Nusrat al-Tha'ir ala al-Mathal al-Sa'ir
- Author died
- 764 AH
- Editions
- Nusrat al-Tha'ir ala al-Mathal al-Sa'ir
Nusrat al-Tha'ir ala al-Mathal al-Sa'ir (The Champion of the Avenger over "The Current Exemplar") is a critical treatise on Arabic rhetoric and literary criticism composed by the Mamluk scholar Salah al-Din al-Safadi (696–764 AH / 1296–1363 CE) . The book serves as a point-by-point rebuttal to the renowned rhetorical manual al-Mathal al-Sa'ir fi Adab al-Katib wa-al-Sha'ir by Diya' al-Din Ibn al-Athir (d. 637 AH) .
Purpose and Structure
Al-Safadi recognized the immense popularity and wide circulation that al-Mathal al-Sa'ir enjoyed among secretaries, scribes, and men of letters . However, he argued that Ibn al-Athir marred his work through excessive conceit and persistent disparagement of earlier literary authorities, such as al-Qadi al-Fadil, al-Hariri, and al-Mutanabbi .
To correct these assessments, al-Safadi arranged his critique to follow the exact order and chapter divisions of al-Mathal al-Sa'ir, tracking Ibn al-Athir's discussions systematically . Explaining his chosen title, al-Safadi noted that al-tha'ir literally denotes someone who does not relent until exacting retribution; in his biographical dictionary al-Wafi bi-al-Wafayat, he explicitly stated that he wrote the work to avenge al-Qadi al-Fadil, al-Hariri, and al-Mutanabbi from Ibn al-Athir’s detractions .
Key Arguments and Refutations
Throughout the treatise, al-Safadi defends classical stylists while analyzing rhetorical devices, epistolography, and verse:
- Defense of al-Qadi al-Fadil and Classical Stylists: Al-Safadi vigorously countered Ibn al-Athir’s critiques of al-Qadi al-Fadil’s prose, arguing that Ibn al-Athir failed to grasp the depth, subtlety, and hidden elegance of al-Fadil’s epistolary style .
- Refutation of Shu'ubiyya Tendencies: Near the conclusion of al-Mathal al-Sa'ir, Ibn al-Athir had asserted that Persian poets surpassed Arabic poets in producing long-form narrative epics, citing Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (amounting to sixty thousand verses) as unmatched in Arabic literature . Al-Safadi strongly condemned this claim, accusing Ibn al-Athir of leaning toward Shu'ubiyya sentiment . To refute it, al-Safadi listed substantial long-form Arabic poetic compositions, including versifications of Tarikh al-Mas'udi, Aban al-Lahiqi's versification of Kalila wa-Dimna in ten thousand verses, an eighteen-thousand-verse praise poem dedicated to the Prophet ﷺ by a Maghrebi author, Ibn al-Habbariyya’s al-Sadhah wa-al-Baghin in two thousand verses, and al-Shatibi's Hirz al-Amani (al-Shatibiyya) on the seven Quranic readings .
- Appreciation of al-Hariri: Defending al-Hariri's Maqamat, al-Safadi highlighted its literary mastery, reporting also that European kings had the work read and translated into their languages .
Scholarly Reception and Editions
Nusrat al-Tha'ir forms part of a broader corpus of critical polemics triggered by Ibn al-Athir’s al-Mathal al-Sa'ir, alongside Ibn Abi al-Hadid’s al-Falak al-Da'ir ala al-Mathal al-Sa'ir, al-Rukn al-Sinjari's Nashr al-Mathal al-Sa'ir wa-Tayy al-Falak al-Da'ir, and Abd al-Aziz ibn Isa's Qat' al-Dabir .
The text was edited by Muhammad Ali Sultani and published in a single volume by the Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus in 1971 .
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