Fasl al-Maqal fi Sharh Kitab al-Amthal
- Author died
- 487 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah
Fasl al-Maqal fi Sharh Kitab al-Amthal (Decisive Speech in Explaining the Book of Proverbs) is a commentary and expansion by the Andalusian scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri (d. 487 AH / 1094 CE) on Kitab al-Amthal (Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, d. 224 AH / 838 CE), an early foundational compilation of Arabic proverbs .
Background and Purpose
In his opening statement, al-Bakri outlined his motivation for composing the work, observing that al-Qasim ibn Sallam had omitted explanations for many of the proverbs, neglected to record their historical background narratives (akhbar), and quoted numerous poetic lines without attributing them to their authors . Al-Bakri therefore undertook to explain obscure meanings, link the proverbs to their original historical contexts, elaborate on points that Ibn Sallam had summarized, provide attributions for anonymous verses, supply additional proverbs omitted in the source text, and define rare or difficult vocabulary (gharib) .
Structure
The book is arranged into twenty thematic chapters (abwab), each dividing into several sub-chapters :
- Guarding the tongue (hifz al-lisan)
- Defects of speech (ma'ayib al-mantiq)
- The collective conditions and descriptions of men (ahwal al-rijal wa-ikhtilaf nu'utihim)
- Affection and compassion among relatives (ta'atuf dhawi al-arham)
- Noble character traits (makarim al-akhlaq)
- Generosity and nobility (al-jud wa-al-majd)
- Friendship and sincere affection (al-khulla wa-al-safa')
- Livelihood and property (al-ma'ash wa-al-amwal)
- Knowledge and understanding (al-ilm wa-al-ma'rifa)
- Outward signs as evidence of hidden matters (shawahid al-umur al-zahirah)
- Needs and requests (al-hawa'ij)
- Injustice (al-zulm)
- Defects and censure (al-ma'ayib wa-al-dhamm)
- Mistakes and slips in affairs (al-khata' wa-al-zalal)
- Miserliness and its varieties (al-bukhl)
- Categories and types of cowardice (sunuf al-jubn)
- The calamities of time (marazi al-dahr)
- Crimes and offenses (al-jinayat)
- Superlative similes (muntaha al-tashbih)
- Meeting and shunning people and food (al-liqa' wa-al-nafy li-l-nas wa-al-ta'am)
Method and Sources
In his commentary, al-Bakri enriched the text with critical inquiries into Arabic philology, genealogy, and poetry . He drew extensively on earlier paremiological works, including those attributed to early collectors such as Suhar ibn Ayyash al-Abdi, Ubayd ibn Shariya al-Jurhumi, and Ilaqa ibn Karsham al-Kilabi . The work has been characterized as preserving one of the most comprehensive early commentaries on Ibn Sallam's text, incorporating rare source material not preserved in other surviving proverb compilations .
Transmission and Editions
The Andalusian scholar Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili recorded his transmission chain (isnad) for the work in his Fihrisa, having received it from two direct students of al-Bakri: the vizier Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Lakhmi and the jurist Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qurashi .
The book was edited by Ihsan Abbas and Abd al-Majid Abidin, first published at the University of Khartoum in 1958, followed by a second edition in Beirut in 1971 and later printings .
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