al-Akhfash al-Awsat

al-Akhfash al-Awsat (d. 215 AH / 830 CE) was a prominent grammarian of the Basran school and the principal transmitter of Sibawayh's foundational grammatical work Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1.

Name, Epithets, and Early Life

He was Abu al-Hasan Sa'id ibn Mas'adah, a client (mawla) of the Banu Mujashi' ibn Darim of Tamim Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1. Originally from Balkh—with another report tracing his origin to Khwarizm—he settled in Basra al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He was given the nickname al-Akhfash ("the narrow-eyed") on account of his small eyes and poor eyesight, and he was also described as ajla', referring to someone whose lips do not cover his teeth al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Among grammarians, he was originally styled al-Akhfash al-Saghir ("the Younger") in comparison to his predecessor al-Akhfash al-Akbar (Abu al-Khattab Abd al-Hamid ibn Abd al-Majid al-Hajari) al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Later, when the grammarian Ali ibn Sulayman also received the epithet al-Akhfash, Sa'id ibn Mas'adah became known as al-Akhfash al-Awsat ("the Middle") to distinguish between the three al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Scholarly Training and Career

Al-Akhfash was older than Sibawayh, yet he accompanied him closely to master Arabic grammar, having also met the earlier scholars of his generation Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1. He also studied under al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi and related reports from Hisham ibn 'Urwah and al-Kalbi al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1. Sibawayh regularly reviewed the contents of his grammatical masterwork with al-Akhfash during its composition Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1. Because no scholar had formally read Sibawayh's text to its author during his lifetime, al-Akhfash became the primary conduit through whom Kitab Sibawayh was transmitted and studied after Sibawayh's death Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1.

Following Sibawayh's dispute with the Kufan grammarian al-Kisa'i, al-Akhfash traveled to Baghdad, where he entered al-Kisa'i's assembly in disguise and posed one hundred grammatical questions, exposing errors in all of al-Kisa'i's answers Inbah al-Ruwat ala Anbah …+1. When al-Kisa'i realized his identity, he embraced him, established close ties with him, and engaged him to tutor his children Inbah al-Ruwat ala Anbah …+1. Al-Kisa'i subsequently studied Sibawayh's text with him in private and requested that he compose his treatise on Quranic grammatical meanings, Ma'ani al-Quran Tarikh al-Islam+1.

Among al-Akhfash's most prominent students were Abu 'Uthman al-Mazini, Abu 'Umar al-Jarmi, and Abu Hatim al-Sijistani al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Scholarly Standing and Theological Affiliation

Al-Akhfash was widely acclaimed for his mastery of Arabic grammar and philology. Tha'lab lauded him as the most broadly learned scholar of his era and noted that he was the first to dictate the explanation of difficult poetic vocabulary directly beneath each verse rather than at the end of the poem al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1. When al-Farra' was introduced in an assembly as the preeminent authority on the Arabic language, he deferred the title to al-Akhfash as long as the latter lived Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1. In Arabic prosody, he is credited with expanding al-Khalil's fifteen meters by introducing the sixteenth poetic meter, al-khabab (also known as al-mutadarik), which he examined alongside his work on poetic rhymes, al-Qawafi al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Theologically, he adhered to the Mu'tazilah and was affiliated with the circle of Abu Shamir al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. His student al-Mazini praised him as the most knowledgeable of people in speculative theology (kalam) and the most skillful in dialectic (jadal) al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1. Conversely, Abu Hatim al-Sijistani criticized him for his theological views, labeling him a Qadari and noting that his Ma'ani al-Quran contained doctrines on free will al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Death

Al-Akhfash died in 215 AH (830 CE) Qiladat al-Nahr fi Wafaya…+1. Alternative reports place his death in 211 AH, 214 AH, or 221 AH al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+2.