Translated by Aboo Aamir

Alî bn Hamzah bn Abdullâh bn Fayruuz Abu Al-Hasan Al-Asadî Maulâ-hum; he was a resident of Kufah popularly known as Al-Kisâ'î because of his taking Ihrâm in cloth. Another opinion was that he was called Al-Kisâ'î because of his attachment with Hamzah Az-Zayyât at Kisâ. He was a linguist and grammarian and one of the (Qur'ân) experts.

Ash-Shâfi'î said: 'Whoever wants to learn the Arabic Grammar then it is upon Al-Kisâ'î.'

Al-Kisâ'î took the knowledge of the Arabic Grammar from Al-Khalîl; he asked the latter one day: 'From whom have you got this?' He replied: 'From the rural people of the peninsula.' Thereafter Al-Kisâ'î journeyed there and was able to write some things from the Bedouin Arabs. Later he came back – that was part of his concerns – to Al-Khalîl whom he found dead on his return.

One Yuunus had established himself in place of Al-Khalîl and there ensued some (grammatical) issues between Al-Kisâ'î and that Yunus where the latter succumbed to much of Al-Kisâ'î's views thus he relinquished authority to him and Al-Kisâ'î took his place.

Al-Kisâ'î said: 'I led Ar-Rashîd  in Prayer one day, I was amazed at my manner of reciting the Qur'ân but I made a mistake the like of which a kid would not make; I wanted to say: 'Wa la'lahum ya'rjiuun […perhaps they would return…]'  but I said: 'Wa la'lahum ya'rji'een.' Ar-Rashîd did not dare to correct me but when I terminated the Prayer with Salaam, he said: 'What language was that?' I said: 'The best horse can also stumble.' He said: 'As for that, yes.'

The death of Muhammad bn Al-Hasan and Al-Kisâ'î occurred on this day in the year in question. Ar-Rashîd had to say that day: 'Today, I buried all the Arabic Grammar and Jurisprudence.'

His (Al-Kisâ'î) age was eighty-five.

From Bidaayah Wa nihaayah