al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar fi Sharh Alfiyat al-Athar - Qism 1
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- ta al-Andunusi
al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar fi Sharh Alfiyat al-Athar (The Abundant Sea in Explaining the Thousand-Verse Poem of Hadith Nomenclature) is an extensive commentary on hadith terminology by the Egyptian polymath al-Jalal al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE), written to explain his own didactic poem in the discipline .
Background and Composition
al-Suyuti composed a didactic poem of one thousand verses on hadith terminology titled Nazm al-Durar fi 'Ilm al-Athar (The Stringing of Pearls in the Science of Hadith Lore), completing it in five days . The poem incorporated the core topics of Muqaddimat Ibn al-Salah by Ibn al-Salah alongside the additions found in the Alfiyya of al-Hafiz al-'Iraqi, while adding further material .
To elucidate the verses, al-Suyuti authored this comprehensive commentary (al-mabsuta) . He initially titled the commentary Qatr al-Durar 'ala Nazm al-Durar—the name under which it appears in his autobiographical work Husn al-Muhadara and in Mu'jam Mu'allafatihi—before settling on the expanded title al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar fi Sharh Alfiyat al-Athar .
Scope, Method, and Sources
al-Suyuti composed al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar after his other well-known commentary on hadith terminology, Tadrib al-Rawi (a commentary on al-Nawawi's al-Taqrib) . Although the two works share foundational material and common references, al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar was planned on an even broader bibliographic foundation . In their respective source bases:
- 189 sources are cited exclusively in al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar and do not appear in Tadrib al-Rawi .
- 73 sources are cited exclusively in Tadrib al-Rawi .
- 55 sources are shared between the two works .
al-Suyuti did not finish the entire commentary, leaving it incomplete .
Reception and Citations
al-Suyuti referred to al-Bahr alladhi Zakhar in other writings of his, such as his Misbah al-Zujaja fi Sharh Sunan Ibn Majah . Subsequent scholars cited and utilized the work, including:
- Muhammad Akram al-Nasrapuri al-Sindi in Im'an al-Nazar .
- Muhammad Hijazi ibn 'Abd Allah al-Sha'rawi al-Qalqashandi (d. 1035 AH) in Istiqsa' al-Athar .
- Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi (d. 1163 AH) in Manh al-Shakur .
- Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani (d. 1182 AH) in Tawdih al-Afkar .
- Husayn ibn Muhsin al-Ansari al-Yamani (d. 1327 AH) in al-Tuhfa al-Mardiyya .
- Isma'il Pasha al-Baghdadi (d. 1339 AH) in Hadiyyat al-'Arifin .
- Muhammad ibn Muhammad Makhluf (d. 1360 AH) in Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyya .
Among modern researchers, Muhammad Muhammad al-Samahi cited the book extensively in his works al-Manhaj al-Hadith and Ghayth al-Mustaghith .
Modern Edition
The preserved text of the commentary was edited and studied by Anis ibn Ahmad ibn Tahir al-Indunisi, who prepared it as an academic study and published it through Maktabat al-Ghuraba' al-Athariyya in Medina .
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