Al-Asmaʿi
Al-Asmaʿi (أبو سعيد عبد الملك ابن قريب الأصمعي, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Qurayb al-Aṣmaʿī ; c. 740-828/833 CE), or Asmai; an early philologist and one of three leading Arabic grammarians of the Basra school. Celebrated at the court of the Abbasid caliph, Hārūn al-Rashīd, as polymath and prolific author on philology, poetry, genealogy, and natural science, he pioneered zoology studies in animal-human anatomical science. He compiled an important poetry anthology, the Asma'iyyat, and was credited with composing an epic on the life of Antarah ibn Shaddad. A protégé of Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi and Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', he was a contemporary and rival of Abū ʿUbaidah and Sibawayhi also of the Basran school.
Abu Saeed ʿAbd al-Malik b. Quraib al-Aṣmaʿī Al-bahili | |
|---|---|
| Born | 740 |
| Died | 828 Basra |
| Nationality | Caliphate |
| Other names | أبو سعيد عبد الملك ابن قريب الأصمعي الباهلي |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, Abū 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era) |
| Main interests | grammar, poetry, natural science, zoology |
| Notable works | Asma'iyyat, Fuḥūlat al-Shu’arā’, Book of Distinction, the Book of the Wild Animals |
Ibn Isḥaq al-Nadīm's c.10th biography of al-Aṣma’ī follows the “isnad” narrative or ‘chain-of-transmission’ tradition. Al-Nadīm reports Abū ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muqlah's written report of Tha’lab's report, giving Al-Aṣma’ī‘s full name as ’’‘Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayb ibn ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Ali ibn Aṣma’ī ibn Muẓahhir ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Bāhilī.’’’
The celebrated c.13th biographer Ibn Khallikān calls al-Aṣmaʿī “a complete master of the Arabic language,” and “the most eminent of all transmitters of the oral history and rare expressions of the language.”. His account includes collected anecdotes of numerous adventures.