Al-Asma'i

Al-Asmaʿi
Native name	ʿAbd al-Malik b. Quraib al-Aṣmaʿī
Born	740 Basra, Iraq
Died	828
Residence	Arabia
Other names	أبو سعيد عبد الملك ابن قريب الأصمعي الباهلي
Academic background
Influences	Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala'
Academic work
Main interests	Natural science, zoology
Notable works	Fuhulat, Book of Distinction, the Book of the Wild Animals

Al-Asmaʿi (Arabic: أبو سعيد عبد الملك ابن قريب الأصمعي‎‎, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Quraib al-Aṣmaʿī ; c. 740-828), also known as Asmai and As-Asmaʿi, was an Arab scholar, philologist and anthologist. He was one of the earliest Arabic lexicographers and one of the three leaders of the Basra school of Arabic grammar.

He was also a pioneer of natural science and zoology. He is considered as the first Muslim scientist to study animals in detail. He wrote many works such as: Kitab al-Khail (The Book of the Horse), Kitab al-Ibil (The Book of the Camel), Kitab al-Farq (The Book of Rare Animals), Kitab al-Wuhush (The Book of Wild Animals), Kitab al-Sha (The Book of the Sheep) and Kitab Khalaq al-Insan (The Book of Humanity). He also provides detailed information on human anatomy and was credited with composing an epic on the life of Antarah ibn Shaddad.

Al-Asmaʿi was born in 740, though his exact place of birth has been disputed. He was a member of the Arab tribe of Bahila. Some authors have reported his birthplace as Basra in what is now Iraq, while others have listed it as Merv in what is now Turkmenistan. Whatever the case, during his life al-Asmaʿi was undoubtedly a representative of the Basran school of Arabic grammar, and was a pupil there of Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi and Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', as well as a contemporary of Abu ʿUbaidah and Sibawayhi. He seems to have been a poor man until by the influence of the governor of Basra he was brought to the notice of Harun al-Rashid, who enjoyed his conversation at court and made him tutor of his sons Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun. Al-Rashid, who suffered from insomnia, once held an all-night discussion with al-Asmaʿi on pre-Islamic and early Arabic poetry. Al-Asmaʿ proved popular with the influential Barmakid viziers as well. He became wealthy and acquired property in Basra, where he again settled for a time. Al-Asmaʿi died in the year 828, though the exact location is, again, a matter of dispute; some have listed the place of death as Baghdad, while others claim he had returned to Merv at that time.

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