Abu al-Mahasin al-Tanukhi
- Died
- 442 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Mahasin al-Tanukhi (d. 442 AH / 1050 CE) was a Syrian Hanafi jurist, philologist, and judge from Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, best known for his biographical dictionary of Arabic grammarians, Tarikh al-Ulama al-Nahwiyyin (History of the Grammarian Scholars) .
Life and career
His full name was al-Mufaddal ibn Muhammad ibn Mis'ar ibn Muhammad al-Tanukhi al-Ma'arri, and he was also known as Ibn Mis'ar . A birth year of 390 AH is reported, while another biographical report places his birth after 360 AH . Originating from Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, he travelled to Baghdad to pursue his education, studying Hanafi jurisprudence under Abu al-Husayn al-Quduri and al-Saymari . He studied Arabic literature and grammar under Ali ibn Isa al-Raba'i, Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Daqiqi, and Muhammad ibn Ashras al-Nahwi, and heard hadith from Abu Umar ibn Mahdi in Baghdad and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Nasr in Damascus .
Al-Tanukhi held judicial office in the Levant, serving as a deputy judge in Damascus under Ibn Abi al-Jinn and as the judge of Baalbek . He transmitted hadith and taught in Damascus; among those who narrated from him were al-Sharif al-Nasib and Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan al-Dimashqi . In addition to his biographical work on the grammarians of Basra and Kufa, he authored a polemical treatise titled al-Tanbih (The Notification), arguing against positions of Imam al-Shafi'i .
Standing and views
Biographers such as Yaqut al-Hamawi, al-Dhahabi, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani describe al-Tanukhi as a Hanafi jurist and philologist who adhered to Mu'tazilism and held Shi'i theological inclinations .
Death
Al-Tanukhi died in Damascus in 442 AH (1050 CE); an alternate report places his death in 443 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Tarikh al-Ulama al-Nahwiyyin (History of the Grammarian Scholars) is a biographical dictionary of Arabic grammarians and philologists. It contains over eighty biographical entries covering Arabic grammarians, lexicographers, jurists, and Quranic reciters associated with the grammatical schools of Basra and Kufa, as well as scholars from other regions.