ABSTRACT
In the opening sentence of his Kitāb al-ʿusūl (I, 35.2-4, ed. ′A. al-Fatlī, Beirut, 1985) the grammarian Ibn al-Sarrāj (d. 928) states that his aim in writing grammar (na,ḥw) is “that the speaker by learning it moves towards the Arabic language” (ʿan yanḥuwa l-mutakallim ʿidhā taʿallamahu kalā m al-ʿarab); he adds that “it is a science which earlier scholars deduced from their observation of the Arabic language, so that they reached the ultimate aim of beginners in this language” (huwa ʿilm istakhrajahu l-mutaqaddimūna fīhi min istiqrā′ kalām al-ʿarab ḥatta waqafū ʿala l-gharaḍalladhi qasadahu l-mubtadiʿ ūna bi-hā dhihi l-lughah). Clearly, Ibn al-Sarrāj regards grammar as a tool for learners of Arabic.
