Ibn Khalaf al-Muqri
- Died
- 455 AH
- Born in
- -
Ibn Khalaf al-Muqri (d. 455 AH / 1063 CE) was an Andalusian-Egyptian scholar of Qur'anic recitations and Arabic grammar, best known for his treatise on canonical recitation, al-Unwan fi al-Qiraat al-Sab (The Title in the Seven Recitations) .
Lineage and career
His full name was Abu al-Tahir Ismail ibn Khalaf ibn Sa'id ibn 'Imran al-Ansari . Originally from al-Andalus, he relocated to Egypt and settled there . He is also identified by the nisbas al-Siqilli and al-Saraqusti .
In Egypt, he studied the Qur'anic recitations under Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad al-Tarsusi . Ibn Khalaf subsequently established himself as a prominent instructor of recitation and Arabic grammar, teaching recitations to students at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat .
Among his students were his son Ja'far ibn Ismail, the jurist Jumahir ibn Abd al-Rahman, the Egyptian recitation teacher Abu al-Husayn al-Khashshab (Yahya ibn Ali), and 'Atiq ibn Ali al-Farshani . Another student, 'Umar ibn Khalaf al-Andalusi, traveled east and studied under him in 446 AH .
Scholarly standing
Ibn Khalaf was recognized for his dual mastery of Qur'anic reading and Arabic philology. Ibn Khallikan described him as an imam in the literary arts who was proficient in the discipline of recitations . Al-Suyuti observed that he presided over the teaching of recitations and Arabic for an extended period and became a leading figure in both subjects .
In addition to his handbook al-Unwan, which was later utilized by Ibn al-Jazari in his reference work al-Nashr fi al-Qiraat al-Ashr, he composed an abridgment of Abu Ali al-Farisi's grammatical treatise on recitations, al-Hujja, as well as a work titled al-Iktifa' .
Death
Ibn Khalaf died in Egypt on Sunday, at the beginning of Muharram in 455 AH (December 1063 CE) ; an alternate manuscript record places his death in 445 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Unwan fi al-Qiraat al-Sab (The Title in the Seven Recitations) is a treatise on the seven canonical Quranic recitations. It outlines the differences among the seven canonical authorities of Quranic recitation in a concise manner for students and memorizers, omitting chains of transmission and detailed grammatical and phonetic rationales to serve as an introductory guide and epitome.