Sharh Ibn Aqil on Alfiyyat Ibn Malik — Volume 1 (شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك) — Page 6

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةُ الطَّبْعَةِ الأُولَى.

(from previous page) ⟵ The naming of 'Al-Khulasa' is taken from his statement at the end of it: 'It contains the purposes of grammar, and it has gathered the essence of Al-Kafiya, just as Rida required, without any deficiency.'

وَالَّذِي جَمَعَ فِيهِ خُلَاصَةً عَلَى النَّحْوِ وَالتَّصْرِيفِ، فِي أُرْجُوزَةٍ ظَرِيفَةٍ، مَعَ الإِشَارَةِ إِلَى مَذَاهِبِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، وَبَيَانِ مَا يَخْتَارُهُ مِنَ الآرَاءِ، أَحْيَانًا.

He compiled within it a summary of grammar and morphology in a clever rajaz poem, occasionally noting the various scholarly schools and his own preferred positions.

وَقَدْ كَثُرَ إِقْبَالُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَلَى هَذَا الْكِتَابِ مِنْ بَيْنِ كُتُبِهِ بِنَوْعٍ خَاصٍّ، حَتَّى طُوِيَتْ مُصَنَّفَاتُ أَئِمَّةِ النَّحْوِ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ، وَلَمْ يَنْتَفِعْ مَنْ جَاءَ بَعْدَهُ بِأَنْ يُحَاكُوهُ أَوْ يَدَّعُوا أَنَّهُمْ يَزِيدُونَ عَلَيْهِ وَيَنْتَصِفُونَ مِنْهُ،

Scholars gravitated toward this work more than any of his others, to the point that earlier grammatical treatises were eclipsed. Successors found no profit in attempting to imitate it, nor in claiming they could improve upon or challenge it.

وَلَوْ لَمْ يُشِرْ فِي خُطْبَتِهِ إِلَى أَلْفِيَّةِ الإِمَامِ الْعَلَّامَةِ يَحْيَى زَيْنِ الدِّينِ ابْنِ عَبْدِ النُّورِ الزَّوَاوِيِّ الْجَزَائِرِيِّ، الْمُتَوَفَّى بِمِصْرَ فِي يَوْمِ الاِثْنَيْنِ آخِرِ شَهْرِ ذِي الْقَعْدَةِ مِنْ سَنَةِ ٦٢٧ هـ، وَالْمَعْرُوفِ بِابْنِ مُعْطٍ - لَمَا ذَكَرَهُ النَّاسُ، وَلَا عَرَفُوهُ.

Had he not mentioned in his preface the Alfiyyah of the erudite Imam Yahya Zayn al-Din ibn Abd al-Nur al-Zawawi al-Jaza'iri—known as Ibn Mu'ti, who died in Egypt on Monday at the end of Dhu al-Qa'dah in 627 AH—people would neither have mentioned him nor known him.

وَشُرُوحُ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ تَتَّسِعَ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةُ الْمُوجَزَةُ لِتَعْدَادِهَا، وَبَيَانِ مَزَايَاهَا، وَمَا انْفَرَدَ بِهِ كُلُّ شَرْحٍ مِنْهَا، وَأَكْثَرُهَا لِأَكَابِرِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَمُبَرِّزِيهِمْ:

The commentaries on this book are too numerous for this brief note to list, let alone detail their merits or the unique contributions of each. Most were authored by the most eminent and distinguished scholars.

كَالْإِمَامِ أَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ جَمَالِ الدِّينِ بْنِ يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ الشَّافِعِيِّ الْحَنْبَلِيِّ، الْمُتَوَفَّى لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ، الْخَامِسِ مِنْ شَهْرِ ذِي الْقَعْدَةِ مِنْ سَنَةِ ٧٦١ هـ، وَالَّذِي يَقُولُ عَنْهُ ابْنُ خَلْدُونَ: «مَا زِلْنَا وَنَحْنُ بِالْمَغْرِبِ نَسْمَعُ أَنَّهُ ظَهَرَ بِعَصْرِ عَالِمٌ بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ يُقَالُ لَهُ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ - أَنْحَى مِنْ سِيبَوَيْهِ» اهـ.

Among them is the Imam Abu Muhammad Abdullah Jamal al-Din ibn Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Hisham al-Ansari al-Shafi'i al-Hanbali, who died on the night of Friday, the fifth of Dhu al-Qa'dah, 761 AH. Ibn Khaldun wrote of him: "While in the Maghreb, we kept hearing that an Arabic scholar had appeared in that era named Ibn Hisham, who was more skilled in grammar than Sibawayh."

وَقَدْ شَرَحَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ الْخُلَاصَةَ مَرَّتَيْنِ: إِحْدَاهُمَا فِي كِتَابِهِ «أَوْضَحُ الْمَسَالِكِ، إِلَى أَلْفِيَّةِ ابْنِ مَالِكٍ (١)»، وَالثَّانِيَةُ فِي كِتَابٍ سَمَّاهُ «دَفْعُ الْخَصَاصَةِ، عَنْ قُرَّاءِ الْخُلَاصَةِ»، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ أَرْبَعُ مُجَلَّدَاتٍ، وَيَقُولُ السُّيُوطِيُّ بَعْدَ ذِكْرِ هَذَيْنِ الْكِتَابَيْنِ: «وَلَهُ عِدَّةُ حَوَاشٍ عَلَى الْأَلْفِيَّةِ وَالتَّسْهِيلِ» اهـ.

Ibn Hisham commented on the Khulasah twice: first in his book Awdah al-Masalik ila Alfiyyah Ibn Malik, and second in a work titled Daf' al-Khasasah 'an Qurra' al-Khulasah, which is said to span four volumes. After noting these two books, al-Suyuti added, "He also authored several marginalia on the Alfiyyah and the Tas-hil."

وَمِمَّنْ شَرَحَ الْخُلَاصَةَ الْعَلَّامَةُ مُحَمَّدٌ بَدْرُ الدِّينِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، الْمُتَوَفَّى بِدِمَشْقَ فِي يَوْمِ الْأَحَدِ، الثَّامِنِ مِنْ شَهْرِ الْمُحَرَّمِ، سَنَةِ ٦٨٦ هـ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ النَّاظِمِ.

Another commentator was the erudite Muhammad Badr al-Din ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Malik, the author's son, who died in Damascus on Sunday, the eighth of Muharram, 686 AH.

قَدْ أَخْرَجْنَا هَذَا الْكِتَابَ إِخْرَاجًا جَيِّدًا، وَشَرَحْنَاهُ ثَلَاثَةَ شُرُوحٍ أَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا الْوَجِيزَ وَالْوَسِيطَ، وَقَدْ شَرَعْنَا فِي إِخْرَاجِ زُبْدَةِ الْبَسِيطِ، الَّذِي أَوْدَعْنَاهُ مَا لَا يَحْتَاجُ طَالِبُ عِلْمِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ إِلَى مَا وَرَاءَهُ.

(1) We have produced a high-quality edition of this book and provided three commentaries, from which we derived the Wajiz and the Wasit. We have now begun work on Zubdat al-Basit, into which we have incorporated everything a student of the Arabic language could possibly require.

Vocabulary · المفردات (25 verbs · 51 nouns)

• جَمَعَ — to collect
• اخْتَارَ — to choose
• كَثُرَ — to be numerous
• طَوَى — to fold
• انْتَفَعَ — to benefit
• جَاءَ — to come
• حَاكَى — to imitate
• ادَّعَى — to claim
• زَادَ — to increase
• انْتَصَفَ — to seek justice
• أَشَارَ — to point out
• ذَكَرَ — to mention
• عَرَفَ — to know
• اتَّسَعَ — to be wide enough
• انْفَرَدَ — to be unique
• قَالَ — to say
• زَالَ — to cease
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• ظَهَرَ — to appear
• شَرَحَ — to explain
• سَمَّى — to name
• أَخْرَجَ — to publish
• شَرَعَ — to begin
• أَوْدَعَ — to deposit
• احْتَاجَ — to need
• مُقَدِّمَة — introduction
• طَبْعَة — edition
• خُلَاصَة — summary
• نَحْو — grammar
• تَصْرِيف — morphology
• أُرْجُوزَة — poem
• ظَرِيف — witty
• إِشَارَة — indication
• مَذْهَب — school of thought
• عَالِم — scholar
• بَيَان — clarification
• رَأْي — opinion
• إِقْبَال — interest
• كِتَاب — book
• نَوْع — type
• خَاص — special
• مُصَنَّف — work
• إِمَام — leader
• قَبْل — before it
• بَعْد — after
• خُطْبَة — preface
• أَلْفِيَّة — millennium poem
• عَلَّامَة — erudite scholar
• يَوْم — day
• آخِر — end
• شَهْر — month
• سَنَة — year
• مَعْرُوف — known
• شَرْح — commentary
• أَكْثَر — most
• كَلِمَة — word
• مُوجَز — concise
• تَعْدَاد — enumeration
• مَزِيَّة — merit
• أَكْبَر — greatest
• مُبَرِّز — distinguished
• عَصْر — era
• مَرَّة — time
• مَسْلَك — path
• دَفْع — repelling
• خَصَاصَة — need
• قَارِئ — reader
• مُجَلَّد — volume
• حَاشِيَة — marginal note
• تَسْهِيل — facilitation
• جَيِّد — good
• زُبْدَة — essence
• بَسِيط — simple
• طَالِب — student
• عِلْم — knowledge
• وَرَاء — beyond