Figures › Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad

Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad

Scholar

c. 718 CE · d. c. 791 CE · Basra

Overview

A language scholar remembered for studying the rhythm of Arabic poetry and the vocabulary of Arabic.

Category: Scholar
Period: c. 718 CE · d. c. 791 CE

Life and setting

Al-Khalil was born in Oman and grew up in Basra. He studied language closely and taught Sibawayh, whose grammar book preserved many of his ideas.

Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam

Work and legacy

His work brought systematic methods to language study. Kitab al-Ayn has a complex history of compilation and transmission, so its surviving text should not simply be treated as a manuscript written wholly by him.

Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam

Sources

Original concise biography based on the cited references. Historical reports, later devotional traditions and uncertain dates are distinguished where relevant.

TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam