al-Muwazana bayn «al-Fa'iq» lil-Zamakhshari (t 538 H) wa«al-Nihaya» li-Ibn al-Athir (t 606 H)
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- al-Muwazana bayn «al-Fa'iq» lil-Zamakhshari (t 538 H) wa«al-Nihaya» li-Ibn al-Athir (t 606 H)
al-Muwazana bayn «al-Fa'iq» lil-Zamakhshari (t 538 H) wa«al-Nihaya» li-Ibn al-Athir (t 606 H) (A Comparative Study between al-Fa'iq by al-Zamakhshari and al-Nihaya by Ibn al-Athir) is a contemporary monograph by Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mudayhish that examines and contrasts two major classical dictionaries of rare hadith vocabulary (gharib al-hadith) .
Scope and Methodology
The work provides a descriptive and comparative evaluation of al-Fa'iq fi Gharib al-Hadith by al-Zamakhshari (d. 538 AH) and al-Nihaya fi Gharib al-Hadith wa-al-Athar by Majd al-Din Ibn al-Athir (d. 606 AH) . The author adopts an inductive-analytical approach (al-manhaj al-istiqra'i al-tahlili) to assess their methodology, content, points of convergence and divergence, and comparative merits . In examining the two primary sources, the study relies on the edition of al-Fa'iq edited by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl and Ali al-Bijawi, and the edition of al-Nihaya edited by Mahmud al-Tanahi, with additional reference to the edition edited by Ahmad al-Kharrat .
Structure
The book is arranged into an introduction, a preliminary chapter, five core chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction and Preliminary Chapter: Outlines the study's significance, research questions, methodology, and the development of gharib al-hadith scholarship .
- Chapter 1: A biographical overview of al-Zamakhshari .
- Chapter 2: An analysis of al-Zamakhshari's al-Fa'iq fi Gharib al-Hadith .
- Chapter 3: A biographical overview of Ibn al-Athir .
- Chapter 4: An analysis of Ibn al-Athir's al-Nihaya fi Gharib al-Hadith wa-al-Athar .
- Chapter 5: The comparative study (al-muwazana), divided into three sections:
- Points of agreement between the two works .
- Points of difference between them .
- Critical preference (al-tarjih) and comparative applied models .
- Conclusion: Summarizes the main findings and recommendations .
Key Findings and Assessment
The study identifies multiple commonalities between the two works: both are comprehensive compendia arranged alphabetically, built upon earlier lexicons, incorporate textual evidence from the Quran, hadith, and Arabic poetry, follow similar lexical methods in morphology and etymology, frequently omit citations for borrowed passages, do not distinguish between authentic and weak or fabricated narrations, and interpret divine attributes figuratively (ta'wil) .
Regarding differences, al-Zamakhshari was a Mu'tazili in creed and a Hanafi in jurisprudence, whereas Ibn al-Athir was an Ash'ari in creed and a Shafi'i in jurisprudence, though juristic divergences rarely appear in their texts . al-Zamakhshari approached the subject primarily as a philologist, incorporating extensive grammatical and rhetorical digressions, and did not order entries by their third radical root letter . In contrast, Ibn al-Athir wrote from the perspective of a hadith scholar, integrating broader hadith corpora, maintaining strict three-letter alphabetical ordering, employing accessible language, and directly utilizing al-Fa'iq, citing al-Zamakhshari by name in over two hundred instances .
In his final assessment, the author gives preference to al-Nihaya, characterizing it as more comprehensive in hadith material, more accessible in arrangement, and more precise in citing texts, noting that the linguistic digressions in al-Fa'iq fall outside the primary purpose of a hadith lexicon .
Publication History
The initial release of the book appeared in 1436 AH, followed by a second version submitted in Rajab 1445 AH for peer review in the Journal of the Faculty of Islamic Studies for Girls in Kafr al-Shaykh (Egypt, Issue 8, 2024 CE), and a third expanded release in Jumada al-Akhirah 1446 AH, along with digital dissemination .
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