Ibn Iyaz al-Nahwi
- Died
- 681 AH
- Born in
- -
Ibn Iyaz al-Nahwi (d. 681 AH / 1282 CE) was a Baghdad-based grammarian and morphologist who served as the professor of Arabic at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa .
Identity and Education
His full name was Jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad al-Husayn ibn Badr ibn Iyaz ibn 'Abd Allah al-Baghdadi . Al-Sharaf al-Dimyati reported seeing him in his youth dressed in the attire of soldiers' sons while studying grammar under Sa'd ibn Ahmad al-Bayani . He pursued his studies in Baghdad, reading under Taj al-Din al-Urmawi and hearing a portion of hadith from Ibn al-Qubayti, though he did not transmit it as a narrator, and received authorization (ijazah) from the scholars of his time .
Scholarly Career and Students
Ibn Iyaz was appointed head of Arabic grammar (shaykh al-'Arabiyya) at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa in Baghdad . He was noted for his gentle and refined character . A number of notable scholars studied under him, including Ibn al-Fuwati, Abu al-'Ala' al-Fardi, and Taj al-Din ibn al-Sabbak .
His scholarly output focused on Arabic grammar and morphology; he authored Qawa'id al-mutarahah (The Rules of Grammatical Exercise), al-Mahsul (a commentary on Ibn Mu'ti's al-Fusul), and a commentary on the morphological treatise al-Daruri by Ibn Malik .
Standing and Assessments
Biographers recognized Ibn Iyaz as a prominent authority in his disciplines; Ibn Rafi' recorded in his history of Baghdad that he was the foremost scholar of his era in grammar and morphology . Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati described him as a master of grammatical rationales and justifications (abu ta'alil) . In contrast, Ibn Maktum stated that he had not encountered obscure or intricate grammatical problems in Ibn Iyaz's writings .
Death
Ibn Iyaz died on the eve of Thursday, 23 Dhu al-Hijjah 681 AH (March 1283 CE) , while another account gives the date as 13 Dhu al-Hijjah 681 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Sharh al-Tarif bi-Daruri al-Tasrif is a thirteenth-century commentary on Arabic morphology. The text is an exposition of al-Ta'rif bi-Daruri al-Tasrif (also referred to as Daruri al-Tasrif), an abridged treatise on morphology, and serves to unpack its concise formulations while elucidating its morphological rules and grammatical structures.