Abstract
This article examines the role of Jalāl al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH/1505 CE) in reformulating the rules of Arabic grammar (naḥw) within Egypt's Mamluk-era madrasah tradition. Naḥw historiography has largely centred on early figures such as Sībawayh and al-Mubarrad, positioning post-classical scholars like al-Suyūṭī merely as compilers lacking methodological originality. Using library research with a historical-philological approach to al-Suyūṭī's grammatical works, particularly Ham‘ al-Hawāmi‘, al-Iqtirāḥ fī ‘Ilm Uṣūl al-Naḥw, and al-Muzhir, this study finds that al-Suyūṭī undertook three key methodological steps: codifying and systematizing rules across the Baṣrah, Kūfah, and Baghdad schools; strengthening naḥw's epistemological foundation through uṣūl al-naḥw; and popularizing grammatical rules for madrasah pedagogy through concise, graded writing. These steps established al-Suyūṭī's works as standard references in Egypt's naḥw curriculum and beyond. The article concludes that al-Suyūṭī's endeavor was a form of methodological ijtihād bridging classical grammatical tradition with post-classical pedagogical needs, showing that post-classical scholarship reflected consolidation and pedagogical innovation rather than stagnation.
