He would say, “I went through the Book of Sībawayh with al-Akhfash twice.” (1)

I (the author) state: He lived eighty-three years and died at the end of the year 255 AH. Others said that he died in 250 AH.

103 – al-Māzinī, Abū ʿUthmān Bakr ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAdī

The leading authority on the Arabic language, Abū ʿUthmān Bakr ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAdī al-Baṣrī, was the author of al-Taṣrīf and several other works.

He studied under Abū ʿUbaydah and al-Aṣmaʿī.

Among those who transmitted from him were al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Usāmah, Mūsā ibn Sahl al-Jawni, and Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Mubarrad, who kept close company with him and was especially devoted to him.

Al-Māzinī once appeared before the caliph al-Wāthiq billāh, who rewarded him with a generous sum of money.

Al-Mubarrad said, “After Sībawayh, no one was more knowledgeable in grammar than al-Māzinī.” (2)

He added, “Al-Māzinī told us that a man studied the Book of Sībawayh with him over a long period, …”