Abu al-Hasan al-Ahmar
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Abu al-Hasan al-Ahmar | |
|---|---|
| أبوالحسن الأحمر | |
| Born | 8th-century |
| Died | c. 810 |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Abbasid, Islamic Golden Age |
| Main interests | philology, Grammar, lexicography |
| Notable works | Kitab al-Tafsir (كتاب التفسير); ‘Book of Interpretations’ |
'Abū al-Ḥasan Alī ibn al-Mubārak(or al-Ḥasan) al-Aḥmar (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي بن المبارك الأحمر) (d. 194 AH) (d. 810 AD) known for short as Abu al-Hasan al-Ahmar or al-Ahmar al-Nahawi (الأحمر النحوي; lit. 'al-Ahmar the Grammarian'), was a renowned Arab philologist and grammarian of the Kufan school.[1] Described as 'The Sheikh of Arabic' by the historian al-Safadi.[2] His knowledge of lexicographical matters are mentioned by many quotations in al-Gharib al-Musannaf (الغريب المصنف; lit. 'The Peculiar in Chapters')[3] of his contemporary Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam (770–838).[1]
Abu al-Hasan was probably born in Basra at an unknown date. At a young age, he left for the Abbasid capital, Baghdad. There, he worked as one of the palace guards of the famous Abbasid caliph, Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) While working, he met the grammarian al-Kisai (d. 805), who at the time was the court tutor of Harun's sons, al-Amin and al-Ma'mun. Abu al-Hasan would therefore become a faithful disciple of al-Kisai, and he showed great interest in grammar and philology.[1] He is also known to have been part of the munāẓara (lit. 'Debate') that was held between his master al-Kisai and the prominent grammarian of the time, Sibawayh (d. 796).[1] Abu al-Hasan himself took part in tutoring al-Amin by the appointment of the court tutor, his teacher al-Kisai for a brief period of time.[2]