The Presence of the Doctrine of "Al-Manzilah Bayn Al-Manzilatayn" (The Position Between Two Positions) in Ibn Jinni's Book Al-Khasa'is

Abstract

  This study examines the presence of the doctrine of "Al-Manzilah Bayn Al-Manzilatayn" (the intermediate position / the position between two positions) in the work of Abu al-Fath Uthman ibn Jinni, specifically in his book Al-Khasa'is, as one of the theological principles that originated within Mu'tazili thought and subsequently extended its influence to linguistic studies. The study seeks to uncover Ibn Jinni's use of this doctrine in interpreting linguistic phenomena that are situated between two opposing poles, such that they cannot be fully attributed to either one. The study adopted the descriptive analytical methodology through tracing the instances where this doctrine appears in Al-Khasa'is and analyzing them within their linguistic and intellectual context. It becomes evident that Ibn Jinni expanded the concept of "Al-Manzilah Bayn Al-Manzilatayn" from its doctrinal significance into an interpretive tool in the fields of phonology, morphology, and syntax, as seen in issues such as assimilation (idgham), the kasrah of the noun annexed to the first-person singular possessive pronoun (yā' al-mutakallim), the distinction between fully declinable (munṣarif) and non-fully declinable (ghayr munṣarif) nouns, and certain phenomena situated between pause (waqf) and continuation (waṣl). The study concludes that this doctrine represents an intellectual tendency in Ibn Jinni toward mediation and transcending binary judgments. However, many of the phenomena interpreted through it can be more accurately explained in light of standard linguistic rules or modern phonological studies, indicating that its presence was influenced more by his Mu'tazili background than by being an independent linguistic principle.