Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Tawdih aw al-Tasrih bi-Madmun al-Tawdih fi al-Nahw

Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Tawdih (also titled al-Tasrih bi-Madmun al-Tawdih fi al-Nahw) is a comprehensive Arabic grammatical commentary by the Egyptian scholar Khalid al-Azhari (838–905 AH / 1434–1499 CE) on Awdah al-masalik ila Alfiyyat Ibn Malik (widely known as al-Tawdih) by Ibn Hisham al-Ansari (d. 761 AH) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Composition and Purpose

In the introduction to the work, al-Azhari remarks that Ibn Hisham's al-Tawdih on the Alfiyya of Ibn Malik was unmatched in its arrangement and pedagogical value, yet its concision left subtle complexities that required detailed elucidation Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…+1. Al-Azhari relates that he saw Ibn Hisham in a dream and mentioned this need to him; Ibn Hisham conceded the point and stated that he would write an exposition clarifying his intent Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…. When al-Azhari recounted the dream to a colleague, the latter interpreted it as a figurative authorization for al-Azhari himself to compose the commentary, prompting him to undertake the work Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….

Structure and Methodology

Al-Azhari explicitly articulated his methodology in the preface, structuring the commentary around ten core principles Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…+1:

• Integrated commentary (sharh mamzuj): Blending his explanatory prose seamlessly into Ibn Hisham's text to untangle difficult syntactical structures Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…+1.
• Source tracking: Tracing Ibn Hisham's sources and clarifying his statements through his other writings Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.
• Supplying conditions: Setting forth necessary qualifications and stipulations that Ibn Hisham had omitted in unrestricted rules Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.
• Completing poetic evidence: Citing the full poetic lines (shawahid) wherever Ibn Hisham quoted only a hemistich, identifying the poets, and explaining rare words Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Lexical precision: Spelling out obscure terms letter by letter to prevent textual corruption Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Correlation with verse: Linking the prose explanations directly to the metrical lines of Ibn Malik's Alfiyya Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Comparative analysis: Presenting the arguments of differing grammatical schools and weighing the strongest views Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Grammatical rationales (ilal): Providing underlying causes and proofs for grammatical rules to reinforce them in the reader's mind Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Resolving discrepancies: Identifying the authoritative position where Ibn Hisham's statements appeared contradictory or diverged from Ibn Malik's Tashil al-fawa'id Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….
• Highlighting original deductions: Distinguishing Ibn Hisham's independent research and unique conclusions from standard transmitted doctrines Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….

The work also preserves citations from several early grammatical treatises that have not survived, such as Ibn Ma'zuz's Aghlat al-Zamakhshari and Ibn al-Ilj's al-Basit Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta….

Reception and Glosses

Sharh al-Tasrih became one of the standard advanced textbooks on Arabic syntax and was frequently relied upon and cited by later authorities, including Muhammad al-Sabban and Muhammad al-Khudari Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…. Multiple scholars authored supercommentaries (hashiyas) on it, most notably the Egyptian grammarian Abd Allah al-Danushari (d. 1025 AH) and the Syrian scholar Yasin al-Alimi (d. 1061 AH), whose gloss was frequently printed alongside al-Azhari's text Sharh al-Tasrih ala al-Ta…+1.