Phonology in Arabic between Qur'anic Orientation and Phonetic Analysis: An Analytical Study of the Hamzah Phenomenon through Ibn Abi Maryam's Book Al-Muwaddih fi Wujuh al-Qira'at wa 'Ilaliha

Abstract

This study examines a phonological phenomenon in Arabic through the interaction between Qur'anic orientation and phonetic analysis, using the phenomenon of the hamzah as an applied model based on Ibn Abi Maryam's book Al-Muwaddih fi Wujuh al-Qira'at wa 'Ilaliha, aiming to highlight how Qur'anic readings scholars treated this phonetic phenomenon, linking it to phonological rules on one hand and to Qur'anic orientation and performance standards on the other, revealing the depth of Arabic heritage in understanding and analyzing phonetic issues. The study found that the Arabic linguistic heritage, particularly that related to Qur'anic readings, presents a profound and precise understanding of phonetic phenomena that aligns in many respects with modern phonology, as the hamzah phenomenon proved to be a rich model for revealing the interaction between the phonetic structure of the Qur'anic text and considerations of ease in performance, manifested in variations of articulation, lenition, deletion, and substitution, while the analysis of Al-Muwaddih also showed that guiding readings was not based solely on transmitted knowledge but on precise phonetic and linguistic reasoning, considering the characteristics of the articulatory system, the rules of lenition, and the requirements of phonetic context. Finally, the study recommends expanding research linking Qur'anic readings to modern linguistic theories, paying attention to re-editing Qur'anic readings books according to modern scholarly methods, and employing digital technologies in analyzing Qur'anic performance.