Sharh al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba
- Author died
- 469 AH
- Editions
- al-Maṭba‘ah al-‘Aṣriyyah
Sharh al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba (Commentary on the Calculated Introduction) is a treatise on Arabic grammar by the Egyptian grammarian Ibn Babshadh (d. 469 AH / 1077 CE), serving as his self-authored commentary on his grammatical primer, al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba.
Composition and Background
The work was composed when Ibn Babshadh's student, Ibn al-Fahham, requested an elucidation of his teacher's introductory text on Arabic grammar (al-Muqaddima fi al-nahw). In response, Ibn Babshadh dictated the commentary directly to him. The underlying base text is also referenced as al-Muqaddima fi 'ulum al-nahw or al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba.
Content and Method
The commentary elaborates on the grammatical classifications and syntactical rules established in the primer. Among its specific classifications, Ibn Babshadh divided definite nouns (al-ma'arif) into five categories, departing from other grammarians who either expanded the number or subsumed the relative pronoun (al-ism al-mawsul) under vague nouns (al-mubham), as he did not include the relative pronoun among his designated types.
Reception and Influence
Sharh al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba and its original primer gained wide acceptance across the Islamic world, particularly in Egypt and Yemen. In Yemen, where Egyptian linguistic works circulated extensively under the Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Rasulid eras, scholars made Ibn Babshadh's Muqaddima a core textbook of instruction. At least eight scholars wrote independent commentaries on al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba, four of whom were Yemeni scholars. Later grammarians also engaged with the work through versification; al-Athari adapted the text of al-Muqaddima al-Muhassaba into his thousand-line didactic poem titled Kifayat al-ghulam fi i'rab al-kalam.
Modern Editions
The work was edited by Khalid Abd al-Karim and published in two volumes in Kuwait (1976–1977).
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