علماء اللغةLinguists Morphologists and Grammarians

Linguists

Khaleel ibn Ahmad al-Basree: author of Kitaab al-'Ayn on language and the teacher of Seebawayh. He was the first to derive 'aroodh and bring it into existence, arranging poetry into five circles from which fifteen meters could be extracted. Then al-Akhfash added one meter to it, calling it al-khabab. Khaleel possessed knowledge of rhythm and melody, and that knowledge led him to the science of prosody, for the two are close in their underlying principles. He had prayed in Mecca that God Most High grant him knowledge no one had preceded him in and from which no one could learn except through him. He returned from his pilgrimage, and prosody was opened to him.

He was among those who renounced the world and devoted themselves to knowledge.

His student Nadhr ibn Shumayl said: “Khaleel lived in a hut in Basra, unable to afford even two fils, while his students amassed wealth through his knowledge. People used to say: 'Among the Arabs after the Companions, there was none more intelligent than he.'”

He would perform the pilgrimage one year and stay at home the next. His father was the first person named Ahmad after the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace.

He used to say: “A person is at the fullest measure of intellect and understanding when he reaches forty years, the age at which God sent Muhammad—God bless him and his family and grant them peace. Then his understanding changes and diminishes when he reaches sixty-three, the age at which the Messenger of God—God bless him and grant him peace—was taken. A person's mind is clearest in the last part of the night.” Among his verses:

If you knew what I say, you would excuse me ... Or if you knew what you say, you would reproach you

But you did not understand my words, so you reproached me ... And I knew you were ignorant, so I excused you

He also recited:

They say to me: “The dwelling of the beloved has drawn near ... Yet you are melancholy—this is truly strange!”

So I said: “What benefit are the dwellings and their nearness ... If there is no nearness between the hearts?”

Ibn Khallikaan gave him an extensive biography in Wafayaat al-A'yaan.

Al-Khaleel died in 165 or 170 AH, at the age of seventy-four.

The cause of his death was that he said: “I want to devise a kind of calculation by which a servant girl could go to the grocer and he would be unable to cheat her.” He entered the mosque while working through the idea, and, distracted, struck a pillar, fractured his skull, and died. He was seen in a dream, and someone asked him: “What did God do with you?” He replied: “Have you considered? What we had been occupied with was nothing. Or have you found anything better than: 'Glory be to God, praise belongs to God, there is no god but God, and God is greatest'?”

'Alee ibn Hasan al-Hunaanee, known as Kuraa' al-Naml, with the kaaf pronounced with dhamma. Aboo al-Hasan, the grammarian and linguist. Yaaqoot said: “He was from Egypt and studied with the Basrans. He was a grammarian according to the Koofan school and wrote al-Munadhdhad on the language of al-Mujarrad in 307 AH.”

Ahmad ibn Faaris ibn Zakareeyaa, Aboo al-Husayn al-linguist, al-Raazee al-Qazweenee. He was a grammarian according to the Koofan method. He heard from his father and from 'Alee ibn Ibraaheem ibn Salama, and the littérateur al-Hamadhaanee read with him. He was an imaam in many sciences, especially language, which he mastered. He composed al-Mujmal on language; despite its concision, it gathered a great deal. He had various discussions on language. He lived in Hamadhaan, from which he was brought to Rayy so that Aboo Taalib ibn Fakhr al-Dawla could read with him, and he settled there. Badee' al-Zamaan, the author of the maqaamaat, studied with him. He was a Shaafi'ee, then became a Maalikee, saying: “Partisanship for this imaam seized me: that a land such as this should be empty of his school.”

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His student was al-Saahib ibn 'Abbaad, and he used to say: “Our shaykh was among those blessed with the gift of excellent composition.” He was generous and munificent; sometimes, when asked, he would give away his clothes and the furnishings of his house. al-Dhahabee said: “He died in 395 AH,” and this is the soundest report concerning his death. Among his verses:

A gazelle passed by us, slender and graceful ... Turkish, tracing her lineage to a Turk

She glances with a languid, bewitching eye ... Weaker than a grammarian's proof

Ishaaq ibn Ibraaheem al-Faaraabee: Aboo Ibraaheem, author of Deewaan al-Adab on language, and the maternal uncle of Aboo Nasr al-Jawharee. Exile carried him to Yemen, where he settled in Zabeed. There he composed al-Mujmal and died before it was transmitted from him, around 350 AH. It is also said that he died around the age of seventy. Yaaqoot said: “I saw a copy of this book in al-Jawharee's handwriting, in which he stated that he had read it with Ibraaheem in Faaraab.” He also wrote, may God Most High have mercy upon him, a commentary on Adab al-Kaatib and Bayaan al-I'raab.

Ahmad ibn Abaan ibn Sayyid: the Andalusian linguist, author of al-Mu'allim on language. He studied with Aboo 'Alee al-Qaalee and others. He was a learned imaam in language and Arabic, a skilled littérateur, and a rapid writer.

Al-Afleetee transmitted from him. He composed al-Mu'allim in one hundred volumes, arranged by genera, beginning with astronomy and ending with the atom. He also wrote a commentary on al-Akhfash's book and other works. He died in 333 AH.

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Azhar, Talha ibn Nooh al-Harawee, the Shaafi'ee linguist, Aboo Mansoor al-Azharee. He was born in 282 AH and studied with Rabee' ibn Sulaymaan, Naftawayh, and Ibn al-Sarraaj. He met Ibn Durayd but did not transmit from him. He went to Baghdad, where the Qarmatians captured him, and he remained among them for a long time. He was a leading authority in language and became renowned for it.

Al-Harawee, author of al-Ghareebayn, studied with him. al-Azharee had traveled and traversed the lands of the Arabs in pursuit of language. He gathered the scattered parts of the language and was acquainted with its secrets and subtleties. He composed Tahdheeb al-Lugha, one of the select works, comprising more than ten volumes. He also wrote a single-volume work on rare expressions used by jurists. It was an indispensable reference for jurists explaining difficult linguistic matters connected with jurisprudence. He was knowledgeable in hadeeth, possessed elevated chains of transmission, and was deeply scrupulous.

He was born in 282 AH and died in Rabee' II 370 AH; it is also said, in 371, in the city of Herat. He also wrote a gloss on the expressions in al-Muzanee's Mukhtasar, al-Taqreeb on exegesis, and other works. In Baghdad he saw Aboo Ishaaq al-Zajjaaj and Aboo Bakr ibn al-Anbaaree, but it is not reported that, may God Most High have mercy upon him, he learned anything from them.

'Alee ibn Ismaa'eel ibn Sayyida: the Andalusian linguist and grammarian of Murcia, Aboo al-Hasan al-Dhareer, author of al-Muhkam on language. He also wrote al-Mukhassas on language. It is said that his father's name was Muhammad, and it is also said Ismaa'eel. His father too was blind, yet a master of linguistic knowledge. His son devoted himself to study and became a memorizer; in his time there was no one more learned than he in grammar, language, poetry, the histories of the Arabs, and related matters, while he was also well versed in the philosophical sciences.

He transmitted from his father and from Aboo al-'Alaa' Saa'id ibn al-Hasan al-Baghdaadee. He wrote a commentary on Islaah al-Mantiq, a commentary on al-Hamaasa, and a commentary on al-Akhfash's book. He died in 358 AH, at approximately sixty years of age. He had a share in poetry and skill in its forms.

Ismaa'eel ibn Hammaad al-imaam: Aboo Nasr al-Faaraabee al-Jawharee, author of al-Sihaah.

Yaaqoot said: “He was one of the marvels of his age in intelligence, acumen, and knowledge. He originated in Faaraab among the Turks. He was an imaam in language and belles-lettres, and his handwriting was proverbial. He preferred travel to settled life and traversed the horizons for the sake of knowledge. He composed a book

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on prosody and an introduction to grammar. At the end of his life, before his mind changed, he made two wings for himself, climbed to a high place, and tried to fly; he fell and died. al-Sihaah remained in draft, so his student Ibraaheem ibn Salaah al-Warraaq fair-copied it, introducing errors in several places.”

Yaaqoot said: “I saw al-Sihaah in his handwriting with al-Malik al-A'dham; he had written it in 392 AH.”

Ibn Fadhl Allaah said in al-Masaalik: “He died in 396 AH.”

'Abd Allaah ibn Barree ibn 'Abd al-Jabbaar: Aboo Muhammad al-Maqdisee al-Misree, the grammarian and linguist. He appended useful notes to al-Jawharee's al-Sihaah; his name spread and he became renowned. In the Egyptian lands there was no one comparable to him. He was a master of grammar, language, and poetic citations.

He composed al-Lubaab in refutation of Ibn al-Khashshaab's refutation of al-Hareeree's Durrat al-Ghawwaas. al-Safadee said: “He did not complete his marginalia on al-Sihaah; he reached the entry waaw-qaaf-seen, a quarter of the book. Shaykh 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad al-Battee completed them.”

Ibn Barree died in 582 AH. al-Sihaah also has a supplement and marginalia by al-Saghaanee, may God Most High have mercy upon him, who brought them together with al-Sihaah in Majma' al-Bahrayn.

Muhammad ibn Ya'qoob ibn Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Sheeraazee al-Feeroozaabaadee: author of the wondrous al-Mu'allim, which brings together al-Muhkam, al-'Ubaab, al-Qaamoos al-Muheet, and al-Qaamoos al-Waseet, gathering what had become scattered of the Arabic language. al-'Ubaab reached sixty volumes when complete, and al-Qaamoos means the great sea.

Qaaboos means a handsome man, fair in face and complexion. One says: “A man is waseet among them,” meaning that he is of the middle rank in lineage and the highest in standing. One says: “A people are shamaateet,” meaning dispersed, and “The horses came shamaateet,” meaning in successive groups.

He was the celebrated scholar Majd al-Deen Aboo al-Taahir, the imaam of his age in language.

The hadeeth master Ibn Hajar said: “He traced his lineage to Shaykh Aboo Ishaaq al-Sheeraazee, author of al-Tanbeeh. After he became judge of Yemen, he advanced the claim that he descended from Aboo Bakr al-Siddeeq, and wrote al-Siddeeqee in his own hand. He was born in 729 AH at Kaazaroon, studied jurisprudence in his homeland, and there heard from Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Zarandee al-Madanee. He studied language until he became proficient, and his name became known throughout the lands while he was still young. He pursued hadeeth and heard from a number of shaykhs, among them the hadeeth master, imaam, unique theologian and proof, Ibn al-Qayyim, student of Shaykh al-Islaam Ahmad ibn Taymiyya al-Harraanee, may God Most High have mercy upon them. In Syria he heard from Shaykh Taqee al-Deen Aboo al-Hasan al-Subkee the elder, his son Aboo al-Nasr Taaj al-Deen al-Subkee the younger, Ibn Nubaata, Ibn Jamaa'a, and others. He traveled through the northern and eastern lands, met a number of distinguished scholars, learned from them and taught them. His virtues became manifest, and people copied his works.

“He entered India and then Zabeed, where its ruler, al-Ashraf Ismaa'eel, received him favorably, appointed him judge, and lavished honors upon him. He did not enter a town without its governor honoring him. He was held in high regard by kings: Teemoor Lank gave him five thousand dinars, and when he entered Room its ruler, the Ottoman sultan, honored him and he acquired abundant wealth. Nevertheless, he had little money because of his broad expenditures; he would give it to those who squandered it. He never traveled without several camels laden with books. He would unpack most of them at a lodging to consult them and repack them when he departed. When he fell into poverty, he sold them. He had a remarkably quick memory.

“It is related of him that he used to say: 'I would not sleep until I had memorized two hundred lines.' His compositions are numerous, and some forty-odd works in language, exegesis, and hadeeth have been counted among them.”

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He died in Zabeed in 817 or 818 AH, while still enjoying all his faculties, and was buried in the cemetery of Shaykh Ismaa'eel al-Jabartee.

I say: Among his works is Safar al-Sa'aada, in Arabic and Persian. How comprehensive, sound, and encompassing it is concerning the guidance of the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—and how well suited it is for one who desires to follow the Sunna!

Muhammad ibn Mukarram ibn 'Alee—it is also said: Ridhwaan ibn Ahmad ibn Abee al-Qaasim ibn Hanafiyya ibn Mandhoor al-Ansaaree al-Afreeqee al-Misree, Jamaal al-Deen Aboo al-Fadhl, author of Lisaan al-'Arab on language. In it he brought together al-Tahdheeb, al-Muhkam, al-Sihaah and its marginalia, al-Jamhara, and al-Nihaaya.

He was born in Muharram 630 AH and heard from Aboo al-Mu'izz and others. He collected materials, lived a long life, transmitted hadeeth, and abridged many of the extended works of belles-lettres, such as al-Aghaanee, al-'Iqd, al-Dhakheera, and Ibn al-Baytaar's Mufradaat.

It is said that his abridgements numbered five hundred volumes. He served in the chancery throughout his life and became judge of Tripoli. He was a leading, eminent man, distinguished in belles-lettres and graceful in composition.

Al-Subkee and al-Dhahabee transmitted from him. He alone possessed the elevated chains of transmission. He was versed in grammar, language, history, and writing. He abridged the history of Damascus to approximately one quarter of its original. He had some sympathy with Shee'ism, without rejecting the Companions. He died in Sha'baan 711 AH.

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibraaheem al-Maydaanee: the Nishapuri littérateur, grammarian, and linguist, Aboo al-Fadhl, author of al-Saamee fee al-Asaamee.

Yaaqoot said: “He read with al-Waahidee, the author of the commentary, and others. He mastered language and Arabic. He composed the book of proverbs, and no equal in its field is known; al-Anmoodhaj on grammar and al-Masaadir; and Nuzhat al-Tarf on morphology. He had heard and transmitted hadeeth, and often recited poetry.” I believe these two verses are his:

The dawn of gray hair breathed through the night of my temples ... So I said: “Perhaps it will be content with my temples”

When it spread, I reproached it, and it answered me ... “Do you ever see a dawn without a day?”

His son read with him. He died in Ramadhaan 518 AH. al-Maydaanee is a nisba to the field of Ziyaad ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan, a quarter of Nishapur. I say: In our own time his book of proverbs has been printed in Cairo, Egypt. His son Aboo Sa'd Sa'eed ibn Ahmad was also virtuous and pious. He wrote al-Asmaa' fee al-Asmaa' and died, may God have mercy upon him, in 539 AH.

Naasir ibn 'Abd al-Sayyid ibn 'Alee ibn al-Mutarrizee al-Hanafee: Aboo al-Fath, the grammarian and littérateur from Khwaarazm. He studied with al-Zamakhsharee and al-Muwaffaq, and excelled in grammar, language, poetry, the various branches of belles-lettres, and jurisprudence according to the Hanafee school. It is said that he was al-Zamakhsharee's successor. He was a complete Mu'tazilee, thoroughly knowledgeable in his discipline, a leading authority in Mu'tazilism and a preacher of it. In legal branches he followed the school of the imaam Aboo Haneefa, and he was eloquent and distinguished in jurisprudence.

He composed a commentary on al-Hareeree's Maqaamaat which, despite its brevity, is useful and achieves its purpose. He wrote al-Mughrib, discussing the rare expressions used by jurists. For the Hanafees it has the place of al-Azharee's book among the Shaafi'ees. He did not fall short in it; rather, he brought together the intended meanings. He also wrote a concise version of al-Iqnaa' on language, al-Misbaah on grammar, a concise version of Ibn al-Sikkeet's Islaah, and other works. People benefited from his books. He entered Baghdad as a pilgrim in 601 AH. His name was constantly remembered, his reputation was widespread, and he had much poetry employing paronomasia.

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Al-Mutarrizee is a nisba to one who embellishes and embroiders clothing. I do not know whether he practiced this himself or whether one of his forefathers did so and he was named after him. Ibn Khallikaan said this.

He was born in Rajab 538 AH and died in Khwaarazm on Tuesday, 11 Jumaadaa I 610 AH. More than three hundred elegies were composed for him.

'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ismaa'eel: Aboo Hafs Najm al-Deen, the ascetic imaam. al-Sam'aanee said: “He was a virtuous, distinguished, accomplished imaam and a master linguist.”

He heard from Aboo Majd Muhammad al-Tanookhee, Aboo al-Husayn Muhammad al-Bazdawee, and others.

He composed a work in every branch of knowledge, including exegesis, hadeeth, language, and legal conditions, producing nearly one hundred works.

He was born at Nasaf in the months of 462 AH and died in 538 AH. In that same year al-Zamakhsharee, author of al-Kashshaaf, also died.

Mubaarak ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad: Majd al-Deen Aboo al-Sa'aadaat al-Jazaree al-Irbilee, known as Ibn al-Atheer.

One of the most renowned scholars and greatest nobles, among the distinguished men to whom people pointed and the singular exemplars on whom they relied in affairs. He was deputy to the kingdom. He was born in al-Jazeera in 544 AH, moved to Mosul, and studied grammar with Ibn Dahhaan and Yahyaa ibn Sa'doon al-Qurtubee. He heard hadeeth late in life, held various administrative posts, and wrote in the chancery.

He wrote al-Nihaaya on rare hadeeth vocabulary, Jaami' al-Usool on the hadeeth of the Messenger, al-Badee' on grammar, al-Insaaf fee al-Jam' bayna al-Kashf wa-al-Kashshaaf on exegesis, al-Mustafaa wa-al-Mukhtaar on supplications and invocations, and a book on the art of writing. He composed these books with a group of assistants who helped him select and write the material. He had a small amount of poetry. He died in 606 AH, may God Most High have mercy upon him.

Aboo al-Faydh Muhammad Murtadhaa ibn Muhammad al-Husaynee: author of Taaj al-'Aroos, a commentary on al-Qaamoos.

The sayyid al-Waasitee al-Bilgraamee, resident of Egypt, of noble lineage, great standing, generous character, and abundant excellence and virtue.

He acquired the transmitted and rational sciences in the city of Zabeed from a group of eminent scholars, among them the sayyid and celebrated scholar Ahmad ibn Muhammad Maqbool al-Ahdal, and those of his generation, such as Shaykh 'Abd al-Khaaliq ibn Abee Bakr al-Mizajjaajee and Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Alaa' al-Deen al-Mizajjaajee. He said in al-Nafas al-Yamaanee wa-al-Rooh al-Rayhaanee: “He learned from those from whom our shaykh, my father, may God have mercy upon him, learned.” He then traveled to the Egyptian province and completed there his study of the transmitted and rational sciences. He excelled in all the sciences, especially hadeeth and language, and met our shaykhs who possessed elevated chains of transmission. He composed broad and useful works. Our shaykh, my father, sought and received from him an ijaaza for me. Likewise, the celebrated scholar Sayyid 'Abd Allaah al-Sa'dee Maqbool al-Ahdal sought and received an ijaaza from him for me, and he sought an ijaaza from him for himself and for the sons of our shaykh, the learned judge Muhammad ibn Ismaa'eel al-Rab'ee.

He acquired the transmitted and rational sciences in the city of Zabeed from a group of eminent scholars, among them the sayyid and celebrated scholar Ahmad ibn Muhammad Maqbool al-Ahdal, and those of his generation, such as Shaykh 'Abd al-Khaaliq ibn Abee Bakr al-Mizajjaajee and Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Alaa' al-Deen al-Mizajjaajee. He said in al-Nafas al-Yamaanee wa-al-Rooh al-Rayhaanee: “He learned from those from whom our shaykh, my father, may God have mercy upon him, learned.” He then traveled to the Egyptian province and completed there his study of the transmitted and rational sciences. He excelled in all the sciences, especially hadeeth and language, and met our shaykhs who possessed elevated chains of transmission. He composed broad and useful works. Our shaykh, my father, sought and received from him an ijaaza for me. Likewise, the celebrated scholar Sayyid 'Abd Allaah al-Sa'dee Maqbool al-Ahdal sought and received an ijaaza from him for me, and he sought an ijaaza from him for himself and for the sons of our shaykh, the learned judge Muhammad ibn Ismaa'eel al-Rab'ee.

It is a very substantial work on the ijaazas of the descendants of al-Shawkaanee, compiled by the imaam, Shaykh al-Islaam, the muftee of Yemen, the noble sayyid, celebrated scholar, and spiritual pole of the age, 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Sulaymaan ibn Yahyaa ibn 'Umar Maqbool al-Ahdal—may God be pleased with him. The high-ranking author, the ameer of the kingdom, Baahadur, had it copied from Zabeed and brought it to the author's shaykh, the celebrated scholar Husayn ibn Muhsin al-Ansaaree—may their eminence endure. Sayyid Muhammad 'Abd al-Hayy Khaan—may God pardon him.

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He granted the ijaaza and wrote: “In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Praise belongs to God, who grants the finest ijaaza for sound and accepted work, and promises that its finding will be received on the day the book is delivered into the right hand—a promise whose fulfillment He never breaks. I testify that there is no god but God alone, without partner: a testimony whose chain the tongue supports from the heart and whose isnaad raises over the text of its musnad the banner of its transmission, the science that is faith. Blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, whose rank is raised above every messenger-prophet, whose noble lineage is purified and continuous, and upon his family and Companions, for whom following him established the proofs of distinction and placed them within the comprehensive statement witnessed by every detail.

“To proceed: When He—Glorious is He—caused the sun of providential care to shine upon one whom He made fortunate, illuminated his heart with the light of success through complete solicitude, and continually extended His support as his crescent rose, he kept ascending through the stations of honor until he reached the summit of perfection. The person most truly described by these words and most deserving of this indication was the traveler, by divine success, along the fairest prophetic paths, who climbed through his aspiration to the heights of verification. He attained the accepted and pleasing goal and adorned himself with virtues whose witness the proof made clear: he devoted his precious hours to acquisition and applied his thought to branching and foundational principles until he measured out the fullest share of knowledge, drank from its sweetest and purest spring, and sheltered beneath the gardens of the sciences. He transmitted the report of excellence with an elevated chain and appeared foremost in the field of virtue, taking the prize with his fingertips.

“He is the complete noble one, the intimate of Islaam, Aboo al-Imdaad Muhammad, son of our shaykh, the imaam, celebrated scholar, chief judge, pillar of Islaam, Ismaa'eel, son of Shihaab Ahmad, son of the late Ibraaheem, son of 'Umar, son of 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Rab'ee al-Ash'aree. He is pure in honor and deeply rooted in lineage, for the mother of his grandfather Ibraaheem was Aamina, daughter of the jurist and celebrated scholar Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem ibn Ismaa'eel al-'Alawee. A number of his forebears held the office of judge in Moor¹ and al-Mahjam,² and some are recorded by al-Badr al-Ahdal.³ May God benefit us through the blessings of the righteous predecessors, honor the station of this capable successor, perpetuate benefit through him, and connect the means of good through him. Amen.

“His good opinion of me led him to write requesting an ijaaza, eager to join the chain of transmission with which this community was specially honored and to hold fast to its series leading to the noblest of messengers to humanity. He reminded me of something nearly forgotten and awakened my longing for what had once been manifest and then became hidden. In former times, people traveled to distant lands seeking elevated chains and requested ijaazas from remote regions. Now that discipline has vanished, aspirations have withdrawn from seeking it, and those who once adorned the community have gone, as though there had never been a companion between al-Hajoon and al-Safaa, nor a storyteller keeping vigil in Mecca. Yet traces of them remain in the corners of time, borne by those who received their hidden treasures.

“By God's praise, I am among those who formerly frequented the shaykhs of hadeeth and transmission and whose skin was dyed by receiving from them. My eyes have now been gladdened and my heart delighted by the presence of a student of this discipline. Praise and thanks belong to God for that path; He is the one who grants success in it, the giver and withholding King, the sovereign possessor.

“I have answered our master's request and granted him permission to transmit from me everything that I am permitted to transmit, whether read, heard, authorized, received by delivery, found, written, bequeathed, or exchanged by correspondence; branches and foundations; rational and transmitted knowledge; prose and verse; composition and takhreej; theology and Sufism; language, grammar, morphology, semantics, eloquence, rhetoric; history and diwans; everything I have composed, extracted, versified, or written in prose, according to the conditions relied upon by the experts of this discipline. I have limited this to the routes by which I transmitted the highest chain. I likewise grant all this to the sons and daughters of our shaykh, the imaam and celebrated scholar Sulaymaan ibn Yahyaa ibn 'Umar. I ask that he not forget me in his prayers and that God grant me, them, and all Muslims a good end. Amen.”

“I say: Our eminent shaykhs informed me through reading, hearing, and specific and general ijaaza: the sayyid Najm al-Deen Aboo Hafs 'Umar ibn Ahmad ibn 'Uqayl al-Husaynee; the two Shihaabs, Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Fattaah ibn Yoosuf ibn 'Umar al-Majree al-Malawee and Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn 'Abd al-Kareem ibn Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Khaalidee; 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad al-Shabrawee; and the sayyid 'Abd al-Hayy ibn al-Hasan ibn Zayn al-'Aabideen al-Bahnasee—all five from the musnid of the Hijaaz, 'Ataa' ibn Saalim al-Basree; Shihaab Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Nakhlee; our shaykh Najm Aboo al-Makaarim Muhammad ibn Saalim ibn Ahmad al-Hanafee from the musnid 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Ibraaheem al-Ziyaadee; our polymathic shaykh Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im ibn Siyaam al-Damanhooree from Shams Muhammad ibn Mansoor al-Atfeehee; our shaykh Aboo al-Ma'aalee al-Hasan ibn 'Alee al-Madaabighee from 'Abd al-Jawaad ibn al-Qaasim al-Mahallee; our long-lived shaykh, the sayyid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tileedee from Aboo 'Abd Allaah Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baaqee al-Zurqaanee; and our shaykh Shihaab Ahmad ibn Sha'baan ibn Gharaam al-Ru'aylee, known as al-Saabiq. He said: 'This chain is higher by one degree,' and named al-Zurqaanee, al-Mahallee, al-Atfeehee, al-Ziyaadee, al-Nakhlee, and al-Basree.

“The hadeeth master Shams al-Deen Muhammad ibn 'Alaa' al-Deen al-Baabilee informed us. al-Zurqaanee, al-Atfeehee, and al-Ziyaadee added: 'And Aboo al-Dhiyaa' 'Alee ibn 'Alee al-Shabramallisee.'

“Our shaykh 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-'Ashmaawee informed us from Aboo al-'Izz Muhammad al-'Ajamee, from his father, the hadeeth master of Cairo, Shihaab Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Ajamee, who said: 'He and al-Baabilee informed us that the musnid Noor al-Deen 'Alee ibn Yahyaa al-Ziyaadee [informed us] through Yoosuf ibn Zakareeyaa and Yoosuf ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Armyoonee, both from the hadeeth master Shams al-Deen Aboo al-Khayr Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sakhaawee; through al-Baabilee and al-Shabramallisee from Shihaab Ahmad ibn Khaleel al-Subkee; through al-Baabilee alone from his maternal uncle Sulaymaan ibn 'Abd al-Daa'im al-Baabilee, Aboo al-Najaa Saalim ibn Muhammad al-Sanhooree, 'Abd al-Ra'oof ibn Taaj al-'Aarifeen al-Manaawee, Shihaab Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yoonus al-Hanafee,

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and the long-lived Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Qalqashandee the preacher—all five from Najm al-Sunna Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Alee al-Ghaytee, from Shaykh al-Islaam Zakariyyaa ibn Muhammad al-Ansaaree.'

“Through al-Sanhooree, from Shihaab Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Alee ibn Hajar al-Makkee, from Shaykh al-Islaam and from 'Abd al-Haqq ibn Muhammad al-Sinbaatee.”

¹ A village in Yemen, three stages from al-Hudayda in the direction of Syria.

² A village in Yemen near the city of Zabeed.

³ This is the sayyid Husayn al-imaam al-muhaddith, son of 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Ahdal. He wrote a substantial history, Tuhfat al-Zaman fee al-Saadaat wa-al-'Ulamaa' wa-al-Awliyaa' min Ahl al-Yaman, in two large volumes, and also a gloss on Saheeh al-Bukhaaree. He possessed extensive knowledge of the Sunna and adherence to it, and wrote a valuable refutation of those who claim that al-Khidhr remains alive to this day. He died in the port of Aden Abyan.”

“Through the preacher [al-Qalqashandee], also from Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Subkee, from Jamaal Ibraaheem ibn Ahmad ibn Ismaa'eel al-Qalqashandee.

“Through the shaykh of our shaykhs, al-Basree, from 'Alee ibn 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Tabaree, from 'Abd al-Waahid ibn Ibraaheem al-Khateeb, from Shams Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-'Umaree—he, Jamaal al-Qalqashandee, al-Sinbaatee, Shaykh al-Islaam, and al-Sakhaawee—from the haafidh of the community, Shihaab al-Deen Aboo al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn 'Alee ibn Muhammad al-'Asqalaanee, known as Ibn Hajar—may God sanctify his secret—through his branching chains to the imaams of the six books and others, which he recorded in al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras, a substantial volume. Through 'Abd al-Waahid al-Khateeb also, from Jalaal 'Abd al-Raheem ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-'Abbaasee, and through al-Armyoonee and Aboo Zakariyyaa also, from the haafidh Jalaal al-Deen 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abee Bakr al-Suyootee, through the chains recorded in his Mu'jam.

“Among my shaykhs are the two jurist-imaams Muhammad ibn 'Eesaa ibn Yoosuf al-Danjaawee and Mustafaa ibn 'Abd al-Salaam al-Manzilee, from whom I learned at the port of Damietta. They transmit from the imaam Aboo Haamid ibn Muhammad al-Budayree, from Shaykh Ibraaheem al-Kooraanee, Quraysh daughter of 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Tabaree, Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Shoobaree, Muhammad ibn Daawood al-'Anaanee, al-Muqree Muhammad ibn Qaasim al-Baqqaree, and Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef al-Bishbeeshee, through their chains.

“Among my shaykhs are Saalim ibn Ahmad al-Nafraawee, Sulaymaan ibn Mustafaa al-Mansooree, Aboo al-Su'ood Muhammad ibn 'Alee al-Hasanee, 'Abd Allaah ibn 'Abd al-Razzaaq al-Hareeree, Muhammad ibn al-Tayyib al-Faasee, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allaah ibn Ayyoob al-Tilimsaanee known as al-Munawwar, 'Alee ibn al-'Arabee al-Saqqaat, 'Umar ibn Yahyaa al-Tahlaawee, and others.

“Among those who wrote me ijaazas were the following eminent men: Shihaab Ahmad ibn 'Alee al-Meenee al-Hanafee of Damascus; 'Alee ibn Muhammad al-Sulamee of Saalihiyya; Aboo al-Mawaahib Muhammad Saalih ibn Rajab al-Qaadiree; Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Taraabulusee al-Naqeeb, Muhammad ibn Taahaa al-'Aqqaad, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Halawee, all three from Aleppo; the musnid Aboo 'Abd Allaah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Saalim al-Saffaareenee al-Hanbalee of Nablus; and Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Sanoosee and Muhammad ibn 'Alee ibn Khaleefa al-Firyaabee, both from Tunis.

“I have other deeply rooted shaykhs, known for righteousness and enrolled among the successful. May God cover them with His pardon and increase them from the pure Salsabeel of Paradise. Their chains are famous and written in the records of audition. May God inspire us and them to give thanks for His blessing and unite us with them in the abode of His mercy, upon the carpet of His intimacy and in the presence of His holiness.”

Among the compositions and takhreej attributed to him are: the commentary on al-Qaamoos, Taaj al-'Aroos, in ten large volumes, completed in fourteen years;

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a commentary on Ihyaa' 'Uloom al-Deen, which God help me complete—I have reached the Book of Prayer; a supplement to al-Qaamoos concerning words it omitted, unfinished; a commentary on the hadeeth of Umm Zar' in eleven sessions; Raf' al-Kalal 'an al-'Ilal; takhreej of “Hood has made me gray”; takhreej of “What an excellent condiment is vinegar”; al-Mawaahib al-Jaliyya concerning the hadeeth of al-Awwaliyya; al-Marqaat al-'Amaliyya, a commentary on the musalsal hadeeth of al-Awwaliyya; al-'Aroos al-Mujliyya on the routes of that hadeeth; a commentary on al-Shaadhilee's al-Hizb al-Kabeer, entitled Tanbeeh al-Ma'aarif al-Baseer 'alaa Asraar al-Hizb al-Kabeer wa-Inaalat al-Munaa fee Sirr al-Kunaa; al-Qawl al-Mabtoot on establishing the wording of al-taaboot; Husn al-Muhaadhara on the etiquette of debate and disputation; an epistle on the principles of hadeeth; an epistle on the principles of cryptic expression; Kashf al-Ghitaa' 'an al-Salaat al-Wustaa; al-Ihtifaal bi-Sawm al-Sitt min Shawwaal; Eedhaah al-Madaarik 'an Nasab al-'Awaatik; Iqraar al-'Ayn bi-Dhikr man Nusiba ilaa al-Hasan wa-al-Husayn wa-al-Ibtihaaj bi-Dhikr Amr al-Haajj; al-Faydhaat al-'Aliyya on the divine-formulaic secrets in Soorat al-Rahmaan; al-Ta'reef bi-Dharooree 'Ilm al-Tasreef; al-'Iqd al-Thameen on the routes of al-ilbaas and al-talqeen; Ithaaf al-Asfiyaa' with the chains of the saints; Ithaaf Banee al-Zaman on the ruling of Yemeni coffee; Ithaaf al-Ikhwaan on the ruling of tobacco; al-Maqaa'id al-'Indiyya fee al-Mashaahid al-Naqshabandiyya, one hundred and fifty verses; al-Durra al-Mudhee'a fee al-Wasiyya al-Mardhiyya, two hundred and twenty verses; Irshaad al-Ikhwaan ilaa al-Akhlaaq al-Hisaan, one hundred and twenty verses; Alfiyya al-Sanad, fifteen hundred verses, with its commentary in ten booklets; a commentary on the formula of Ibn Masheesh; and a commentary on the formula of al-Sayyid al-Badawee.

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He also wrote a commentary on three formulas of Aboo al-Hasan al-Bakree; a commentary on seven formulas, entitled Dalaa'il al-Qurb, by Sayyid Mustafaa al-Bakree; al-Azhaar al-Mutanaathira on mass-transmitted hadeeths; Tuhfat al-'Eed, in one booklet; an exegesis of Soorat Yoonus in the language of the people; Luqtat al-'Ajlaan on “nothing can be more excellent than what exists”; al-Qawl al-Saheeh on the ranks of evaluation and disparagement; al-Tahbeer on the musalsal hadeeth with takbeer; al-Amaalee al-Hanafiyya, in one volume; and al-Amaalee al-Shaykhooniyya, in two volumes. By the date of writing, he had reached four hundred sessions, besides other verse and prose epistles whose titles I cannot now enumerate.

“I grant the aforementioned sayyid and those named with him a general and specific ijaaza for everything mentioned, in summary and in detail.” He spoke and wrote it in his own hand: “The poor servant of his Lord, grateful for what He has bestowed, Aboo al-Faydh Muhammad Murtadhaa ibn Muhammad al-Husaynee, resident of Egypt and servant of the science of hadeeth there—may God forgive his errors, mend his defects, accept his work, and bring him to his hope.” This was in a single session on the night the noble mahmal departed, Monday night, 9 Shawwaal 1195 AH. May God perfect it and make its year fortunate. Praise belongs to God alone; God bless our master Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them peace. God is sufficient for us, and He is the best trustee.

The book then came from the aforementioned sayyid to our shaykh, my father. It contained an account of some of his circumstances and of those he had met who possessed elevated chains. Its wording was:

“In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. May God bless our master Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them peace. I employ the breezes of blossoms to convey my greetings to the possessor of virtues, drawing from the springs of knowledge and the dew of his questions.

“I entrust the flashes of lightning before the morning clouds with my salutations to the bearer of the people of virtue, who carries on his shoulders the burdens of the sciences of the Law; he whose excellence rose like a star and whose qualities shone and blossomed like a swaying branch.

“Yesterday and today unite in praising him, and the constellations of nobility shine through him—no wonder, for he is the sun: settled upon the lofty summit of glory and astride the high steed of exalted honor; the niche of the sciences when the flood of ignorance darkens; the light of knowledge when a halo encircles its luminous full moon.

“The noble, zealous, celebrated, chaste sayyid, our shaykh and teacher, Sayyid Sulaymaan ibn Yahyaa—may the abodes of virtue remain alive through his gracious regard. Amen.

“Your letter arrived, first and second, and joy made them twins. We read them, and their contents gladdened the eye and dispelled sorrow. What can I describe? I can only stop: long scrolls, compared with the thanks due him, are scraps scattered by wind. Even if they rose from earth to the ether, they would be cast into the wilderness. My longing to see those pleasant abodes and his radiant beauty there, and to enjoy the company of the noble beloved in those pure inhabited places, cannot be fully expressed, let alone detailed. Their armies have followed one another, their waves collided, and their flashes glittered. I ask the Generous Giver, abundant in bounty and kindness, to enable me to reach those lands, renew my covenant, and find intimacy with those righteous masters; what I have reached is only through the blessings of their regard and the secrets of their visions.

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“I had prepared a reply to the letter previously sent to our late shaykh, the pole of virtue, the eminent sayyid al-'Aydaroos, and sent both letters, containing some reports and revealing a few secrets. Later I was told that my reply had not reached you; the student of knowledge Shaykh 'Alee al-'Adeenee said so. I replied: 'Perhaps there is good in it.' What prevents me from sending letters is the abundance of my occupations and the accumulation of worries and grief in this weary heart, from which no human is free, even amid the greatest blessings.

“Among the favors God Most High has bestowed upon me is this: when I arrived in Egypt, I seized the opportunity, devoted myself to acquiring the sciences and perfecting their explicit and implicit meanings, and was honored to hear the Saheeh from its two existing musnids.

“The first generation—those who met al-Basree, al-Nakhlee, al-Bannaa, al-Baqqaree, and al-'Ajamee—included Shaykh Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Fattaah ibn Yoosuf al-Majree al-Malawee; his fellow student Shihaab Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn 'Abd al-Kareem al-Khaalidee al-Jawharee; 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Aamir al-Shabrawee; Shams Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hijaazee al-'Ashmaawee; Shihaab ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im Saa'im al-Damanhooree; and Saabiq ibn Ramadhaan ibn Gharaam al-Ru'aylee, all Shaafi'ees. The last met the haafidh al-Baabilee, who authorized him; he was born in 1068 AH, al-Baabilee died in 1078, and our shaykh died in 1083, after our shaykh al-Shabrawee. Thus this man had the highest chain I found in Egypt. He taught a gentle lesson at al-Azhar, where people attended his individual readings, but only a few noticed the height of his chain because they were occupied with their own concerns.

“I then met a second generation, comparable to and sharing in the first: Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn Mustafaa al-Mansooree al-Hanafee; Shaykh Hasan ibn 'Alee al-Madaabighee al-Shaafi'ee; Sayyid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tileedee al-Husaynee al-Maalikee; 'Umar ibn 'Alee ibn Yahyaa al-Tahlaawee al-Maalikee; the pole 'Abd al-Wahhaab ibn 'Abd al-Salaam al-Marzooqee al-'Afeefee al-Maalikee; 'Abd al-Hayy ibn al-Hasan al-Hasanee al-Bahnasee al-Maalikee; 'Alee ibn Moosaa al-Hasanee al-Maqdisee al-Hanafee; and Muhammad ibn Saalim al-Hanafee.

“After them I met another, numerous generation. I traveled to Jerusalem, where a group of musnids settled; and to Ramla, the two ports, Damietta, Rasheed, al-Hilla, Sahnood, al-Mansoora, Aboo Seer, Damanhoor, and several Egyptian villages, where I heard hadeeth as recorded in the great Mu'jam in which I detailed it. I traveled to Asyoot, Jurjaan, and Faarshoot and heard in each. Groups from Aleppo, Fez, Tunis, Soola, and Tlemcen authorized me, and I met groups of Maghribee musnids in Egypt and elsewhere.

“Among those to whom I wrote seeking ijaazas for myself, for you, for your brother Sayyid Abkar,¹ and for our beloved celebrated scholar 'Uthmaan al-Jubaylee was the last of the hadeeth masters in Nablus, Syria: Shams Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Saalim al-Saffaareenee al-Hanbalee. This was in 1179 AH.

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“His ijaaza arrived with your names written out in detail in a booklet. Shaykh 'Abd al-Qaadir ibn Khaleel al-Madanee took it from me and it reached you three years ago. I strongly suppose that he met you and showed you this ijaaza. The man later came to us from Yemen, went to Nablus, and died there; the ijaaza remained among his books. If you find it, make a copy. If you do not, the chains of the shaykh who granted it to you are preserved with me. If you are willing to act upon this ijaaza and request his shaykhs, I will send them to you.

“Among God's favors to me is that I wrote an unusual commentary on al-Qaamoos in ten complete volumes, totaling five hundred booklets. I worked on it for fourteen years and two months. Its fame spread so widely that the ruler of Room, the sultan of Daarfoor, and the ruler of the Maghrib each commissioned a copy. One copy is held in the endowment of Ameer al-Liwaa' Muhammad Bey in Egypt, who paid one thousand riyals to obtain it. Requests from the rulers of the outlying lands continue to arrive.

“A letter came to me from the celebrated scholar Fakhr al-Saada, the king of noble shareefs, our master Sayyid 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Kawkabaanee,¹ accompanied by Fakhr al-Saada al-Ashraaf Sayyid 'Alee al-Fataawee, requesting a copy. I obtained for him the final part, containing the commentary from waaw through yaa', entitled al-I'yaa', to the end of the book. This year the aforementioned sayyid took it to Yemen. If you would kindly write to Sayyid 'Abd al-Qaadir requesting that he have it copied, there is no harm; if God enables me to send you something from its beginning, I shall do so, God willing.

“I was then authorized in Cairo to teach hadeeth. I began reading Saheeh al-Bukhaaree at Shaykhoon Mosque in al-Saleebiyya, dictating a hadeeth after the lesson, with its chain and a discussion according to the technical method of the hadeeth scholars. I have written these dictations to date: nearly four hundred sessions, held only two days each week, Monday and Thursday. They have been gathered into volumes and people have copied them. I continue this method. I also teach al-Tirmidhee's al-Shamaa'il at the shrine of the pole Shams al-Deen Aboo Mahmood al-Hanafee—may God sanctify his secret.

“When I reached the hadeeth of Umm Zar', I dictated more than seven booklets on it in fourteen sessions. Students copied it and it became famous among them. I wrote ijaazas to Gaza, Damascus, Aleppo, 'Ayn Naab, Azerbaijan, Tunis, Harar, Naadala, Diyaar Bakr, Seenaad, Daarfoor, Madras, and other lands through groups who came to me, heard from me, and sought ijaazas for the eminent scholars there. I sent them what they requested. Most of those chains we received through you and through our shaykh, the late 'Abd al-Khaaliq ibn Abee Bakr al-Mizajjaajee. The chains became famous throughout Egypt, Syria, Room, the Maghrib, and their regions. Praise belongs to God, who enabled me to revive the practices of my shaykhs and renew their remembrance through time. In my sessions I continue to revive them through mentioning you and to awaken people's longing for your pure virtues. During this period I wrote several short and long epistles.

“Among them:

“A booklet on the takhreej of 'Hood has made me gray.'

¹ Thus in Muhaawarat Ahl al-Yaman; in this age the people of Yemen call Bakr 'Abkar,' adding an alif before the baa'.

“A booklet on the takhreej of 'What an excellent condiment is vinegar'; a booklet establishing the middle prayer; a booklet on the takhreej of 'The bearers of this knowledge in every generation are its upright ones'; al-Arba'een al-Muntaqaa from al-Daaraqutnee's al-'Ilal, with a technical discussion; Ma'aarif al-Abraar on the secrets contained in kunyas and titles; a booklet on the takhreej of 'Be lenient and leniency will be shown to you'; al-'Iqd al-Munadhdham on the mothers of the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace; al-'Iqd al-Thameen on the men of the khirqa, dhikr, and talqeen; al-Fawaa'id al-Jaleela on Ibn 'Uqayla's musalsalaat, in ten booklets; and al-Marqaat al-'Aliyya, a commentary on the musalsal of al-Awwaliyya, arranged according to al-Suyootee's Muntahaa al-Aamaal on the hadeeth 'Actions are only by intentions,' besides much else whose titles do not come to mind as I write; they are numerous.”

Aboo 'Abd Allaah Muhammad ibn Ziyaad, known as Ibn al-A'raabee al-Koofee, the linguist. He was a client of the Banoo Haashim and one of the celebrated authorities in language. He studied belles-lettres with al-Kisaa'ee and others. Tha'lab, Ibn al-Sikkeet, and others studied with him. He debated scholars, supplemented their work, and declared many transmitters mistaken. He was a leading authority on rare vocabulary and claimed that Aboo 'Ubayda and al-Asma'ee knew nothing. He held that dhaad and dhaa' could alternate in Arab speech, and recited:

To God I complain of a friend whose affection I cherish ... Three traits, all of them harmful to me, with dhaad

He said: “This is how I heard it from eloquent Arabs.” Many students attended his assembly, and he dictated to them. He was born on the night Imaam Aboo Haneefa died, in Rajab 150 AH, and died in 231 AH at Saamarraa'.

Al-a'raabee is a nisba to the Bedouins: an a'raabee is a desert-dweller even if he is not Arab; an 'arabee is attributed to the Arabs even if he is not a desert-dweller; an a'jam or a'jamee is one whose tongue has foreignness even if he is Arab; and a 'ajamee is attributed to non-Arabs even if he is eloquent.

Aboo Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Durayd al-Azdee: the Basran linguist, imaam of his age in language, belles-lettres, and outstanding poetry. He brought linguistic material not found in earlier books. He wrote al-Jamhara, al-Ishtiqaaq, and al-Lughaat. It was said: “He is the most learned of poets and the most poetic of scholars.” He was born in Basra in 223 AH, studied with Aboo Haatim al-Sijistaanee, al-Riyaashee, and al-Asma'ee, lived in Oman, traveled through Faars, and died in Baghdad in 321 AH. Ibn Khallikaan gave him an extensive biography.

Aboo al-Qaasim Mahmood ibn 'Umar ibn Muhammad al-Zamakhsharee al-Khwaarazmee, author of al-Kashshaaf, unmatched by any earlier work. He was an unrivaled imaam in language, grammar, and eloquence. His works include al-Faa'iq on rare hadeeth vocabulary, Asaas al-Balaagha, Rabee' al-Abraar, Dhaallat al-Naashid, al-Raa'idh on inheritance, al-Mufassal on grammar, Shaqaa'iq al-Nu'maan, Shaafee al-'Ayy from al-Shaafi'ee's words, al-Qistaas on prosody, Mu'jam al-Hudood, al-Minhaaj on legal theory, Muqaddimat al-Adab, and others. He lived in Mecca for a time and was therefore called Jaar Allaah. Ibn Khallikaan reported that he had a wooden leg. He openly professed Mu'tazilee doctrine. He was born in Zamakhshar in 467 AH and died at Jurjaaniyya, capital of Khwaarazm, in 538 AH.

Aboo 'Ubayda Ma'mar ibn al-Muthannaa al-Basree, the celebrated linguist and grammarian. al-Jaahidh said no Khaarijee or Jamaa'ee was more learned in all the sciences. He hated the Arabs, wrote books on their faults, and followed the Khaarijee view. Aboo Nuwaas studied with him and he abused al-Asma'ee. His recitation was metrically defective and his speech and reading grammatically faulty. He said grammar was bounded. His works approached two hundred.

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Ibn Khallikaan listed many of his works. al-Asma'ee feared his tongue; no one attended his funeral. He was dirty, tongue-tied, of questionable lineage and religion. He was born in 110 AH on the night al-Hasan al-Basree died and died in 209 AH.

Aboo Yoosuf Ya'qoob ibn Ishaaq, known as Ibn al-Sikkeet, author of Islaah al-Mantiq and other works. Ibn 'Asaakir mentioned him in the History of Damascus; he tutored al-Mutawakkil's children. He transmitted from al-Asma'ee, Aboo 'Ubayda, and al-Farraa'. Tha'lab said he knew Arabic exceptionally well and, after Ibn al-A'raabee, no one knew language better. He had good poetry and many books. Islaah al-Mantiq was said to be unmatched in its field. al-Mutawakkil had him killed in 244 AH, aged fifty-eight, after Ibn al-Sikkeet declared Qanbar, 'Alee's servant, better than the caliph and his sons.

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Morphologists

Maazin Aboo 'Uthmaan Bakr al-Maazinee, a Basran. He transmitted from Aboo 'Ubayda, al-Asma'ee, and Aboo Zayd; al-Mubarrad and others transmitted from him. He was the first to codify morphology and an imaam in Arabic with extensive transmission. He defeated al-Akhfash in debate. al-Mubarrad said: “After Seebawayh, no one knew grammar better than he.” He died in 248 AH, according to al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee; another report says 230 AH.

'Uthmaan ibn Jinnee, Aboo al-Fath: among the most skillful men of letters and most learned in grammar and morphology; his morphology was stronger than his grammar. Aboo 'Alee al-Faarisee corrected him at the mosque of Mosul, after which Ibn Jinnee stayed with him for forty years and devoted himself to morphology. He succeeded him in Baghdad. 'Abd al-Salaam al-Basree and Aboo al-Hasan al-Simsimee studied with him.

It is said in Daamiya al-Qasr that no imaam of belles-lettres equaled him in explaining difficult matters, especially inflection. He debated al-Mutanabbee without reading his poetry. He composed al-Khasaa'is. He was reportedly born in 303 AH and died in Safar 392 AH.

Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allaah ibn Maalik: Jamaal al-Deen Aboo 'Abd Allaah al-Taa'ee al-Jayyaanee al-Shaafi'ee, resident of Damascus, imaam of grammarians and memorizer of language. al-Dhahabee said he was born in 600 or 601 AH and heard from al-Sakhaawee, al-Hasan al-Sabbaah, and others. He mastered Arabic, Qur'aanic readings and their causes, rare vocabulary, grammar, and morphology, in which he was an unmatched sea.

The Arabic poetry cited for language and grammar was readily available to him; the eminent imaams wondered where he found it. He composed rajaz, taweel, baseet, and other meters with ease, while possessing firm religion, truthful speech, abundant supererogatory worship, excellent bearing, a tender heart, complete intelligence, dignity, and deliberation. He lived in Damascus for a time, composing and teaching. His son Badr al-Deen, Shams ibn Abee al-Fath, Badr ibn Jamaa'a, 'Alaa' ibn al-'Ataa', and many others transmitted from him. al-Dhahabee's account ends here.

Aboo Hayyaan said: “Ibn Maalik had no famous teacher on whom he relied, except that some students reported him saying: 'I read with Thaabit ibn Hayyaan and sat in Aboo 'Alee ibn al-Shaloobeen's circle for about thirteen days.'” Thaabit was among the leading inflectionists, not among the leading grammarians. al-Suyootee said that his eminent teacher was Ibn Ya'eesh al-Halabee.

His many works include the Alfiyya on grammar, called al-Khulaasa; al-'Umda; Ikmaal al-'Umda and its commentary; al-Tasheel and its unfinished commentary; a poem on verbs; an urjooza on triliteral forms; a poem and commentary on defective and extended nouns; the inflection of some hadeeths in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree; poems on dhaad and dhaa' and on hamzated and unhamzated forms; Ta'reef on morphology and its commentary; Sabk al-Mandhoom; Falak al-Mahtoom; and others. He taught at the 'Aadiliyya and the thriving congregational mosque, and many students graduated from him. When he led prayer at the 'Aadiliyya, the chief judge Shams al-Deen ibn Khallikaan would escort him home out of respect. He was a marvel in knowledge of hadeeth, turning to hadeeth when he found no Qur'aanic citation and then to Arabic poetry. He was devoted to worship and supererogatory works, well mannered, and perfectly intelligent.

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He was distinguished among Maghribees by two things: generosity and the Shaafi'ee school. Shaykh Zakee al-Deen al-Quray'ee used to say: “Ibn Maalik left no sanctity for grammar.” He died on 12 Sha'baan 672 AH.

'Uthmaan ibn 'Umar ibn Abee Bakr ibn Yoonus, Jamaal al-Deen Aboo 'Amr Ibn al-Haajib, Kurdish in origin, born at Asnaa, the Maalikee grammarian, reader, legal theorist, jurist, and author of refined works. He was born in 570 or 571 AH at Asnaa in Upper Egypt. His Kurdish father was a soldier and chamberlain to Ameer 'Izz al-Deen Moosak al-Salaahee. He studied in Cairo, memorized the Qur'aan, learned readings from al-Shaatibee, read the seven with Aboo al-Jood, heard from al-Booseeree, studied jurisprudence with Aboo Mansoor al-Anbaaree, and belles-lettres with Ibn al-Bannaa. He excelled in legal theory and Arabic and was among the world's most intelligent men.

He taught at the Maalikee corner of Damascus, where scholars gathered around him. He wrote a concise work on jurisprudence, al-Muntahaa on legal theory, al-Kaafiya and its commentary on grammar, al-Waafiya in verse and its commentary, al-Shaafiya on morphology and its commentary, and other works, all excellent and beneficial. He challenged grammarians with difficult objections and compelling arguments. He was a jurist, debater, muftee, and master of several sciences, trustworthy, devout, humble, and free of affectation. He entered Egypt with Shaykh 'Izz al-Deen ibn 'Abd al-Salaam and taught at the Faadhiliyya. He moved to Alexandria and died there in 646 AH. Asnaa is a small town in the al-Qoosiyya district of Upper Egypt.

'Alee ibn Mu'min ibn Muhammad ibn 'Alee, Aboo al-Hasan Ibn 'Usfoor, the Hadhramee grammarian of Seville, the standard-bearer of Arabic in al-Andalus. He studied with al-Rabbaah and al-Shaloobeen, taught for a time, and attracted students. He was exceptionally patient in reading but had no discipline from which students could benefit besides grammar. al-Safadee said he lacked scrupulousness and sat in a drinking assembly. He died on 14 Dhoo al-Qa'da 669 AH, or 661 AH; he was born in 599 AH. He wrote al-Mumti' on morphology.

Ahmad ibn al-Hasan, Shaykh Fakhr al-Deen al-Jaarbaree: according to al-Subkee, a resident of Tabriz, virtuous, pious, dignified, constant in learning and serving students. He studied with Naasir al-Deen al-Baydhaawee, wrote a commentary on Minhaaj, an unfinished commentary on al-Haawee, a commentary on Ibn al-Haajib's Shaafiya, and a commentary on al-Kashshaaf. He died in Ramadhaan 746 AH at Tabriz.

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'Abd al-Wahhaab ibn Ibraaheem ibn Abee al-Ma'aalee al-Khazrajee al-Zanjaanee, author of the famous commentary on al-Haadee, from which al-Jaarbaree quoted extensively in his commentary on al-Shaafiya. al-Suyootee saw it in his handwriting; he said he finished it in Baghdad in 654 AH. He also wrote the text al-Haadee, the famous al-Tasreef al-Gharbee, and works on prosody and rhyme. His handwriting was exceptionally fine. The best commentaries on his abridgement of morphology are those of al-Sa'd al-Taftaazaanee and al-Sayyid al-Shareef al-Jurjaanee.

Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Neesaabooree, known as al-Nidhaam al-A'raj: wrote a blended commentary on the Shaafiya, famous and in circulation. al-Suyootee found no biography of him.

Ahmad ibn 'Alee ibn Mas'ood, author of Maraah al-Arwaah. al-Suyootee found no biography of him; useful commentaries circulate among students, and Maraah has often been printed in India.

Grammarians

Dhaalim ibn 'Amr ibn Dhaalim—it is also said ibn Sufyaan—Aboo al-Aswad al-Du'alee, Koofan by birth and Basran by upbringing. He was among the leading Successors, sound in judgment and intelligence, a Shee'ee, quick in reply, and trustworthy in hadeeth. He transmitted from Aboo Dharr and others, accompanied 'Alee ibn Abee Taalib at Siffeen, and Mu'aawiya honored him. He became judge of Basra and was the first to establish grammar and vowel-point the mushaf. He died of the plague in 69 AH, aged eighty-five; another report says he died earlier of paralysis.

His students included Mu'aadh ibn Muslim al-Harraa'. He left five men who taught the people: 'Uyayna ibn Ma'daan al-Feel, the most skilled of his students in grammar; Maymoon al-Aqran; Yahyaa ibn Ya'mar al-'Adwaanee, a Successor, jurist, littérateur, and grammarian who heard from Ibn 'Umar, Jaabir, and Aboo Hurayra; and Aboo al-Aswad's two sons, 'Ataa' and Aboo Harb. They were followed by 'Abd Allaah al-Hadhramee, an imaam in reading and Arabic, and 'Eesaa al-Thaqafee, an imaam in grammar from whom al-Asma'ee studied. 'Eesaa wrote al-Ikmaal and al-Jaami' and is said to have written more than seventy works, all lost. He died in 149 or 150 AH.

Aboo 'Amr ibn al-'Alaa' al-Maazinee, the grammarian and reader, one of the seven readers; the sounder report gives his name as Rayyaan. Aboo 'Ubayda said he was the most learned person in reading, Arabic, the histories of the Arabs, and poetry. His notebooks filled his house to the ceiling; later he became ascetic and burned them. He was a noble Arab, praised by al-Farazdaq, and declared trustworthy by Yahyaa ibn Ma'een. He died in 154 or 159 AH. His signet bore: “Whoever makes this world his greatest concern clings to a rope of delusion.”

After them came al-Khaleel ibn Ahmad, whose biography has preceded, and then Seebawayh, who gathered in his book the sciences learned from him. His book remains the finest composed on grammar.

'Amr ibn 'Uthmaan ibn Qanbar, known as Seebawayh, Aboo Bishr, or Aboo al-Hasan, a client of the Banoo al-Haarith ibn Ka'b. Seebawayh is Persian for “apple scent”; his mother used to rock him with this name. Other explanations say he smelled perfume, habitually smelled apples, or was delicate like an apple. He was exceptionally handsome. His Persian name is pronounced Seebawayh with baa' in dhamma, waaw still, and yaa' open, because they disliked ending a word with wayh, a form of lamentation. He was from Baydhaa' in Faars, raised in Basra, and studied with al-Khaleel, Yoonus, Aboo al-Khattaab al-Akhfash, and 'Eesaa ibn 'Umar. His tongue hesitated, but his pen was more eloquent. He debated al-Kisaa'ee over the phrase “I thought the scorpion's sting stronger than the hornet's, and there it is—she, or it is her.” Seebawayh chose the nominative; al-Kisaa'ee the accusative, and the Arabs favored al-Kisaa'ee. Seebawayh died at Baydhaa' or Sheeraaz in 180 AH, aged thirty-two; other reports give over forty, Basra in 161, or 188, and Ibn al-Jawzee says Saawa in 179 AH.

'Alee ibn Hamza al-Kisaa'ee, descended from Bahman ibn Feerooz, imaam of the Koofans in grammar and language and one of the seven readers. He was called al-Kisaa'ee because he entered consecration in a cloak. He settled in Baghdad, learned grammar late, served 'Amr ibn al-'Alaa' for seventeen years, and attended al-Khaleel's circle. He tutored al-Ameen, son of Haaroon al-Rasheed. He debated Aboo Yoosuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Seebawayh, and Aboo Muhammad al-Yazeedee. He and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan died at al-Rayy on the same day while traveling with al-Rasheed, giving rise to the saying that grammar and jurisprudence were buried on one day. Reports date it to 182, 183, 189, or 192 AH. People then divided into two camps: Koofan, led by al-Kisaa'ee and his student al-Mubarrad; and Basran, led by Seebawayh and his student al-Akhfash.

“Among the greatest of these works is my commentary on al-Ghazaalee's Ihyaa'. I dictated it as lessons and completed the commentary on the Book of Knowledge alone in about seventy booklets. Last year the scholar and righteous man of Mecca, our master Shaykh Ibraaheem al-Zamzamee, wrote requesting whatever portion was available. I sent him about twenty booklets from the draft, and sent more this year. After sending it, however, I added many of its concealed benefits while fair-copying it, so the book now differs from what he received. This year I resolved to send the fair copy with the additions, so reliance may be placed on the final version. If you send someone to Mecca to have a copy made, it should be readily obtainable. I also intend to send your honored presence the commentary on the Book of Knowledge together with some of the commentary on al-Qaamoos, if circumstances permit; I shall do so, God willing.

“My master, this commentary is unusual in form and description. I had assembled an innumerable quantity of materials relating to it, owing to their abundance and rarity, and they are mentioned at its beginning. It is a blended commentary that explains its symbols, variants, indications, sources, and derivations. I hope your lofty aspiration will not cause you to forget your student in your good prayers, especially for the completion of this commentary in the desired manner. At the time of dating this reply I was explaining al-Risaala al-Qudsiyya, the second book after the Book of Knowledge; only a little remained, after which we would begin the Book of the Secrets of Purification, God willing. All this is through the blessing of your pure spirit and excellent prayer; outward distance has no weight among people of heart. God knows the hidden.”

“We inform our shaykh—may his excellence toward us endure—that in the previous reply which did not reach you I had requested a renewed ijaaza from you, followed by a group of my closest companions who visit me for instruction and share friendship with us. Their longing for your presence is intense, but the distance and dangers prevent them from reaching you. I hope through your favor that you will send an ijaaza for me and for those named below in this gathering. If you write it in booklets, let those remaining in Zabeed among the long-lived musnids also write upon it—may God protect it. Send it through a reliable and trusted person; may you always be worthy of fulfilling needs.”

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“These are the names of those authorized after its poor author: the one who repeats our lessons, the virtuous sayyid Aboo al-Salaah al-Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Husaynee al-Shaykhoonee; Aboo al-'Adl Moosaa ibn Daawood ibn Sulaymaan al-Hanafee, preacher of the mosque where I read; the righteous shaykh Aboo al-Barr Ahmad ibn Yoosuf al-Husaynee al-Shanawaanee; Aboo al-Salaah Yoosuf ibn Noor al-Deen al-Tahlaawee al-Maalikee, preacher of Toodhoon Mosque; Ridhwaan ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Dafraawee, a client of Ni'am, and his sons Aboo al-Baqaa', 'Uthmaan, Muhammad, Ahmad, Salmaan, and Nafeesa; Aboo al-'Irfaan 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Halwaanee al-Hanafee and his father; my servant Bilaal al-Habashee; my wife Zubayda daughter of the late Dhoo al-'Affaar al-Dimyaatee; and my two maids, Sa'aada and Rahma al-Habashiyyataan. Their names are specified in detail, together with the appropriate subtle features of transmission, rare hadeeths, and some books in the chains of your late father and the shaykhs from whom you learned. May God reward you for us with every good, extend your life, and make you a refuge for those who come.

“Please convey my noble greetings to the descendant of the honored shaykhs, the gnostic of God, our master al-Wajeeh 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Mashra'. I had written him a reply enclosed with yours, but it did not reach him; and to your brother and counterpart Sayyid Aboo Bakr; our beloved jurist and celebrated scholar 'Uthmaan al-Jubaylee; our shaykh the celebrated scholar 'Abd Allaah al-Jawharee; our master the imaam, celebrated scholar, and judge Ismaa'eel al-Rab'ee; the children of our late shaykh 'Abd al-Khaaliq ibn Abee Bakr; the children of our late shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Alaa' al-Deen; and everyone who asks about us and is present in your blessed assembly. God bless our master Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them peace.” This concludes what is in al-Nafas al-Yamaanee wa-al-Rooh al-Rayhaanee.

I say: The sayyid's origin is among the Waasitee sayyids of the town of Balgraam, five parasangs from our town of Qannawj, beyond the Ganges.

The celebrated scholar Meer Ghulaam 'Alee Aazaad al-Bilgraamee—may God sanctify his exalted secret—said in Ma'aathir al-Kiraam, the history of Balgraam, under the biography of Sayyid Qaadiree, in translation:

“Among his descendants is Sayyid Muhammad Murtadhaa ibn Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Qaadiree. He acquired the Arabic books and, while young, was enabled to visit the two holy sanctuaries in 1164 AH. He acquired knowledge of the noble hadeeth in blessed places. At present he resides in Zabeed, Yemen, and studies hadeeth with Shaykh 'Abd al-Khaaliq al-Zabeedee—may God bless his life and children—in religious advancement.” End of quotation.

I say: He remained in Zabeed until he was called al-Zabeedee and became known by it. Many people therefore did not realize that he was from India and from Balgraam. In the biographical program he wrote for Sayyid Baasit 'Alee ibn Sayyid 'Alee ibn Sayyid Qaadiree in Egypt, he named nearly three hundred shaykhs from whom he learned. Among the Indian scholars and shaykhs he named were Shaykh Muhammad Faakhir ibn Muhammad Yahyaa al-Ilaahaabaadee, who used the pen name al-Zaa'ir, and the musnid of his age, Shaykh Walee Allaah al-Muhaddith al-Dihlawee, author of Hujjat Allaah al-Baaligha. He said: “I attended his home in Delhi.”

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The shaykhs of the four schools and scholars of distant lands granted him ijaazas. He met Shaykh Aboo al-Hasan ibn Muhammad Saadiq al-Sindee al-Madanee, author of commentaries on the six canonical books, Mawlawee Khayr al-Deen al-Soortee ibn Muhammad Zaahid, and others.

The works listed in his program exceed one hundred books. He arranged his shaykhs and books alphabetically. In our time his Taaj al-'Aroos, a commentary on al-Qaamoos, has been printed in Cairo, though only five volumes. It spread through the cities and reached distant lands. Its contents make clear his mastery of language and his status as an imaam in it; this commentary makes carrying the many volumes composed in the discipline of language unnecessary.

He also composed on jurisprudence, hadeeth, their principles, Sufism, and spiritual biographies. Most are concise but all are useful; I possess about seventeen epistles of his. The supreme ruler Aboo al-Fath Nidhaam al-Deen 'Abd al-Hameed Khaan, sultan of Room, sought an ijaaza from him for hadeeth books, and he wrote one for him, including the famous musalsal hadeeth “Those who show mercy will receive mercy from the Most Merciful”—Blessed and Exalted is He—along with other ijaazas. It began: “Praise belongs to God, who raised the rank of the people of hadeeth to a lofty place …” This was in 1193 AH. With it he presented the sultan a poem composed in his praise, beginning:

May God water a dwelling where I once dwelt ... And a place where the branch of youth once blossomed

And greet a station where I had neighbors ... Through whom my cup was filled with virtues

Ah, a time passed in their companionship ... Had love not been, I would never have said to it: “Go gently”

My two friends, why is it that whenever a lightning flash appears ... The pebble of my heart nearly splits apart?

And when the east wind blows from their lands ... My eyes weep tears competing with other tears

To the end of the verses.

He also wrote an ijaaza for the grand vizier Aboo al-Mudhaffar Muhammad Pasha, Sadr al-Wizaara and Nidhaam al-Mulk. It began, “Praise belongs to God, who guides to good things,” and the aforementioned program bears his noble handwritten note, dated 1300 AH. He died, may God have mercy upon him, after that year.

I have a close relationship to him through the female line. Our lineage reaches Sayyid al-Saajideen, the imaam Zayn al-'Aabideen 'Alee ibn Husayn ibn 'Alee al-Sibt—may God be pleased with him—and his lineage ends at Zayd al-Shaheed, son of the imaam Zayn al-'Aabideen al-Sibt. He is a cub of that lion and an elite of this noble household.

I have lengthened this biography because most scholars were ignorant of his circumstances and end. He exhausted his life, may God have mercy upon him, in study and teaching in Egypt. God Most High knows best.

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Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allaah ibn Maalik's Arabic poetry was vast, and the leading imaams marveled at his command of the citations used in grammar. He composed every meter with ease, was devout, truthful, generous in worship, gentle, intelligent, dignified, and deliberate. His son Badr al-Deen, Shams ibn Abee al-Fath, Badr ibn Jamaa'a, 'Alaa' ibn al-'Ataa', and many others transmitted from him. He wrote the Alfiyya, al-'Umda, al-Khulaasa, al-Tasheel and its commentary, poems on verbs, triliterals, defective and extended nouns, dhaad and dhaa', morphology, and numerous other works. He taught at the 'Aadiliyya and the great mosque; Ibn Khallikaan honored him by escorting him home. He died on 12 Sha'baan 672 AH.

'Uthmaan ibn 'Umar ibn Abee Bakr ibn Yoonus, Jamaal al-Deen Aboo 'Amr Ibn al-Haajib al-Kurdee al-Duwaynee, born at Asnaa, the Maalikee grammarian, reader, jurist, and legal theorist. Born in 570 or 571 AH, he studied in Cairo, memorized the Qur'aan, read with al-Shaatibee and Aboo al-Jood, heard from al-Booseeree, studied jurisprudence with Aboo Mansoor al-Anbaaree, and belles-lettres with Ibn al-Bannaa. He excelled in Arabic and legal theory, taught in Damascus, and wrote al-Muntahaa on legal theory, al-Kaafiya and its commentary on grammar, al-Waafiya in verse, and al-Shaafiya on morphology. He challenged the grammarians with difficult objections and was a pious, humble, accomplished jurist. He died at Alexandria in 646 AH.

'Alee ibn Mu'min ibn Muhammad ibn 'Alee, Aboo al-Hasan Ibn 'Usfoor, the Hadhramee grammarian of Seville, standard-bearer of Arabic in al-Andalus. He studied with al-Rabbaah and al-Shaloobeen, taught grammar, and wrote al-Mumti' on morphology. He was born in 599 AH and died on 14 Dhoo al-Qa'da 669 AH, or in 661 AH.

Ahmad ibn al-Hasan, Fakhr al-Deen al-Jaarbaree, a virtuous, pious, dignified scholar of Tabriz. He studied with al-Baydhaawee and wrote commentaries on Minhaaj, al-Haawee, Ibn al-Haajib's Shaafiya, and al-Kashshaaf. He died at Tabriz in Ramadhaan 746 AH.

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'Abd al-Wahhaab al-Zanjaanee, author of the famous commentary on al-Haadee, al-Tasreef al-Gharbee, and works on prosody and rhyme; he completed his commentary in Baghdad in 654 AH. Hasan al-Neesaabooree, known as al-Nidhaam al-A'raj, wrote a blended commentary on the Shaafiya. Ahmad ibn 'Alee ibn Mas'ood wrote Maraah al-Arwaah, often printed in India. al-Suyootee found no full biographies of the last two.

Grammarians

Dhaalim ibn 'Amr, Aboo al-Aswad al-Du'alee, Koofan by birth and Basran by upbringing, a leading Successor and companion of 'Alee. He was the first to establish grammar and vowel-point the mushaf. He became judge of Basra and died in the plague of 69 AH, aged eighty-five. His students included Mu'aadh ibn Muslim, 'Uyayna ibn Ma'daan, Maymoon al-Aqran, Yahyaa ibn Ya'mar, and his sons 'Ataa' and Aboo Harb. Their successors included 'Abd Allaah al-Hadhramee and 'Eesaa al-Thaqafee, author of al-Ikmaal and al-Jaami', who died in 149 or 150 AH.

Aboo 'Amr ibn al-'Alaa' al-Maazinee, one of the seven readers and an imaam in Arabic, reading, Arab history, and poetry. Born in 110 AH, he died in 154 or 159 AH. After al-Khaleel, Seebawayh gathered the sciences he learned from him into the finest grammar book.

'Amr ibn 'Uthmaan ibn Qanbar, Seebawayh, Aboo Bishr, a client of Banoo al-Haarith ibn Ka'b. His Persian name means “apple scent.” He studied with al-Khaleel, Yoonus, al-Akhfash, and 'Eesaa ibn 'Umar. In his debate with al-Kisaa'ee over the nominative and accusative in “I thought the scorpion more stinging than the hornet, and there it is,” the Arabs favored al-Kisaa'ee. Seebawayh died at Baydhaa', Sheeraaz, or Basra in reports ranging from 161 to 188 AH; Ibn al-Jawzee gives Saawa in 179 AH.

'Alee ibn Hamza al-Kisaa'ee, imaam of the Koofans and one of the seven readers. He learned grammar late, served 'Amr ibn al-'Alaa' seventeen years, taught al-Ameen, debated Aboo Yoosuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Seebawayh, and al-Yazeedee, and died with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at al-Rayy. Thus grammar was said to have been buried with jurisprudence. The schools divided into Koofan, led by al-Kisaa'ee, and Basran, led by Seebawayh.

Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Mubarrad, the Basran imaam of Arabic in Baghdad. He studied with al-Kisaa'ee, al-Azdee, and Aboo Haatim; al-Saffaar, Naftawayh, and al-Soolee transmitted from him. His works include al-Radd 'alaa Seebawayh, al-Kaamil, and Ma'aanee al-Qur'aan. His rivalry with Tha'lab was proverbial.

Naftawayh al-Waasitee died in 323 AH; Ibraaheem al-Afleelee al-Qurtubee died in 441 AH. Sa'eed ibn Mas'ada, al-Akhfash al-Awsat, Seebawayh's student, added al-khabab to prosody, wrote on grammar, morphology, and rhyme, and died in 210, 215, or 221 AH. Thelists three, four, or eleven men called al-Akhfash, including 'Abd al-Hameed ibn 'Abd al-Majeed, 'Alee ibn Sulaymaan, Ahmad ibn 'Imraan, Ahmad al-Mawsilee, Khalaf ibn 'Amr, 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad, 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Ahmad, 'Alee al-Maghribee, 'Alee al-Faatimee, and Haaroon ibn Moosaa ibn Shareek.

Muhammad ibn al-Mustaneer, Aboo 'Alee Qutrub, the Basran linguist, studied with Seebawayh and wrote Ma'aanee al-Qur'aan, al-Ishtiqaaq, al-'Ilal, and Ghareeb al-Hadeeth. He was first to compose on triliterals and died in 206 AH.

Saalih ibn Ishaaq al-Jurmee, Aboo 'Amr, studied with al-Akhfash and Yoonus, learned language from al-Asma'ee, debated al-Farraa', and died in 225 AH. He wrote al-Tanbeeh, al-Farkh, works on language, hadeeth, history, prosody, grammar, and Ghareeb Seebawayh. Ibraaheem ibn Muhammad al-Zajjaaj, Aboo Ishaaq, author of works on grammar and inflection, studied with al-Mubarrad and Tha'lab and died in 311 AH.

Muhammad ibn al-Sarree, Aboo Bakr Ibn al-Sarraaj, the Baghdadi grammarian, studied with al-Mubarrad and became an eminent imaam. He wrote al-Usool, one of the finest works in the discipline, and a commentary on Seebawayh. He died in Dhoo al-Hijja 316 AH.

'Abd Allaah ibn Ja'far ibn Durustawayh, Aboo Ja'far, defended the Basran school, wrote al-Irshaad and works on hadeeth, was born in 258 AH, and died in 347 AH. Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Khuzaa'ee, Ibn al-Azhar, died in 325 AH, and Muhammad ibn Marzbaan, student of al-Mubarrad and al-Zajjaaj, died in 365 AH. Muhammad ibn Kaysaan mastered both schools and died in 320 AH.

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Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Faarisee, Aboo 'Alee, mastered Arabic and wrote al-Eedhaah, al-Takmila, Asraar al-Balaagha, and Dalaa'il al-I'jaaz. He taught 'Abd al-Qaahir al-Jurjaanee, lived with Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, and died in Baghdad in 377 AH. Zayd ibn 'Alee al-Faarisee, Aboo al-Qaasim, wrote a commentary on al-Eedhaah and died at Tripoli in 467 AH.

Hasan ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Seeraafee, Aboo Sa'eed, the judge and “shaykh of shaykhs,” mastered grammar, law, language, poetry, prosody, Qur'aan, hadeeth, theology, arithmetic, and geometry. He issued Hanafee fatwas for fifty years and judged in Baghdad for forty or more. He earned his food by copying. His commentary on Seebawayh was unrivaled. He died in Baghdad on Monday, 2 Rajab 368 AH.

'Alee ibn 'Eesaa al-Rummaanee, also al-Ikhsheedee and al-Warraaq, was a Mu'tazilee imaam of Arabic, born in 374 AH, who studied with al-Zajjaaj, Ibn al-Sarraaj, and Ibn Durayd. He died in 384 AH and wrote commentaries on al-Usool, al-Jurmee's abridgement, and al-Muqtadhab.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Faarisee, Ibn Abee 'Alee al-Faarisee's nephew, studied Arabic with his uncle, taught in Khuraasaan, Ghazna, Nishapur, Mecca, Isfaraayin, and Jurjaan, and died in 421 AH. His works include al-Hijaa' and Mi'at al-Shi'r. 'Abd al-Qaahir ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jurjaanee, the famous Shaafi'ee Ash'aree grammarian, studied only with him. He wrote al-Mughnee, al-Muqtasid, al-'Awaamil al-Mi'a, al-'Umda, Dalaa'il al-I'jaaz, and Asraar al-Balaagha. He died in 471 or 476 AH.

The preceding scholars were Seebawayh's students. Among al-Kisaa'ee's most famous students were al-Farraa', Tha'lab, and al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad al-Anbaaree. Yahyaa ibn Ziyaad al-Deelamee al-Farraa' was the Koofans' leading grammarian after al-Kisaa'ee. He died on the road to Mecca in 207 AH, aged sixty-seven. Tha'lab said Arabic would not exist without him. Ahmad ibn Yahyaa ibn Yazeed al-Shaybaanee, Aboo al-'Abbaas Tha'lab, was born in 200 AH, mastered al-Farraa''s books, studied with Ibn al-A'raabee, and wrote al-Faseeh, al-Masoon, Ikhtilaaf al-Nahwiyyeen, Ma'aanee al-Qur'aan, and other works. He died in 291 AH after a fall and was mentioned by al-Daanee.

Muhammad ibn Abee Muhammad al-Anbaaree, Aboo Muhammad, a trustworthy scholar of hadeeth, history, Arabic, grammar, and rare vocabulary, died in 327 AH. Born in 271 AH, he memorized three hundred thousand poetic citations and one hundred twenty Qur'aanic commentaries with their chains. He wrote on Qur'aanic sciences, rare hadeeth, al-Mudhakkar wa-al-Mu'annath, and a refutation of Ibn Qutayba and Aboo Haatim.

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Ridhaa al-Deen al-Istaraabaadee, Muhammad ibn al-Taahir al-Moosawee, descendant of Moosaa al-Kaadhim and Ja'far al-Saadiq, author of the poetic deewaan and celebrated commentary on Ibn al-Haajib's Kaafiya. He completed it in 483 AH; his death is reported as 684 or 686 AH. He also wrote a commentary on the Shaafiya. He was born in Baghdad in 359 AH and died in 406 AH; his deewaan fills four volumes. A footnote says the date 483 conflicts with the later birth and death dates and that the latter are correct.

Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Shahnshaah, al-'Alawee al-Istaraabaadee, Aboo al-Fadhaa'il, Rukn al-Deen, commentator on the Kaafiya. He studied with Naseer al-Deen and al-Aamidee and died in 715 or 718 AH. al-Safadee praised his humility and patience.

Aboo Bakr al-Khubaysee, author of the commentary al-Muwashshah on al-Haajibiyya; Khubays is a village of Kirmaan. 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jaamee, commentator on the Kaafiya, reached the utmost refinement and order. 'Alee Majd al-Deen ibn Mas'ood al-Bastaamee, descendant of Fakhr al-Deen al-Raazee, known as Musannifik, was born in 803 AH and traveled to Herat in 823 AH; he wrote extensively in Arabic and Persian on grammar, literature, rhetoric, law, logic, philosophy, and exegesis.

Aboo al-Baqaa' Ya'eesh ibn 'Alee ibn Ya'eesh, Muwaffaq al-Deen Ibn Ya'eesh, also Ibn al-Saa'igh, was born in Aleppo in Ramadhaan 553 AH. He studied hadeeth in Mosul, taught in Aleppo, and wrote an exhaustive commentary on al-Zamakhsharee's Mufassal and a useful commentary on Ibn Jinnee's Tasreef al-Mulookee. He died in 643 AH. Ibn Khallikaan studied with him in Aleppo from 628 AH.

'Abd Allaah ibn Yoosuf ibn Ahmad, Jamaal al-Deen Ibn Hishaam al-Ansaaree al-Hanbalee, author of Mughnee al-Labeeb, was born in 708 AH. He studied with Ibn Hayyaan, the Tabreezee and Faakihaanee, first followed the Shaafi'ee school and then became Hanbalee. He mastered Arabic, surpassed peers and teachers, and wrote a celebrated work on grammatical expressions. He died on Friday night, 5 Dhoo al-Qa'da 761 AH. Aboo Ja'far Ahmad ibn Ismaa'eel ibn Yoonus al-Nahhaas wrote al-Tuffaaha and al-Kaafee on grammar, al-Naasikh wa-al-Mansookh, and other works; he died in Egypt in 338 AH. al-Nahhaas is a nisba to one who works copper; God knows best.

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Muhammad ibn al-Sarree, Aboo Bakr Ibn al-Sarraaj, the Baghdadi grammarian, studied with al-Mubarrad and became an eminent imaam. He wrote al-Usool, among the finest works in the discipline, and a commentary on Seebawayh. He died in Dhoo al-Hijja 316 AH.

'Abd Allaah ibn Ja'far ibn Durustawayh, Aboo Ja'far, the Persian grammarian, defended the Basran school, wrote al-Irshaad and works on hadeeth, was born in 258 AH, and died in 347 AH. Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Khuzaa'ee, Ibn al-Azhar, died in 325 AH. Muhammad ibn Marzbaan, student of al-Mubarrad and al-Zajjaaj, died in 365 AH. Muhammad ibn Kaysaan mastered both the Basran and Koofan schools and died in 320 AH.

Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Faarisee, Aboo 'Alee, mastered Arabic and wrote al-Eedhaah, al-Takmila, Asraar al-Balaagha, and Dalaa'il al-I'jaaz. He taught 'Abd al-Qaahir al-Jurjaanee, lived with Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, and died in Baghdad in 377 AH. Zayd ibn 'Alee al-Faarisee, Aboo al-Qaasim, wrote a commentary on al-Eedhaah and died at Tripoli in 467 AH.

Hasan ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Seeraafee, Aboo Sa'eed, the judge and “shaykh of shaykhs,” mastered grammar, jurisprudence, language, poetry, prosody, Qur'aan, hadeeth, theology, arithmetic, and geometry. He issued Hanafee fatwas for fifty years and judged in Baghdad for forty or more. His commentary on Seebawayh was unrivaled. He died in Baghdad on Monday, 2 Rajab 368 AH.

'Alee ibn 'Eesaa al-Rummaanee, also al-Ikhsheedee and al-Warraaq, was a Mu'tazilee imaam of Arabic, born in 374 AH, who studied with al-Zajjaaj, Ibn al-Sarraaj, and Ibn Durayd. He died in 384 AH and wrote commentaries on al-Usool, al-Jurmee's abridgement, and al-Muqtadhab.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Faarisee, Ibn Abee 'Alee al-Faarisee's nephew, studied Arabic with his uncle, taught in Khuraasaan, Ghazna, Nishapur, Mecca, Isfaraayin, and Jurjaan, and died in 421 AH. 'Abd al-Qaahir ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jurjaanee, the famous Shaafi'ee Ash'aree grammarian, studied only with him and wrote al-Mughnee, al-Muqtasid, al-'Awaamil al-Mi'a, al-'Umda, Dalaa'il al-I'jaaz, and Asraar al-Balaagha. He died in 471 or 476 AH.

Among al-Kisaa'ee's most famous students were al-Farraa', Tha'lab, and al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad al-Anbaaree. Yahyaa ibn Ziyaad al-Deelamee al-Farraa' was the Koofans' leading grammarian after al-Kisaa'ee. He died on the road to Mecca in 207 AH, aged sixty-seven. Ahmad ibn Yahyaa ibn Yazeed al-Shaybaanee, Aboo al-'Abbaas Tha'lab, was born in 200 AH, mastered al-Farraa''s books, studied with Ibn al-A'raabee, and wrote al-Faseeh, al-Ma'aanee, al-Masoon, and other works. He died in 291 AH after a fall.

Muhammad ibn Abee Muhammad al-Anbaaree, Aboo Muhammad, a trustworthy scholar of hadeeth, history, Arabic, grammar, and rare vocabulary, died in 327 AH. Born in 271 AH, he memorized three hundred thousand poetic citations and one hundred twenty Qur'aanic commentaries with their chains. He wrote on Qur'aanic sciences, rare hadeeth, al-Mudhakkar wa-al-Mu'annath, and a refutation of Ibn Qutayba and Aboo Haatim.

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Ridhaa al-Deen al-Istaraabaadee, Muhammad ibn al-Taahir al-Moosawee, descendant of Moosaa al-Kaadhim and Ja'far al-Saadiq, author of the poetic deewaan and celebrated commentary on Ibn al-Haajib's Kaafiya. He completed it in 483 AH and also wrote a commentary on the Shaafiya. He was born in Baghdad in 359 AH and died in 406 AH; his deewaan fills four volumes. A marginal note says the date 483 conflicts with the later birth and death dates and that the latter are correct.

Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Shahnshaah, al-'Alawee al-Istaraabaadee, Aboo al-Fadhaa'il Rukn al-Deen, commentator on the Kaafiya, studied with Naseer al-Deen and al-Aamidee, and died in 715 or 718 AH. Aboo Bakr al-Khubaysee wrote al-Muwashshah, a commentary on al-Haajibiyya. 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jaamee's commentary on the Kaafiya reached the utmost refinement. 'Alee Majd al-Deen al-Bastaamee, descendant of Fakhr al-Deen al-Raazee, was born in 803 AH, traveled to Herat in 823 AH, and wrote extensively in Arabic and Persian on grammar, literature, rhetoric, law, logic, philosophy, and exegesis.

Aboo al-Baqaa' Ya'eesh ibn 'Alee ibn Ya'eesh, Muwaffaq al-Deen Ibn Ya'eesh, was born in Aleppo in Ramadhaan 553 AH. He taught there and wrote an exhaustive commentary on al-Zamakhsharee's Mufassal and a useful commentary on Ibn Jinnee's Tasreef al-Mulookee. He died in 643 AH. 'Abd Allaah ibn Yoosuf ibn Ahmad, Jamaal al-Deen Ibn Hishaam, author of Mughnee al-Labeeb, was born in 708 AH, mastered Arabic, and died on Friday night, 5 Dhoo al-Qa'da 761 AH. Aboo Ja'far Ahmad ibn Ismaa'eel al-Nahhaas wrote al-Tuffaaha, al-Kaafee, and al-Naasikh wa-al-Mansookh and died in Egypt in 338 AH.

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The preacher Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Qalqashandee and the other four transmitted from Najm al-Sunna Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ghaytee, from Shaykh al-Islaam Zakariyyaa al-Ansaaree. Through al-Sanhooree they transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Makkee, Shaykh al-Islaam, and 'Abd al-Haqq al-Sinbaatee; through the preacher, from Ahmad al-Subkee and Jamaal al-Deen al-Qalqashandee; and through al-Basree, from 'Alee al-Tabaree, 'Abd al-Waahid al-Khateeb, and Shams al-Deen al-'Umaree, with Ibn Hajar's chains to the six books and others recorded in al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras. al-Khateeb also transmitted through Jalaal al-Deen al-'Abbaasee, al-Armayoonee, and Aboo Zakariyyaa from al-Suyootee and the chains in his Mu'jam.

Among my shaykhs were Muhammad al-Danjaawee and Mustafaa al-Manzilee, from whom I learned in Damietta, transmitting through Aboo Haamid al-Budayree, Ibraaheem al-Kooraanee, Quraysh daughter of 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Tabaree, Muhammad al-Shubayree, Muhammad al-'Anaanee, Muhammad al-Baqaree, and Ahmad al-Bisheeshee. Among them also were Saalim al-Nafraawee, Sulaymaan al-Mansooree, Aboo al-Su'ood al-Hasanee, 'Abd Allaah al-Hareeree, Muhammad al-Faasee, Muhammad al-Tilimsaanee, 'Alee al-Saqqaat, 'Umar al-Tahlaawee, and others.

Those who wrote ijaazas to me included Ahmad al-Meenee al-Hanafee of Damascus; 'Alee al-Sulamee; Muhammad Saalih al-Qaadiree; Muhammad al-Taraabulusee, Muhammad al-'Aqqaad, and Ahmad al-Halwee of Aleppo; Muhammad al-Saffaareenee al-Hanbalee of Nablus; and Ahmad al-Sanoosee and Muhammad al-Firyaabee of Tunis. I have other firmly rooted, righteous shaykhs. May God pardon them, increase them from Paradise, and gather us with them in His mercy. His attributed works include Taaj al-'Aroos, his commentary on al-Qaamoos, completed in ten large volumes over fourteen years.

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Ibn al-A'raabee said that the Arabs permit alternation between dhaad and dhaa', so one who places one in the other's position is not mistaken. He recited: “To God I complain of a friend whose affection has three qualities, all grievous to me, with dhaad,” saying that this was how he heard it from eloquent Arabs. Many students attended his dictation. He was born in Rajab 150 AH, the night Aboo Haneefa died, and died at Saamarraa' in 231 AH.

Al-A'raabee is a nisba to the Bedouins; 'arabee is one attributed to the Arabs; a'jamee describes foreignness in speech; and 'ajamee means one attributed to the non-Arabs, even if eloquent.

Aboo Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Durayd al-Azdee, the Basran linguist, was the imaam of his age in language, literature, and poetry. He wrote al-Jamhara, al-Ishtiqaaq, and al-Lughaat, and was called “the most learned of poets and the most poetic of scholars.” Born in Basra in 223 AH, he studied with Aboo Haatim, al-Riyaashee, and al-Asma'ee, lived in 'Umaan and Faars, and died in Baghdad in 321 AH.

Aboo al-Qaasim Mahmood al-Zamakhsharee, author of al-Kashshaaf, was an unrivaled imaam in language, grammar, and rhetoric. His works include al-Faa'iq, Asaas al-Balaagha, Rabee' al-Abraar, al-Raa'idh fee al-Faraa'idh, al-Mufassal, Shaqaa'iq al-Nu'maan, Shaafee al-'Ayy, al-Qistaas, Mu'jam al-Hudood, al-Minhaaj, and Muqaddimat al-Adab. He resided in Mecca and was therefore called Jaar Allaah. He was an openly professing Mu'tazilee, born at Zamakhshar in 467 AH, and died at Jurjaaniyya in 538 AH.

Aboo 'Ubayda Ma'mar ibn al-Muthannaa al-Basree was a renowned linguist and grammarian. al-Jaahidh called him the most learned person on earth in all the sciences. He detested the Arabs, held the Khaarijite view, and wrote nearly two hundred works. Ibn Khallikaan listed many of them; he was born in 110 AH and died in 209 AH.

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Al-Asma'ee feared Aboo 'Ubayda's tongue and no one attended his funeral. He was unkempt, tongue-tied, of doubtful lineage and religion. Aboo Yoosuf Ya'qoob ibn Ishaaq, Ibn al-Sikkeet, authored Islaah al-Mantiq and tutored al-Mutawakkil's children. He transmitted from al-Asma'ee, Aboo 'Ubayda, and al-Farraa', knew Arabic exceptionally well, had fine poetry and many books, and Islaah al-Mantiq was said to be unmatched in its field. He was killed by al-Mutawakkil in 244 AH, aged fifty-eight, after saying that Qanbar, 'Alee's servant, was better than the caliph and his sons.

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After Khaleel, Seebawayh gathered the sciences he learned from him in the finest grammar book. 'Amr ibn 'Uthmaan ibn Qanbar, Seebawayh, Aboo Bishr, was a client of Banoo al-Haarith. His Persian epithet means “apple scent,” though other explanations are reported. He grew up in Basra, studied with al-Khaleel, Yoonus, al-Akhfash, and 'Eesaa ibn 'Umar, and debated al-Kisaa'ee over the nominative and accusative in “I thought the scorpion more stinging than the hornet, and there it is.” Reports place his death at Baydhaa', Sheeraaz, Basra, or Saawa, between 161 and 188 AH.

'Alee ibn Hamza al-Kisaa'ee, imaam of the Koofans and one of the seven readers, learned grammar late, served 'Amr ibn al-'Alaa' seventeen years, taught al-Ameen, debated Aboo Yoosuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Seebawayh, and al-Yazeedee, and died with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at al-Rayy. Thus grammar and jurisprudence were said to have been buried on one day. Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Mubarrad was the Basran imaam of Arabic in Baghdad.

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Al-Mubarrad studied with al-Kisaa'ee, al-Azdee, and Aboo Haatim; his works include al-Radd 'alaa Seebawayh, al-Kaamil, and Ma'aanee al-Qur'aan. Naftawayh died in 323 AH and Ibraaheem al-Afleelee in 441 AH. Sa'eed ibn Mas'ada, al-Akhfash al-Awsat, Seebawayh's student, added al-khabab to prosody, wrote on grammar, morphology, and rhyme, and died in 210, 215, or 221 AH. The reports list three, four, or eleven men named al-Akhfash, including 'Abd al-Hameed ibn 'Abd al-Majeed, 'Alee ibn Sulaymaan, Ahmad ibn 'Imraan, Ahmad al-Mawsilee, Khalaf ibn 'Amr, 'Abd Allaah ibn Muhammad, 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Ahmad, 'Alee al-Maghribee, 'Alee al-Faatimee, and Haaroon ibn Moosaa ibn Shareek.

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Haaroon ibn Moosaa ibn Shareek is the eleventh. Muhammad ibn al-Mustaneer, Aboo 'Alee Qutrub, studied with Seebawayh, wrote Ma'aanee al-Qur'aan, al-Ishtiqaaq, al-'Ilal, and Ghareeb al-Hadeeth, and died in 206 AH. Saalih ibn Ishaaq al-Jurmee studied with al-Akhfash and Yoonus, learned language from al-Asma'ee, debated al-Farraa', wrote al-Tanbeeh, al-Farkh, and Ghareeb Seebawayh, and died in 225 AH. Ibraaheem al-Zajjaaj wrote on grammar and inflection and died in 311 AH. Muhammad ibn al-Sarree, Aboo Bakr Ibn al-Sarraaj, was the Baghdadi grammarian.

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Ibn al-Sarraaj studied with al-Mubarrad, wrote al-Usool and a commentary on Seebawayh, and died in Dhoo al-Hijja 316 AH. al-Seeraafee, al-Faarisee, and al-Rummaanee transmitted from him. 'Abd Allaah ibn Ja'far ibn Durustawayh defended the Basran school, wrote al-Irshaad and works on hadeeth, was born in 258 AH, and died in 347 AH. Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Khuzaa'ee, Ibn al-Azhar, died in 325 AH. Muhammad ibn Marzubaan died in 365 AH. Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Kaysaan mastered both schools; al-Zubaydee distinguished him from the earlier Kaysaan, author of works on prosody and riddles.