Fath al-Baqi bi Sharh Alfiyyat al-Iraqi
- Author died
- 926 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Fath al-Baqi bi Sharh Alfiyyat al-Iraqi (فتح الباقي بشرح ألفية العراقي) is a concise commentary on hadith terminology by the Shafi'i jurist and scholar Zakariya al-Ansari (d. 926 AH / 1520 CE; variant death years 925 AH and 928 AH are also recorded) . The book serves as an exposition of Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi's (d. 806 AH / 1404 CE) didactic thousand-line poem, Alfiyyat al-Hadith (also titled al-Tabsira wa-al-Tadhkira or Nazm al-Durar fi Ilm al-Athar), which summarizes Ibn al-Salah's Ulum al-Hadith .
Composition and Date
Zakariya al-Ansari explicitly recorded the completion date of the work at the end of the text, finishing it on 10 Rajab 896 AH (May 1491 CE) . The attribution of the commentary to al-Ansari is confirmed across historical bibliographies, uniform manuscript copies, and internal cross-references to his other writings, such as Sharh al-Bahja and Tanqih al-Lubab .
Method and Scope
The book is structured as a concise, blended commentary (sharh mamzuj) that weaves directly into the verses of the Alfiyya . Unlike al-Iraqi's own broader exposition, al-Ansari focuses on close verbal and grammatical analysis (tahlil lafzi) of each verse while clarifying definitions, technical categories, and hadith classifications . In attributing transmissions and opinions, al-Ansari frequently cites his teacher Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani using expressions such as "our teacher said" (qala shaykhuna) and "our teacher imparted" (afadahu shaykhuna) .
Reception and Scholarly Dispute
Fath al-Baqi became one of the most widely circulated commentaries on al-Iraqi's poem . However, it was the subject of contemporary controversy: his peer Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (d. 902 AH / 1497 CE) claimed that al-Ansari began composing the work during al-Sakhawi's absence and drew heavily from al-Sakhawi's expansive commentary, Fath al-Mughith, a claim that surprised contemporaries . While later commentators note extensive textual correspondence between the two works in several places alongside al-Ansari's distinct additions, other scholars have defended al-Ansari against the accusation of uncredited borrowing, pointing to his independent stature and extensive scholarly output .
A supercommentary (hashiya) was later composed on Fath al-Baqi in a single volume by the Maliki scholar Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Makram al-Sa'idi al-Adawi (d. 1189 AH / 1775 CE) .
Manuscript Copies and Editions
The commentary survives in numerous manuscripts worldwide; eighteen copies are preserved in Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya alone . Printed editions include:
- An early edition printed in Fez, Morocco (1354 AH / 1935 CE), published in the margins and appendix of al-Iraqi's commentary .
- An edition edited by Hafiz Thana' Allah al-Zahidi, published by Dar Ibn Hazm (1420 AH / 1999 CE) .
- An edition edited by Abd al-Latif Humaym and Mahir al-Fahl, published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in Beirut (1422 AH / 2002 CE) .
- A combined edition published alongside al-Iraqi's al-Tabsira wa-al-Tadhkira, prefaced by Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Iraqi al-Husayni and released by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya .
Answer updated