Ghalat al-Fuqaha
- Author died
- 582 AH
- Editions
- Alam al-Kutub
Ghalat al-Fuqaha (The Mistakes of Jurists), also titled Ghalat al-Du'afa' min al-Fuqaha (The Errors of Weak Jurists), is a concise philological treatise by the Egyptian grammarian and philologist Ibn Barri (499–582 AH / 1106–1187 CE) . The work focuses on identifying and correcting linguistic mistakes, grammatical solecisms, and mispronunciations commonly found in legal literature and on the tongues of jurists .
Title and Scope
The treatise appears in scholarly citations and manuscript titles under several variant names, including Ghalat al-Du'afa' min al-Fuqaha, Ghalat al-Du'afa' min Ahl al-Fiqh, and Kitab fih alfaz mimma yaghlat fih du'afa' al-fuqaha wa-ghayruhum (A Book Containing Expressions in Which Weak Jurists and Others Err) . The biographer Ibn Khallikan described it as a concise treatise on the linguistic errors of jurists (kitab latif fi aghalit al-fuqaha) . Later jurists, such as al-Nawawi and Ibn al-Rif'ah, also referred to it as Ibn Barri's booklet compiled on grammatical error and textual corruption (al-lahn wa-l-tashif) .
By framing the title around "weak" or lesser jurists rather than jurists broadly, Ibn Barri adopted a cautious stance toward criticizing the legal class, targeting the linguistic deficiencies of non-expert practitioners rather than the founders of legal schools .
Methodology and Content
In the preface to the work, Ibn Barri set out his method and scope:
"These are expressions mentioned by earlier philological scholars regarding what many weak jurists and others err in; I have transmitted them from them as they mentioned them, and followed that with further explanation, nothing more."
The author drew extensively upon classical philological authorities and earlier lexicographical manuals dedicated to correcting linguistic errors, incorporating material from Ibn Makki al-Siqilli's Tathqif al-Lisan (The Cultivation of the Tongue) and other linguistic compendia .
Among the specific linguistic corrections discussed in the work are:
- Correcting the vocalization of the singular form of 'urud (trade goods and non-currency property): Ibn Barri established that it is properly vocalized as 'ard (with a quiescent ra'), pointing out that pronouncing it 'arad (with fathah) is a widespread error among jurists .
- Criticizing the omission of the hamzah in standard verbal conjugations, such as the colloquial phrase tawaddaytu instead of the standard tawadda'tu (meaning "I performed ablution") .
- Assessing technical legal vocabulary such as al-awqas (the intermediate numbers of livestock between obligatory zakat brackets, singular waqs), where he documented differences between the dominant usage among jurists and standard lexicographical attestations .
Transmission and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise have survived across several collections, including manuscript No. 4231 (item 2) at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, as well as a photographic copy held at the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo (derived from the Ra'is al-Kuttab collection, MS 1121/3) .
The work was edited by Hatim Salih al-Damin and published under the title Ghalat al-Du'afa' min al-Fuqaha in Beirut by 'Alam al-Kutub in 1407 AH / 1987 CE .
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