Sharh Shudhur al-Dhahab lil-Jawjari
- Author died
- 889 AH
- Editions
- Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University
Sharh Shudhur al-Dhahab lil-Jawjari is an extensive Arabic grammatical commentary written by Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd al-Mun'im al-Jawjari (d. 889 AH / 1484 CE) on the grammatical treatise Shudhur al-Dhahab by Ibn Hisham al-Ansari. It represents the earliest complete extant commentary on the text following Ibn Hisham’s own self-commentary.
Scope and Methodology
In this work, al-Jawjari undertakes an exhaustive, word-by-word exposition of Ibn Hisham's base text, illustrating grammatical points with extensive examples and poetic evidence. Unlike Ibn Hisham, al-Jawjari did not outline his methodology in his introduction, but he consistently establishes structural coherence by explaining how each chapter and text segment connects to the preceding material.
Each textual explanation is followed by detailed analytical notices (tanbihat). Through these notices, al-Jawjari clarifies complex points, draws grammatical analogies (qiyas), corrects errors of earlier grammarians, supplements omissions in Ibn Hisham's text, and evaluates competing views. He frequently employs dialectical and logical phrasing characteristic of scholastic debate, raising hypothetical objections with the formula "if it is objected" (fa-in qila) and responding with structured rejoinders (qulna).
Attribution and Abridgment
Biographical sources, including al-Sakhawi in al-Daw' al-Lami', al-Shawkani in al-Badr al-Tali', Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli in al-A'lam, and Umar Rida Kahhala in Mu'jam al-Mu'allifin, record that al-Jawjari composed both an extensive commentary and an abridged commentary on Shudhur al-Dhahab. The abridgment, titled Shifa' al-Sudur fi Hall Alfaz al-Shudhur, was condensed by al-Jawjari from his longer work for his student Ja'far ibn Yahya ibn Abd al-Qawi.
Owing to manuscript misattributions and citations by later authors—such as Abu al-Qasim al-Bijani in I'rab Ayat al-Shudhur—the commentary was at times erroneously ascribed to Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Ha'im under the title al-Dawabit al-Hisan, before comparative manuscript and biographical analysis confirmed its attribution to al-Jawjari.
Reception and Influence
Al-Jawjari's commentary served as a major source for later grammatical authorities and commentators on Ibn Hisham's works. Zakariyya al-Ansari drew substantially upon it in his commentary Bulugh al-Arab fi Sharh Shudhur al-Dhahab. Al-Jawjari's student Yahya ibn Ma'mar al-Makki explicitly cited and quoted his teacher's commentary numerous times in al-Ta'liqah al-Mufidah fi al-'Arabiyyah, and Khalid al-Azhari utilized passages from it in al-Tasrih.
Modern Publication
The work was edited by Nawwaf ibn Jaza' al-Harithi, originallly as a master's thesis, and published in two volumes by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University of Madinah in 1423 AH (2004 CE).
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