Tafsir Abyat al-Maani min Shir Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi
- Author died
- 493 AH
- Editions
- Tafsir Abyat al-Maani min Shir Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi
Tafsir Abyat al-Maani min Shir Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (Interpretation of Verses of Meaning from the Poetry of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi) is a concise commentary on selected obscure and rhetorically complex verses from the diwan of the poet Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (303–354 AH / 915–965 CE), composed by the Syrian scholar and poet Abu Murshid al-Maari (Sulayman ibn Ali, d. after 493 AH / 1100 CE).
Origin and Purpose
The author composed the work following a gathering of literary scholars who debated the obscurities, subtle allusions, and contested meanings found in al-Mutanabbi's verse. One of the attendees requested that Abu Murshid compile an abridged and economical summary of the interpretations recorded by earlier commentators on the diwan. In his introduction, Abu Murshid noted that while his teacher Abu al-Ala al-Maari had provided an exhaustive treatment in his commentary al-Lami al-Azizi (The Radiant [Commentary] for Aziz [al-Dawla]), its expansive length made a condensed, accessible manual desirable for students of literature.
Sources and Methodology
The commentary is arranged alphabetically according to the rhyming letters of the poems, beginning with the letter hamzah. Rather than commenting on every line in the diwan, the author isolates specific abyat al-maani—verses containing challenging metaphors, intricate semantics, or disputed grammatical constructions.
Abu Murshid draws primarily upon the explanations of leading authorities on al-Mutanabbi's poetry, citing Abu al-Ala al-Maari, Ibn Jinni, and Abu Ali Ibn Furraja. His entries provide:
- Lexical definitions of rare vocabulary and phonetic variants.
- Syntactic and grammatical analysis (irab), including alternative case endings and structural readings.
- Clarification of metaphorical meanings, hyperbole, and rhetorical figures.
- Corroborating textual evidence (shawahid) drawn from the Quran and classical Arabic poetry.
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