Abu Amr Ishaq ibn Mirar al-Shaybani

Abu Amr Ishaq ibn Mirar al-Shaybani (ca. 738 – unclear, probably 828) was a prominent lexicographer and collector of Arabic poetry of Kufa.

Abu Amr, as he was commonly called, was born ca. 738 in Kufa. His mother was a Nabataean, and he reportedly knew a little of the Nabataean language. His nisba "al-Shaybani" denotes a connection to the Arab tribe of Shayban, but its nature is unclear; most likely, he was a mawla of the tribe, and received the nisba by serving as tutor to the sons of some Shaybani tribesmen. He lived to a very great age, and although several dates for his death are given, he most probably died in 828.

Abu Amr received an education in grammar and lexicography, the hadith, as well as poetry under al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi. He wrote several lexicographical works, often of a very specialized nature, as well as collections of Arabic poetry from the jahiliyya (pre-Islamic) period, including the diwans of over eighty tribes. Of his numerous works, only one, the Kitab al-Jim (also known as Kitab al-Lughat or Kitab al-Huruf), survives.

Sources

Versteegh, K. (1997). "al-S̲h̲aybānī". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IX: San–Sze. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 394–395. ISBN 90-04-09419-9.

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