Abu al–Faraj Ibn al–Nadim also says...

Abu al–Faraj Ibn al–Nadim also says: ‘And he (al–Khalil) was the initiator of prosody and thereby preserved the purity of Arabic poetry.’ Ibn Qutaybah says about al–Khalil:“ He was the originator of prosody.” Abu Bakr al–Zubaydi states in the opening part of Istidrak al–Ghalat : “Al–Khalil ibn Ahmad was the most distinguished scholar of his time, one of the geniuses of the nation and the master of the intelligent ones, the like of whom the world has never known....

Then from his own invention he wrote a book on prosody named. Al–Farsh wa al–Mithal fi al–‘Arud , in which he compiled all the poetic metres, organising similar forms into their specific classes thus, forming the da’irah s. This brilliant feat rendered the minds helpless, dazzled and overwhelmed.” In Maratib al–Nahwiyyin , Abdulwahid says, “al–Khalil introduced a number of novelties… and he invented prosody.

He created other forms of verse apart from the known metres of Arabic poetry.” In his biography, Ibn Khillikan observes: “He was the one who contrived the science of prosody and brought it to light…”Allamah Jamal al–Din al–Hasan ibn Yusuf ibn al–Mutahhar al–Hilli says in Al–Khulasah that al–Khalil ibn Ahmad was the most skilled master in literature and his word in it was authoritative. He invented prosody and his distinction is very obvious. He was a follower of the Imamiyyah School”.

The comments cited so far suffice our aim for if we were to quote all that the scholars of literature have said about al–Khalil this section would be unduely long. Section Two: The First to Write about Prosody After al–Khalil The first person to write about prosody after al–Khalil was Abu Uthman Bakr ibn Habib al–Mazini the grammarian who died in 248 A.H. Abu al–Abbas al–Mubarrad states that al–Mazini was among the servants of Isma’il ibn Maytham, a master of those who elaborated on Shi’ism.

Al–Najashi observed in his Asma al–Musannifin min al–Shi’ah that he was the chief of the masters of grammar, lexicology and other branches of Arabic studies in Basra and he had well-known precedence in this field” Jamal al–Din ibn al–Mutahhar gives a similar account about him in Al–Khulasah , adding that he was one of the Imamiyyah scholars. On his part, al–Suyuti records in Al–Tabaqat : “He was a master of Arabic, whose narrations were profuse. He believed in the return ( al–raj’ah ).

Whoever disputed with him was silenced because al–Mazini had exeptional fluency.