4to. Volume I: 262 pp., [1, contents] / Volume II: [1, contents], 224 pp., Arabic lithographic text within borders, second text by al-Azadi printed on margins, modern hard back binding, first and last leaves foxed, small tear at top margin of contents page of Volume 2, professionally repaired without any loss to text, occasional spotting, otherwise copy in good condition, Al-Matba’a al-Bahiyyah al-Misriyyah, Cairo, 1316 A. H./ 1898.

Synopsis

Al-’Abbasi (d. 1556) was a leading scholar and literary figure, whose long career coincided with the rapid expansion of the Ottoman empire. He was born in Egypt, studied under the most pre-eminent scholars and madrasas in Egypt and Syria and soon acquired a reputation for his knowledge of the Muslim religious and philological sciences. He settled in Istanbul and gained favour with the Ottoman court. He was an accomplished composer of Arabic verse in his own right. Al-Abbasi was the main force in perpetuating the Arabic humanities during the heyday of the Ottoman empire. His chief legacy to posterity is his Ma’ahid al-Tansis, a commentary on the examples from the classical Arabic poetry (Shawahid) quoted in support of principles of literary criticism set forth in al-Khatib al-Qazwini’s widely studied Talkhis al-Miftah. In seeking to achieve his main purpose in this work, al-’Abbasi engaged in highly subtle and sophisticated comparative analysis of classical verse. Encyclopaedia of Arabic Literature, Volume 1, page 4.