al-Muhadarat fi al-Lugha wa al-Adab
- Author died
- 1102 AH
- Editions
- al-Muhadarat fi al-Lugha wa al-Adab
al-Muhadarat fi al-Lugha wa al-Adab (Lectures on Language and Literature) is an Arabic literary and autobiographical anthology compiled by the Moroccan Maliki jurist and scholar Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Mas'ud al-Yusi (1040–1102 AH / 1630–1691 CE) .
Background and Purpose
The work was composed following an intellectual dispute between al-Yusi and Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi when al-Yusi began delivering lectures on Quranic exegesis (tafsir) at the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez . Although titled as a collection of lectures on language and literature, the 20th-century scholar Muhammad Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani observed that al-Yusi effectively wrote the book as an intellectual autobiography and an exposition of his scholarly abilities, showing the breadth of his erudition and fluency of style .
Contents and Structure
The book is characterized by an unconventional arrangement that weaves together autobiography, literary commentary, philology, and historical anecdotes . Among its principal subjects are:
- Autobiographical details and lineage: al-Yusi details his full ancestry tracing back to the Ait Yousi Berber tribe, his several kunyas (including Abu Ali, Abu al-Mawahib, Abu al-Su'ud, and Abu Muhammad), and the etymological significance of his and his father's names .
- Scholarly encounters and debates: The author records personal reminiscences from his travels in pursuit of knowledge, including an exchange with his friend Abu Salim al-Ayyashi and a linguistic debate during his youth at the Bakriyya lodge (Zawiya Dila'iyya) with his teacher Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Murabit, where al-Yusi defended his usage of the term qata'if by citing al-Hariri's Maqamat .
- Poetry and linguistic discussions: The text integrates poetic selections, philological inquiries, and reflections on contemporary Moroccan scholarship and literary culture .
Reception and Publication
al-Kattani praised the work as remarkable in its genre and singular in its structure and style, noting that it fully demonstrates al-Yusi's mastery and the profusion of his pen .
The work was printed in Fez in 1317 AH (1899–1900 CE) in a single volume of 239 pages . It was later critically edited by Muhammad Hajji and Ahmad al-Sharqawi Iqbal .
Answer updated