Thamar al-Thamam Sharh Ghayat al-Ihkam fi Adab al-Fahm wal-Ifham
- Author died
- 1232 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Minhāj lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Thamar al-Thamam Sharh Ghayat al-Ihkam fi Adab al-Fahm wal-Ifham (Arabic: ثمر الثمام شرح «غاية الإحكام في آداب الفهم والإفهام», lit. 'The Fruit of the Thumam: Commentary on the Ultimate Precision in the Etiquette of Comprehension and Imparting Understanding') is a commentary by the Egyptian Maliki scholar al-Amir al-Kabir (1154–1232 AH / 1742–1817 CE) on the treatise Ghayat al-Ihkam fi Adab al-Fahm wal-Ifham by Umar ibn Ali al-Tahlawi (d. 1181 AH) . The work focuses on the hermeneutics, etiquette, and methodology of interpreting texts and conveying meaning accurately .
Background and Composition
The base text (matn), Ghayat al-Ihkam, was completed by al-Tahlawi on the morning of the Day of Arafah, 9 Dhu al-Hijjah 1179 AH . When al-Tahlawi showed the brief treatise to al-Amir al-Kabir, the latter suggested naming it Ghayat al-Ihkam fi Adab al-Fahm wal-Ifham . Al-Tahlawi subsequently requested that al-Amir write a commentary elucidating its obscure passages, prompting him to compose Thamar al-Thamam .
The title draws on al-thumam, a low plant whose fruit is easily accessible, signifying the ease of reaching the book’s insights and reflecting the author's scholarly modesty . Al-Amir completed the commentary in 1185 AH during the lifetime of al-Tahlawi and their shared teacher, Ali al-Sa'idi al-Adawi . The historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti documented the commentary among al-Amir’s written works .
Subject and Method
The work addresses the critical principles required for reading and evaluating scholarly statements . It outlines the analytical steps a reader must take before accepting or dismissing an author's phrasing, cautioning against hasty rejections of valid statements under the mistaken assumption of error . Al-Amir expounds on the base text by emphasizing thorough contemplation of terminology, referencing foundational authorities, and discerning an author's intended meaning .
Manuscripts and Publication
A critical edition of the work, edited by Abdullah Sulayman al-Atiq in collaboration with the scientific committee at Markaz al-Minhaj, was published by Dar al-Minhaj . The edition drew on a manuscript of the base text copied during al-Tahlawi's lifetime by Mustafa Salamah al-Attar on 21 Muharram 1180 AH, preserved in the al-Azhar Library, alongside two manuscript copies of al-Amir's commentary from the same library .
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