Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi

Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi al-Azdi al-Basri is considered one of the most prominent scholars of the Abbasid era in the fields of Arabic language and poetry. Born in Farhud to the Azd tribe in Oman, he later moved to Basra, Iraq, where he grew up and lived. He studied jurisprudence (Fiqh) and linguistics under Ayyub Ibn Abi Tamimah Kaysan al-Sakhtiyani.

Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi was born around 100 AH and passed away in 170 AH (approx. 718 to 786 AD).

He contributed immensely to the Arabic language, and his influence persists to this day. He mentored many famous students, most notably Sibawayh and Al-Asma'i. Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi was gifted with unique talents by Allah which given him a distinct character, mainly with his profound interest in the connection between the Arabic language and phonetics. His focus led him to gift the world the science of Prosody (Al-'Arud), the Kitab al-Ayn (the first Arabic dictionary), and other works such as The Book of Musical Notes, The Book of Rhythm, and The Book of Diacritics and Formatting, paving the way for modern linguistics.

The Science of Prosody (Al-'Arud)

Prosody is a fundamental branch of Arabic linguistics dedicated to studying the meters of Arabic poetry. It distinguishes between verses that are rhythmically sound and those that are "broken" or structurally flawed. The existence of this science ensures:

• The preservation of ancient Arabic poetry by transmitting it accurately without rhythmic distortion or flaws.
• Enabling readers and poets to distinguish between genuine poetry and ordinary prose.
• Ensuring the linguistic integrity of a poet's work by keeping it free from metrical errors.

The core principle of Prosody is: "Everything that is pronounced is written, and everything that is not pronounced is not written." It consists of several pillars, such as asbab (causes), awtad (pegs), fawasil (intervals), and taf'ilat (metrical). Al-Khalil identified 15 poetic meters (a 16th was later added by Al-Akhfash al-Awsat, Al-Khalil’s student). This science was created to protect ancient Arabic poetry from corruption caused by the intermingling of Arabs with non-Arabs.

It is said that while Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi was passing through the Coppersmiths' Market (Souq al-Saffarin), he heard the rhythmic striking of hammers on metal. He noticed how their beats harmonized. He rushed home and began experimenting with a drum and a stick until he matched those rhythms to poetic meters. Through this process, he successfully categorized all classical Arabic poetry from the Pre-Islamic era into 15 distinct meters.

|| For a detailed explanation, please refer to the thesis by Muhammad Salama titled "Ilm al-'Arud," available at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library Sector 210504).

Kitab al-Ayn (The Dictionary of Ayn)

Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi named his dictionary "Al-Ayn" because he discovered that the letter Ayn (ع) is the third deepest sound produced in the throat (after Hamza and Ha).

Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi cataloged Arabic vocabulary based on phonetic arrangement rather than alphabetical order, organizing letters according to their points of articulation in the vocal tract (Gutturals, Palatals, etc.). He then categorized words by their structure (biliteral, triliteral, etc.) and introduced a permutation system, grouping all words sharing the same root letters in one place.

The Tale of the Physician's Medicine

There is also a story about a physician in Iraq who created a successful treatment for eye diseases. However, the doctor died without recording the formula except for a traveler who came from a distant land.

And after the death of the doctor and the traveler, no one could know the treatment so some people went to Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi, he asked for the vessel in which the medicine was prepared. By smelling the residue in the vessel, Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi, has identified 15 ingredients, which they used to recreate the medicine successfully. Later, when the original written prescription was found, Al-Khalil's list was proven correct, but with extra ingredient that Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi did not know about.

Sources:

• Ramadan Thabit, Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (100H-170H), 2016.
• Muhammad Salama, Ilm al-'Arud, 2021.
• Khalid al-Jabr, The Intelligences of Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, 2022.
• Iman al-Mashaqba, Summary of Kitab al-Ayn, 2021.
• Al Jazeera, Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad: The Founder of Prosody, 2022.