Isfar al-Fasih
- Author died
- 433 AH
- Editions
- ʻImādat al-Baḥth al-ʻIlmī bi-al-Jāmiʻah al-Islāmīyah
Isfar al-Fasih (إسفار الفصيح) is an Arabic philological treatise written by the grammarian and lexicographer Abu Sahl al-Harawi (d. 433 AH / 1041–1042 CE) as a commentary on al-Fasih, the foundational vocabulary handbook by Tha'lab (d. 291 AH / 904 CE) .
Background and Purpose
Abu Sahl undertook the work after critically examining and editing Tha'lab's al-Fasih, noting that several sections had been placed under inappropriate chapter headings and that many entries lacked adequate explanations . At the request of his associate, Abu al-Azhar Shihab ibn Ali ibn Abi al-Rijal al-Shaybani, Abu Sahl agreed to provide a clear exposition that elucidated the unexplained terms, expanded on Tha'lab's brief glosses, supplied omitted verbal nouns (masadir) whose derivation was complex or subject to linguistic disagreement, and added active and passive participle forms .
Abu Sahl had previously commenced an extensive commentary on al-Fasih, but because his requester urged him for a quicker and more accessible aid, he composed Isfar al-Fasih with an emphasis on brevity and conciseness to facilitate memorization . He frequently cross-referenced his larger unabridged commentary throughout the text of Isfar al-Fasih .
Contents and Methodology
Isfar al-Fasih covers a wide range of lexical entries alongside discussions of Arabic grammar (nahw) and morphology (sarf) . The author cites and discusses the views of early leading authorities in Arabic philology, at times offering his own independent linguistic positions . He substantiates his explanations with diverse evidentiary texts (shawahid), drawing upon the Quran, prophetic hadiths, classical poetry, proverbs, and traditional Arabic idioms .
Abu Sahl composed four distinct works related to al-Fasih: a revision (Tahdhib al-Fasih), his larger commentary (Sharh al-Fasih), Isfar al-Fasih, and a later abridgment titled al-Talwih fi Sharh al-Fasih . Of his works on al-Fasih, only Isfar al-Fasih and al-Talwih are known to have survived .
Manuscript Transmission
A complete autograph manuscript of Isfar al-Fasih, written in Abu Sahl's own hand, was preserved in the private library of Abd al-Quddus al-Ansari . The manuscript contains an audition note (sama') signed by Abu Sahl in Dhu al-Hijjah 427 AH, recording that Abu al-Azhar Shihab ibn Ali al-Shaybani read the entire work back to him while collating against the original exemplar .
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