The Rare (or Uncommon) Vocabulary of Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī in Its Commentaries Authored in the Indian Subcontinent: A Comparative Study between Al-Kawkab al-Durrī and Al-ʿArf al-Shadhī

المفردات الغريبة لسنن الترمذي في شروحه المؤلفة في شبه القارّة: دراسة مقارنة بين ''الكوكب الدري'' و ''العرف الشذي''

Abstract

The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was eloquent in speech and purely Arab by upbringing, as were his Companions and their successors. Their expressions were clear within their linguistic environment, requiring no explanation. However, with the expansion of Islam and the interaction between Arabs and non-Arabs, linguistic errors (laḥn) spread, and understanding of Classical Arabic declined. This created a need to clarify obscure vocabulary in the Prophetic traditions (aḥādīth). The discipline of Gharīb al-Ḥadīth—the study of rare words in ḥadīth—thus emerged early in Islamic scholarship. Foundational contributions came from al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl, Abū ʿUbaydah, and al-Aṣmaʿī, while Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām (d. 224 AH) produced the first comprehensive compilation after forty years of study. Later scholars, including Ibn Qutaybah, al-Khaṭṭābī, and al-Harawī, expanded and refined this field, seeking to address remaining gaps. In the Indian Subcontinent, scholars displayed exceptional commitment to preserving the Prophetic Sunnah, producing extensive Arabic commentaries on the canonical ḥadīth collections. Writing for largely non-Arabic audiences, they devoted special attention to explaining rare and obscure words, employing linguistic, exegetical, and vernacular approaches. These efforts ensured accurate understanding of the Sunnah and made its meanings accessible to students of knowledge in non-Arabic cultural settings.