al-Nazm al-Mustadhab fi Tafsir Gharib Alfaz al-Muhadhdhab
- Author died
- 633 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Tijāriyyah
al-Nazm al-Mustadhab fi Tafsir Gharib Alfaz al-Muhadhdhab (The Pleasant Arrangement in Explaining the Rare Words of al-Muhadhdhab) is a specialized dictionary of legal and linguistic terminology by the Yemeni Shafi'i scholar Battal al-Rukbi (d. 633 AH / 1236 CE), dedicated to elucidating the rare and obscure vocabulary found in Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's foundational Shafi'i manual, al-Muhadhdhab .
Title and Ascription
Biographers and bibliographers have referred to the work under slight variations of its title . Al-Jandi, Abu Makhrama, Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli, and Umar Rida Kahhala cited it as al-Mustadhab al-Mutadammim li-Sharh Gharib Alfaz al-Muhadhdhab . Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Hajji Khalifa, and Isma'il Pasha al-Baghdadi recorded it as al-Mustadhab fi Sharh Gharib al-Muhadhdhab, whereas Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Khazraji shortened it simply to al-Mustadhab . The full title, al-Nazm al-Mustadhab fi Tafsir Gharib Alfaz al-Muhadhdhab, is confirmed on the title page of an early manuscript preserved in Sana'a, likely transcribed during the author's lifetime .
Purpose and Methodology
In his introduction, al-Rukbi explains that he composed the work because al-Muhadhdhab had become a central textbook for legal study and instruction, yet contained rare linguistic expressions requiring systematic clarification . He reviewed earlier commentaries on the obscure vocabulary of al-Muhadhdhab and found them deficient in different respects: some were overly brief and failed to explain the text adequately (such as Ibn al-Barzi's al-Asami wa-l-'Ilal); others were selective, omitting many difficult words (such as Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ali al-Qal'i's al-Lafd al-Mustaghrab); and others expanded excessively into legal rulings and cross-madhhab juristic debates rather than focusing on linguistic clarification .
Al-Rukbi designed his book to provide comprehensive coverage of the rare vocabulary throughout the chapters of al-Muhadhdhab, analyzing terms linguistically while maintaining conciseness and avoiding superfluous digressions .
Sources
Al-Rukbi relied heavily on classical lexicographical works and specialized treatises on legal vocabulary (gharib al-fiqh), frequently attributing statements directly to their original authorities . His primary sources include:
- Major Arabic lexicons, foremost among them al-Sihah by Isma'il ibn Hammad al-Jawhari, which served as his most cited reference, alongside Kitab al-'Ayn by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, Jamharat al-Lugha by Ibn Durayd, Tahdhib al-Lugha by Abu Mansur al-Azhari, and al-Mujmal by Ahmad ibn Faris .
- Early works on legal terminology and philology, including the introductory section on legal terms in Gharib al-Hadith by Ibn Qutayba al-Dinawari, Islah al-Mantiq by Ibn al-Sikkit, Adab al-Katib by Ibn Qutayba, and Diwan al-Adab by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Farabi .
- Specialized monographs on philological subjects, such as anatomical treatises (khalq al-insan), descriptions of camels and plants, linguistic distinctions (al-furuq al-lughawiyya), and grammatical works .
Manuscripts and Editions
A prominent primary manuscript of the text is held in the library of the Great Mosque of Sana'a in Yemen (No. 63 Tarikh / Kitab 132), consisting of 139 folios written in Naskh script of the seventh century AH .
The book was printed in Cairo in 1379 AH / 1959 CE under the title al-Nazm al-Mustadhab fi Sharh Gharib al-Muhadhdhab . A critical edition was prepared by Dr. Mustafa 'Abd al-Hafiz Salim and published by al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya in Mecca in two volumes (Volume 1 in 1408 AH / 1988 CE, and Volume 2 in 1411 AH / 1991 CE) .
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