al-Gharib al-Musannaf
- Author died
- 224 AH
- Editions
- t al-Ubaydi
al-Gharib al-Musannaf (The Classified Book of Rare Terms) is a foundational Arabic thematic lexicon composed by the philologist and jurist Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH / 838 CE) . Dedicated to classifying rare and obscure Arabic vocabulary (gharib) by subject matter, it is among the earliest comprehensive topical dictionaries in the Arabic lexicographical tradition .
Title and Composition
The book is commonly titled al-Gharib al-Musannaf, though early references and manuscripts also record it under the variants Gharib al-Musannaf and al-Gharib al-Mu'allaf . Abu Ubayd is reported to have stated that he worked on compiling the lexicon over thirty years, while another transmission found on manuscript copies states that he spent fifty years on it . Upon presenting the work to the governor Abdullah ibn Tahir, he was rewarded with one thousand dinars .
Structure and Scope
The dictionary is organized topically rather than alphabetically, comprising roughly one thousand chapters (abwab) arranged across thirty thematic constituent books (kutub) . The work opens with human anatomy and characteristics, followed by subjects encompassing daily life, the natural world, and specialized vocabulary:
- Khalq al-Insan (Creation and Anatomy of Man)
- al-Nisa' (Women)
- al-Libas (Clothing)
- al-At'imah (Foods)
- al-Amrad (Illnesses)
- al-Khamr (Wine)
- al-Dur wa-l-Aradin (Dwellings and Lands)
- al-Khayl (Horses)
- al-Silah (Weapons)
- al-Tayr wa-l-Hawamm (Birds and Pests)
- al-Awani wa-l-Qudur (Vessels and Pots)
- al-Jibal (Mountains)
- al-Shajar wa-l-Nabat (Trees and Plants)
- al-Miyah wa-Anwa'uha wa-l-Quni (Waters and Aqueducts)
- al-Nakhl (Date Palms)
- al-Sahab wa-l-Amtar (Clouds and Rains)
- al-Azminah wa-l-Riyah (Seasons and Winds)
- Amthilat al-Asma' (Noun Patterns)
- al-Af'al (Verbs)
- al-Addad (Contronyms)
- Makarim al-Akhlaq (Noble Character)
- al-Siba' (Predatory Beasts)
- al-Ibil wa-Nu'utuha (Camels and Their Attributes)
- al-Ghanam wa-Nu'utuha (Sheep/Goats and Their Attributes)
Sources and Methodology
In compiling the dictionary, Abu Ubayd synthesized the lexical transmissions of earlier authorities, incorporating additions, clarifications, and poetic citations (shawahid) . According to the grammarian Ibn Durustawayh, Abu Ubayd modeled his work on Kitab al-Sifat by his teacher al-Nadr ibn Shumayl . The philologist Abu al-Tayyib al-Lughawi noted that Abu Ubayd drew upon a compilation by an unnamed Hashimite scholar, arranged the monographs of al-Asma'i into topical sections, and supplemented them with material from Abu Zayd al-Ansari and Kufan transmissions .
Reception and Critique
al-Gharib al-Musannaf was widely celebrated among scholars as Abu Ubayd's crowning lexicographical achievement . The hadith critic al-Daraqutni remarked that Abu Ubayd had written no book equal to it . Later lexicographers made extensive use of its material, including Abu Mansur al-Azhari in his dictionary Tahdhib al-Lughah .
The text also drew critical appraisal regarding orthographic and transmission errors. When told that the musician and scholar Ishaq al-Mawsili claimed the book contained one thousand errors, Abu Ubayd remarked that one thousand errors in a work containing over one hundred thousand entries was slight, suggesting that differences arose from legitimate variant transmissions . In another account, Hammad ibn Ishaq informed him that his father noted two hundred clerical errors (tashif), to which Abu Ubayd similarly answered that two hundred in such a work was minimal .
Specific treatises were later composed evaluating its contents: Muhammad ibn Hubayra al-Asadi (d. c. 280 AH / 893 CE) addressed an epistle to Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz detailing what Bedouin usage accepted or rejected in Abu Ubayd's transmissions, and Abu Umar al-Zahid (d. 345 AH / 956 CE) authored Ma Ankara al-A'rab 'ala Abi Ubayd fima Rawahu aw Sannafahu (What the Bedouins Rejected in What Abu Ubayd Transmitted or Authored) .
Modern Publication
The work was edited and published in two volumes by Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-'Ubaydi (Tunis, 1989), while its first volume was independently edited by Ramadan Abd al-Tawwab (Cairo, 1989) . Portions were also edited by Safwan Adnan Dawudi .
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