Sharh Diwan al-Hamasa li al-Tabrizi
- Author died
- 502 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Qalam
Sharh Diwan al-Hamasa is an Arabic literary commentary authored by al-Khatib Abu Zakariya al-Tabrizi (421–502 AH / 1030–1109 CE) on the early Abbasid poetry anthology Kitab al-Hamasa, compiled by Abu Tammam (d. 231 AH) .
Background and Structure
Al-Tabrizi is reported to have written three separate commentaries on Abu Tammam's anthology: an extensive commentary (al-kabir), an intermediate commentary (al-mutawassit), and an abridged commentary (al-saghir) . The intermediate work is the famous and surviving version in wide circulation, whereas the large and small versions are presumed lost .
The commentary follows the organization of Abu Tammam's original collection, which divides Arabic poetry into ten thematic chapters: al-Hamasa (Valor and Bravery), al-Marathi (Elegies), al-Adab (Manners and Conduct), al-Nasib (Love and Erotic Poetry), al-Hija' (Invective), al-Idafat, al-Sifat (Descriptions), al-Siyar (Travels and Expeditions), al-Mulah (Pleasantries and Wit), and Madhammat al-Nisa' (Reproach of Women) .
Method and Sources
In his commentary, al-Tabrizi pioneered what modern scholars term the "compilatory and selective" method (al-manhaj al-tajmi‘i al-intikhabi), bringing together and systematizing the exegetical insights of earlier philologists and commentators . Al-Tabrizi adopted a standardized, theoretical structure for commenting on individual poems and fragments:
- Identifying the poet and explaining their name and lineage .
- Outlining the historical background, narrative context, and occasion (sabab al-qawl) for the composition of the verses .
- Identifying the poetic meter (bahr), foot variations, and rhyme patterns (qawafi) .
- Examining textual variants (ikhtilaf al-riwayat) and choosing the preferred reading .
- Providing lexicographical, morphological, and grammatical (i‘rab) analysis .
- Paraphrasing intended meanings, citing differing interpretations, and addressing rhetorical (balagha) and critical points .
Al-Tabrizi relied on a wide corpus of earlier literature . He used the commentary of Abu Ali al-Marzuqi as his primary structural core for most texts, rearranging Marzuqi's material into his own uniform sequence . To supplement gaps, he drew historical anecdotes and occasions from Abu Riyash Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shaybani, biographical notes from Ibn Jinni's al-Mubhij and al-Tanbih, and grammatical and prosodic digressions from his teacher Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri (especially his commentary al-Riyashi al-Mustana‘i) . He also incorporated material from Abu Hilal al-Askari, Abu Abd Allah al-Namari, Abu Muhammad al-Aswad al-Ghandajani's corrections of al-Namari, and Zayd ibn Ali al-Farisi .
Editions and Publications
The commentary was one of the earliest Arabic literary texts edited and published in Europe, prepared by the Orientalist Georg Wilhelm Freytag in Bonn, appearing in two parts between 1828 and 1851 CE with an accompanying Latin translation and indices . A German translation of the poems by Friedrich Rückert was published in Stuttgart in 1846 CE .
In the Islamic world, the commentary was published at the Bulaq Press in Egypt in four volumes in 1296 AH (1879 CE) . Other printings include an edition published in Deoband in 1334 AH with an introduction by Muhammad I‘zaz Ali, and an edition published by Matba‘at al-Sa‘ada in Cairo in 1331 AH (1913 CE) .
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