Arabic Beyond the Arabs
Ibn Jinni: «My learning among men is my lineage»
ابن جِنِّي: «فعلمي في الورى نسبي»
His father, Jinni, was a Byzantine slave of a man of the Azd in Mosul. The son grew up in Arabic to become one of its finest grammarians, the author of al-Khasaʾis. Whenever he considered this language, he said, its wisdom and precision took hold of his mind. Of his ancestry he wrote: If I have no lineage, my learning among men is my lineage.
- In brief
- The son of a Byzantine slave who became one of the greatest masters of Arabic
- Outside Arabic
- Ibn Jinnī
«إذا تأملت حال هذه اللغة الشريفة الكريمة اللطيفة وجدت فيها من الحكمة والدقة والإرهاف والرقة ما يملك عليّ جانب الفكر.»
He wrote the sentence while weighing whether language was revealed or agreed upon, so it stands here as admiration, not as a verdict on that question. «Rumi» in the old sources means from the Byzantine lands. He died in Baghdad in 392 AH (1002).
Click a card to see it full size; each has a download button for sharing.
Sources
Spotted a mistake, or have something to add?
Your note comes to us only; it is not published here. We read it, and if it holds we correct the card.
