Ibn al-Sikkit: Difference between revisions

Abu Yusuf, Ya’qub b. Ishaq al-Duruqi al-Ahwazi, known as Ibn Sikkit (b. 186 d. 244) is a Persian Shi’a Muhaddith and a great figure in Arabic lexicology and syntax. He was one of the close companions of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a).

He was called Ibn Sikkit, because his father practiced prolonged silences. He is an important scholar of Arabic syntax and literature and his most important work is “Islah al-mantiq.”

When al-Mutawakkil, the Abbasid Caliph, asked him to compare al-Mutawakkil’s sons (al-Mu’taz and al-Mu’ayad) with Imam Ali’s sons (Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a)) he said, “By God, Qanbar, the servant of Ali b. Abi Talib is superior to your sons and their father.” Therefore, he was killed by al-Mutawakkil’s order.

It is said that he was born in 186 in Duruq a city in Khuzistan, Iran. Later he moved to Baghdad along with his family.

His Kuniya is Abu Yusuf. Sikkit was his father’s sobriquet, which was given to him for his prolonged silences.

Shi’a scholars have counted him among the close and respected companions of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Haid (a). They said that he is Thiqa (reliable) and one of the great scholars in Arabic lexicology and syntax, and there is no dispraise about him.

- Afandi Isfahani says, “Tha’lab said, ‘after Ibn A’rabi no one is more knowledgeable in Arabic lexicology than Ibn Sikkit.’”

- Mudarris Tarizi writes: “Ibn Sikkit is an imam (great figure) in poetry, literature, syntax and lexicology. He is the standard-bearer of sciences of Arabic language and one of the eminent reliable Shi’a figures in Baghdad. His status was acknowledged and confirmed by Rijal scholars, and he was an expert in poetry and Qur’anic Sciences. He has met with eloquent Arab litterateurs and has quoted what he had heard from them.”

It is reported that he was martyred in Rajab 5th, 224, at the age of 58. There are different reports about how he was martyred. Some say that he was martyred because he was a Shi’a and they narrate that al-Mutawakkil, the Abbasid Caliph, asked him to compare al-Mutawakkil’s sons (al-Mu’taz and al-Mu’ayad) with Imam Ali’s sons (Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a)) he said, “By God, Qanbar, the servant of Ali b. Abi Talib is superior to your sons and their father”; therefore, he was killed by al-Mutawakkil’s order. It is also reported that al-Mutawwakil’s servants threw him on ground and trampled on him, then they took him to his home where he passed away.