Scholars of Renown

The book that brought Al-Firozabadi lasting fame is the Qamus, a great dictionary of the Arabic language.


Al-Firozabadi was one of the most important lexicographers (compiler of dictionary) who wrote the most popular dictionary of the Arabic language, the Qamus. All subsequent Arabic dictionaries are based on this work. The importance and influence of the Qamus may be determined by the fact that the word Qamus has since come to mean dictionary. The Qamus was written 600 years ago.


Life: The Life of Abul Tahir Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Shirazi al-Firozabadi has been well documented. He was born in Kazirun. near Shiraz. in Iran in 729 AH/1329 AD. His father hailed from Firozabad. He started his education at the age of eight in Shiraz and continued it under various teachers at different places. At fifteen, he was studying in Baghdad and at twenty in Diamashq/ Damascus under Taqi al-Din al-Subki. An avid seeker of knowledge, he acquired mastery in language, theology, Hadith, tafsir and history. He worked as a teacher in Jerusalem and Makkah, and setup a madrasa in Makkah. He performed the Haj several times.


Al-Firozabadi travelled extensively in Iran,. Iraq,. Syria,. Arabia,. Egypt, Asia Minor and India. He spent ten years in Jerusalem, five years in India, fourteen years in Makkah and twenty years in Yemen. In 770AH/1368AD, he went to live in Makkah. He was honoured by Timur when the latter conquered Shiraz. He went to Yemen in 796AH 1394 AD where the Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Ismail ibn Abbas appointed him the qadi and gave him his daughter in marriage. He died in Zabid in Yemen in 817AH/ 1415 AD at the ripe age of eighty-eight years.


Achievement: Al-Firozabadi was not only a great seeker of knowledge, but also a transmitter of it. He wrote more than fifty books, mainly on tafsir, Hadith, history and lexicography. He also wrote a biography of the Prophet in Persian, Sifra al-saada, which was translated into Arabic. However, the book that brought him lasting fame is the Qamus, a great dictionary of the Arabic language.


Al-Firozabadi completed the Qamus while he was in Makkah. Though the work was based on the earlier dictionaries of al-Jawhari, Ibn Sida and al-Saghani, he added material from his vast experience and study. He introduced a large number of words from the various Arabian dialects. The Arabic language is known for its exuberance and for the hundreds of words, it has to denote a single meaning, or object. The Qamus admirably demonstrates this aspect of the Arabic language when it lists more than 80 words to mean the honey and 1000 to denote a sword. He also included the names of persons and places in the Qamus. He adopted brief definitions and abbreviations so as to include a vast vocabulary in his book. Brevity and vowel markings are the other qualities of his book.


The Qamus has been printed repeatedly in the Islamic world and elsewhere since its compilation in the late fourteenth century. It was translated into Persian and Turkish. It has been studied and commented upon by numerous authors. The most important commentary was written by Al-Sayyadal-Murtadhaal-Zabid(d. 1207 AH/1791 AD) in ten volumes, called Tajal-arus.

If you have trouble understanding some of what has been said in a meeting, hold your questions until the speaker has finished. Gently, politely, and with proper introduction, ask for clarification. Do not interrupt a person’s speech. Never raise your voice with the question, or be blunt to draw attention to yourself. This is contrary to the proper manner of listening, and stirs up contempt. However, this is not the rule if the meeting is for studying and learning. In such a case, asking questions and initiating a discussion is desirable if conducted respectfully and tactfully and only after the speaker finishes. The Khalifah Al-Mamun said: “ Discussion entrenches knowledge much more than mere agreement.”


Never interrupt a speaker. Never rush to answer if you are not very confident of your answer. Never argue about something you do not know. Never argue for the sake of argument. Never show arrogance with your counterparts especially if they hold a different opinion. Do not switch the argument to belittle your opponent’s views. If their misunderstanding becomes evident, do not rebuke or scold them. Be modest and kind.