Ibn Makki

Ibn Makki (d. 501 AH / 1107 CE) was a Sicilian Arab philologist, jurist, and judge known for his treatise on linguistic errors, Tathqif al-lisan wa-talqih al-janan Tashifat al-Muhaddithin -…+1.

Early Life and Education

Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Khalaf ibn Makki al-Himyari al-Mazari al-Siqilli was born and raised in Sicily Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1. He pursued his education on the island, studying Arabic philology under Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Barr al-Tamimi al-Siqilli and learning from Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Haqq ibn Muhammad ibn Harun al-Sahmi al-Qurashi Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1. He also met the literary critic Ibn Rashiq al-Qayrawani following the latter's arrival in Sicily, engaging in scholarly discussions with him and adopting his recensions of poetic verses by al-Mutanabbi, Jamil, and Kuthayyir Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…. Ibn Makki's legal and religious training led to his appointment as a judge in his homeland Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….

Career in Tunis

Around 460 AH / 1068 CE, shortly before the Norman conquest of Sicily, Ibn Makki emigrated across the Mediterranean to Tunis and settled there permanently Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1. Under the rule of the Khurasanid amirs, he was appointed to the judgeship of Tunis and served as the Friday preacher (khatib) at one of its mosques Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1. Ibn Makki composed his own Friday sermons, which were celebrated for their eloquence and compared by contemporaries and later biographers to the sermons of Ibn Nubata Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1. He also composed poetry focused on asceticism, contentment, and moral wisdom, selections of which were recorded by Ibn al-Qatta' al-Siqilli and al-'Imad al-Isfahani Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.

Scholarly Standing

Ibn Makki attained prominence for his expertise in Arabic grammar, lexicography, and Hadith Tashifat al-Muhaddithin -…+1. His primary scholarly contribution was his philological work Tathqif al-lisan wa-talqih al-janan ("Cultivating the Tongue and Impregnating the Mind"), in which he systematically documented common speech errors, morphological irregularities, scribal corruptions, and dialectal variations heard among both commoners and scholars Tashifat al-Muhaddithin -…+1. Ibn Makki submitted the draft of this work to his teacher Ibn al-Barr, retaining only what Ibn al-Barr confirmed and removing whatever he disapproved Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1. The work later prompted a written refutation by the North African scholar Ibrahim ibn Isma'il al-Ajdabi al-Tarabulsi Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T….

Death

Ibn Makki died in 501 AH / 1107 CE Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1.