arab stems back to the ages of Prophet Sulayman (Emperor Solomon according to Judaism) around 1000 BC, after which a generous use of it ensues in Hebrew, Greek and Roman histories. The Assyriac writings of Mickeal (800BC), for example, uses “Aribi” (عَرِيْبِيْ) for Arab. It was used to connote the entire Arabian peninsula before Islam.
That there are three references for the geography of ancient Arabia should become clear from the above. These are the Torah, Greek and Roman histories, and the Arabs themselves. It is somewhat coincidental that all three cover different periods of history. The Torah’s account spans from 2500 BC to 800 BC whilst the Greek and Roman accounts from 500 BC (Herodotus) to 200 AD (Ptolemaeus/Ptolemy).
With the exception of the more famous Arab tribes and their homes (like Ahqaf being the home of ‘Ad; Madyan, home of Thamud; Yamamah, home to the tribes of Tasm and Jadis; Hijaz, home of Jarim/Jurhum and Yemen, the home to Qahtan), even the Arab accounts informing of their ancient settlements date to the post AD period. Their non-familiarity with writing and (preservation via) documentation being the primary cause. Otherwise "the owner of the house knows most of what is inside it", it is common practice for Arab poets to recall the area of their beloved's residence and mention notable places traversed on voyage. Muslim scholars constructed a map of Arabia based on their accounts.
History of the Terra Alcorani, by Sayyid Sulayman al-Nadwi
