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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shi'ah and Islamic Disciplines Chapter 10: The Pioneering Role Of The Shi’ah In Lexicology Section One: The Correct View as to the Pioneer of Arabic Lexicology The correct view vis–à–vis the pioneer of Arabic lexicology is that the erudite master of literature (who expounded the Arabic language) Abu al–Safa al–Khalil ibn Ahmad al–Azadi al–Farahidi was the one and men of letters agree on this.

Al–Azhari says in the beginning of his Tahdhib : “I have not come across any disagreement between the knowledgeable people and masters of this field as regards the fact that Kitab al–Ayn was initially compiled by Abu Abdurrahman al–Khalil ibn Ahmad, and that Ibn al–Muzaffar only completed it after he collected its material from al–Khalil.

And there is no doubt that the latter has not been anticipated in this work by anybody.” As to the fact that al–Khalil ibn Ahmad took the lead in working on Arabic lexicology, there is no difference of opinion; the bone of contention is the authorship of this book that is in circulation, namely, Kitab al–Ayn which is attributed to al–Khalil ibn Ahmad. People are divided on the matter; some believing that the book was his and others denying that.

The first group is also divided on whether the whole book was al–Khalil’s work or only part of it was his compilation. In the original version of my work, I have cited diverse views on the matter along with the evidences adduced in their support. After weighing those evidences, I presented what I consider to be the truth. I have with me a complete copy of Kitab al–Ayn . There is no disagreement about the fact that al–Khalil was a Shi'ah.

The chief of the Shi’ah, Jamal al–Din ibn al–Matahhar states, in Al–Khulasah : “Al–Khalil ibn Ahmad was the best lexicologist and his work in this field is an authority. He was the originator of prosody. His position in learning is so well-known that there is no need to expatiate.

He was a follower of the Imamiyyah school.” Mawla Abdullah Effendi, observes in Riyad al–Ulama , that “al–Khalil was a very eminent personality, the most learned person in literature and a follower of the Imamiyyah school. He was the founder of the science of prosody. He lived during the time of Imam al–Sadiq and even that of Imam al–Baqir (‘a).”I have mentioned al–Khalil’s biography in the original version of this book.