Thimar al-Qulub fi al-Mudaf wa al-Mansub
- Author died
- 429 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Maʿārif
Thimar al-Qulub fi al-Mudaf wa al-Mansub (The Fruits of Hearts Concerning the Genitive Construct and the Attributive) is an Arabic literary and philological work by Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi (350–429 AH / 961–1038 CE; also reported d. 430 AH) that examines figurative expressions, idioms, and proverbs formed through genitive annexion (al-mudaf) or relative attribution (al-mansub) .
Composition and Purpose
Al-Tha'alibi composed the work for the library of the Khurasanian prince and poet Abu al-Fadl Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Mikali . In his introduction, al-Tha'alibi states that the work focuses on items annexed or attributed to diverse subjects that are employed as proverbs, metaphors, or figures of speech across prose, verse, and both elite and common parlance . Within the text, al-Tha'alibi frequently references his own writings, particularly his book al-Mubhij .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into sixty-one thematic chapters . The opening chapter treats expressions annexed to the name of God Almighty, while the second chapter addresses what is annexed and attributed to angels, jinn, and demons . Subsequent chapters cover phrases linked to religious sects and doctrinal inclinations, pre-Islamic monarchs and Islamic caliphs, Abbasid scribes and viziers, categories of poets, regions and towns, craftsmen, metaphorical parenthood (such as fathers and mothers who did not bear children), women, animal body parts, various animals (including camels, horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, lions, wolves, and dogs), concluding with the sixty-first chapter on gardens .
Among the famous phrases explained in the work are scriptural and historical exemplars such as the raven of Noah (Ghurab Nuh), the fire of Abraham (Nar Ibrahim), the wolf of Joseph (Dhi'b Yusuf), the staff of Moses (Asa Musa), the ring of Solomon (Khatam Sulayman), the donkey of Ezra (Himar 'Uzayr), and the mantle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Burdat al-Nabi), as well as classical proverbs and geographical idioms .
Abridgments and Editions
Several scholars produced abridgments of Thimar al-Qulub, including:
- Nafhat al-Majlub min Thimar al-Qulub, an abridgment attributed to Taj al-Din al-Khuwari and noted in other sources as being by an anonymous writer .
- Jani al-Mahbub al-Muntakhab min Thimar al-Qulub .
- Mukhtasar Thimar al-Qulub fi al-Mudaf wa al-Mansub by Muhammad Abd al-Ra'uf al-Munawi (d. 1031 AH) .
In modern print, the text was edited by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim and published in Cairo .
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