Abu Sad al-Amidi
- Died
- 433 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Sa'd al-Amidi (d. 433 AH / 1042 CE) was an Arabic philologist, literary critic, and chancery scribe who served in Fatimid administration and authored the literary critique al-Ibanah an Sariqat al-Mutanabbi Lafzan wa Mana ("Clarification of al-Mutanabbi's Plagiarisms in Word and Meaning") .
Biography and Career
He was Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Amidi, bearing the kunya Abu Sa'd, though several sources also record it as Abu Sa'id . He took up residence in Egypt, where he pursued an administrative career in state offices . During the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah, he directed the Bureau of Order (Diwan al-Tartib) until his dismissal in 413 AH, when he was succeeded by Ibn Ma'shar . In Safar 432 AH, under the caliph al-Mustansir Billah, he was appointed head of the Correspondence Bureau (Diwan al-Insha'), replacing Wali al-Dawla Ibn Khayran .
Among those who transmitted literature and poetry from him were Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn al-Dalil al-Sawwaf and al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Nisaburi .
Scholarly Activity and Standing
Al-Amidi was recognized as a prominent prose stylist, grammarian, and lexicographer . The historian Ibn al-Qifti characterized him as an accomplished scholar and author, noting that his critical monograph al-Ibanah 'an Sariqat al-Mutanabbi demonstrated extensive erudition regarding poetic borrowings . In literary criticism, while acknowledging al-Mutanabbi's talent and linguistic elegance, al-Amidi placed him below classical and early Abbasid poets such as Abu Tammam, al-Buhturi, Muslim ibn al-Walid, and Ibn al-Rumi . His major rhetorical compendium, Tanqih al-Balaghah ("Refinement of Rhetoric"), comprised ten volumes; Yaqut al-Hamawi recorded examining a copy in Damascus in the royal library of al-Malik al-Mu'azzam that bore al-Amidi's own handwriting and an audition note dated Sha'ban 431 AH .
Death
According to the traditionist Abu Ishaq al-Habbal, al-Amidi died on Friday, 5 Jumada al-Akhirah 433 AH (January 1042 CE) . Another report places his death on Thursday of that same date in 443 AH, while a separate variant gives 423 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Ibana an Sariqat al-Mutanabbi Lafzan wa Mana (Clarification of al-Mutanabbi's Plagiarisms in Word and Meaning) is a work of Arabic literary criticism dedicated to documenting the poetic borrowings and plagiarisms of al-Mutanabbi.