Sharh Alfiyyat al-Iraqi - Ibn al-Ayni
- Author died
- 893 AH
- Editions
- Markaz al-Nu'man lil-Buhuth wa-al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah wa-Tahqiq al-Turath wa-al-Tarjamah
Sharh Alfiyyat al-Iraqi is an interwoven commentary (sharh mamzuj) on Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi’s (d. 806 AH / 1404 CE) didactic thousand-verse poem on Hadith terminology, written by the Hanafi jurist and scholar Ibn al-Ayni (837–893 AH / 1433–1488 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
The author, Zayn al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Ayni, completed the work on 13 Jumada al-Ula 872 AH (1467 CE) in the al-Salihiyya district of Damascus . In his preface, Ibn al-Ayni explained that he intended to abridge al-Iraqi’s own commentary on his versification into a concise gloss (taʿliq latif) woven directly into the poetic lines, in order to facilitate understanding and simplify the text for students .
Method and Content
The text covers the principles and classifications of Hadith terminology as laid out in al-Iraqi’s Alfiyya (also known as al-Tabsirah wa-l-Tadhkirah) . Structurally, Ibn al-Ayni deviated from al-Iraqi’s own commentary format: while al-Iraqi commented selectively on specific phrases using a lemma-based method (sharh bi-l-qawl), Ibn al-Ayni structured his work as an interwoven commentary (sharh mamzuj), integrating the verse phrases seamlessly with his explanatory prose . Throughout the work, Ibn al-Ayni strictly adheres to al-Iraqi's explanations and definitions, rarely departing from them or adding independent material .
Title and Classification
Ibn al-Ayni did not assign a distinctive formal title to the book in his preface, referring to it simply as a gloss on al-Iraqi’s poem . In classical bibliographic works such as Hajji Khalifa’s Kashf al-Zunun and Ismail Pasha’s Hadiyyat al-Arifin, it is recorded as Sharh Alfiyyat al-Iraqi . Because of its strict reliance on the author's original commentary, modern researchers have noted that it functions essentially as an abridgment (mukhtasar) of al-Iraqi's commentary recast into an interwoven style .
Manuscripts and Publication
A manuscript copy is preserved at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya in Cairo under shelfmark No. 402 (Mustalah), comprising 57 folios written in Ruqʿah script . It was transcribed by the author’s contemporary, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Umar al-Salihi al-Shafiʿi (known as Ibn Shakim, d. 893 AH), bearing the title Sharh Alfiyyat al-Hadith li-l-ʿAyni wa-l-Matn li-l-ʿIraqi on its title page . The text was edited by Shadi ibn Muhammad Al Numan and published in Sanaa, Yemen .
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