al-Manhal al-Mahul bil-Bina lil-Majhul li-Abi al-Khayr Muhammad ibn Zuhayra Tahqiq wa-Dirasa
- Author died
- 910 AH
- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
al-Manhal al-Mahul bil-Bina lil-Majhul (The Frequented Spring on Verbs Formed in the Passive Voice) is an Arabic grammatical and lexical treatise by the Meccan scholar Abu al-Khayr Muhammad ibn Abi al-Su'ud ibn Zuhayra (846–c. 910 AH / 1442–c. 1504 CE) dedicated to verbs constructed in the passive voice ( المبني للمجهول / المبني لغير الفاعل ) .
Author and Context
The author was Khayr al-Din (also called Qutb al-Din) Abu al-Khayr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Atiyyah Ibn Zuhayra al-Makhzumi al-Qurashi al-Makki al-Shafi'i, born in Mecca on the night of Tuesday, 14 Sha'ban 846 AH during a lunar eclipse . While classical lexicographers previously compiled dedicated treatises on active-voice verbs, such as the works titled al-Af'al by Ibn al-Qutiyyah and Ibn al-Qatta', Ibn Zuhayra's work is considered the earliest known standalone monograph devoted specifically to passive verbs .
Subject and Structure
The work investigates Arabic verbs that depart from standard active usage, specifically focusing on those that are either inherently passive (mulazim lil-majhul) or predominantly used in the passive voice .
Ibn Zuhayra collected a total of 204 non-repeated passive verbs, providing a substantially broader inventory than earlier treatments found in general grammatical works—such as the 36 verbs listed in al-Fasih by Tha'lab or the 43 verbs included in the versification of al-Damiri . The material is organized alphabetically according to the root consonants of each verb, beginning with the first radical, with a separate chapter dedicated to each letter to facilitate reference and avoid scribal corruption .
Reception and Editions
In the eleventh century AH, the scholar Muhammad Ali ibn Allan al-Siddiqi (d. 1057 AH) utilized Ibn Zuhayra's work as the foundational core for his own extensive treatise, Ithaf al-Fadil bil-Fi'l al-Mabni li-Ghayr al-Fa'il, praising the work as unique in its field and directly attributing it to Ibn Zuhayra . The work was also recorded by Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi in Idah al-Maknun .
The text was edited and studied by Dr. Abd al-Razzaq ibn Faraj al-Sa'idi based on three surviving manuscript copies, with the primary witness preserved at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah in Cairo .
Answer updated