Afghani's most well-known work is
al-Mujaz, a book attempting to simplify
Arabic grammar for those unfamiliar with the language. He was a strong supporter of reforming the way in which Arabic grammar was understood and taught, blaming traditionalists and their opposition to any reform for the failure of language education in Arab countries. In Afghani's view, opposition from traditionalists such as the
Arab Academy of Damascus stifled efforts of reform-minded bodies such as the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo. Afghani was instrumental in the founding of
Al-Arabi, a magazine showcasing the arts and culture of the
Arab World. Afghani also spent ten years composing a biography of
Aisha, the Muslim
prophet Muhammad's second or third wife; the book was noted for Afghani's views on
women in Islam, which
Moroccan feminist writer
Fatema Mernissi described as representative of all the
Muslim world's most conservative views. Afghani was also learned in the field of
Islamic studies, devoting much attention to the aspects of Muslim
jurisprudence. On both language and religion, he wrote very little, seeing that books should only be written if there was a clear need for research on the given topic. In
Hadith studies, Afghani was a student of
Habib Al-Rahman Al-Azmi.
Edited works • Ibn Hazm, ''Mulakhkhas Ibtal al-Qiyas wa al-Ra'y wa al-Istihsan wa al-Taqlid wa al-Ta'lil''. Damascus: University of Damascus Press, 1960. • Ibn Muhanna,
Tarikh Darayya. Damascus: al-Majma' al-'Ilmi al-'Arabi, 1950.
Original works • ''A'isha wa-al-Siyasse''. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1971.
OCLC number 30066819 •
Fi usul an-nahw. Damascus, 1951. •
Hadir al-luga al-Arabiyya fi as-sam.
Cairo, 1962. ==Citations==