al-Durr al-Naqi fi Sharh Alfaz al-Kharqi
- Author died
- 909 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Mujtama‘ lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Durr al-Naqi fi Sharh Alfaz al-Kharqi (The Pure Pearl in Explaining the Vocabulary of al-Kharqi) is a specialized Hanbali legal and linguistic lexicon by Ibn al-Mubarrad (d. 909 AH / 1503 CE) that defines and clarifies the difficult legal terminology and vocabulary of al-Kharqi's (d. 334 AH / 945–946 CE) foundational manual Mukhtasar al-Kharqi .
Composition and Purpose
The book was written to explain the rare expressions (gharib al-alfaz) and technical terms occurring throughout Mukhtasar al-Kharqi . The author noted at the end of the work that he completed its composition in 876 AH (1471/1472 CE) . Ibn al-Mubarrad also complemented this work with another treatise devoted to the same primer, al-Thaghr al-Basim fi Takhrij Ahadith Mukhtasar Abi al-Qasim, which verified its prophetic traditions .
Structure and Method
In structuring the text, Ibn al-Mubarrad followed the model of Ibn al-Ba'li's al-Muttali' 'ala Abwab al-Muqni' by arranging the entries according to standard thematic legal chapters (abwab al-fiqh) rather than an alphabetical dictionary order . He adhered specifically to the Hanbali sequence of topics, opening with acts of ritual worship (ibadat) before addressing transactions (mu'amalat) .
His methodology entails:
- Explaining the lexical meanings, morphological derivations, and conjugations of terms, frequently providing precise vocalizations in spelled-out text rather than mere diacritical marks .
- Citing linguistic attestations and textual proofs (shawahid) to establish the meanings of disputed words .
- Incorporating substantive legal commentary and divergent juristic opinions connected to the terms under discussion, rather than limiting the scope purely to linguistics .
- Concluding the volume with a dedicated biographical appendix (dhayl) providing concise notices on the individuals and historical figures mentioned in Mukhtasar al-Kharqi .
Transmission and Editions
The 20th-century scholar Ibn Badran examined the author's original holograph copy preserved in the Damascene collection at the dome of al-Malik al-Zahir Baybars (later the Zahiriyyah Library) and commended the work as a beneficial contribution to its field .
An early printed edition was published at Dar al-Salam in Damascus through the initiative of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Mani', funded by Qasim ibn Darwish Fakhru, and prepared with annotations by Muhammad Zuhayr al-Shawish, with an introduction dated 1378 AH (1958/1959 CE) . A later critical edition was edited by Radwan Mukhtar ibn Gharbiyyah (originating as a doctoral dissertation at Umm al-Qura University) and published in Jeddah by Dar al-Mujtama' in 1411 AH (1991 CE) .
Answer updated