Nazm Qawaid al-Irab al-Sughra - ضمن "Athar al-Muallimi
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dār ‘Ālam al-Fawā’id lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Nazm Qawaid al-Irab al-Sughra is a didactic Arabic grammatical poem in the rajaz meter composed by the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani (d. 1386 AH / 1966 CE) . It versifies al-Qawaid al-Sughra by Ibn Hisham al-Ansari alongside selected points from its commentary by Ibn Jamaah al-Hafid (d. 819 AH) .
Composition and Attribution
The poem spans two hundred verses and is likely the earliest versification dedicated specifically to Ibn Hisham's al-Qawaid al-Sughra, as most other grammarians versified his larger treatise al-Irab an Qawaid al-Irab . Al-Muallimi's authorship is established through several internal and physical proofs in the autograph manuscript:
- The opening line incorporates an allusion to his first name, Abd al-Rahman: Yastamnihu al-Rahmana khayran abduhu ("His servant seeks goodness from the All-Merciful") .
- The draft contains his distinct handwriting with numerous authorial corrections, strikethroughs, and revised hemistichs .
- At the conclusion, the author initially counted the verses as 198 before revising the tally to 200 and affixing his name and signature .
Structure and Features
The work follows the three-chapter division of al-Qawaid al-Sughra: the first chapter covers sentences and their grammatical rulings; the second addresses adverbs and prepositional phrases; and the third discusses frequently recurring grammatical particles .
The poem is characterized by smooth versification and adheres closely to the original base text while weaving in select explanatory remarks from Ibn Jamaah's commentary . Al-Muallimi also numbered several issues and recorded marginal clarifications under his name . In certain matters, he diverged from the original arrangement or exercised personal preference; he placed the treatment of the particle lamma before law, favored the opinion that the future particle sin indicates a narrower timeframe than sawfa, and omitted the second position of Ibn Malik regarding the word raytha .
Manuscript and Publication
The unique manuscript of the poem was preserved in al-Muallimi's personal notebook (kashkul), occupying pages 179 to 182 with the title written at the top of the first page . The text was edited by Usama ibn Musallam al-Hazimi and published as part of the twentieth volume of al-Muallimi's collected works (Athar al-Muallimi), which compiles his treatises on Arabic grammar and philology .
Answer updated