1. Introduction

The form kalima (pl. kalim), commonly denoting ‘a word’, sometimes occurs as a grammatical term corresponding in sense to the modern linguistic term ‘morpheme’. This sense of kalima is inferred from Sībawayhi (Kitāb II, 330.15–339.19), al-Mubarrad (Muqtaḍab I, 36–52), Ibn as-Sarrāj (ʾUṣūl III, 171.1–179.5), and Ibn Yaʿīš (Šarḥ I, 21.5–20 ed. Jahn; I, 18.29–19.15 Cairo ed.). The discussion of kalima by al-Mubarrad a…