Sharh Durrat al-Ghawwas li al-Shihab al-Khafaji
- Author died
- 1069 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Jeel
Sharh Durrat al-Ghawwas is an integrated Arabic philological commentary written by the Egyptian judge and man of letters al-Shihab al-Khafaji (977/979–1069 AH / 1569/1571–1659 CE) on al-Hariri’s (446–516 AH / 1054–1122 CE) classical treatise on linguistic errors, Durrat al-Ghawwas fi Awham al-Khawass ("The Pearl of the Diver on the Errors of the Elite") .
Background and Purpose
Al-Hariri originally composed Durrat al-Ghawwas to address common lexical, grammatical, and stylistic mistakes committed by educated writers and scholars rather than the uneducated masses . Although earlier scholars had produced various glosses and critical remarks on the text—such as those by Ibn Barri (d. 582 AH), Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli (d. 565/568 AH), and Ibn al-Khashshab (d. 567 AH)—al-Khafaji observed that existing marginalia provided only limited benefit and that the treatise lacked a comprehensive commentary that truly satisfied readers . Driven by a desire to defend classical usage and extract the fine points embedded within al-Hariri's book, he authored his explanatory work .
Content and Method
The work opens with the preface beginning: «أحمد الله الذي جعل حمده في تاج الأدب درة» ("I praise Allah, who placed His praise as a pearl in the crown of literature") . It is composed in the form of an intertwined commentary (sharh mamzuj), embedding the original text of al-Hariri within the expository prose .
Al-Khafaji analyzes the linguistic corrections proposed by al-Hariri, addressing lexicographical definitions, syntactic considerations, and rhetorical devices . Throughout the commentary, he provides extensive citations from Arabic poetry and classical literary figures—such as Abu Ali al-Bakharzi—while evaluating the original assertions and earlier critiques of the text .
Reception
The commentary has been noted by bibliographers as an elegant and critical examination (sharh latif) of al-Hariri’s treatise . It occupies a recognized place among the major commentaries and marginalia dedicated to Durrat al-Ghawwas, surviving in numerous manuscript copies across libraries in Cairo, Istanbul, Berlin, Mecca, and Cambridge, and later circulating in printed editions .
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