Sharh Hamasa Abi Tammam lil-Farisi
- Author died
- 467 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Awza'i
Sharh Hamasa Abi Tammam is a classical commentary on Abu Tammam's famed poetic anthology, Diwan al-Hamasa, composed by the grammarian and philologist Abu al-Qasim al-Farisi (Zayd ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Farisi al-Fasawi, d. 467 AH / 1075 CE) .
Attribution and Content
The commentary explains the selections compiled in Abu Tammam's Diwan al-Hamasa, addressing lexical definitions, grammatical analysis, and the meanings of the verses . On the opening page of the surviving manuscript, a copyist had mistakenly attributed the work as an abridgment of the commentary by Abu Ali al-Marzuqi (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE) . However, an early marginal correction identified it as the commentary of Abu al-Qasim Zayd ibn Ali al-Farisi, quoting biographical notices from Ibn Asakir and Ibn al-Adim affirming his authorship . Comparative analysis confirmed that the text is an independent work rather than an epitome of al-Marzuqi's; it differs significantly in its methodological orientation, analytical elements, sources, the arrangement of poetic selections, line counts, and poetic recensions .
Methodology
Al-Farisi adopts a concise and clarifying approach (manhaj ikhtisari tashili) . Rather than following the elaborate literary and interpretive discourse seen in al-Marzuqi’s commentary or the comprehensive compilatory method of al-Khatib al-Tibrizi (d. 502 AH / 1109 CE), al-Farisi summarizes earlier scholarly discussions on lexical roots, syntax, and poetic meanings, presenting them in an accessible and condensed format .
Modern Study and Publication
The work was edited and studied by Muhammad Uthman Ali as part of a doctoral dissertation at Cairo University (Khartoum branch) . It represents the third classical commentary on Abu Tammam's Hamasa to be published in modern print, following the editions of the commentaries by al-Marzuqi and al-Tibrizi .
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