Abu Nasr al-Bahili
- Died
- 231 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Nasr al-Bahili (c. 160–231 AH / 777–846 CE) was an early Arab philologist, lexicographer, and transmitter of poetry and language based in Baghdad .
Life and Education
His full name was Ahmad ibn Hatim al-Bahili, and he was born around 160 AH (777 CE) . Some sources, such as the grammarian Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Iskafi, report that he was the maternal nephew of the prominent Basran philologist al-Asma'i, though this genealogical connection was disputed by Abu al-Tayyib al-Lughawi and denied by Ja'far ibn Bastawayh .
Al-Bahili became the closest companion and chief transmitter of al-Asma'i, transmitting all of his books . He also studied under prominent early masters of the Basran linguistic tradition, including Abu 'Ubaydah and Abu Zayd al-Ansari, and occasionally transmitted from Abu 'Amr al-Shaybani . Al-Bahili lived in Baghdad, but also spent time in Samarra and traveled to Isfahan at the invitation of al-Khasib ibn Aslam, bringing copies of al-Asma'i's compilations and pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry . Among his most prominent students who transmitted from him were the leading Kufan grammarian Tha'lab and the traditionist Ibrahim al-Harbi .
Scholarly Standing
Al-Bahili was widely regarded as a trustworthy and meticulous authority in lexicography and the transmission of Arabic poetry . Al-Asma'i reportedly endorsed his precision above all other students, remarking that no one reliably spoke the truth regarding what they transmitted from him except Abu Nasr . Abu al-Tayyib noted that al-Bahili was older, more precise, and more trustworthy than al-Asma'i's nephew 'Abd al-Rahman, and described him as rigorous in challenging rival transmitters, particularly Ibn al-A'rabi . Tha'lab praised him as an accomplished scholar of letters who was completely dependable .
In his scholarly method, al-Bahili was noted for compiling specialized thematic lexicographical treatises, such as Kitab al-shajar wa-l-nabat ("The Book of Trees and Plants"), as well as providing authoritative commentaries on desert verse, exemplified in his extensive recension and commentary on Diwan Dhi al-Rumma . Despite his noted personal humility in his commentaries, contemporaries observed that he possessed a sharp temper when challenged on linguistic points, as occurred during an encounter with the lexicographer Ya'qub ibn al-Sikkit in Samarra .
Death
Al-Bahili died in 231 AH (846 CE) in his seventies, the same year in which Ibn al-A'rabi and 'Amr ibn Abi 'Amr al-Shaybani died . Upon his death, he reportedly left an estate valued at thirty thousand dinars .
Answer updated
List of Works
This work is a recension and commentary on the poetical collection of the Umayyad poet Dhu al-Rumma. The diwan preserves the poetic corpus of an Arabian desert poet known for bedouin vocabulary, wilderness descriptions, and love poetry, accompanied by dictations of linguistic explanations and commentaries.