al-Muhallabi, Abu al-Abbas
- Died
- 644 AH
- Born in
- Homs
Abu al-Abbas al-Muhallabi (567–644 AH / 1171–1246 CE) was a Syrian grammarian, philologist, and poet from Homs, best known for his critical work on the commentators of al-Mutanabbi's poetry, al-Ma'akhidh 'ala Shurrah Diwan Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi ("Critique of the Commentators of the Diwan of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi") .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abi Ma'qil ibn Abi al-Ala al-Muhassin ibn Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Ma'qil, bearing the honorific Izz al-Din and the kunyas Abu al-Abbas and Abu al-Husayn . He belonged to the Arab tribe of Azd and traced his descent to al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra . Born in Homs in 567 AH (1171 CE)—though another report recorded his birth on 20 Sha'ban 553 AH—he grew up in a household associated with literature and poetry .
Education and Travels
Al-Muhallabi traveled to Iraq to pursue his studies . While in al-Hillah, he embraced Shiism under local scholars . In Baghdad, he studied Arabic grammar under Abu al-Baqa al-Ukbari and al-Wajih al-Wasiti, and he studied in Damascus under Abu al-Yumn al-Kindi .
He later resided in Baalbek, where he entered the service of the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Amjad Bahram Shah, who granted him a regular stipend; al-Muhallabi also instructed students in his religious doctrine there . In 613 AH, he visited Aleppo, where he met the historian Ibn al-Adim and dictated selections of his poetry to him . He met Ibn al-Adim again in Damascus in 626 AH . Al-Muhallabi also transmitted his texts to students, granting an authorization (ijaza) in 636 AH to Sharaf al-Din Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Ibrahim al-Irbili upon reading his critique of Ibn Jinni .
Scholarly Standing
Al-Muhallabi was recognized as an authority in Arabic grammar, lexicology, and prosody, and composed both prose and poetry . Ibn al-Adim noted that he had an excellent command of Arabic and presided over instruction in the linguistic sciences . Among his notable grammatical compositions was a versification of al-Idah and al-Takmila by Abu Ali al-Farisi . Sunnī biographers, while acknowledging his erudition and poetic talent, noted his staunch Shiite adherence . He was physically described as short in stature and strabismic .
Death
Al-Muhallabi died in Damascus in Rabi' al-Awwal 644 AH (1246 CE) at the age of seventy-seven . Specific reports place the day of his death on the 22nd or the 25th of Rabi' al-Awwal .
Answer updated
List of Works
This critical treatise on Arabic poetry and literary commentary examines, evaluates, and corrects interpretations advanced by five major classical commentators on the collected poems of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi.