Abyat al-Istishhad - Dimn Nawadir al-Makhtutat
- Author died
- 395 AH
- Editions
- Sharikat Maktabat wa-Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi wa-Awladuhu bi-Misr
Abyat al-Istishhad (Verses for Citation) is a short literary treatise by the philologist and lexicographer Ibn Faris (d. 395 AH / 1004 CE) compiled to present poetic proverbs and verses suitable for quotation across diverse social and rhetorical situations, edited and published within the anthology Nawadir al-Makhtutat by Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun.
Content and Structure
The work is organized as a collection of poetic proverbs (al-amthal al-shi'riyya) paired with their appropriate rhetorical occasions (madarib). Rather than presenting an abstract linguistic catalog, Ibn Faris employs a narrative framing device, attributing the recitations to an unnamed eloquent and sharp-witted figure of sound judgment who possesses a fitting line of verse for every circumstance.
The booklet provides poetic lines for dozens of everyday interactions, ethical dilemmas, and formal occasions, including encountering an alienated friend, censuring a relative, facing opponents in a debate assembly, condoling the bereaved, handling the delay of returning borrowed books, and parting from companions at daybreak. As a matter of literary choice, Ibn Faris deliberately omitted the names of the original poets whose verses he cited. He concludes the work by praising the compilation as unique in its scope, expressing hope that readers will memorize its verses and quote each in its appropriate context.
Identification and Manuscript Tradition
Abyat al-Istishhad was unrecorded in both classical biographical dictionaries and modern bibliographies of Ibn Faris's writings. Abd al-Salam Harun noted that while he had enumerated roughly forty titles by Ibn Faris in his introduction to the dictionary Mu'jam Maqayis al-Lughah, he had not included Abyat al-Istishhad because he had not yet discovered it; he suggested that it might correspond to a lost work mentioned under the title Dhakha'ir al-Kalimat.
The text survived in a single known manuscript held in the Taymuriyya collection at the Egyptian National Library (shelfmark 445 Adab). Comprising approximately twelve pages in poor handwriting, the manuscript was deciphered and edited by Harun, who supplied the attributions for the majority of the anonymous verses from classical literary sources.
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