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 scholar of Arabic grammar.[1][2] He is one of the imams 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, 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 of thought. Then he converted to the Hanbali school and memorized Mukhtasar al-Kharqi five years before his death.[3] A group of people from Egypt 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.[3]
Early life
The scholar SheikhIbn Hisham Al-Ansari was born in Cairo in Dhu al-Qadah, in the year of 708 AH, corresponding to the year 1309 CE.[4][5]
He grew up loving knowledge and scholars, so he learned from many of them and associated with some of the literary and virtuous people.[6][7]
His Teachers
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned that Ibn Hisham was associated with a number of stallions of his time,[8] and he received knowledge at the hands of the scholars of his time and became their apprentices, including Ibn al-Siraj,[9] Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi,[10] al-Taj al-Tabrizi,[11] al-Taj al-Fakahani,[12] al-Shihab ibn al-Marhil,[13] Ibn Jama'ah,[14] 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.”[15] 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, saying: “While we are in Morocco, we still hear that an Arabic language scholar appeared in Egypt, called: Ibn Hisham".[16]
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,[17] 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.[17]
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,[17] 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,”[17] 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:[17]
"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:[18][19]
^Ibn al-Siraj: Muhammad bin Ahmad, Abu Abdullah al-Siraj al-Dimashqi, a grammar reciter, born in 668 AH, and died in 743 AH. Baghiyat Al-Waa: 1/20
^Abu Hayyan: Muhammad bin Yusuf, Atheer al-Din al-Gharnati, a grammarian of his time, a linguist, a hadith scholar, and a writer. He has great knowledge in interpretation, talent in morphology, and others. He died in the year 745 AH. Baghiyat Al-Waa: 280-283
^Al-Tabrizi: Ali bin Abdullah Al-Ardebili Al-Tabrizi, a devout scholar and one of the imams who combine all types of science. He died in the year 746 AH. Same source: 2/ 171.
^Al-Taj Al-Fakahani: Omar bin Ali bin Salem bin Sadaqa Al-Lakhmi Al-Iskandarani. He has great explanation in Grammar, and others. He died in the year 731 AH. The same source 2: 221, and Al-Durar Al-Kaminah: 3/178.
^Al-Shihab bin Al-Marhil: Abd al-Latif bin Abd al-Aziz, and the author of the Al-Baghia did not mention a comprehensive translation of him. Baghiyat Al-Waa: 2/541
^The author of Al-Baghiyah mentioned, in his translation of Ibn Hisham, that he “narrated on Ibn Jama’ah in Al-Shatibiyyah,” and those who were called by this name were many, and perhaps what is meant here is Badr al-Din Muhammad, who died in the year 733 AH, and who held the position of chief judge of Damascus, and then Egypt in his days.
^الأنصاري, جمال الدين عبد الله بن يوسف/ابن هشام; ،الدكتور, إميل بديع يعقوب (2018). شرح قطر الندى وبل الصدى. Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyah. p. 0. ISBN9782745155542. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
