al-Fakhir
- Author died
- 290 AH
- Editions
- Dār Iḥyā’ al-Kutub al-‘Arabiyyah, ‘Īsá al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī
al-Fakhir (lit. 'The Splendid') is a philological treatise on Arabic proverbs and common conversational idioms by the Kufan grammarian and lexicographer al-Mufaddal ibn Salama (d. c. 290 AH / 903 CE). It is among the surviving ninth-century CE compilations devoted to the linguistic explanation of Arabic proverbial expressions.
Purpose and Scope
The author composed the work to clarify the linguistic origins and underlying meanings of idioms and proverbs that were frequently uttered by the general public without knowledge of their original Arabic sense. As stated in its opening passage, the goal was to present these sayings across the diverse interpretations offered by early scholars, enabling readers to understand the exact semantic roots and morphological derivations of their everyday speech. In some historical lists, it is also referred to with titles specifying common linguistic errors or colloquial usage.
Method and Structure
The book is structured into topical entries examining customary conversational formulas and proverbs, such as marhaban wa-ahlan ("welcome"), labbayk wa-sa'dayk (at your service), aqarra Allahu 'aynahu ("may God cool his eye"), and arghama Allahu anfahu ("may God humble him").
For each expression, al-Mufaddal ibn Salama provides:
- Morphological analysis, grammatical parsing, and root derivations.
- Direct quotations and differing interpretations from prominent philologists and early authorities, including al-Farra', al-Asma'i, al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, Ibn al-A'rabi, Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', and Ibn al-Kalbi.
- Attested evidentiary lines of ancient Arabic poetry (shawahid) and historical anecdotes explaining the initial occasion (asl) on which an expression was coined.
Transmission and Influence
The text was transmitted through Abu Bakr al-Suli (d. 335 AH / 946 CE). An account recorded by Ahmad ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad relates that an attendee in the circle of Abu Bakr Ibn al-Anbari noticed part of Ibn al-Anbari's Kitab al-Zahir and claimed it had been drawn directly from al-Fakhir, prompting al-Suli to bring out his own copy of al-Fakhir and dictate it to his students. Ibn al-Anbari's al-Zahir expanded on the themes of al-Fakhir, supplying additional poetic evidence and linguistic detail.
Abridgments and Editions
The work was later summarized and commented upon by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn under the title al-Mukhtasar min al-Fakhir fi al-Amthal al-Sa'ira (extant in a 7th-century AH manuscript at Istanbul University). An excerpt was published in Istanbul (1301 AH) titled Ghayat al-Arab fi Ma'ani ma Yajri 'ala Alsun al-'Ammah min Kalam al-'Arab.
al-Fakhir was edited and published by Charles Ambrose Storey, and a modern edition edited by Abd al-'Alim al-Tahawi was published in Cairo in 1960 under the title al-Fakhir fi al-Amthal.
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