al-Zajjaj
- Died
- 311 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Abu Ishaq al-Zajjaj (c. 241–311 AH / 855–923 CE) was an Abbasid grammarian, philologist, and Quranic exegete from Baghdad affiliated with the Basran grammatical tradition, best known for his landmark exegetical treatise Ma'ani al-Qur'an wa-I'rabuh ("The Meanings and Syntax of the Qur'an") .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Ibrahim ibn al-Sari ibn Sahl, though some sources record his father's name as Muhammad ibn al-Sari . He bore the kunya Abu Ishaq and the nisba al-Zajjaj due to his initial craft of turning and cutting glass (kharat al-zujaj) in Baghdad .
Drawn to Arabic linguistics while working in his shop, he sought out the eminent Basran grammarian al-Mubarrad . Because al-Mubarrad charged for tuition, al-Zajjaj pledged to pay him one dirham every day from his daily wage of one to one-and-a-half dirhams, making a binding commitment to continue this daily payment until death separated them, whether he remained a student or became self-sufficient . He served al-Mubarrad diligently, and in turn, al-Mubarrad provided him with rigorous instruction until he attained scholarly mastery; al-Zajjaj loyally maintained the daily payment to his teacher until al-Mubarrad passed away . He also studied lexicography and grammar under the leading Kufan scholar Abu al-Abbas Tha'lab .
Career and Court Service
When the Banu Marima (or Banu Mariya) of al-Sarat requested a grammar tutor for their children, al-Mubarrad recommended al-Zajjaj . Later, when the Abbasid vizier 'Ubayd Allah ibn Sulayman sought an instructor for his son al-Qasim ibn 'Ubayd Allah, al-Mubarrad again directed the vizier to al-Zajjaj .
Al-Zajjaj tutored al-Qasim, and when al-Qasim eventually succeeded his father as vizier, he appointed al-Zajjaj among his administrative scribes, which became the primary source of al-Zajjaj's considerable wealth . Al-Zajjaj subsequently entered the inner circle of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid, tutoring the caliph's sons and serving as one of his close companions (nudama'), as well as associating with al-Muktafi . He held an esteemed status at court, drawing monthly stipends allocated among the jurists, scholars, and courtiers that reached around three hundred dinars .
Teaching and Standing
Al-Zajjaj was widely regarded as the leading grammarian of his era, celebrated for his mastery of Arabic philology, firm religious adherence, and upright character . He trained a distinguished generation of linguists; among his prominent students were Abu Ali al-Farisi, 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mughira al-Jawhari, and Abu al-Qasim al-Zajjaji, who adopted his nisba out of devotion to him .
His major scholarly contribution was Ma'ani al-Qur'an wa-I'rabuh, an exhaustive grammatical commentary that he began dictating in Safar 285 AH and concluded in Rabi' al-Awwal 301 AH, which became a foundational reference in Quranic syntax and semantics . He also authored Tafsir Asma' Allah al-Husna ("Explanation of the Beautiful Names of God"), which analyzed divine attributes through Arabic lexicography and morphology, alongside focused philological treatises such as Khalq al-Insan ("The Creation and Anatomy of Man") .
Death
Al-Zajjaj died in Baghdad on Friday, with eleven days remaining in the month of Jumada al-Akhira 311 AH (923 CE) . Other historical reports place his death on 19 Jumada al-Akhira 310 AH, or in the year 316 AH .
His age at death is variously recorded as over eighty years old, or approximately seventy years old . It is narrated that on his deathbed, when asked about his age, he indicated seventy, and his final spoken supplication was: "O Allah, resurrect me upon the creed of Ahmad ibn Hanbal" .
Answer updated
List of Works
Maani al-Quran wa Irabuhu is a classical work of linguistic and grammatical Quranic exegesis. Dictated between Safar 285 AH and Rabi al-Awwal 301 AH, this abridged text systematically follows the order of the Quran to analyze both its grammatical structures and semantic meanings. It explores lexical semantics, morphological forms, and syntax according to the Basran grammatical tradition while incorporating variant Quranic readings.
Tafsir Asma Allah al-Husna is an early Arabic linguistic and theological treatise explaining the Ninety-Nine Names of God. Structured around the prophetic tradition concerning the enumeration of God's names, the work systematically examines each divine name with concise semantic definitions, etymologies, and grammatical derivations based on classical Arabic usage.