The first Algerian linguistic dictionary from heritage in a contemporary form by Sheikh Abdel Rahman al-Tha'alibi: 'Al-Gharib Dictionary', compiling vocabulary and expressions from the Quran, Sunnah, and traditions.

Abstract

In his dictionary "Al-Gharib," Sheikh Abdel Rahman al-Tha'alibi followed a path different from what was previously mentioned, drawing inspiration from al-Zamakhshari's approach to rhetoric. He organized the dictionary alphabetically according to the Arabic alphabet, arranging words by their initial letters, which was not commonly used. The prevalent method at the time favored al-Khalil's method of listing words by their roots first, followed by the rhyme method (qafiyya).

Furthermore, al-Tha'alibi's dictionary focused solely on collecting vocabulary and expressions extracted from their contexts in his exegesis "Al-Jawahir al-Hasan fi Tafsir al-Quran" or from the context of the Sunnah and traditions. His aim was to explain the meanings of these foreign words as conveyed in their original contexts.