Risālah fī Iḍāfat Shahr Ramaḍān (A Treatise on the Annexation of the Month of Ramadan) By Shihāb al-Dīn al-Khafājī (d. 1069 AH) Verification and Study

Abstract

This article presents a critical edition and analytical study of a short treatise by Shihāb al-Dīn al-Khafājī (d. 1069 AH) entitled Risālah fī Iḍāfat Shahr Ramaḍān (On the Annexation of the Month of Ramadan). In this treatise, al-Khafājī examines several linguistic and grammatical issues related to the use of the expression Shahr Ramaḍān, including the lexical meaning of Ramaḍān, its plural forms, the origins of its religious designation, and its usage before and after Islam. Al-Khafājī argues that Ramaḍān functions as a proper noun denoting the entire month, whereas the annexed form Shahr Ramaḍān allows for semantic variation, indicating either the whole or part of the month, depending on contextual usage. He further maintains that this type of annexation is not restricted to specific months, such as Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Rabīʿ al-Thānī, or Ramaḍān, but is grammatically permissible with all months. This permissibility, he contends, is grounded in functional semantic value rather than subjective linguistic intuition.

Prior to the critical edition, the study offers a descriptive–analytical introduction addressing al-Khafājī’s scholarly profile, the subject matter of the treatise, its methodological framework, sources, evidentiary practices, and its contribution to discussions on annexation in Arabic grammar. The article also documents the attribution of the treatise, outlines the editorial methodology, and describes the manuscript used for the edition. The principal outcome of this research is the publication of this treatise in a verified scholarly form, thereby making it accessible for academic study and contributing to the preservation and dissemination of al-Khafājī’s linguistic heritage.