al-Alghaz al-Nahwiyya = al-Tiraz fi al-Alghaz
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Azhariyyah lil-Turāth
al-Alghaz al-Nahwiyya (The Grammatical Riddles), also titled by its author as al-Tiraz fi al-Alghaz (The Embroidery of Riddles), is a treatise on Arabic grammatical riddles and linguistic enigmas by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE) .
Context and Composition
The treatise constitutes the fifth discipline (al-fann al-khamis) of al-Suyuti’s broader grammatical compendium al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir fi al-Nahw (The Similitudes and Parallels in Grammar) . In compiling al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir, al-Suyuti adapted the legal methodologies of Shafi'i jurisprudential works—such as those by Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam, Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, Ibn al-Wakil, and Taj al-Din al-Subki—and applied their organizing principles to Arabic grammar . He structured al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir into seven distinct sections, designing each one as a self-contained treatise with its own title and preface, among which al-Tiraz fi al-Alghaz forms the dedicated section on grammatical riddles and testing questions .
Structure and Content
In the book's prologue, al-Suyuti describes the work as a collection of riddles, enigmas, disputations, tests, and verbal puzzles (al-alghaz wa-l-ahaji wa-l-mutarahat wa-l-mumtahanat wa-l-mu'ayah), arranged in prose without a rigid chapter sequence .
Citing Ibn Hisham al-Ansari's Muwqiz al-Wasnan wa-Muwqid al-Adhhan, al-Suyuti divides grammatical riddles into two primary categories :
- Riddles requiring an explanation of intended meaning (tafsir al-ma'na), in which the literal phrasing obscures the actual grammatical concept .
- Riddles requiring an explanation of inflection and syntactic analysis (tafsir al-i'rab), where verses or expressions appear irregular on the surface but follow subtle grammatical rules .
The text compiles and resolves linguistic puzzles drawn from prominent earlier authorities. It includes selections from the riddles of al-Hariri, questions from Ibn Hisham's Mughni al-Labib, and an abridgment of al-Zamakhshari's Kitab al-Ahaji alongside commentary and versified puzzles by Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi from Tanwir al-Diyaji fi Tafsir al-Ahaji .
Transmission and Publication
Al-Tiraz fi al-Alghaz has been transmitted and published both as the fifth part within complete editions of al-Suyuti’s al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir fi al-Nahw and as an independent monograph under the title al-Alghaz al-Nahwiyya in a single volume .
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