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others. He was born at Baghdad, A. H. 296 (A. D. 908-9), and he died on the eve of Sunday, the 11th of the first Jumâda, A. H. 384 (June, A. D. 994); according to another statement, he died A. H. 382. His family belonged to Sarrman-raa.- Rummâni may here possibly signify a seller of Rummân or pomegranates, but it may also serve to designate a native of Kasr ar-Rummân, a wellknown castle at Wàsit. A great number of persons have received this surname for one or the other reason, but which of these it was that procured it for Abû 'l-Hasan is not specified by as-Samâni.

(1) The lives of the three persons just mentioned are given by Ibn Khallikan.

ABU 'L-HASAN AL-HAUFI.

He

Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Said Ibn Yusuf al-Haufi was a learned grammarian and an able expositor of the Koran, on which last subject he left an excellent work. He directed the studies of numerous pupils with great success, and I have remarked, in many books on philological subjects, certificates in his own handwriting to prove that the possessors of these books had read them under his tuition; in this he followed the general custom of teachers. died on Saturday morning, the 1st of Zû 'l-Hijja, A. H. 430 (Aug. A. D. 1039).— Relative to Hauf, from which the surname of Haufi is derived, as-Samâni says: "I imagined that it was a village in Egypt, till I saw in al-Bukhari's historical "work that it is situated in Oman. Abu 'l-Hasan al-Haufi drew his origin from "this place: he possessed a great portion of the works composed by Abû Jaafar "an-Nahhâs (vol. I. p. 81)." On this I must observe that Hauf is not, as he supposes, a village in Egypt, but a well-known tract of country in the province of Sharkiya, the capital of which is Bilbais: they give the name of Hauf to all the Rif, or cultivated part (1), of that country, but I do not know of any village there so called. Abu 'l-Hasan belonged to the Hauf in Egypt.-The preceding article had been finished some time when I met with a notice containing the particulars of al-Haufi's life. From this it appears that he belonged to a village called

Shubra 'n-Nakhla (2), in the province of Sharkiya; he then went to Old Cairo 460 (Misr), where he studied under Abû Bakr al-Adfuwi, and met with a number of learned Maghribins, from whom he derived considerable information; he then commenced as a professor of grammar, and composed a large work on that science, and another, in ten volumes, containing the grammatical analysis of the A great number of his treatises are still studied.

Koran.

(1) The difficulty of reconciling the accounts, given by Arabic geographers, of the Hauf and the Rif was first pointed out by M. de Sacy in his Abd-Allatif. M. Quatremère has some observations on the subject in his Recherches sur l'Egypte, p. 179, et seq. The solution of the difficulty is due to M. Reinaud. See his translation of Abû 'l-Feda's Geography, page 141, note.

(2) In the place of the autograph has a word which may be read all

or

اللعصمة.

AL-AKHFASH AL-ASGHAR.

Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Sulaimân Ibn al-Fadl, better known by the appellation of al-Akhfash al-Asghar (al-Akhfash the less), was a learned grammarian. The information which he communicated to his pupils was given by him on the authority of al-Mubarrad, Thâlab, and other great masters; his own authority was cited by al-Marzubâni, Abû 'l-Faraj al-Moâfa al-Jarìri (1), and others. His character as a trustworthy transmitter of traditional knowledge is well established. He must not be confounded with al-Akhfash al-Akbar, or with al-Akhfash alAusat (vol. I. p. 572): al-Akhfash al-Akbar, whose real names were Abû 'lKhattab Abd al-Hamid Ibn Abd al-Majid, was a native of Hajar and a mawla to one of the tribes inhabiting that region. He was a grammarian, a philologer, and a transmitter of expressions peculiar to the Arabs of the desert, some of which were made known, for the first time, by himself. Sibawaih, Abû Obaida, and other eminent scholars of the same period, received a portion of their information from him. As I was unable to discover the date of his death, I could not devote a special article to him in this work (2). As for al-Akhfash

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al-Ausat, whose name was Said Ibn Masâda, and who had been a pupil of Sibawaih, he has been already noticed (vol. I. p. 572).- Al-Akhfash al-Asghar and the poet Ibn ar-Rûmi were at enmity with each other, and as the latter was very superstitious, al-Akhfash used to go to his door, early in the morning, and pronounce words of ill omen: this prevented Ibn ar Rùmi from stirring out during that day. Being provoked at length by this annoyance, the poet attacked his enemy in a number of satires, which are still extant in the collection of his works; but al-Akhfash got them off by heart and cited them with approbation in his lessons; testifying at the same time how proud he was of the honour done to him by Ibn ar-Rûmi in satirizing him. When this came to the ears of the poet, he discontinued his attacks. "The stock of poetry," says al-Marzubâni, "which al-Akhfash knew by heart and taught with the authorisation of his preceptors, was very limited; this was also the case with his grammatical information. He never drew up a single work, nor pronounced a line of "poetry composed by himself; and when questioned on a point of grammar, "he would lose patience and dismiss the applicant with an abrupt refusal." He died suddenly at Baghdad, in the month of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 315 (Dec.-Jan. A. D. 927-8); others say, in the month of Shaaban of that year, or in the year 316. He was interred in the cemetery at the bridge of Baradan. In the year 287 (A. D. 900) he visited Egypt, and in 306 (A. D. 918-9) he proceeded from that country to Aleppo.- Akhfash means having little eyes and a bad sight.Baradan is the name of a village in the dependencies of Baghdad; it has produced a number of learned men and other remarkable persons." This al“Akhfash," says Abû 'l-Hasan Thàbit Ibn Sinan (vol. I. p. 289), "used to pay "assiduous court to Abû Ali Ibn Mukla (3), by whom he was treated with great attention and kindness. He one day complained to him of the extreme

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indigence to which he was reduced, and requested him to acquaint the vizir "Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Isa with his situation, and pray him to inscribe his "name on the list of literary men who received pensions. Abû Ali spoke to "the vizir on the subject, informing him that al-Akhfash was in very reduced "circumstances and had hardly any means of existence; for which reason he begged of him to settle a pension on him as on the other literary men of the "time. To this the vizir gave a positive refusal expressed in the rudest manner, and that in the presence of a large company. Abû Ali felt so highly

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"offended at the vizir's conduct that he retired from the assembly and went home, repenting of having asked any thing from him. As for al-Akhfash, “he remained in his former state and became quite dispirited. His misery at "length reached to such a pitch, that he was obliged by hunger to eat raw beet66 roots. It is said that he died suddenly of a spasm of the heart."

(1) The lives of these two persons are given by Ibn Khallikan,

(2) See the author's observations in the preface, vol. I. p. 3.
(3) The life of Ibn Mukla is given by Ibn Khallikân.

461

AL-WAHIDI.

Abù 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Mattûya al-Wâhidi al-Mattùwi, the author of the celebrated commentaries (on the Koran), was the first master of his time in the sciences of grammar and koranic exegesis. The divine grace which attended him is manifest in his works; they were universally considered as excellent, and were frequently cited by professors in their lessons. Three of them, the Basit (in extenso), the Wasit (medium), and the Wajiz (compendium), are on the interpretation of the Koran, and their titles have been adopted by Abû Hâmid al-Ghazzâli for three of his own works. He composed also a treatise on the motives for which the different portions of the Koran were revealed; a work called the Takhbir (indication) (1), containing an explanation of the (ninety-nine) excellent names given to God; a full commentary on the poems of al-Mutanabbi, surpassing in excellence all the numerous works on the same subject, and containing many curious observations: it is thus that after explaining the following verse:

When noble deeds, swords, spears, the daughters of Auwaj-all are assembled together,

He adds: "Auwaj was a stallion of noble race, belonging to the tribe of Hilàl "Ibn Aamir. The owner was once asked what was the greatest degree of speed

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"which he ever remarked in him, and he replied: I was riding him and lost "my way in the desert, but, seeing a flock of katas (2) going in quest of water, I followed them with a tight rein, and we all arrived at the spring in "a single heat.' This was a most extraordinary thing, for katas are very swift "of flight, and when they make towards a watering-place, their speed is much greater than ordinary. This, however, was not sufficient for the Arab in his description, and he added that he kept in his horse with a tight rein; had "he not done so, he would have outstripped the katas; which is a fine specimen "of amplification. The horse was named Auwaj (the twisted) for this reason: “when he was a foal, a hostile troop came down to attack the tribe, on which they took to flight, and as the little animal had not sufficient strength to keep up with them, they put him into a sack and carried him off. His back got a "twist from this treatment, and he was therefore called Auwaj."-The verse just cited is taken from the poem in which the author laments the death of Fàtik al-Majnùn (3).—Al-Wahidi was a pupil of ath-Thâlabi, the author of the celebrated commentary on the Koran (vol. I. p. 60); he learned from him the science of koranic interpretation, and ended by surpassing him. He died of a lingering disease in the month of the latter Jumâda, A. H. 468 (Jan.-Feb. A. D. 1076), at Naisàpûr.- Mattuwi means descended from Mattaya.-I do not know the origin of the relative adjective Wahidi, neither does as-Samàni mention it.— I have since discovered that Abû Ahmad al-Askari (vol. I. p. 382) derives it from al-Wahid, the name of a person who was the son of ad-Din Ibn Mahra (4).

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(1) In the autograph this title is written Tahbir (embellishment`.

(2 See page 145 of this volume, note (3).

(3) His life is given by Ibn Khallikan, and the poem will be found in M. Grangeret de Lagrange's Anthologie Arabe.

(4) This Mahra may perhaps be the son of Kudàa, noticed by Ibn Kutaiba. Eichhorn's Monumenta Hist. Ar. tab XI

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