Sibawayh, Grammarian of Basra: Scholar in Islamic History

Scholar

ScholarGrammarian of Basra

Sibawayhسيبويه

c. 760-796 CEApproximate dateBasra

A young Persian whose 'al-Kitab' became the foundation of Arabic grammar.

He came to Basra to study hadith and, after being corrected for a mistake in Arabic, resolved to master the language. Trained by al-Khalil, he wrote al-Kitab, the first full description of Arabic grammar. After losing a famous debate in Baghdad, he went home to Persia and died young.

What grew out of it?

Grammarians have called his work simply 'the Book' for twelve centuries.

Who else is linked?

Basra Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad Abbasid Caliphate Shiraz

Who lived at the same time?

Al-Mahdi Abd al-Rahman I Al-Hadi Idris I Charlemagne Al-Mansur Hisham I Harun al-Rashid

Source: history · Wikipedia

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