Talking about al-nahw (the science of Arabic grammar) is, for many people, like a frightening nightmare — whether they have engaged with it or never even known it at all! In their minds it is a tangle of iʿrab, vowel-marks, fronting and postponing, and endless points of complexity.
The problem is not so much in learning al-nahw as it is in loving it. We are children of an Umma upon whose Messenger a clear Arabic Book was revealed; so it is a great shame to find someone reciting the Quran while trampling on the rules of Arabic. You see him putting words in nominative, accusative, and genitive like a blind man who does not know which path he is taking.
What Is Al-Nahw (Arabic Grammar)?
I do not wish to be academic and define al-nahw linguistically and technically — that would make you feel as though you were in a dull classroom. Rather, I will say it is a science established for understanding the vowel-marks and the placement of word-endings and the changes that affect them, in order to safeguard the tongue from error — what is technically called al-lahn (linguistic error/solecism).
Indeed, it is difficult — if not impossible — for a person to understand the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger while being entirely ignorant of al-nahw. If he knew how much the Companions and the great scholars detested al-lahn and considered it shameful, he would understand the importance and merit of al-nahw.
Al-lahn is the distortion of speech from its proper course and direction.
[Narration]: It is reported that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq — may Allah be pleased with him — said: "That I should recite and stumble [in the letters] is more beloved to me than that I should recite and commit a grammatical error (lahn)."
The First to Lay the Foundations of Al-Nahw
Most reports indicate that Imam Ali — may Allah be pleased with him — was the first to lay the earliest building blocks of this science, entrusting its development to one of the leading Tabiʿun (the generation after the Companions): the brilliant scholar Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali.
In the same report, it is said that Ali ibn Abi Talib dictated to Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali some of the foundational principles of this science and then said to him: 'Pursue this manner (inha hadha al-nahw)' — and so this science came to be called al-nahw.
This noble scholar is also considered the first to attend to the diacritical marking of letters, in the famous story when he heard someone reciting the saying of Allah Most High:
[Reciting] "that Allah is disassociated from the polytheists, and [so is] His Messenger" (Quran 9:3, Sahih International) — but with kasra on the lam (i.e., reciting 'rasuli-hi' instead of 'rasulu-hu', the correct form being damma). [The kasra reading would imply 'Allah is disassociated from the polytheists and from His Messenger' — a serious distortion of meaning.] He therefore commissioned a scribe to place a dot above each letter when the speaker opens his lips (fatha), to place the dot in front of the letter when he rounds his lips (damma), and to place the dot beneath the letter when he draws back his lips (kasra).
The kasra reading on the lam in the noble verse would mean: 'Allah is disassociated from the polytheists and disassociated from the Messenger.' Whereas the damma reading means: 'Allah is disassociated from the polytheists, and likewise the Messenger is disassociated from them.'
The Most Famous Schools of Al-Nahw
Among the most renowned grammatical schools — those known for competing and racing to demonstrate excellence in this science — were the schools of Basra and Kufa, followed by the Baghdadi, then the Andalusi, then the Egyptian schools. Their rivalry was of immense benefit in transmitting this science, its research, and its issues to coming generations.
The Most Famous Scholars of Al-Nahw
It is by no means possible to confine the eminent grammarians to a fixed number, for we would wrong many of them — whether out of forgetfulness or ignorance. But we will mention briefly some of those who became famous in the books of history and on the tongues of the masters:
- Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali
- Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad
- Sibawayh
- Al-Mubarrad
- Al-Kisaʾi
- Al-Farraʾ
- Ibn Jinni
- Al-Zamakhshari
- Ibn al-Shajari
- Ibn Malik
The Most Famous Books of Al-Nahw
There is no disagreement that the greatest work ever written in al-nahw is 'Al-Kitab' ('The Book') by the genius Sibawayh, who covered and detailed the science to such a degree that no later book introduced any new grammatical issue — except for some side additions and clarifications.
Because time advances and minds find it heavy to grasp the contents and language of Sibawayh's work, the book 'Alfiyyat Ibn Malik' ('Ibn Malik's Thousand-Verse Poem') appeared and gained widespread renown — summarizing the aims and rulings of al-nahw in an organized, versified text. It became the standard for teaching this noble science in schools and universities.
In Conclusion
Al-nahw is a noble science and a precious jewel from the ocean of the mother Arabic language. By it the tongue is set right, and through it we understand the prophetic hadith. Although it appears to some as difficult and complicated on the surface, it requires only focus and love for our cherished language. We do not aspire to become scholars or grammarians, nor to grasp every grammatical issue — rather, only to the degree that allows us to recite the Quran correctly so that we do not wrong even a single word or letter of it. That is the least one can do.