Tahrir Alfaz al-Tanbih
- Author died
- 676 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam
Tahrir Alfaz al-Tanbih (The Clarification of the Vocabulary of al-Tanbih) is a specialized legal glossary authored by the Shafi'i jurist al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH / 1277 CE) to explain and vocalize the vocabulary and unfamiliar expressions found in Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's foundational Shafi'i manual al-Tanbih fi Furu' al-Shafi'iyya.
Purpose and Scope
Al-Nawawi observed that al-Tanbih was among the celebrated and beneficial works of Shafi'i jurisprudence, making its refinement and clarification essential. He noted that servicing the text required addressing two distinct aspects: first, rectifying substantive legal positions where the text diverged from the school’s relied-upon rulings—a task he had addressed earlier in a separate booklet titled al-ʿUmda fi Tashih al-Tanbih (also known as Tashih al-Tanbih)—and second, defining the vocabulary and providing exact phonetic vocalization (dabt) for its phrasing.
In Tahrir Alfaz al-Tanbih, al-Nawawi adopted a method characterized by concise phrasing, clear exposition, and precise vocalization of terms. Although specifically organized around al-Tanbih, al-Nawawi pointed out in his introduction that the work effectively serves as an explanation of most legal terminology used across the authoritative texts of the Shafi'i school.
Glosses and Editions
The book later received critical glosses (nukat), notably by Izz al-Din Hamza ibn Ahmad al-Husayni al-Dimashqi (d. 863 AH; another report gives 874 AH), who titled his super-commentary al-Idah.
The text is also cited in sources under the titles Lughat al-Tanbih, Tahrir al-Tanbih, and Lughat al-Fiqh. Early printings mistakenly published it under the title Tashih al-Tanbih in the margins of al-Shirazi's al-Tanbih at Matba'at al-Taqaddum al-Ilmiyya in Egypt (1348 AH) and again at Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi (1370 AH / 1951 CE), confounding it with al-Nawawi's separate substantive legal commentary. It was also published in the margin of al-Tanbih by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in Beirut under the editorship of Ayman Salih Sha'ban.
Standalone critical editions include:
- A single-volume edition edited by Abd al-Ghani al-Daqr under the title Tahrir Alfaz al-Tanbih aw Lughat al-Fiqh, published by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus (1408 AH / 1988 CE).
- An edition titled Tahrir al-Tanbih, edited by Fayiz al-Dayah and Muhammad Ridwan al-Dayah, published jointly by Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir in Beirut and Dar al-Fikr in Damascus (1410 AH).
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