Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Mustawa al-Khamis - 3
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dr. Abd al-Muhsin ibn Muhammad al-Qasim
Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Mustawa al-Khamis - 3 is a critical edition of Ibn Malik's grammatical didactic poem, al-Khulasah fi al-Nahw (widely known as Alfiyyat Ibn Malik), edited by Abd al-Muhsin al-Qasim as the third text of the fifth level in the Mutun Talib al-Ilm ("Texts for the Student of Knowledge") educational series .
Scope and Content
The volume presents al-Khulasah fi al-Nahw, composed in the rajaz meter by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Malik al-Ta'i al-Jayyani (d. 672 AH) . Ibn Malik originally penned a comprehensive grammar poem of 2,757 verses titled al-Kafiyah al-Shafiyah, which he subsequently condensed into this 1,002-verse didactic work covering Arabic syntax and key principles of morphology .
Within the broader Mutun Talib al-Ilm curriculum—a six-tier program comprising twenty-two fundamental texts across Islamic disciplines—each work of the fifth and sixth levels was published in an independent volume due to its length . Al-Qasim completed the preparation of this text on 4 Sha'ban 1441 AH .
Editorial Method
In this student-oriented volume, the editor removed the critical apparatus—such as manuscript variants, extensive commentaries, source cross-references, and definitions of obscure vocabulary—to provide an unencumbered text suited for memorization, reserving the detailed critical collation for a separate edition . The verses are fully vocalized, and thematic headings are printed in red ink to assist readers in distinguishing subject transitions .
Manuscript Sources
The textual verification was conducted across a primary group of historical manuscripts, which include:
- A manuscript preserved in the Şehid Ali Paşa collection at the Süleymaniye Library (no. 2334), copied around 698 AH, bearing an authorization (ijazah) granted by al-Fayruzabadi to Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Fariqi .
- A manuscript held at the Yusufağa Library in Konya (no. 6133), dated 719 AH, which had been read before three grammarians: Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi, Baha' al-Din Ibn Aqil, and Muhammad Ibn al-Sarraj .
- A British Museum manuscript (no. 28-2522 B), dated 728 AH .
- A manuscript copied in the handwriting of Ibn Hisham al-Ansari in the Reîsülküttâb collection at the Süleymaniye Library (no. 1039), dated 732 AH .
- A manuscript from the Al-Assad National Library in Damascus (no. 14213), dated circa 732 AH, read before Ibn Malik's direct student, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahim Ibn Khatib Ba'labakk al-Sulami, containing his handwritten authorization and collated against his master copy .
- A collated manuscript at Princeton University (no. 1387 Yahuda), dated 732 AH, containing an authorization from Muhammad ibn Ali al-Yunini (known as Ibn Asbasalar) to al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Yunini .
- A manuscript in the Al-Zahiriyyah Library in Damascus (no. 10270), dated 736 AH, bearing an authorization from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Janani al-Azhari .
- A manuscript at the Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus (no. 1041), dated 740 AH, featuring handwritten annotations by Ibn Hisham .
- A manuscript from the Arif Hikmat collection at King Abdulaziz Public Library (no. 2563), copied circa 744 AH, read before Abu Hayyan with his handwritten authorization to Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shafi'i .
- Additional collated copies from the Kuwait Awqaf Library (no. Kh 272, dated 744 AH), the Hagia Sophia collection at the Süleymaniye Library (no. 4447, dated 796 AH), alongside multiple manuscripts embedded within the commentary of Ibn al-Nazim (the author's son) .
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