Nawadir Abi Mishal
- Author died
- 230 AH
- Editions
- Nawadir Abi Mishal
Kitāb al-Nawādir (commonly known as Nawādir Abī Mish‘al) is an early classical Arabic lexicographical and linguistic work compiled by the Bedouin grammarian and philologist Abu Mish‘al al-A‘rabi (d. c. 228–230 AH / 843–845 CE).
Author and Context
The author is Abd al-Wahhab ibn Harish (also recorded as Abd Allah ibn Harish or Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad ibn Harish), given the kunya Abu Muhammad and titled Abu Mish‘al al-Hamdani al-A‘rabi. A native Bedouin scholar versed in Arabic grammar, Quranic parsing, and philology, he came to Baghdad and became affiliated with the Abbasid vizier al-Hasan ibn Sahl. Bibliographer Ibn al-Nadim classified Kitāb Nawādir Abī Mish‘al among the notable early compilations dedicated to rare linguistic usages and Bedouin philological lore (nawādir).
Transmission and Manuscripts
The work was transmitted through leading figures of the Kufan and Baghdadi philological traditions. A transmission chain preserves its recitation by Abu al-Abbas Tha‘lab to Abu ‘Umar al-Zahid, which was then copied and read by Muhammad ibn Bulbul al-Baghdadi to his teacher Ibn Khalawayh. The surviving manuscript base of the text carries annotations, valuable linguistic glosses, and addenda (istidrākāt) in the hand of Ibn Khalawayh. Additionally, portions of the book were narrated directly from Abu Mish‘al by Ishaq ibn Ziyad al-A‘rabi, the brother of Ibn al-A‘rabi.
Modern Publication
The work was edited by Izzat Hasan and published in two volumes by the Arab Academy of Damascus (Majma‘ al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah bi-Dimashq) in 1380–1381 AH (1960–1961 CE).
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