Mushkilat Muwatta Malik ibn Anas
- Author died
- 521 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Ḥazm
Mushkilat Muwatta Malik ibn Anas (The Problematic Passages of Malik ibn Anas's Muwatta) is a commentary by the Andalusian scholar Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Sayyid al-Batalyawsi (444–521 AH / 1052–1127 CE), dedicated to resolving difficult phrases, grammatical obscurities, and lexical ambiguities in the hadith and legal compilation al-Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH / 795 CE) .
Title and Authorship
The work is documented in classical bibliographical sources under the general description of a commentary on al-Muwatta (Sharh al-Muwatta), as recorded by Hajji Khalifa in Kashf al-Zunun, and was recorded under the title al-Muqtabas fi Sharh Muwatta Malik ibn Anas by al-Fath and other biographers such as Ibn Bashkuwal, al-Qifti, Ibn Khallikan, and Ibn al-Imad . It is also transmitted and published under the title Mushkilat Muwatta Malik ibn Anas .
Content and Method
The book focuses on linguistic, terminological, and textual commentary, drawing upon al-Batalyawsi's expertise in Arabic philology and grammar:
- Lexical and Material Elucidation: Al-Batalyawsi defines obscure Arabic vocabulary found in narrations, such as the specific plants and woods traditionally used for tooth-sticks (siwak), enumerating al-arak, al-basham, al-ishil, al-bu'ud, al-dirr, al-utam, date-palm branches, al-shatt, and al-yas'ur . He likewise details descriptive terms for hair length, defining wafra as hair reaching the earlobe, jumma as hair exceeding that, limma as touching the shoulder, and warid as reaching the shoulder blade .
- Grammatical Nuances: He resolves syntactic structures and particle usage in the narrations, such as demonstrating that the particle in (إِن) in phrases like إن يدري functions with the meaning of the negative particle ma (مَا) .
- Theological Commentary: In treating theological expressions in hadith, such as the report stating that Hellfire complained to its Lord, al-Batalyawsi outlines the disagreements between literalist and figurative interpretations, stating that divine power allows speech in all created things and concluding that taking such texts according to their apparent meaning (ala zahirihi) is correct unless specific evidence necessitates figurative interpretation .
Reception and Publication
The commentary was cited by later authors and lexicographers, including al-Suhayli in al-Rawd al-Unuf, Ibn Manzur in Lisan al-Arab, and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti via citations preserved through al-Qadi Iyad and Taj al-Din .
The work has been edited by Taha ibn Ali Bu Sarih al-Tunisi and published by Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut (1st edition, 1420 AH / 1999–2000 CE) .
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