The Grammatical Preference in Accusative Nouns According to Modern Exegetes (Ibn Ashour 1393 AH, Al-Naqawi 1440 AH, Al-Mahri) as an Example

Abstract

The subject of this study: "Grammatical Preference" according to prominent scholars, namely the distinguished Ibn Ashour, died 1393 AH, through his work (Tafsir Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir), Al-Sayyid Al-Naqawi, died 1440 AH, (Diya’ Al-Furqan fi Tafsir Al-Qur’an), and Al-Sayyid Murtada Al-Muhri (Al-Hadi fi Tafsir Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem). The purpose of the research is to identify the features of preferential thinking among them. The study is divided into three chapters: the first: the objects, the second: the circumstantial accusative (Adverbs), and the third: the accusative of specification.

Our choice of these books as the focus of study is for two reasons: first, their wealth of knowledge, as they contain many issues of grammar and the opinions of grammarians, and they addressed many issues with discussion, critique, and preference.  Second, their interpretations are considered by researchers and scholars in Quranic studies. The aim of this research is not merely to collect and analyze cases of grammatical preference, but rather to identify the characteristics of their preferential reasoning, including the methodological approaches they adopted, the principles they relied upon, and the grammatical schools they aligned with.The study reveals the significant role of both the speaker and the recipient in grammatical preference, which relies more heavily on rational analysis alongside transmitted linguistic evidence from Arabic usage. The exegetes typically present multiple grammatical opinions concerning a given passage, then favor a particular view or propose an alternative, often providing justification for their preference or, at times, leaving it implicit.
The findings indicate that these scholars were not bound to a specific grammatical school; instead, their analyses were objective, considering all grammatical traditions and selecting what best suited the intended meaning, even if such usage was rare or less common in established grammatical rules. They avoided artificiality and demonstrated a strong commitment to interpretations that align closely with the Qur’anic context, accepting what supports it and rejecting what contradicts it. Furthermore, their approach to grammatical preference serves the Arabic language as a social system influenced by various external factors beyond formalrules.
Finally, the study concludes with results that emphasize the importance of employing grammatical preference in disputed grammatical issues and the necessity of taking the Qur’anic context into account when favoring one interpretation over another in cases of multiple exegetical opinions.