Abu Ya‘qub Sakkaki is regarded as one of the prominent scholars who left a profound impact on both classical and modern linguistic studies. His significance lies in the distinctive nature of his approach, which diverged from traditional methodologies. His work is marked by precise linguistic organization, a departure from conventional authorial styles, and a logical structure influenced by philosophical reasoning. Drawing upon the insights of earlier scholars most notably ‘Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani and his theory of naẓm (systematic composition) Sakkaki’s Miftaḥ al-‘Ulum (The Key to the Sciences) rose to prominence as a foundational text in the field of Arabic linguistics. This work continues to hold a lasting place in the history of scientific linguistic inquiry in the Arabic language.

Among the critical issues in which Sakkaki followed Jurjani are the concepts of meaning, the meaning of meaning, and the challenges related to reception and semantic indication.

Sakkaki, Jurjani, theory of naẓm

Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani. Dala’il al-Iʿjaz. Edited by Muḥammad Rashid Riḍa. Cairo: al-Maṭbaʿah al-Muniriyyah, 1903.

Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani. Asrar al-Balagha. Edited by Mahdi Muḥammad Fakhri and Ibrahim Abyari. Beirut: Dar al-Maʿrifah, 1982.

Abu Yaʿqub Yusuf ibn Abi Bakr al-Sakkaki. Miftaḥ al-ʿUlum. Edited by Naʿim Ḥasan. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1987.

Muḥammad ʿAbid al-Jabiri. Toward a Philosophy of a New Rhetoric. Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies, 1992.

Hani Muḥammad. “The Rhetorical Efforts of al-Sakkaki through His Book Miftaḥ al-ʿUlum.” Aqlam al-Hind, vol. 4, no. 3 (2019): 77–92.

Mazin al-Mubarak. Al-Mujaz fi Tarikh al-Balagha. Damascus: Dar al-Fikr, 2003.

Abd Allah Sula. Qawaḍiya al-Iʿjaz bayn al-Turath wa al-Muʿaṣarah. Riyadh: Dar al-Wasimah, 2000.

Abd al-ʿAziz ʿAṭiq. Al-Balagha al-ʿArabiyyah: Bayan, Maʿani, Badiʿ. Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahḍah al-Miṣriyyah, 1964.

William Smyth. “Preparing a Rhetoric Textbook.” Translated by Ömer Kara. İslami Araştırmalar, vol. 24, no. 2 (2013): 275–296.

Al-Jaḥiẓ. Al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin. Beirut: Dar Ṣadir, 1968.