Abu Mahammad Abdullah Gamal al-Din bin Yusuf bin Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Hisham al-Ansari al-Masry commonly known as Ibn Hisham Al-Ansari (708 AH – 761 AH) (1309 CE – 1360 CE) was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

scholar of

Arabic grammar Arabic grammar () is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic languages, Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with the Semitic languages#Grammar, grammar of other Semitic languages. Classical Arabic and Modern St ...

. He is one of the

imams Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide relig ...

of Arabic grammar, more famous than his peers. He was well-informed, well-spoken, righteous and pious. He accompanied Al-Shihab Abd al-Latif ibn al-Marhil and recited to Ibn al-Siraj, and he heard from Abu Hayyan Al-Andalusi the Diwan (collection) of

Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma Zuhayr bin Abī Sulmā (; ), also romanized as Zuhair or Zoheir, was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet who lived in the 6th & 7th centuries AD. He is considered one of the greatest writers of Arabic poetry in pre-Islamic times. Zuhayr belonged to ...

, but he did not stay with him or read to him anything else. He attended the lessons of Taj al-Din al-Tabrizi and read to Taj al-Din al-Fakahani his explanation of the sign, except for the last page. He narrated on Ibn Jama'ah in Shatibiyyah, and he learned to follow the

Shafi’i school The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al ...

of thought. Then he converted to the

Hanbali school The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and traditio ...

and memorized Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi five years before his death.ترجم�
ابن هشامArchived copy
17 Feb 2024 on

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website A group of people from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and others produced it and issued it for the benefit of the students. It was unique in providing strange benefits and precise investigations. He had the ability to convey information and make students understand. He was humble, mild-mannered, very compassionate, and tender-hearted.

Early life

The scholar

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

''Ibn Hisham Al-Ansari'' was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Dhu al-Qadah Dhu al-Qa'dah (, ', ), also spelled Dhu al-Qi'dah or Zu al-Qa'dah, is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It could possibly mean "possessor or owner of the sitting and seating place" - the space occupied while sitting or the manner of t ...

, in the year of 708 AH, corresponding to the year 1309 CE. He grew up loving knowledge and scholars, so he learned from many of them and associated with some of the literary and virtuous people.

His Teachers

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

mentioned that Ibn Hisham was associated with a number of stallions of his time, and he received knowledge at the hands of the scholars of his time and became their apprentices, including Ibn al-Siraj, Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi, al-Taj al-Tabrizi, al-Taj al-Fakahani, al-Shihab ibn al-Marhil, Ibn Jama'ah, and others.

Scientific status

Ibn Hisham mastered Arabic, specialized in grammar, and had two books: “''Moughni al-Labib 'an Kutub al-A'arib''” and “''Awdah al-Masalik Ilah Alfiyyah Ibn Malik''.” He resonated with the souls, and he gained a status among scholars and writers “so he became famous during his lifetime, and people turned to him.” However, his fame was not limited to Egypt alone, but rather extended to the East and the West, as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned, quoting

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...

, saying: “While we are in Morocco, we still hear that an Arabic language scholar appeared in Egypt, called: Ibn Hisham". Ibn Hisham was endowed with extraordinary intelligence and a strong memory, as he was able to collect several sciences and excel in them. He was unique in his strange benefits, precise investigations, amazing deductions, brilliant investigation, excessive knowledge, the ability to dispose of speech, and the faculty with which he was able by expressing his intention in what he wanted in length and summary,Baghiyat al-Waa: 2/ 69 and what indicates to us the extent of his acumen, and the strength of his memorization until the end of his life, is that he memorized ''Mukhtasar Al-Kharqi'' in less than four months, five years before his death.

Religiosity and ethics

Ibn Hisham was a devout scholar. He was not accused of his beliefs, his religiosity, or his behavior. He was a Shafi’i sect. He converted to Hanbali at the end of his life, and this indicates that he was deeply rooted in both sects. Ibn Hisham was distinguished by “humility, righteousness, compassion, gentleness of character, and tenderness of heart,” in addition to his religion, chastity, good conduct, and uprightness. In addition to that, he was patient in the pursuit of knowledge, continuing to pursue it until the end of his life. Among his poetry about patience is:

# "Whoever perseveres in knowledge will achieve it.. # ..Whoever proposes to a beautiful woman must be patient with the effort.. # ..And who does not humiliate the soul in seeking highness.. # ..For a short time will live a long life as a humiliated brother.

Books

This linguist has written several books, including: * ''Qatr al-Nada'' *'' Expressing the Arabic grammar rules'' *' *' *' *'

Death

''Ibn Hisham'' died on a Friday night on the fifth of

in the year 761 AH, corresponding to the year 1360 CE.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Ansari, Ibn Hisham 14th-century Egyptian people Arab grammarians Writers from Cairo Medieval grammarians of Arabic Linguists from Egypt 1309 births 1360 deaths Egyptian male poets