the subject, the direct object, the annexed noun, and the particles that govern the nominative, accusative, genitive, and jussive cases. Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar learned all of this from him.

Abū ʿUbaydah said: Abū al-Aswad acquired his knowledge of Arabic from ʿAlī. He once heard a reciter read, ‘Indeed Allah is disavowed of the polytheists and His messenger’—pronouncing the lām with kasrah instead of ḍammah (1) (Q 9:3). Abū al-Aswad exclaimed, ‘I never imagined people’s speech would deteriorate to this!’

He then said to the governor Ziyād, ‘Find me a bright, quick-witted scribe’ (2). When the scribe was brought, Abū al-Aswad told him, ‘When you see me open my mouth on a letter, place a dot above it; when you see me round my lips, place a dot before the letter; and if I lower the sound, place a dot beneath the letter. If I follow any of that with a ghunnah (nasalization), replace the single dot with two. This is the system of pointing devised by Abū al-Aswad.’ (3)

Al-Mubarrad (4) said: al-Māzinī narrated to us:
‘The reason the chapters of grammar were devised is that Abū al-Aswad’s daughter once said to him, “Mā ashadda l-ḥarra!—How intense the heat is!” He replied, “The very pebbles of al-Ḥaṣbāʾ under the scorching sun.” She said, “I was only expressing amazement at how hot it is.” He exclaimed, “Have people really begun to make such errors?” He reported the matter to ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—who gave him a set of foundational principles. From these Abū al-Aswad constructed the science and continued thereafter to build upon it.

He was the first to add diacritical dots to the muṣḥafs. Those who learned grammar from him were ʿAnbasah al-Fīl; from ʿAnbasah it was taken by Maymūn al-Aqran; from Maymūn by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Isḥāq al-Ḥaḍramī; from him by ʿĪsā ibn ʿUmar; from him by al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad; from him by Sībawayh; and from him by Saʿīd al-Akhfash. (5)

Yaʿqūb al-Ḥaḍramī said: “Saʿīd ibn Salm al-Bāhilī narrated to us; my father narrated from…”