Arus al-Afrah fi Sharh Talkhis al-Miftah
- Author died
- 773 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-‘Aṣriyyah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr
Arus al-Afrah fi Sharh Talkhis al-Miftah (The Bride of Festivities in Explaining the Summary of the Key) is an extensive Arabic commentary on rhetoric by the Shafi'i jurist and scholar Baha' al-Din al-Subki (d. 773 AH / 1372 CE) . It serves as an exposition of al-Khatib al-Qazwini's (d. 739 AH / 1338 CE) Talkhis al-Miftah, the standard compendium on the three classical disciplines of Arabic rhetoric: meanings (ilm al-ma'ani), clarity of expression (ilm al-bayan), and embellishment (ilm al-badi') .
Method and Content
In the preface, al-Subki states that he composed the work to present original investigations and critical evaluations that had not been advanced by previous rhetoricians . A distinguishing feature of his methodology is the systematic blending of rhetorical rules with legal theory (usul al-fiqh) and Arabic grammar, aiming to make the work equally profitable for students of all three fields . Al-Subki also supplied meticulous grammatical parses (i'rab) for the Quranic verses cited as textual evidence across the commentary .
Reception and Print History
Arus al-Afrah is regarded as one of the most substantial and authoritative commentaries on Talkhis al-Miftah, rivaled in depth and length primarily by Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani's large commentary, al-Mutawwal . Later scholars engaged directly with the text; among them, Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'a (d. 819 AH / 1416 CE) authored a supercommentary (hashiya) upon it .
The book was printed in Cairo at the Bulaq Press in 1228 AH and 1348 AH . It was also published as part of the composite collection Shuruh al-Talkhis, which brought together al-Taftazani's commentary, Ibn Ya'qub al-Maghribi's Mawahib al-Fattah, al-Subki's Arus al-Afrah, al-Qazwini's al-Idah, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Dasuqi's gloss on a single layout . Modern editions include a text-critical edition prepared by Abd al-Hamid Hindawi .
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