Sharh al-Mushkil min Shi'r al-Mutanabbi
- Author died
- 458 AH
- Editions
- Sharh al-Mushkil min Shi'r al-Mutanabbi
Sharh al-Mushkil min Shi'r al-Mutanabbi ("Explanation of the Obscurities in al-Mutanabbi's Poetry") is a linguistic and grammatical treatise by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Sidah (d. 458 AH / 1066 CE) dedicated to resolving the intricate and ambiguous verses in the poetry of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi .
Method and Content
The work focuses on deciphering difficult verses from al-Mutanabbi's collection (diwan), providing grammatical parsing (i'rab), lexical explanations, and semantic analysis . Ibn Sidah's commentary is characterized by extensive grammatical commentary and linguistic digressions, applying grammatical rules to the verses of a post-classical poet (muwallad) . Throughout his analysis, Ibn Sidah demonstrates a strong adherence to Sibawayh's foundational grammar text al-Kitab and articulates his perspective regarding the grammatical traditions of eastern scholars . His commentary also incorporates philosophical and theological concepts, such as substance (al-jawhar) and accident (al-'arad), reflecting his broader intellectual background in logic and scholastic thought .
Significance and Reception
While the majority of commentators who analyzed al-Mutanabbi's poetry and composed works on its obscurities were scholars from the Islamic East—such as Ibn Jinni in his al-Fath al-Wahbi and Abu al-Qasim al-Isfahani in al-Wadih—Ibn Sidah's commentary represents a notable Western Islamic contribution dedicated specifically to explaining al-Mutanabbi's obscure poetry . It is counted among the prominent critical and explanatory works produced on al-Mutanabbi's verse .
Editions
The text has been published in modern printed editions, including:
- An edition edited by Muhammad Ridwan al-Dayah, published by Dar al-Ma'mun li-l-Turath in Damascus (1395 AH / 1975 CE) .
- An edition edited by Mustafa al-Saqqa and Hamid Abd al-Majid, published by al-Hay'ah al-Misriyyah al-'Ammah li-l-Kitab in Cairo (1976 CE) .
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