Hashiyat al-Sabban ala Sharh al-Ashmuni li Alfiyyat Ibn Malik
- Author died
- 1206 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
Hashiyat al-Sabban ala Sharh al-Ashmuni li Alfiyyat Ibn Malik (al-Sabban's Marginal Gloss on al-Ashmuni's Commentary on the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik) is an extensive Arabic grammatical supercommentary authored by the Egyptian scholar Abu al-Irfan Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sabban (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE) . It serves as an analytical gloss on Manhaj al-salik ila Alfiyyat Ibn Malik, the well-known commentary written by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Ashmuni (d. 900, 918, or 929 AH) on the grammatical poem al-Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH) .
Composition and Method
Al-Sabban completed the work on Tuesday, the 14th of Safar, 1193 AH (1779 CE) . In the introduction to the gloss, he laid out his method as resting on three primary components: summarizing the core insights of earlier commentators on al-Ashmuni's text, drawing attention to misinterpretations and lapses in their understandings, and introducing his own scholarly assessments and independent analyses .
To streamline his citations, al-Sabban established specific shorthand conventions:
- The unqualified term shaykhuna ("our teacher") refers to Hasan al-Madabighi .
- The phrase shaykhuna al-Sayyid refers to al-Sayyid al-Bulaydi .
- The expression al-ba'd ("some") designates the scholar Sidi Yusuf al-Hanafi (associated by commentators with Muhammad al-Hifni) .
Material not found in the works of these previous commentators and not attributed to an explicit authority represents his own original reflections, which he also at times credited directly to himself . Within the work, he engaged in sharp and extensive critiques of al-Hifni's views .
Reception and Sub-Glosses
The work achieved widespread fame and renown across Egypt and the Levant, earning praise for its precision and depth of investigation . It became a primary advanced teaching text in the curriculum of al-Azhar . Later scholars celebrated the gloss and authored subsequent marginal notes (taqrirat) upon it, including al-Inbabi, al-Hamidi, and al-Rifa'i .
Printing History
The work was first printed alongside al-Ashmuni's commentary at the Bulaq Press in Cairo in 1280 AH . It was reissued at Bulaq in four volumes in 1294 AH, and subsequent editions were published in Cairo in 1305 AH by al-Matba'ah al-Azhariyyah and al-Matba'ah al-Khayriyyah .
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