al-Kalim al-Nawabigh
- Author died
- 538 AH
- Editions
- Maṭbaʿat Wādī al-Nīl
al-Kalim al-Nawabigh (also recorded as Nawabigh al-Kalim) is a collection of rhymed aphorisms, moral maxims, and ethical admonitions composed by the scholar and philologist Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn 'Umar al-Zamakhshari (d. 538 AH / 1144 CE) .
Structure and Content
The work is composed as a literary treatise in rhymed prose (saj'), sharing stylistic affinities with the maqamat genre . Al-Zamakhshari opens the text by praising God for inspiring these maxims, describing them as evocative admonitions and warnings comparable to the wisdom of Luqman and Asif, aimed at awakening heedless minds and remedying spiritual ailments . The work consists of short, balanced sayings addressing moral conduct, integrity, generous demeanor, prudent speech, and the fleeting nature of worldly affairs .
Commentaries and Reception
The work generated substantial scholarly interest, leading several later authors to write commentaries on it:
- An interwoven commentary (sharh mamzuj) titled al-Ni'am al-Sawabigh fi Sharh al-Kalim al-Nawabigh by Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani (d. 793 AH) .
- A commentary by Mu'ayyad al-Din ibn al-Muwaffaq (who was alive in 640 AH) .
- A commentary by Bayazid ibn 'Abd al-Ghaffar al-Qunawi, completed in Rabi' al-Akhir 983 AH .
- A commentary by al-Mawla Muhammad al-Munshi, the head of the sanctuary in Medina (d. 1001 AH) .
The scholar Muhammad Jalal al-Din al-Siddiqi suggested that an imitatory work should be written following its model, titled Tawabigh al-Nawabigh .
Publication History
The treatise was published in Cairo by Matba'at Wadi al-Nil in 1286 AH . Al-Taftazani's commentary was printed in Cairo in 1287 AH and subsequently in Beirut in 1306 AH with a brief accompanying supercommentary by Muhammad al-Bayruti .
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