Ibn Zakur
- Died
- 1120 AH
- Born in
- Fez
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Qasim ibn Zakur (after 1075–1120 AH / c. 1665–1708 CE) was a Moroccan man of letters, poet, and Maliki scholar from Fez, renowned for his extensive literary commentary on Abu Tammam's Diwan al-Hamasa .
Early life and education
His full lineage is Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad ibn Zakur al-Fasi . He was born in Fez after 1075 AH (c. 1665 CE) and grew up there pursuing the traditional Islamic and Arabic linguistic disciplines . In his native city, he studied under prominent authorities of the period, including Ahmad ibn al-Hajj al-Kabir, Abd al-Salam al-Qadiri, Abu Ali al-Yusi, Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi, and Muhammad Bardalla . He also studied with Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Fasi, who granted him a general license (ijaza) covering all of his writings .
Travels, teachers, and students
Ibn Zakur traveled outside Fez in search of knowledge, visiting Tetouan, where he studied under the local scholar Ali Baraka and composed poetry in his praise . He also traveled to Algiers, taking instruction and authorizations from its Maliki mufti Muhammad ibn Sa'id Qaddura and from the Algerian scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Mu'min al-Jaza'iri .
Among those who transmitted from him and received training in Arabic language and literature was the Moroccan scholar and poet Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Jami'i al-Fasi .
Scholarly standing and death
Ibn Zakur was regarded by contemporaries and later biographers as the leading literary authority of Fez in his generation, celebrated for his mastery of rhymed prose, poetic composition, and philological analysis . His major literary contributions include 'Unwan al-nafasa fi sharh Diwan al-Hamasa, a comprehensive three-volume commentary on early Arabic verse, and Tafrij al-karb, a dedicated exposition of al-Shanfara's pre-Islamic ode Lamiyyat al-Arab . His poetic output and strophic verses (muwashshahat) were assembled in his collection al-Rawd al-arid .
Ibn Zakur died in Fez on 20 Muharram 1120 AH (1708 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
Tafrij al-Karb fi Ma‘rifat Lamiyyat al-‘Arab is an Arabic literary commentary on the pre-Islamic ode Lamiyyat al-‘Arab by al-Shanfara. Composed in 1112 AH, the work aims to elucidate the poem's meanings in a concise manner for students of literature, examining the text verse by verse through contextual background, lexical definitions, grammatical analysis, and rhetorical devices.