Al-Akhfash al-Awsat
Abū al-Ḥasan Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah al-Akhfash al-Awsaṭ, often shortened to Akhfash al-Awsaṭ, was an early Arabic grammarian, linguist, and scholar of maʿānī al-Qurʾān. He died approximately in 215 AH.
Scholarly contributions
Akhfash made significant contributions to Arabic grammar, Qurʾānic exegesis, and linguistic theory. Some of his works and areas of study include:Kitāb Maʿānī al-Qurʾān: A work on the meanings of Qurʾānic vocabulary and style. It is one of the better-known surviving works.Kitāb al-Qawāfī: A work on poetic rhymes.He held opinions on grammatical and morphological matters, some of which are preserved in his works, others through later scholars discussing or transmitting his positions. For example, there is scholarship on “تعدد الآراء النحوية والصرفية في المسألة الواحدة عند الأخفش الأوسط”.
He also addressed gender in Arabic, as indicated by the work al-Mudhakkar wa-al-mu’annath lil-Akhfash al-Awsaṭ based on selections from Maʿānī al-Qurʾān.