al-Murtajal fi Sharh al-Jumal li-Ibn al-Khashshab
- Author died
- 567 AH
- Editions
- ‘Alī Ḥaydar
al-Murtajal fi Sharh al-Jumal (The Improvised Commentary on al-Jumal) is a work on Arabic grammar by the Baghdadi scholar Ibn al-Khashshab (492–567 AH / 1099–1172 CE), written as an explanatory commentary on the grammatical treatise al-Jumal by Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani.
Composition and Title
The author stated in his preface that the text originated as an unexhaustive dictation upon al-Jurjani's abridgment al-Jumal. Ibn al-Khashshab dictated the work extemporaneously over a few days prior to the year 520 AH, accommodating a scribe who was preparing to depart on a journey. Because of this rapid dictation, he gave it the title al-Murtajal ("The Improvised"), offering the haste of its production as an excuse should any unpolished phrasing be found in the text.
Scope, Structure, and Attribution
Biographers, including Ibn Khallikan and Ibn Rajab, noted that Ibn al-Khashshab did not cover every section of the base text, leaving out chapters in the middle of the work without commentary.
While biographical notices by Ibn Rajab and Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli listed al-Murtajal as a commentary on al-Jumal by al-Zajjaji, manuscript copies, the author's own prologue, and other biographical works specify that it is a commentary on al-Jumal by Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani.
Modern Publication
The work was edited by Ali Haydar and published in Damascus in 1392 AH / 1972 CE.
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