A Critical Edition of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Dawānī’s Treatise on “al-Fāʻal-Faṣīḥa”

This study examines the linguistic content of Jalāl al-dīn al-Dawānī’s treatise al-Fāʻal-Faṣīha through a critical edition. Within the scope of the research, seven manuscript copies preserved in Turkish libraries were identified, and those from the Hacı Beşir Ağa, Halet Efendi, Pertevniyal, and Hamidiye collections of the Süleymaniye Library were used as primary sources. The study is limited to the author’s life and works, the attribution of the treatise, the method employed, the description of the manuscripts, and the analysis of their content. The aim is to analyze the concept of “al-fāʻal-faṣīḥa” within al-Dawānī’s framework and contribute to ongoing discussions in linguistics and rhetoric. The study is significant for offering a detailed examination of this concept and for introducing al-Dawānī’s relatively underrecognized scholarly legacy in Turkey. A qualitative research design was adopted, employing a critical edition method based on textual comparison and content analysis. The findings reveal that the author systematically explains “al-fāʻal-faṣīḥa” clearly distinguishing it from al-fāʾu’s-sababiyya, al-fāʾal-taʿqībiyya, and fāʾal-jazāʾ. He supports his views with citations from verses and poems and engages with earlier linguistic scholarship, ultimately making original contributions. These results indicate that the treatise is an important source for both linguistics and rhetoric.