Amali al-Murtada Ghurar al-Fawaid wa Durar al-Qalaid (Mutazili)
- Author died
- 436 AH
- Editions
- Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyyah (ʿĪsā al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī wa-Shurakāh)
Amali al-Murtada (Arabic: أمالي المرتضى), formally titled Ghurar al-fawa'id wa-durar al-qala'id (The Blazes of Benefits and Pearls of Necklaces), is an encyclopedic work of Quranic exegesis, literary criticism, philology, and theology by the Imami scholar al-Sharif al-Murtada (355–436 AH / 965–1044 CE) .
Structure and Composition
The book consists of scholarly dictations delivered by al-Sharif al-Murtada across eighty distinct sessions (majalis) held over successive periods in Baghdad . In these sessions, he moved fluidly across diverse disciplines, including Quranic interpretation, hadith commentary, Arabic lexicography, grammatical problems, biographical notices, and poetic analysis . Much of the literary lore, poetry, and linguistic material recorded in the work derives from what al-Murtada received directly from his teacher, the Mu'tazili man of letters Abu Abd Allah al-Marzubani .
Method and Theological Orientation
Rather than providing a verse-by-verse commentary covering the entire text of the Quran, al-Murtada selected specific theological and linguistic cruxes, focusing on ambiguous or intricate verses (al-ayat al-mutashabiha) . In treating these passages, he frequently addressed issues where the literal wording of the scripture seemed to conflict with rationalist theological tenets, reconciling the apparent wording with Mu'tazili doctrine through allegorical interpretation (ta'wil) and linguistic substantiation .
Reception and Abridgments
The work occupied an esteemed place among scholars of Arabic language and literature. Modern editor Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim grouped it alongside major classical anthologies such as al-Mubarrad's al-Kamil, al-Jahiz's al-Bayan wa-l-tabyin, Ibn Qutayba's Uyun al-akhbar, Ibn Abd Rabbih's al-Iqd, and Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani's Kitab al-Aghani .
The grammarian Ibn al-Shajari transcribed a manuscript of the work in his own hand and made extensive use of its discussions, though he also noted critically on one passage that al-Murtada had not provided an exhaustive lexicographical breakdown or grammatical inflection (i'rab) for the verses under discussion .
An abridgment of the work was composed by Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Ata'iqi (d. c. 790 AH) under the title Ghurar al-ghurar wa-durar al-durar: Mukhtasar Ghurar al-fawa'id wa-durar al-qala'id .
Publication History
The work was critically edited by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim and first published in Cairo by Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-Arabiyya (Isa al-Babi al-Halabi) in 1373 AH / 1954 CE . It has since seen several subsequent reprints, including editions published by Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi in Beirut (1386 AH / 1967 CE) and Dar al-Fikr al-Arabi in Cairo (1998 CE) .
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