Akhbar al-Nahwiyyin al-Basriyyin - al-Sirafi
- Author died
- 368 AH
- Editions
- Muṣṭafā al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī
Akhbar al-Nahwiyyin al-Basriyyin (Biographical Accounts of the Basran Grammarians) is a biographical work by the grammarian and judge Abu Said al-Sirafi (d. 368 AH / 978–979 CE) documenting the lives, lineages, and scholarly transmissions of the pioneering grammarians of the Basra school.
Scope and Content
The book is structured as a biographical compendium (tabaqat) dedicated specifically to the prominent figures of Arabic grammar associated with Basra, chronicling their anecdotes, master-student lineages, and debates regarding the foundations of the discipline. It opens with the differing reports regarding who first laid down Arabic grammar, reviewing claims attributed to Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Nasr ibn Asim, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurmuz, while noting that the majority attributed its foundation to Abu al-Aswad.
Al-Sirafi also records reports on early grammatical literature, such as the two lost works al-Jami' and al-Mukammal, attributed to Isa ibn Umar al-Thaqafi (d. 149 AH), noting that neither text had survived to reach his hands nor had he met anyone who claimed to have seen them.
Method and Sources
In presenting his material, al-Sirafi relies on two distinct approaches:
- Oral transmission with chains of narration (isnad): Introducing reports through direct oral transmission backed by full isnad chains.
- Written transmission without isnad: Quoting directly from written sources without isnad, most notably relying on the now-lost work Tabaqat al-Nahwiyyin al-Basriyyin wa-Akhbaruhum by al-Mubarrad (d. 285 AH) using introductory formulas such as "al-Mubarrad said" (qala al-Mubarrad).
Editions
The work has been published in several modern critical editions:
- An early edition edited by Fritz Krenkow, published in Algiers and Paris (1935) and later in Beirut (1936).
- An edition edited by Taha Muhammad al-Zayni and Muhammad Abd al-Mun'im Khafaji, published in Cairo by Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi (1374 AH / 1955 CE; reprinted 1385 AH / 1966 CE).
- An edition edited by Muhammad Ibrahim al-Banna, published in Cairo by Dar al-I'tisam (1405 AH / 1985 CE).
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