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A story of a scholar can be more beneficial than a book, especially if the reader is
ambitious and one whose heart is inclined towards aspirations; therefore, the Holy Qur’an
has commanded telling stories for the sake of contemplation and meditation.
In this context, I provide examples of biographies of distinguished scholars regarding their
relationship with time – within my intellectual workshop I am conducting- about the
establishment of “Time Science” as a lesson and reminder:
Al-Qafty indicated in his book “Inbah Al-Ruwat ‘An Anbah Al-Nuhat” that Abu Al-Qasim
Abdurrahman Ibn Ishaq known as Az-Zajjaji, one of the scholars of the 4
th Hijri century/
10
th Gregorian century (died in 340 A.H.). He was one of the linguists and grammarians
from Nahavand region (now Iran). He settled in the Caliphate capital, Baghdad, in Iraq.
He was a student of Abu Ishaq Az-Zajjaj, until he was given the nickname Az-Zajjaji.
Az-Zajjaji wrote a book entitled “Al-Jumal” in grammar, and the story behind writing it is
remarkable:
“[Az-Zajjaji] wrote the book of Al-Jumal in Mecca, May Allah protect it”. Whenever he
finished a chapter, he would perform Tawaf around the Kaaba for a week, supplicating to
God for forgiveness and seeking benefit for its readers. Hence, students greatly benefited
from it, as it was widely studied by Egyptians, people of the Maghreb region, people of the
Hijaz, Yemen, and the Levant, until people started working on the book of ‘Al-Lama’
written by Ibn Jinni’ and the book of ‘Al-Idah’ by Abu ‘Ali Al-Farisi.
Al-Jumal book contains commentaries, including three commentaries by Ibn Usfur Al-
Ishbili (died 669 A.H./ 1270 A.D.).
Article title in Arabic: الزجاجي اللغوي يطوف بكتابته حول الكعبة