Sharh al-Tarif bi-Daruri al-Tasrif
- Author died
- 681 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Fikr for Printing, Publishing and Distribution
Sharh al-Tarif bi-Daruri al-Tasrif (Arabic: شرح التعريف بضروري التصريف, lit. 'Explanation of the Introduction to Essential Morphology') is a thirteenth-century commentary on Arabic morphology composed by the Baghdadi grammarian Ibn Iyaz al-Nahwi (d. 681 AH / 1282 CE) . The text is an exposition of al-Ta'rif bi-Daruri al-Tasrif (also referred to as Daruri al-Tasrif), an abridged treatise on morphology written by Ibn Malik (d. 672 AH / 1274 CE) .
Background and Content
The base text, authored by Ibn Malik, presents the fundamental rules of morphology (tasrif) in an exceptionally succinct manner . Ibn Iyaz—who served as the leading master of Arabic language at al-Madrasa al-Mustansiriyya in Baghdad and was noted by biographers as uniquely proficient in syntax and morphology during his era—composed this commentary to unpack Ibn Malik's concise formulations and elucidate its morphological rules and grammatical structures .
Morphology, as treated in works of this genre, examines the internal forms and structural alterations of words, distinguishing root letters from augmented ones, as well as processes such as phonological substitution (ibdal), vowel transfer, deletion, and assimilation (idgham) . Ibn Malik's base work was similarly commented upon by other scholars, including al-Suyuti and 'Umar ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi (d. 748 AH) .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of Ibn Iyaz's commentary survive in several international collections, including the Şehid Ali Pasha and Ahmed III collections in Istanbul, as well as at Princeton University and Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya .
A critical edition of the work, edited jointly by Hadi Nahr and Hilal Naji, was published in Amman by Dar al-Fikr in 1422 AH / 2001 CE .
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