al-Falak al-Dair ala al-Mathal al-Sair
- Author died
- 656 AH
- Editions
- Dār Nahḍat Miṣr lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Falak al-Dair ala al-Mathal al-Sair (Arabic: الفلك الدائر على المثل السائر, lit. 'The Revolving Sphere over the Current Proverb') is a work of literary criticism and rhetoric written by the scholar and statesman Ibn Abi al-Hadid (d. 656 AH / 1258 CE) as a critique and refutation of Diya al-Din Ibn al-Athir's treatise on prose and poetic composition, al-Mathal al-Sair fi Adab al-Katib wa-al-Sha'ir .
Composition and Context
When Ibn al-Athir's al-Mathal al-Sair arrived in Baghdad and gained wide currency and praise among literary circles, Ibn Abi al-Hadid obtained a copy at the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah 633 AH . Motivated by what he perceived as Ibn al-Athir's excessive self-praise, his disparagement of earlier writers, and flawed arguments, he composed his critique rapidly alongside his duties in the state chancery, taking fifteen days according to his own preface, or thirteen days according to other biographical reports . Ibn Abi al-Hadid dedicated and presented the work to the library of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir bi-llah .
The title alludes to the Arabic idiom signifying destruction or nullification (dār al-falak ʿalayh), conveying the author's intent to dismantle the claims of al-Mathal al-Sair . Upon its completion, the author's brother, Muwaffaq al-Din Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hadid, composed a two-line poem playfully observing that through this rebuttal, Ibn Abi al-Hadid had himself become an oft-cited proverb .
Method and Contents
In his introduction, Ibn Abi al-Hadid states that he examined al-Mathal al-Sair and found both praiseworthy and blameworthy material: he deemed Ibn al-Athir's prose style and rhetorical craftsmanship generally commendable, but found his theoretical reasoning, debate, and polemical objections largely deficient .
The work addresses numerous specific linguistic, rhetorical, and literary issues raised in Ibn al-Athir's text, including:
- Linguistic and grammatical debates, such as the definition of syntax, the impact of inflectional endings on meaning, the formation of the diminutive for five-letter nouns, and assimilation (idghām) .
- Semantic topics, including synonymy, homonymy (ishtirāk), and its relationship to paranomasia (tajnīs), as well as homonymous terms in the Quran .
- Critical evaluation of classical poets, examining Ibn al-Athir's judgments on the usage and alleged errors of Abu Nuwas, Abu Tammam, and al-Mutanabbi .
- Defending earlier stylists and chancellors whom Ibn al-Athir criticized, most notably al-Qadi al-Fadil .
Reception and Subsequent Works
The treatise sparked counter-responses among contemporary and later scholars:
- Rukn al-Din Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-Sinjari (d. 650 AH), a student of Ibn al-Athir, wrote a rebuttal defending his teacher entitled Nashr al-Mathal al-Sair wa-Tayy al-Falak al-Dair (Unfurling the Current Proverb and Folding the Revolving Sphere), and composed verses ridiculing Ibn Abi al-Hadid .
- Later scholars also entered the debate, including al-Safadi (d. 764 AH) in his Nusrat al-Tha'ir ala al-Mathal al-Sair, and Abd al-Aziz ibn Isa in Qat' al-Dabir 'an al-Falak al-Dair .
Editions
The work was first printed as a lithograph in India in 1309 AH (184 pages), funded by Mirza Muhammad al-Shirazi . It was later edited by Ahmad al-Hufi and Badawi Tabana and published in Cairo by Dar Nahdat Misr, appended to the fourth volume of al-Mathal al-Sair, and was subsequently reprinted independently in Riyadh in 1404 AH by Dar al-Rifa'i in a single volume .
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