al-Fadil
- Author died
- 285 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣrīyah
al-Fadil (The Virtuous) is a classical Arabic literary and linguistic anthology composed by the grammarian al-Mubarrad (d. 285 AH / 898 CE) . It collects prose anecdotes, historical reports, poetry, and linguistic expositions on a variety of moral and rhetorical themes .
Title and Identification
In bio-bibliographical literature, the work is recorded under slight variations. Ibn al-Nadim listed it under the title Kitab al-Fadil wa-al-Mafdul (The Book of the Virtuous and the Less Virtuous) in al-Fihrist . In the unique surviving manuscript discovered in Istanbul, the title does not appear at the beginning; however, the scribe recorded at the end: "The book Fadil al-Mubarrad has been completed" . Both its modern editor, Abd al-Aziz al-Maymani, and Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim concluded that the correct and concise title of the work is simply al-Fadil .
Scope, Content, and Method
al-Fadil is an adab work smaller in volume than al-Mubarrad's renowned compendium al-Kamil, though noted as more tightly structured . Like al-Kamil, it consists of literary texts accompanied by lexical glosses and occasional grammatical discussions .
In the introduction, al-Mubarrad begins by extolling the status of scholars and the virtue of knowledge, emphasizing the primacy of Quranic sciences, the Arabic language, and grammar in preserving correct speech . He narrates the traditional account of the founding of Arabic grammar, tracing its transmission from Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali through 'Anbasah al-Fil, Maymun al-Aqran, Abd Allah ibn Abi Ishaq al-Hadrami, Isa ibn Umar, al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, Sibawayh, and al-Akhfash . He states that his objective in writing the book was to encourage the pursuit and mastery of adab, bringing together various genres of Arabic speech, historical accounts, and ancient as well as contemporary poetry .
The thematic scope of the work encompasses topics such as generosity, grief, youth, old age, gratitude, envy, eloquence, physical beauty, wordplay, and historical anecdotes regarding the emergence of Arabic grammar and morphology .
Manuscript and Modern Publication
The text was rediscovered by the Indian scholar Abd al-Aziz al-Maymani in the Esad Efendi collection at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, bound in codex No. 3598 alongside Amthal al-Dabbi and al-Tiraz al-Asma . Al-Maymani obtained a photographic reproduction of the manuscript, transcribed it at his residence in Aligarh, and completed his editorial notes in Dhu al-Qi'da 1356 AH (January 1938 CE) .
His critical edition was subsequently published in Cairo by Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (1375 AH / 1956 CE) .
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