and he relates that Ibn ʿIyāḍ engaged al-Barshalūnī, and the Muslims were victorious. When the ranks withdrew, the Muslims headed for the water to drink, and Ibn ʿIyāḍ had taken off his coat of mail, while about five hundred Romans lay hidden in a thicket near the water. Ibn ʿIyāḍ turned to his companions and said, “Shoot the Romans with your arrows!” An arrow then struck him in the vertebrae of his back. It was extracted only after those five hundred had been slain, and it was found to have reached the spinal cord. He made it to Murcia and died four years after he had taken charge of it. The Muslims keenly felt his loss.

155 – Ibn Abī Rukab Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Khushanī*

The grammarian of al-Andalus, the master scholar, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Khushanī, of Jaén (1).

He studied the Qurʾānic readings with Ibn Shafīʿ (2) and a number of others.

He learned Arabic language and grammar from Ibn Abī al-ʿĀfiyah (3) and Ibn al-Akhḍar (4).

He transmitted from Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Sirāj and several others.

He began a commentary on Sībawayh’s Book but did not complete it.

He was a leading figure in literature, endowed with piety and uprightness.