A Part of the Book Sharḥ Abyāt Sībawayh Wa-L-Mufaṣṣal Authored by ʿAfīf Al-Dīn Rabīʿ Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Manṣūr Al-Kūfī "D. after 700 AH.": Study and Critical Edition 10.35781/1637-000-160-006

Abstract

Abstract This research presents a valuable and hitherto unedited and unpublished textual treasure from the repositories of classical Arabic heritage literature. It comprises a section of the book Sharḥ Abyāt Sībawayh wa al-Mufaṣṣal by ʿAfīf al-Dīn Rabīʿ ibn Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Kūfī (d. after approximately 700 AH). In this work, the author examines the poetic shawāhid (evidentiary verses) contained in two of the most important and prestigious works in the Arabic linguistic tradition: Sībawayh’s al-Kitāb and al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Mufaṣṣal. The first part of the book was previously edited by Dr. Ibrāhīm Rakkah at Dār al-ʿUlūm, Cairo University, in 1403 AH. A substantial portion of the work has since been edited in several scholarly studies published across various academic journals. The present researcher has followed the same path as prior editors by conducting a study of both the author and his book. The study of the author covers his full name, lineage, kunya, laqab, birth and early formation, scholarly status, date of death, and his known works. The study of the book itself is limited to authenticating its attribution to the author and providing a detailed description of the extant manuscript copy. This is followed by the critical edition of the designated section, executed according to the standard methodology employed in the editing of classical heritage texts from manuscript sources. The edition adheres to modern orthographic conventions and includes: the attribution of Quranic verses with full documentation of variant readings (qirāʾāt); the verification of Prophetic hadiths and statements of the Arabs; the ascription of poetic shawāhid to their original authors wherever possible; the identification of tribes and prominent figures; and the consistent application of modern punctuation. The findings of the research underscore the importance of this commentary and its considerable scholarly value. It constitutes an authentic and indispensable reference for the poetic shawāhid in Sībawayh’s al-Kitāb and al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Mufaṣṣal, one that has virtually no parallel in its comprehensive integration of the two works. Keywords: Sībawayh – al-Mufaṣṣal – al-Kūfī – commentary – verses..