Towards an Identification and Definition of the Gharb al-

adth

MAE (Ashraf) Dockat

(University of Johannesburg)

Abstract
A distinct lexical genre devoted to the explanation of the difficult
and less readily understood words in the adth texts emerged
within the broader field of adth studies early on. Authors in every
generation attempted to provide the best and most comprehensive
explanations of these difficult or rare words they loosely termed al-
gharb (the rare). This descriptive article hopes to identify the chief
works in this field and to examine these closely in an attempt to
define a term by which they are better known.

1. INTRODUCTION

For the adth scholars the greatest knowledge is the knowledge

that is directly linked to the read-revelation of Allh (al-wa al-
matlu) i.e. the Qurn, and the unread revelation (al-wa al-ghayr
matlu) i.e. the prophetic Sunnah. The services rendered to these two
revelations are unparalleled in the history of humankind. It is from
these that the science of the gharb (loosely translated as
unfamiliar words) originated. Initially this science was exclusively
linked to the Qurn as the works on the subject of the great
Qurnic scholar and companion, Abdullh ibn Abbs (68/687),
attest. It was only in the beginning of the second century that the
subject started to find its place in the sciences of hadth. The reason
for this can be understood from the following quotation from Ibn al-
Athr (606 H.), a reputable early scholar of this subject. He responds
in an attempt to refute and answer the obvious question which
arises regarding the science of gharb al-hadth: What is the need to
explain the words of the Prophet, pbuh, since he had the most
eloquent of tongues? To this Ibn al-Athr replies (1963:1/4):
I understand that the messenger of Allh (sall Allhu alayhi
wa sallam) was so eloquent among the Arabs that Al (radiya
Allhu anhu) (d. 661) said whilst listening to him deliver a
sermon to the tribe of Ban Wafd 'Oh Prophet of Allh, we are
the offspring of one father yet we see you address the Arab
tribes in a dialect of which most is not understood by us?' He
replied, 'My Lord has refined and educated me, thus perfect
has been my refinement.' 1

1
al-Sakhw rules that this as a weak adth. Sarqast cites the same adth with a
weak chain. Ibn Taymyyah asserts that there exists no reliable chain. In the al-
Adth al-whiyah, Ibn al-Jawz says, it is incorrect due to weakness in its chain.
Only in al-Durar, is it mentioned that Ab al-Fadl ibn Nsar certified this Tradition
as being correct and said, its meaning is correct, but it has not reached us via a
reliable chain (Ibn al-Athr ).

1
Thus, the Prophet, according to the above adth addressed the
different clans and tribes in a manner which was understood by
each of them. Muslims scholars hold that it is as though Allh taught
him what he had not taught others. The Companions understood
most of what was said by him, and he clarified for them what they
failed to understand. This, these scholars explain, remained the
trend until the demise of the Prophet, pbuh. During the subsequent
period of the Companions, the same trend continued since their
language was eloquent with no real outside influence. This period
lasted until the conquests began and the Arabs interacted with
other cultures and (the Arabic) language began to blend with other
languages. The offspring of the people in that era drew from the
language of the Companions, and those in the following era drew
from their experiences. However, even before the era of those who
followed the Companions ended, the Arabic language came under
foreign influence. Scholars assert, "Finally when the disease reached
pandemic proportions, Allh inspired a group of the informed ones
that they should give a portion of their attention to this aspect;
hence, the development of this noble knowledge began" (Ibn al-Athr
1963: 5). It was at this point that this branch of adth studies began
to develop.

This descriptive article is divided into two parts. Firstly, it attempts

to show the development of the science and the famous books
written on this subject as well as briefly describe the methodology of
these works and those that are published. Secondly, it tackles issues
surrounding the definitions of gharb as reflected in the works of the
various authors identified here. The definition of what constituets a
gharb word is central to this article. Should we accept the historical
position as posited here by Ibn Athr, then it makes sense that the
number of lexical items considered gharb will increase
exponentially with each passing generation. Another matter that
deserves our attention is to identify the intended readers of the
texts. Whose reading and comprehension of the adth (and Qurn)
should we consider when we speak of a particular lexical item being
obscure or difficult to understand? This article is a first introductory
study and examination of these vexed questions.

2. THE PERIODS OF GHARB AL-ADITH WRITINGS

Writings in the field of gharib al-adith may be roughly divided into

three periods:

1. The second century when the first works on the subject began
appearing.
2. The seventh century, i.e. the era of Ibn al-Athr and other
famous writers of this genre.
3. The modern era.

2
Ajmal Ayyb Isslh claims that the first works of the modern era
appeared in the 1950s in the chapter dedicated to it by Dr. Husayn
Nassr in his al-Mujam al-Arab: nashatuhu wa tatwruhu. (Islh
http//:islamwe.net accessed 3 August 2006). The next work on the
subject appeared when the Damascene scholar, Dr. Shkir Fam,
completed his work on the verification of the gharb of al-Awf
published in 1975-76 (Islh http//:islamwe.net accessed 3 August
2006). These works then inspired other shorter works on the topic.2

It is, however, the unanimous opinion of the scholars that the most
important works that have reached us are the traditional works
whose analysis will follow.

While the first works on this topic appeared in the second century, it
remains debatable who the first author in the field of gharb al-
adth was. Some statements reported by scholars such as Ibn-
Darastawayh (d. 347/958) do not help in clarifying the issue. He is
reported to have said, and the first to write on [the works on
gharb al-adth] were Ab-Ubaydah al-Mamar ibn al-Muthannah (d.
210/823), Qutrub (d. 206/821), al-Akhfash (d. 215/803), and Nadr
ibn Shumayl (204/819) H.), and they did not cite any chains of
narrators (Khatb n.d.: al-Maktabah al-shmilah). Ibn
Darastawayh cites four scholars of the same era without clarifying
or identifying who preceded whom. Even if we assume that the
names were mentioned sequentially, this goes against popular
opinion on the issue.

It would seem that there are two opinions regarding the question of
which was the first book to be written on the subject of the gharb.
The first opinion is that of al-Hkim al-Naysbr (405/1014) who
states, The first to author a work on the subject was Nadr ibn al-
Shumayl, and he has books regarding this. This has reached us
without doubt. Then Ab-Ubayd al-Qsim ibn Sallm wrote on this
subject (Islh http//:islamwe.net; accessed 3 August 2006). There
are some, however, who have differed from him and said: the first
to write on the topic was Ab Ubaydah al-Mamar ibn al-Muthann
(Islh http//:islamwe.net accessed 3 August 2006).

The second opinion is that of Ibn al-Athr who in his very important
introduction states: it is said that the first to author a work on this
subject was Ab Ubaydah Mamar ibn al-Muthann al-Tamm al-
Basr who died in the year 210/823. He collected a small booklet
and..then after that came Ab al-Hasan al-Nadr ibn al-Shumayl al-
Mzin... (Ibn al-Athr 1963:1/5).

2
The Muqaddamah [prolegomena] of this work was published in the
Syrian journal Majma al-lughah al-Arabiyyah.

3
In essence, there are thus two opinions regarding the issue. There
does however exist a third opinion according to which this honour
goes to Ab Adnn al-Sulam. This is the view held by the modern
scholar, Husayn Nassr. Most scholars, however, due to the many
inconsistencies that surround this opinion have dismissed it.

3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS GENRE

From the inception of the gharb al-adth, works on the subject

never ceased to appear and today there are about 90 known works,
some of which have reached us. Of these many have been
published while others exist as manuscripts in various parts of the
world today. Some of the more important published works will be
introduced in this paper. The approaches of the authors of these
works differ and show a clear development and sophistication of
methodology. An attempt will be made to to examine and identify
discernible features of this development.

An examination of the works of Ab Ubaydah and other authors of

the 2nd and 3rd centuries reveals that they followed a very similar
pattern. They would for example, mention a adth without
mentioning its chain. Next, the authors would extract and explain, in
detail or concisely, the gharb words in the adth.

The following observations about the individual authors are

important in this regard.

The Methodology of Ab Adnn

Although Ab Adnn was a contemporary of the above scholars, his

method differed completely from his peers in that he had
systematized his work according to the works of fiqh
(jurisprudence). He mentioned the chains of the narrations of the
adth that he cited.

The Methodology of Ab Ubayd

The work of Ab Ubayd is unique in the sense that when he

authored his al-Hfil, he added many adth that his predecessors
did not, together with their chains of narration. Further, together
with the sayings of the Prophet he added the sayings of the
Companions and their followers. He claimed that it was his desire to
incorporate such a corpus of knowledge on the subject that no work
would need to be authored on the subject after that. This set the
trend for the works that followed, such as the work of Ibn al-Qutayb
(d. 276/889), who attempted to include that which was left out by
Ab Ubayd. Following him in his trend was the Spaniard Ab
Muammad Qsim ibn Thbit al-Sarqist al-Awf (d. 302/915) and
Hamd ibn Muammad al-Khattb (d. 388/998). These four books

4
(although Al-Awfis work is generally not categorized with the above
works despite its undoubted value) are acknowledged as being the
ummaht al-kutub or the primary reference books on the subject.
The important place that these books have is evident from the many
commentaries that have been written regarding their
systematization, errors, verifications, and explanations.

The Methodology of Ibrhm al-Harb

With the work of al-Harb, we can identify another trend that arose.
Aside from explaining the gharb of the adth, he attempted to
examine the chain of narration. Hence, he would mention a adth,
explain the gharb, and then bring different chains of narrations for
the adth and the explanations of the gharb. Due to this
particularity, this book became voluminous and, therefore, despite
being informative, it is not included in the standard reference works.

The Methodology of Ab Ubayd Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-

Haraw

Ab Ubayd Amad ibn Muammad al-Haraw was a contemporary

of al-Khattab and the first to combine a work on both the gharb of
the Qurn and the adth. Probably this combination assisted him in
systematizing his book in a manner that made extracting a word
simple. He systematized it according to the letters of the alphabet.
Only in the cases where he thought confusion might arise as to
whether the letter is part of the original letters of the word would he
depart from this practice. Apart from this, since this work had to be
concise, he discarded all chains and irrelevant information, and it
was for this reason that it became popular. 3 Following this trend, al-
Hfiz al-Asfhn wrote a work including what was left out from the
gharbayn of al-Haraw. Based on these two works was the famous
al-Nihyah f gharb al-adith wa al-athar of Majd al-Dn Ibn al-Athr
(d. 606/1209). He extracted the corpus of gharb from these two
works whilst indicating where he had extracted it from via symbols,
i.e. indicating al-Haraw and sn indicating Sarqast. He then
added other words from other works and the result is that his book
provides sufficient references for any student on the subject since it
has the best systematization and includes a corpus of words on the
subject extracted from different works.

The Methodology of Mahmd Ibn Umar al-Zamakhshar

Al-Zamakhshar attempted in his al-Fiq to explain all the gharb

that may appear in a single adith in one place. This obviously led
to great confusion since a systematization of any sort would have
been difficult. There did, however, exist a reference (according to

5
some scholars) at the end of each chapter that pointed to the words
found therein.

The above was a survey of works authored on the subject of gharb

al-adth in general. There existed another trend in that some works
were authored exclusively to explain the gharb in certain books.
Ab Abdullh Asbagh ibn al-Farj ibn Sad (d. 225/839) authored a
work on the gharb of the Muatt of Imm Mlik. Ab Umar Zhid
(d. 345/956) wrote on the gharb to be found in the Musnad of
Amad ibn Hanbal. Ibn al-Sbn (d. 423/1031) wrote on the gharb
of al-Bukhr. Ab Bakr Muammad ibn al-Qsim (d. 328/939) was
unique when he chose exclusively to explain the gharb of single
adth in his rasil. An example is his explanation on the famous
riwyah of Umm Zara, his commentary on the sermon of Aishah
regarding her father etc. He also has a work on the gharb.

4. WORKS ON THE GHARB WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED OR

OF
WHICH MANUSCRIPTS EXIST

Of the known works of the gharb, just less than a third has been
preserved. More importantly, the four fundamental and primary
souce texts, namely the Gharb of Ab-Ubayd4, the Gharb of Ibn al-
Qutaybah5, the Gharb of al-Awf6 and the Gharb of al-Khattb7. The
5th volume of the gharb of al-Harb8, the Gharb of al-Haraw9, the

4
The first publication in four volumes was by Dr al-Marif,
Heydarabad Dakkan, India 1964-1967. The next edition was
published by Majmaah al-Lughah al-Arabiyya, Cairo, and edited by
Dr. Husayn Sharaf in five volumes in 1984-1994. An index was then
printed in one volume in 1999. It is interesting to note that the
earliest Arabic manuscript written on paper that has been
discovered is the Gharib al-adth by Ab Ubayd, dated 837 A.C. It
can be seen in Holland preserved in the Library of the University of
Leiden. (http://www.mrc.org.uk/contribution_of_islam.php).
5
Published in Baghdad by Wazrat al-Awqf in three volumes in
1977 and edited by Dr. Abdullh al-Jabr. This edition, however,
was incomplete. Later, it was published in 1979 by al-Dr al-
Tunisiyyah Linashr, Tunisia with the tahqq of Rid al-Suways. The
Islu al-Ghalth fi Gharb li Ab Ubayd of Ibn al-Qutaybah has also
been published by Dr al-Gharb al-Islm, Beirt (1983) with the
taqq of al-Jabr.
6
Published in Riyd by Maktabah abkn with the taqq of Dr.
Muhammad ibn Abdullh al-Qans. The taqq in this edition is
limited, however, to first 376 pages.
7
Published by Jmiah Umm-al Qurr, Makkah (1982) with the
taqq of Abd al-Karm Ibrhm Azbw.
8
This volume was published by Jmiah Umm-Qurr, Makkah, in
three volumes with the taqq of Sulaymn ibn Ibrhm al-bid.

6
Gharb of Ab-Ms al-Madn10 and the books of al-Zamakhshari11
and Ibn al-Athr12 have also been published.

The following works on the gharb have also seen the light of day:
the Gharb of the Muatta by Muammad ibn Abd al-Haq Mlik (d.
625/1227)13, the Mashriq al-Anwr of Al-Qd al-Iyd (d.
544/1149)14s and the Majma bir al-Anwr of Muammad ibn hir
al-Fattan (d. 986/1578)15*

Manuscripts of the following works also exist:

1. Majma al-Gharib of Hfiz al-Naysbr (d.529/1134).
2. Taqthiyatu m Yuth al-ayn min Hafawt al Kitb al-
Gharibayn of Hfiz al-Asbahn (d. 589/1193).

9
First published in Heydrabd Dakkan, India, by Matbaah Dirah al-
Marif al-Uthmniyyah in four volumes. Dr al-Kitb al-Arabiyyah
republished it eight years later and again two years later in two
volumes. It was later published in Cairo by Al-Majlis al-Al li Shun
al-Islamiyyah on the authority of Ab Sad al-Mlin (d. 412/1012)
with the taqq of Mamd Muammad al-anh.
10
His Majm al-Mughth was published by Jamiah Umm-Qurr,
Makkah, with the taqq of Abd al-Karm Azbw.
11
First published in 1905 under the editorship of al-Hasan ibn Amad
al-Numn in Heydrabad Dakkan, India, by Matbaah al-Majlis al-
Marif al-Nizmiyyah in two volumes. Published again between
1945-1948 by Dr Iy al-Kutub al-Arabiyyah in four volumes.
12
First published in Tehrn in 1852, then published in Cairo in1891
by al-Matbaah al-Uthmniyyah and by al-Matbaah al-Khayryyah
seven years later. They were published in 1902 with the
commentary of al-Suyt, al-Durr al-Nathr, and again in Cairo with
the taqq of hir Amad al-Zw and Mamd Muammad al-
nh by al-Maktabah al-Islmiyyah and al-Maktabah al-ilmyyah. It
was again published in Lahore by Ansr al-Sunnah al-Nabawyyah.
The latest publication was by Bait al-Afkr al-Duwaliyyah, Jordan,
with the taqq of Rid ibn al-Sabr ibn Ab Ulfah (2003).
13
Published under the title Tafsr al-Gharb al-Muatt or al-Iqtidb fi
Gharb al-Muatatt wa Irabuhu fi al-Abwb, both with the taqq of
Abd al-Ramn al-Uthaymn by Maktabah al-Abkn, Riyd (2001).
14
Published many times: al-Maktabah alal-atiqah, Tunisia; Dr al-
turth, Cairo (both in two volumes); Wazrat al-awqf, Rabt (one
volume); Matbaah al-Sadah under the title Tafsr Gharb Hadth al-
Muwatta wa al-Bukhr wa al-Muslim , Cairo (1912).
15
First published in India by al-Matb al-lam in 1863 as three
volumes in two books. Later, it was published by Matbaah Majlis al-
Marif al-Uthmniyyah in 1967.

* The above indicates the more famous works and the more famous
taqq which have been done upon them. Others do exist.

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 3. jz al-Gharib wa al-Injz al-Rghibof Jaml al-Dn Abd
al-Razzq al-Naysbr.16

In this brief survey of the most important published and unpublished

works, it may be appropriate to look closer at the vexed problem of
arriving at a working definition of the term gharb. At least, we can
establish what the authors themselves regarded as their field of
research.

5. THE DEFINITIONS OF GHARB AL-HADTH

The literal meaning of gharb (plural: ghurab) is one who is distant

from familiarity, i.e. hidden. This is significant for two reasons:
firstly it is exactly from this meaning that the authors on the works
of gharb have drawn their definitions; and secondly, it also
contributes to the fact that a few of the authors have not mentioned
the definition of gharb since there is a clear link between the literal
and the defined meaning. However, there could be other
contributing factors. Although other definitions have been prefered,
they are in some way or another others included in these
definitions; thus, the following includes what seem to be the most
complete definitions.

Ab Sulaymn Muammad al-Khattsb defines gharb as follows,

The gharb from speech is only that which is hidden and far from
the mind like the stranger among people is only he who is distant
from his home and away from his family. In relation to speech, it is
called gharb for two reasons. First, what is meant by gharb is a
meaning that is hidden or far-fetched, a meaning that it does not
come to mind immediately but requires an assisted thought process
in order to arrive at it. Second, what is meant by gharb is a speech
that is distant from its origins among the Arab tribes. Once a word
from them reaches us, we find it strange. (al-Suyt 1969: 34)

Ab Amr Uthmn Ibn Abd al-Ramn al-Shaharzawr (Ibn al-Sal)

(d.643/1245) defines gharb as follows, It is a phrase which occurs
in the main body of the adth from the words which are difficult to
comprehend and distant from the mind (Ibn al-Sal, 2006).

Ibn al-thr (1963:1/4) defines it as follows, The singular words are

of two types: the first one is khss [specific] and the other is mm
[general]. The m [general] are those words which are equally
understood by the general masses and are of those which are
frequently used in general conversation, etc. The specific [khss]
are those that form part of the narrated language. They are strange
words and are thus avoided. These are those, the meanings of which
are not known except by those who are concerned or preoccupied
with them and have thus guarded them and extracted their
16

8
meanings from their origins and few are they. It is, therefore, of
more importance to have an acquaintance with these types of words
in comparison to the rest. It is preferable to discuss such words
rather than those which are besides these and it is the first in terms
of sequence over the rest and is and it is clear in definition by its
mention, thus the need to discuss it is important, necessary to
clarify and comprehend.

Ibn Athrs definition here is significant due to the influence of the

classical Islamic jurisprudence it displays and the categories of
mm and khss employed here typify this. The methodology
developed by the fuqah (jurists) relied heavily on the lexical
significance of the texts in order to determine the meaning. The
influence of this field of jurisprudence on the lexicographical work of
Ibn Athr in his attempt to define the gharb is more than evident
here.

6. DIFFICULUTIES WITH THE CURRENT DEFINITIONS

The definitions provided above fall far short of the expectations of
any comprehensive and deeper understanding of the field of the
gharb al-adth. If the central theme of this article was the question
as to what is the definition of what constituets a gharb word, then it
would seem that that authors of the individual works offer us very
little help with respect to the definitions that they proferr. A more
satisfactory solution may be to look more closely their works and
make conclusions about their methods and considerations. It is only
then that we can begin to satisfactorily suggest answers to question
concerning chronology and the number of lexical items in this genre
with each passing generation. Other questions such as wheather or
not these texts were in fact the notes that teachers left to students
and that they were the intended readers of the texts in the first
instance also require our attention. Questions concerning whose
reading and comprehension of the adth (and Qurn) should we
consider when we speak of a particular lexical item being obscure or
difficult to understand have to be left over to other more intensive
studies of the gharb genre. This introductory article has however
proved useful to survey an important first source of such information
and has does yield some conclusions.

7. CONCLUSION

In essence, as mentioned above, there seems to be no contradiction

between the definitions given and others not mentioned since they
are not too distant from the literal meaning of the word gharb. The
definitions are not all uniform and there do exist some additional
elements in some of the attempts to identify what constitutes
gharb. In general, however, they all seem to follow a similar pattern
of reasoning. This is rather disappointing as these defintions shadow
the differences that certainly do exist due to synchronic and

9
diachronic factors. What would therefore require further research is
a detailed and comparative analysis of these works as they apply
their respective definitions. It is only then that subtleties of intent, if
any, will become apparent.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Awwmah, M. 1997. Athar al-adth al-sharf fi ikhtilfi al-aimati al-

fuqaha wa al-muaddithn. Beirut: Dr al-bashr al-islmiyyah.

Ibn al-Athr, Mubrak ibn Muammad al-Jazar 1963. al-Nihyah f

gharb al-adth wa al-athar. Edited by al-Zw, hir Amad and
Mamd Muammad al-an. Maktabah ilmiyyah. Beirut

Suyt, J. 1969. Tadrb al-rw. Medina: Al-Maktabah al-lmiyyah.

Sib, M. 2003. Al-sunnatu wa maknatuh fi al-tashr al-islm.

Beirut: Dr al-Warrq.

Shaharzawr, A. 2006. Ulm al-adth. Beirut: Dr al-Fikr.

Yusf, M.K., Atiyyah, Y, Hafn, S. (1997). Dall mualaft al-adth al-

sharf al-mutbuah. Al-qadmah wa al-adthah. Beirut: Dr Ibn al-
Hazm.

Al-Jaza, M. 2005. Al-nihayah fi gharb al-adth wa al-athar. Jordan:

Bait al-Afkr al-Duwaliyyah.

Islh, Muhammad Ajmal Ayb (n.d.) Kitb al-jumal al-gharib li al-

Naysbr wa ahamiyyatuh fi ilm gharb al-adth. Available from:
http//:islamweb.net/ (accessed 3 August 2006).

Khatb, A. (n.d.) Trkh Baghdd. Al-maktabah al-Shmilah (cd-rom).

Nassr, H. 1988. al-mujam al arabiyyah-nashatuhu wa

tatawwuruh. Cairo: Maktabah Misr.

Kappadia, Z, H. n.d.. Contribution of Islam to the worlds civilization,

education, culture and scientific development. Available from:
http://www.mrc.org.uk/contribution_of_islam.php (accessed 15
September 2006).

M.A.E. Dockrat
Centre for Culture and Languages in Africa
University of Johannesburg
P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
E-mail: adockrat@uj.ac.za

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