<\/p>\n
Due to its morphological structure, and because it is an extremely rich language, Arabic<\/a>\u00a0has a virtually unique feature compared to other world languages: Simply substitute one \u062d\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0641\u00a0(letter) by another, and you will most likely end up with a whole new word!<\/strong><\/p>\n An interesting feature characterizing Arabic language, to the utter delight of Arab poets and wordsmiths throughout history, but much to the chagrin of Arab newspapers—Not to mention, of course, the unfortunate people who fall prey to their occasionally “deadly” printing mistakes…<\/strong><\/p>\n The following story will facetiously\u00a0illustrate this point.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n Around the early decades of the 20th century, “\u0627\u0644\u0623\u0647\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0627\u0645<\/a>“<\/strong> (literally “The Pyramids<\/strong>“), the flagship of Egyptian<\/strong> newspapers, ran a special edition article about the renown Sheikh\u00a0\u0645\u062d\u0645\u062f \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0636\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u064a (Mohamad Al-Khadhari),\u00a0<\/strong>a leading scholar from\u00a0Al-Azhar University<\/a><\/strong>, which is, as you should know it already, the Cairo<\/a><\/strong>-based spiritual and academic institution whose prestige in the Arab and Islamic world is, in many aspects, comparable to that of Oxford<\/strong> in the UK<\/strong> and\u00a0la Sorbonne <\/em><\/strong>in France<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The works of Sheikh Al-Khadhari were particularly astonishing by their erudition and precision. They concentrated on several periods of Islamic history, from “\u0627\u0644\u062f\u0648\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0648\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/strong>” (“The Umayyad State”) and “\u0633\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0644\u0641\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0621<\/strong>” (“The Biography of the Caliphs”), to “\u062a\u0627\u0631\u064a\u062e \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u0633\u0644\u0627\u0645\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/strong>” (“The History of the Muslim Nations.”)<\/p>\n Notwithstanding the undeniably high intellectual value of Sheikh Al-Khadhari, it was alas also known that towards his older age, he became a bit hard to manage for his family and entourage.<\/p>\n According to a rather\u00a0colorful anecdote<\/a>\u00a0told by Syrian Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi\u00a0\u0631\u062d\u0645\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 <\/strong>(May God have his soul),<\/strong> Sheikh Al-Khadhari suffered from what was deemed a peculiar delusional disorder: He was absolutely convinced that, not just a worm, but an entire\u00a0\u062b\u0639\u0628\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0646<\/strong> (snake) resided deep in his intestines.<\/p>\n After several fruitless medical examinations, one savvy doctor who was well aware of the single power of \u0627\u0644\u0625\u064a\u062d\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0642\u0644\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u064a<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(mental<\/a> suggestion) and its healing properties, had the genius idea of stealthily placing a very real snake in the bathroom of the Sheikh, thus making him believe that he was, at last, rid of the vicious snake!<\/p>\n At any rate, in the special article devoted to the Sheikh, the journalist of “Al-Ahram” newspaper wished to praise “\u0627\u0644\u0647\u0645\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/span> \u0627\u0644\u0643\u0628\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629<\/strong>” (“the huge energy”, or “the huge verve”) of the venerable scholar.<\/p>\n Instead of that, due to a malignant printing mistake, the article read: “We wish to praise \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0645\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/span> \u0627\u0644\u0643\u0628\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629<\/strong>\u00a0(the huge aunt) of the Sheikh”…<\/p>\n \u0645\u0627 \u0632\u0627\u062f \u0627\u0644\u0637\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0646 \u0628\u0650\u0644\u064e\u0651\u0629<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0(what made things worse) was that, unfortunately, it was already public knowledge that the Sheikh had indeed one pretty huge aunt.<\/p>\n A fact which, at the time, nearly caused a major crisis between him and the prestigious Egyptian newspaper!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “The Abbasid<\/a>\u00a0State” by Sheikh Mohamed Al-Khadhari<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u062f\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0637\u0631\u064a\u0641\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629\u00a0(the\u00a0colorful anecdote) that we owe to Sheikh Al-Tantawi “starring<\/a>” Sheikh Al-Khadhari, the history books of the latter Sheikh make an enjoyable and valuable read. They are readily accessible\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Due to its morphological structure, and because it is an extremely rich language, Arabic\u00a0has a virtually unique feature compared to other world languages: Simply substitute one \u062d\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0641\u00a0(letter) by another, and you will most likely end up with a whole new word! An interesting feature characterizing Arabic language, to the utter delight of Arab poets…<\/p>\n