al-Wadih fi Mushkilat Shi'r al-Mutanabbi
- Author died
- 380 AH
- Editions
- al-Wadih fi Mushkilat Shi'r al-Mutanabbi
al-Wadih fi Mushkilat Shi'r al-Mutanabbi (The Clear Exposition on the Obscure Verses of al-Mutanabbi's Poetry) is a critical treatise on Arabic poetry by Abu al-Qasim al-Asbahani (d. after 380 AH / 990 CE), dedicated to analyzing and correcting Ibn Jinni's explanations of difficult verses in the diwan of al-Mutanabbi .
Background and Composition
The book was composed during the reign of the Buyid ruler Baha' al-Dawla (r. 379–403 AH / 989–1012 CE) and dedicated to him . According to al-Asbahani, a patron requested that Ibn Jinni extract and explain the obscure and enigmatic verses (abyat al-ma'ani) from al-Mutanabbi's poetry . A prominent statesman then read Ibn Jinni's commentary to al-Asbahani, who noted instances of both correct readings and errors; this prompted him to dictate his critical work and present it to Baha' al-Dawla .
Al-Asbahani's critique was initially directed at Ibn Jinni's shorter commentary (al-Fasr al-Saghir) . Later, while traveling in Persian lands (bilad al-'Ajam) after the year 410 AH (1019/1020 CE), al-Asbahani encountered scribes examining Ibn Jinni's larger, comprehensive commentary (al-Fasr al-Kabir) . He subsequently added critiques of nineteen additional verses treated in that work, as well as an explanation of one further obscure verse on which Ibn Jinni had offered no comment .
Structure and Method
Al-Asbahani's systematic method consists of citing a given verse from al-Mutanabbi's diwan, providing Ibn Jinni's interpretation, and following it with his own critical assessment and correction . In several instances, he expands his analysis by adducing thematic parallels and stylistic precedents from earlier Arabic poets .
Critical Views and Poetic Theory
Al-Asbahani articulated a distinct view of poetic theory, maintaining that poetic meanings and themes are universally accessible to all people—both urban dwellers and nomads—and that artistic superiority lies strictly in diction, fluency, and the quality of formulation (husn al-sabk) .
In evaluating al-Mutanabbi, al-Asbahani described him as a knowledgeable memorizer of the Arabic language and transmitter of poetry who drew his rare vocabulary primarily from Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam's al-Gharib al-Musannaf . Critically, he characterized al-Mutanabbi as swift in seizing upon concepts, exceptionally skilled in describing warfare and horses, but uncurbed in his composition, accepting low and flawed phrasing alongside rare and innovative lines, with occasional structural weakness and convoluted expression .
Reception and Modern Edition
The work remained largely overlooked for centuries in classical biographical and bibliographical registers; it was omitted by Katib Celebi in Kashf al-Zunun and by his continuators . In his Khizanat al-Adab, Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi referred to it under the variant title Iydah al-Mushkil min Shi'r al-Mutanabbi .
The Tunisian scholar Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur discovered a manuscript copy in the library of the Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis, editing and publishing it through al-Dar al-Tunisiyya lil-Nashr in 1968 . It was later reprinted alongside Ibn al-Sarraj al-Shantarini's related critical work Sarqat al-Mutanabbi wa-Mushkil Ma'anih .
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