Sharh al-Shawahid al-Shiriyya fi Ummhat al-Kutub al-Nahwiyya
- Author died
- 1434 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah
Sharh al-Shawahid al-Shiriyya fi Ummhat al-Kutub al-Nahwiyya (Arabic: شرح الشواهد الشعرية في أمات الكتب النحوية, lit. 'Explanation of Poetic Evidentials in the Major Books of Grammar') is a specialized dictionary and commentary on Arabic grammatical poetic citations (shawahid) compiled by Muhammad Hasan Sharab (d. 1434 AH / 2013 CE) . Published by Mu'assasat al-Risala, the work collects, authenticates, and explains the poetic verses cited across classical and modern Arabic grammar texts .
Background and Purpose
Sharab completed the work on 21 Rabi' al-Awwal 1417 AH (1996 CE) in Darayya, Damascus . He conceived the dictionary as a self-contained, accessible reference for students and educators, particularly teachers working in schools far from major cities and large libraries who lacked access to extensive collections of classical commentaries .
While earlier scholars had assembled indexes of poetic evidentials—such as Abd al-Salam Harun in his Mu'jam Shawahid al-'Arabiyya, which indexed citations across grammar, prosody, and rhetoric—Sharab noted that Harun recorded only the rhymes and bibliographical references without providing the full verse texts or explaining their grammatical meanings . Sharab sought to remedy this by providing a comprehensive, portable compendium that combined textual recording, grammatical analysis, and contextual explanation .
Scope and Sources
The compendium contains nearly 4,000 poetic verses composed by approximately 900 male and female poets and rajaz composers . It incorporates the poetic evidentials found throughout pre-modern Arabic grammatical treatises, beginning chronologically with al-Kitab of Sibawayh (d. 180 AH / 796 CE) . In addition to classical authorities, Sharab included the citations from one modern reference work, Jami' al-Durus al-'Arabiyya by Mustafa al-Ghalayini (d. 1364 AH / 1944 CE), citing the influence and praise of his teacher Sa'id al-Afghani for the work's synthesis of classical depth and contemporary presentation .
The primary classical references examined in the compilation include:
- Sharh al-Ashmuni 'ala Alfiyyat Ibn Malik by 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Ashmuni
- al-Insaf fi Masa'il al-Khilaf by Abu al-Barakat al-Anbari
- Awdah al-Masalik ila Alfiyyat Ibn Malik by Ibn Hisham
- Tahsil 'Ayn al-Dhahab by al-A'lam al-Shantmari
- Tashil al-Fawa'id wa-Takmil al-Maqasid by Ibn Malik
- al-Tasrih 'ala al-Tawdih by Khalid al-Azhari
- al-Jana al-Dani fi Huruf al-Ma'ani by Ibn Umm Qasim al-Muradi
- Hashiyat al-Amir 'ala Mughni al-Labib by Muhammad al-Amir al-Sanbawi
- Hashiyat al-Sabban by Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Sabban
- Hashiyat Yasin 'ala Sharh al-Tasrih by Yasin al-'Ulaymi al-Himsi
- Khizanat al-Adab by Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi
- al-Khasa'is by Ibn Jinni
- al-Durar al-Lawami' by Ahmad ibn al-Amin al-Shinqiti
Method
For each entry, Sharab establishes the full verse text with complete diacritics and attributes it to its poet whenever identifiable . When necessary for comprehension, he quotes preceding or succeeding verses or the opening line (matla') of the underlying poem . He then lists the grammatical sources that cited the line, clarifies obscure vocabulary, pinpoints the precise locus of grammatical evidence (mawdi' al-shahid), and provides grammatical parsing (i'rab) for complex constructions .
Where grammarians disputed an interpretation, Sharab offers critical assessments, occasionally adopting an independent stance or preferring one scholarly view over another . Methodologically, he sought to balance grammatical technicalities with literary appreciation (al-dhawq al-adabi), occasionally favoring literary sensibility over rigid grammatical formalisms, and evaluated the historical and textual context of the poems using literary and historical criticism .
Answer updated