al-Nukat al-Wafiya bima fi Sharh al-Alfiya
- Author died
- 885 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Rushd Nāshirūn
al-Nukat al-Wafiya bima fi Sharh al-Alfiya (The Complete Critical Glosses on the Commentary of the Alfiyya) is a treatise on Hadith terminology by the Shafi'i scholar Burhan al-Din al-Biqai (d. 885 AH / 1480 CE), composed as critical glosses and commentary on Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi's Sharh al-Tabsirah wa-al-Tadhkirah, which was al-Iraqi's own commentary on his didactic poem Alfiyyat al-Hadith .
Composition and Sources
Al-Biqa'i compiled the work primarily from the scholarly contributions, verifications, and dictations of his teacher Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani during the study sessions in which al-Biqa'i read and examined al-Iraqi's commentary under him while Ibn Hajar served as chief Shafi'i judge in Egypt . The work was written during Ibn Hajar's lifetime . Because of this direct transmission, the bulk of the book preserves Hadith nomenclature and methodology derived from Ibn Hajar, including unique benefits not found elsewhere in his writings .
Method and Features
Al-Biqa'i clarified his editorial method in the introduction to the book :
- He marked his own independent research and critical additions by prefixing them with "I said" (qultu) and concluding them with "and Allah knows best" (wa-Allahu a'lam), though these personal interjections represent a small fraction of the entire text .
- For material received from Ibn Hajar, al-Biqa'i reconstructed the discussions after leaving the classroom according to his understanding, while recording immediately the names of any earlier sources Ibn Hajar cited aloud .
- The work presents critiques of various poetic verses of al-Iraqi's Alfiyya, where al-Biqa'i offered alternative phrasing that he considered more precise, comprehensive, or beneficial in versification .
- When citing other reference works to substantiate positions or resolve obscurities, al-Biqa'i frequently conveyed the text by meaning rather than verbatim quotation, often explicitly signaling that he adapted the phrasing while maintaining the intended sense .
Reception and Publication
In Nazm al-'Uqyan, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti commended the book, characterizing it as one of al-Biqa'i's fine writings .
The text was edited by Maher Yasin al-Fahl and published in two volumes by Maktabat al-Rushd in Riyadh (1428 AH / 2007 CE) . The edition was prepared using four manuscript copies, including an author-authorized manuscript transcribed in 880 AH by Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Himsi that bears al-Biqa'i's handwriting in multiple marginal notes .
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