Suitability of Huruf al-Ma‘ani Study in Mughni al-Labib ‘an Kutub al-A‘arib as Reference for Students Majoring in Arabic Language

In Malaysia, there are widespread opportunities for studying Arabic language, beginning from preschool, primary school to secondary school and university level. There are public universities in Malaysia which
offer relevant programs specializing in Arabic language such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). Among the core courses for specialization in Arabic language are
courses relating to Arabic grammar. Courses on grammar encompass various aspects, among which is huruf alma‘ani. Past prominent Arabic grammarians emphasized very much on study of huruf al-ma‘ani. Various works
on it were written by many Arabic grammarians. One of them was the distinguished 8
th Century Hijrah Ibn
Hisham al-Ansari. He contributed much to Arabic grammar development, particularly through his famous
writing which is still relevant for application even today. Among his works is Mughni al-Labib which is
considered as a masterpiece acclaimed and regarded as unique by many lovers of Arabic language who wish to
explore Arabic language, especially on the aspect of huruf al-ma‘ani. The objective of this study is to review ibn
Hisham‟s endeavour to simplify learning of grammar, particularly through his study of the huruf al-ma‘ani
aspect in his book Mughni al-Labib and its suitability as part of reference for Arabic specialization syllabus in
Malaysian universities. This article is based on descriptive study of the methodology in Mughni al-Labib
contained in the chapter relating to huruf al-ma‘ani. It is found that Ibn Hisham endeavoured to simplify
learning of Arabic grammar through his study of Arabic huruf al-ma‘ani. It is hoped that the use of his book,
Mughni al-Labib, as part of syllabus reference may benefit students, particularly those majoring in Arabic
language in university.