al-Bulgha fi Tarajim Aimmat al-Nahw wa al-Lugha
- Author died
- 817 AH
- Editions
- Dar Sa'd al-Din lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi'
al-Bulgha fi Tarajim Aimmat al-Nahw wa al-Lugha (The Sufficient Summary on the Biographies of the Imams of Grammar and Language) is a biographical dictionary of Arabic grammarians and lexicographers by the Shafi'i scholar and lexicographer al-Fayruzabadi (729–817 AH / 1329–1415 CE) .
Scope and Structure
The book contains biographical entries for grammarians and lexicographers from the early Islamic era up to the author's lifetime, also encompassing poets, jurists, literati, and tutors whose primary renown lay in grammar and lexicography . In total, it comprises 422 biographical entries; eight of these are duplicates, leaving 414 unique individuals .
Unlike many classical works, the text contains no authorial prologue (khutba) outlining the scope or purpose of composition; after the basmala and hamdala, it opens directly with the first biography under the letter Alif . Entries are arranged alphabetically by chapter from Alif to Ya', though without strict alphabetical ordering for the second and subsequent letters of names or patronymics .
Method and Style
As indicated by its title—al-Bulgha denoting a bare sufficiency—the author favored extreme brevity and precision . Most biographical sketches consist of only a few words or lines, while only a small number extend across a page or two . Al-Fayruzabadi confined himself to verified facts; for some entries, he listed only the scholar's name or remarked, "I have not found a biography for him" (lam aqif lahu 'ala tarjama) . In cases where entries were duplicated, he occasionally provided additional details or explicitly noted that the individual had been mentioned previously .
Title Variations
The work is referenced in historical and biographical literature under five variant titles:
- al-Bulgha fi Aimmat al-Lugha, as reported by al-Zabidi in the introduction to his Taj al-'Arus .
- al-Bulgha fi Tarikh Aimmat al-Lugha, recorded on the Berlin manuscript, in al-Sakhawi's al-I'lam bi-al-Tawbikh, and in Tashkubrizadah's Miftah al-Sa'ada .
- al-Bulgha fi Tarikh Aimmat al-Nahw wa al-Lugha, found on the Asafiyya manuscript, in Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun, and in Isma'il Pasha al-Baghdadi's Hadiyyat al-'Arifin .
- al-Bulgha fi Tarajim al-Nuhat wa al-Lugha (or Aimmat al-Nahw wa al-Lugha), cited in al-Sakhawi's al-Daw' al-Lami', al-Shawkani's al-Badr al-Tali', and Ibn al-'Imad al-Hanbali's Shadharat al-Dhahab .
- al-Bulgha fi Tabaqat Aimmat al-Lugha, mentioned by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in the bibliography of his Bughyat al-Wu'ah .
Reception
Later scholars relied on the work as a reference and commended its concise style. Al-Suyuti described it in Bughyat al-Wu'ah as "fine and charming; I saw it in Mecca," and cited from it extensively . Al-Sakhawi drew upon it in al-Daw' al-Lami', and Tashkubrizadah noted in Miftah al-Sa'ada that it was "exceedingly charming" .
Manuscripts and Publication
Surviving manuscript copies include a copy in Berlin (Ms. 10060, transcribed in 1123 AH in 82 folios), a copy in the Asafiyya Library in Hyderabad (Ms. 59, transcribed in 1293 AH in 100 folios with marginal notes by 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Maymani al-Rajkuti), and another in Tübingen (Ms. 196, in 81 folios) .
The book was first printed in 1972 CE by the Syrian Ministry of Culture under the editorship of Muhammad al-Misri, who titled it al-Bulgha fi Tarikh Aimmat al-Lugha . A subsequent edition edited by al-Misri was published by Dar Sa'd al-Din in Damascus in 1421 AH / 2000 CE under the title al-Bulgha fi Tarajim Aimmat al-Nahw wa al-Lugha .
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