Tafsīr Gharīb al-Muwaṭṭaʾ

Summary

http://doi.org/10.56656/101089Tafsīr gharīb al-Muwaṭṭa’ comprises explanations of obscure terms from al-Muwaṭṭa’, which the author selected from the beginning of the text to the end. However, he did not adhere to the order of chapters of al-Muwaṭṭa’. He began with the chapter, Kitāb wuqūt al-ṣalāh, but followed that with Kitāb al-jāmi‘ then Kitāb al-ḥajj. Moreover, al-Akhfash did not restrict himself to any specific narration (riwāyah) of al-Muwaṭṭa’, but sometimes discussed a term from the narration of Abū Mus‘ab al-Zuhrī, and at other times, from the narrations of Yaḥyā al-Laythī, or Ibn Bakīr. It is also apparent that Aḥmad b. ‘Umrān only explained those Prophetic traditions (Ḥadīth) in al-Muwaṭṭa’ where an obscure term appears. As such, he did not offer an explanation of the book in its entirety, but presented the word to be explained in the Prophetic tradition, then listed its different meanings, proving his explanation from Qur’ān verses and Prophetic traditions. He would sometimes support this by citing from the large number of Arab poetic verses retained in his memory.