Arabic Beyond the Arabs
Sibawayh, the Persian who wrote «al-Kitab»
سِيبَوَيْهِ: الفارسيّ الذي كتب «الكتاب»
Sibawayh was a Persian from al-Bayda, a village near Shiraz, and his name is a Persian nickname meaning «scent of apples». He came to Basra as a young man to study hadith, made a slip in a word before his teacher Hammad ibn Salama, and was corrected. «Then I shall seek a knowledge in which you will never find me in error», he said. He attached himself to al-Khalil ibn Ahmad and wrote «al-Kitab», which became the foundation of Arabic grammar.
- In brief
- A Persian from al-Bayda who became the master of Arabic grammar
- Outside Arabic
- Sibawayh
«وسيبويه لقبٌ له ومعناه بالفارسية رائحة التفاح … فقال سيبويه: لا جرم لأطلبنّ علمًا لا تلحنني فيه أبدًا.»
The year of his death is disputed, most often given as about 180 AH (796), and the wording of the hadith he stumbled on varies; the card gives neither.
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