Manahij al-Talif Inda al-Ulama al-Arab
- Author died
- 1432 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-ʻIlm lil-Malāyīn
Manahij al-Talif Inda al-Ulama al-Arab (Methods of Authorship Among Arab Scholars) is a scholarly survey of classical Arabic literary sources and authorial methodologies written by the Egyptian scholar Mustafa al-Shakaa (d. 1432 AH / 2011 CE) .
Purpose and Scope
Mustafa al-Shakaa conceived the book after contemplating a comprehensive study examining the methods of composition employed by Muslim scholars across Islamic heritage in language, literature, and thought . Recognizing the vastness of the subject, he designated this volume specifically to the methods of authorship within Arabic literature, intending to follow it with subsequent volumes covering other disciplines of Islamic heritage . He adopted an accessible, moderate approach designed to present the subject clearly and without undue complexity .
Structure and Content
The work is organized into eleven main chapters (abwāb), following a thematic and chronological progression :
- Chapter 1: Traces the early intellectual movement among Arabs and Muslims, focusing on the inception of written recording (tadwīn) in Quranic sciences, Hadith, and other early branches of knowledge .
- Chapter 2: Examines the development of prose composition and epistolary writing (inshāʾ), providing a concise survey of the primary sources of classical Arabic prose .
- Chapter 3: Discusses the pioneers of non-specialized literary compilation—chiefly scholars of the second century AH who combined poetry, historical reports, anecdotes, lexicography, and grammar in a single work, such as al-Nadr ibn Shumayl, Ibn al-Kalbi, Abu Ubaydah, al-Asma'i, al-Haytham ibn Adi, and al-Mada'ini .
- Chapter 4: Focuses on the rise of methodical, specialized literary authorship, analyzing the works and methodologies of authors including al-Jahiz, Ibn Qutaybah, Abu Hanifah al-Dinawari, al-Mubarrad, Tha'lab, Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur, Abu Bakr al-Suli, al-Marzubani, and Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi .
- Chapter 5: Devotes two detailed sections to two major literary compendia: al-Iqd al-Farid by Ibn Abd Rabbih and Kitab al-Aghani by Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahani .
- Chapter 6: Treats dictation works (amālī) and related genres in chronological order .
- Chapter 7: Examines biographical anthologies of poets (ṭabaqāt al-shuʿarāʾ), tracing the genre chronologically from Tabaqat Fuhul al-Shu'ara by Ibn Sallam al-Jumahi to Sulafat al-Asr by Ibn Ma'sum .
- Chapter 8: Surveys poetry selections and Ḥamāsah anthologies, discussing early collections such as al-Mufaddaliyyat, al-Asma'iyyat, and Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab, followed by the pivotal Hamasa of Abu Tammam and subsequent imitations .
- Chapter 9: Analyzes biographical dictionaries (tarājim) and their internal indexing systems, ranging from Ibn al-Nadim's al-Fihrist to al-Muhibbi's Khulasat al-Athar .
- Chapter 10: Added in the second edition, this chapter explores the sources and authorial approaches concerning Andalusian literature by Eastern, Maghrebi, and Andalusian scholars .
- Chapter 11: Covers Arabic encyclopedias in general, with particular focus on large-scale compendia compiled during the Mamluk period .
Composition and Publication
The author completed the preface to the second edition in Beirut on 1 December 1973 . He acknowledged the assistance of two of his students, Hassan Madi and Ahmad Abd al-Aziz Amr, who contributed to collecting texts and reviewing proof prints . The book was published in Beirut by Dar al-Ilm li-l-Malayin .
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