Al-Jahiz
| Al-Jahiz | |
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| Born | 776 Basra, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | 868-9 Basra, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Era | Medieval era |
| Region | Muslim scholar |
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Main interests
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Arabic literature |
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Influenced
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al-Jāḥiẓ (Arabic: الجاحظ) (full name Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري) (born 776, in Basra – December 868/January 869) was an Arab prose writer and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.
Not much is known about al-Jāḥiẓ's early life, but his family was very poor. Born in Basra early in 160/February 776, he asserted in a book he wrote that he was a member of the Arabian tribe Banu Kinanah. His nephew also reported that Al-Jahiz's grandfather was a Negro cameleer.
He sold fish along one of the canals in Basra in order to help his family. Financial difficulties, however, did not stop al-Jāḥiẓ from continuously seeking knowledge. He used to gather with a group of other youths at Basra's main mosque, where they would discuss different scientific subjects. He also attended various lectures given by the most learned men in philology, lexicography and poetry.
Al-Jāḥiẓ continued his studies. Over a span twenty-five years, he would acquire considerable knowledge of Arabic poetry, Arabic philology, and pre-Islamic Arab history. He also studied the Qur'an and the Hadiths. Additionally, al-Jāḥiẓ read translated books on Greek sciences and Hellenistic philosophy, especially that of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. His education was highly facilitated by the fact that the Abbasid Caliphate was in a period of cultural and intellectual revolution. Books became readily available, and this made learning easily available.
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