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What They Said About the Arabs and Arabic

What Arab and Muslim scholars have said about their language, and what scholars from outside the Arab world have said about it, and about the Arabs and their civilisation. Nothing is published until it was read in its author's own book or in a named, reliable witness; the Western sayings appear in their original languages beside a translation, each with a link to the page of the book.

105 sayings — 52 by Arab and Muslim scholars, 53 by others; 48 read in the original language of their author.

How these sayings were documented

Most sayings of Western scholars about Arabic circulate in Arabic translations taken from secondary sources, and many turned out to add to or cut from the original. We went back to the authors' own books, in scans of their pages, and publish the original text with a faithful translation, noting under each saying where the circulated version departs from it. Sayings whose original we have not yet found are not published.

Read in the original Read in its author's own language (French, German, Latin…) in a scan of the book; the original is printed beside any translation. From the author's own Arabic The author's own Arabic words, read in his book by edition, volume and page; the English is our translation. Narrated with its chain The speaker wrote no book of his own; this is read in a work that narrates it from him with its chain of transmission, by edition, volume and page. Via a reliable witness Reported by a named scholar without a chain, or not found in the author's own work.

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Narrated with its chain
Writing to Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari:
“To proceed: gain understanding in the Sunna, gain understanding in Arabic, and recite the Qur'an with correct inflection, for it is Arabic; and live by the hardy ways of Ma'add, for you are of Ma'add.”
أَمّا بَعْدُ فَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي السُّنَّةِ وَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي العَرَبِيَّةِ، وَأَعْرِبُوا القُرْآنَ فَإِنَّهُ عَرَبِيٌّ، وَتَمَعْدَدُوا فَإِنَّكُمْ مَعَدِّيُّونَ
Umar ibn al-Khattab
d. 23 AH / 644 CE
 Narrated with its chain
“Learn Arabic, for it strengthens the mind and increases manly virtue.”
تَعَلَّمُوا العَرَبِيَّةَ فَإِنَّها تُثَبِّتُ العَقْلَ، وَتَزِيدُ فِي المُرُوءَةِ
Umar ibn al-Khattab
d. 23 AH / 644 CE
 Via a reliable witness
Writing to Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari:
“Order those under you to learn Arabic, for it guides to correct speech; and order them to transmit poetry, for it points to noble character.”
مُرْ مَنْ قِبَلَكَ بِتَعَلُّمِ العَرَبِيَّةِ فَإِنَّهُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى صَوابِ الكَلامِ، وَمُرْهُمْ بِرِوايَةِ الشِّعْرِ فَإِنَّهُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى مَعالِي الأَخْلاقِ
Umar ibn al-Khattab
d. 23 AH / 644 CE
 Narrated with its chain
“Learn the laws of inheritance, the [Arabic] language and the Sunna as you learn the Qur'an.”
تَعَلَّمُوا الْفَرَائِضَ وَاللَّحْنَ وَالسُّنَنَ كَمَا تَعَلَّمُونَ الْقُرْآنَ
Umar ibn al-Khattab
d. 23 AH / 644 CE
 Narrated with its chain
“Learn Arabic as you learn to memorise the Qur'an.”
تَعَلَّمُوا العَرَبِيَّةَ كَما تَعَلَّمُونَ حِفْظَ القُرْآنِ
Ubayy ibn Ka'b
d. 30 AH / 650 CE
 Via a reliable witness
“Hisham ibn 'Urwa said: My father came out to us one day while our teacher was teaching us grammar; when he appeared, the teacher silenced us. My father sat down and said to the teacher: "Tell them to go on learning; no one has acquired a refinement more pleasing to me than grammar."”
قالَ هِشامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ: خَرَجَ عَلَيْنا أَبِي يَوْماً وَمُعَلِّمُنا يُعَلِّمُنا النَّحْوَ، فَلَمّا خَرَجَ أَبِي أَسْكَتَنا المُعَلِّمُ، فَجَلَسَ أَبِي، فَقالَ لِلمُعَلِّمِ: مُرْهُمْ فَلْيَتَعَلَّمُوا؛ فَما أَحْدَثَ أَحَدٌ مُرُوءَةً هِيَ أَعْجَبُ إِلَيَّ مِنَ النَّحْوِ.
'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr
d. 94 AH / 713 CE
 Via a reliable witness
Passing people who were learning Arabic, he said:
“They do well: they are learning the language of their Prophet.”
أَحْسَنُوا، يَتَعَلَّمُونَ لُغَةَ نَبِيِّهِمْ ﷺ
al-Hasan al-Basri
d. 110 AH / 728 CE
 Via a reliable witness
“I do not ask about the mind of a man whose mind has not led him to learn enough Arabic to set his tongue right.”
لا أَسْأَلُ عَنْ عَقْلِ رَجُلٍ لَمْ يَدُلَّهُ عَقْلُهُ عَلَى أَنْ يَتَعَلَّمَ مِنَ العَرَبِيَّةِ ما يُصْلِحُ لِسانَهُ
Qatada ibn Di'ama
d. 118 AH / 736 CE
 Narrated with its chain
“A hadith transmitter who does not know grammar is like a donkey with a nosebag on its head that holds no barley.”
إِذا كانَ المُحَدِّثُ لا يَعْرِفُ النَّحْوَ فَهُوَ كَالحِمَارِ يَكُونُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ مِخْلاةٌ لَيْسَ فِيها شَعِيرٌ
Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj
d. 160 AH / 776 CE
 Narrated with its chain
Recounting what happened with his teacher al-A‘mash:
“[Waki' said:] I came to al-A'mash to hear hadith from him, and I would sometimes make grammatical mistakes. He said: 'Abu Sufyan, you have left what is more fitting for you than hadith.' I said: 'Abu Muhammad, what is more fitting than hadith?' He said: 'Grammar.' So al-A'mash dictated grammar to me, and then dictated hadith.”
أَتَيْتُ الْأَعْمَشَ أَسْمَعُ مِنْهُ الْحَدِيثَ، وَكُنْتُ رُبَّمَا لَحَنْتُ، فَقَالَ لِي: يَا أَبَا سُفْيَانَ، تَرَكْتَ مَا هُوَ أَوْلَى بِكَ مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ! فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَوْلَى مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ؟ فَقَالَ: النَّحْوُ. فَأَمْلَى عَلَيَّ الْأَعْمَشُ النَّحْوَ، ثُمَّ أَمْلَى عَلَيَّ الْحَدِيثَ.
Waki‘ ibn al-Jarrah
d. 197 AH / 812 CE
 Via a reliable witness
“Into the tongue of the Arabs the sciences were carried from every region of the world, and they were adorned by it, grew sweet in hearts, and the beauties of the language flowed through their arteries and veins، To be satirised in Arabic is dearer to me than to be praised in Persian.”
إِلَى لِسانِ العَرَبِ نُقِلَتِ العُلُومُ مِنْ أَقْطارِ العالَمِ فَازْدانَتْ وَحَلَتْ فِي الأَفْئِدَةِ وَسَرَتْ مَحاسِنُ اللُّغَةِ مِنْها فِي الشَّرايِينِ وَالأَوْرِدَةِ، وَالهَجْوُ بِالعَرَبِيَّةِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنَ المَدْحِ بِالفارِسِيَّةِ
al-Biruni
d. 440 AH / 1048 CE
 From the author's own Arabic
Answering those who belittle Arabic while depending on it:
“They see that discussion in most chapters and questions of legal theory rests on the science of grammar, and that the commentaries are packed with reports from Sibawayh, al-Akhfash, al-Kisa'i and al-Farra'.”
وَيَرَوْنَ الكَلامَ فِي مُعْظَمِ أَبْوابِ أُصُولِ الفِقْهِ وَمَسائِلِها مَبْنِيّاً عَلَى عِلْمِ الإِعْرابِ، وَالتَّفاسِيرَ مَشْحُونَةً بِالرِّواياتِ عَنْ سِيبَوَيْهِ وَالأَخْفَشِ وَالكِسائِيِّ وَالفَرّاءِ
al-Zamakhshari
d. 538 AH / 1144 CE
 From the author's own Arabic
“The good way is to make addressing one another in Arabic a habit, so that children absorb it in the schools and at home; then the emblem of Islam and its people becomes manifest, and it is easier for Muslims to understand the meanings of the Book, the Sunna and the words of the forebears.”
وَإِنَّما الطَّرِيقُ الحَسَنُ اعْتِيادُ الخِطابِ بِالعَرَبِيَّةِ، حَتَّى يَتَلَقَّنَها الصِّغارُ فِي المَكاتِبِ وَفِي الدُّورِ فَيَظْهَرَ شِعارُ الإِسْلامِ وَأَهْلِهِ، وَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ أَسْهَلَ عَلَى أَهْلِ الإِسْلامِ فِي فِقْهِ مَعانِي الكِتابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَكَلامِ السَّلَفِ
Ibn Taymiyya
d. 728 AH / 1328 CE
 From the author's own Arabic
On «the sciences of the Arabic language»:
“Its pillars are four: lexicography, grammar, rhetoric and literature. Knowing them is necessary for the scholars of the religious law, since all legal rulings are taken from the Book and the Sunna, and these are in the language of the Arabs.”
أَرْكانُهُ أَرْبَعَةٌ، وَهِيَ اللُّغَةُ وَالنَّحْوُ وَالبَيانُ وَالأَدَبُ، وَمَعْرِفَتُها ضَرُورِيَّةٌ عَلَى أَهْلِ الشَّرِيعَةِ، إِذْ مَأْخَذُ الأَحْكامِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ كُلِّها مِنَ الكِتابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، وَهِيَ بِلُغَةِ العَرَبِ
Ibn Khaldun
d. 808 AH / 1406 CE
 From the author's own Arabic
On the hadith «Do not lie about me», answering the Karramiyya who allowed forged hadith for exhortation:
“Arguing that it is a lie «for him», not «against him» — which is ignorance of the Arabic language.”
وَاحْتَجّ بِأَنَّهُ كَذِبَ لَهُ لَا عَلَيْهِ، وَهُوَ جَهْلٌ بِاللُّغَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ.
Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani
d. 852 AH / 1449 CE
 Via a reliable witness
“How was I to study «the mother of languages» while in Europe […], where nobody speaks this language — which in my view is harder than learning four European languages together?”
كَيْفَ أَدْرُسُ «أُمَّ اللُّغَاتِ» وَأَنَا فِي أُورُبَّا… لَا يُوجَدُ فِيهَا مَنْ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهَذِهِ اللُّغَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ فِي نَظَرِي أَصْعَبُ مِنْ تَعَلُّمِ أَرْبَعِ لُغَاتٍ أُورُوبِيَّةٍ مَعاً؟!
Gyula Germanus
1884–1979

Some well-known sayings attributed to Western scholars have not been traced to an original and are not published: one credited to Krachkovsky (we searched the whole of his history of Arabic geographical literature), one credited to Germanus (not in any of his articles in al-Risāla), others credited to Marçais and Berque, and one credited to Brockelmann ("through the Qur’an Arabic reached an extent…"). The saying credited to al-Asma‘i is one he transmits from al-Khalil from Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, whose saying is in this section. The saying credited to "William Work" has no such author: the name is a corruption of William H. Worrell, director of the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, and its source has not been found. The claim that Chomsky was influenced by Sībawayh was denied by Chomsky himself in two published e-mails.