Sources and Evidence of Al-Suhaimi (T.: 1178 A.H.) in his book: Al-I’itisam Bil-Isam

Abstract

This paper aims at examining and analyzing the sources of As-Sahmi’s book A-I’itisamu bil ‘Isaam as well as the evidence he used. This book was a footnote on A-Isaam Al-Isfarayini’s (d. 951 AH) commentary on As-Samarqandi’s (d. 888 AH) book Ar-Risalat ul-Isti’ariya. The importance of Al-I’itisamu bil I’itisaam lies in its topic, namely Arabic rhetoric and mainly the metaphorical language with its diverse uses and types. The paper points out the main reasons behind As-Sahmi’s authoring of this book relying on the book’s introduction where the author hints at this. Among the main reasons were explaining the sophisticated riddle-like meanings and correcting certain archaic expressions in the text because the author was of Persian origin. The author then mentions As-Sahmi’s sources and the number they were cited, classifying them into: Rhetorical, linguistic and syntactic as well as others related to Qur’anic recitation and Hadith (Tradition).