Sharh al-Makudi ala al-Alfiyya fi Ilmay al-Sarf wa al-Nahw
- Author died
- 807 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Asriyyah
Sharh al-Makudi ala al-Alfiyya fi Ilmay al-Sarf wa al-Nahw (al-Makudi's Commentary on the Alfiyya in the Sciences of Morphology and Grammar) is an Arabic grammatical commentary by the Moroccan grammarian Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali al-Makudi (d. 807 AH / 1405 CE) on the didactic thousand-verse poem al-Alfiyya (also known as al-Khulasa) by Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH / 1274 CE) .
Composition and Versions
Al-Makudi authored two commentaries on Ibn Malik's Alfiyya: an expansive larger work (al-Sharh al-Akbar) and a concise smaller one (al-Sharh al-Asghar) . According to biographical accounts noted by al-Sakhawi, the larger commentary did not reach Cairo and was reportedly burned in the West due to the jealousy of rivals, leaving the smaller version as the circulating text utilized widely by students .
Method and Content
In his introduction, al-Makudi defines the work as an abridged commentary designed to clarify the meaning of Ibn Malik's verses, untangle difficult grammatical phrases, and provide syntactical analysis (i'rab) of the didactic lines . The text maintains a moderate pedagogical style, positioning itself between tedious verbosity and obscure brevity .
In structuring his explanations, al-Makudi frequently drew upon earlier commentaries, heavily citing and relying on the grammatical formulations of Ibn Umm Qasim al-Muradi (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) across major chapters, including those on speech (kalam), verbs of appropinquation (af'al al-muqaraba), grammatical contest (tanazu'), exception (istithna'), prepositions (huruf al-jarr), annexation (idafa), syndetic coordination (atf al-nasaq), substitution (badal), lamentation (nudba), vocative truncation (tarkhim), diptotes (ma la yansarif), and broken plurals (jam' al-taksir) .
Reception and Supercommentaries
The commentary became a foundational teaching manual in North Africa . After al-Makudi ceased his lectures on the Kitab of Sibawayh at the al-Attarin madrasa in Fez, curriculum study shifted standardly to Ibn Malik's Alfiyya accompanied by al-Makudi's commentary .
Numerous scholars wrote glosses and supercommentaries (hawashi) on the text, including:
- Mujabbir (d. 985 AH)
- Ali Baraka al-Titwani (d. 1120 AH)
- Ahmad al-Mallawi (d. 1181 AH)
- Al-Marnisi (d. 1277 AH)
- Ahmad ibn al-Hajj (d. 1310 AH)
- Additional glosses by scholars such as al-Butaywi, al-Zayati, al-Rasmuki, and Ibn Jallun .
The work was printed in Cairo at al-Matba'a al-Amira al-Bahiyya in 1320 AH (1902 CE) and has since received modern critical editions, including one edited by Abd al-Hamid Hindawi .
Answer updated