A sixteenth-century Spanish Muslim owned al-Khalil’s phonetically arranged Arabic dictionary

Evidence

What we do find—and it is rather surprising—is that in the Almonacid hoard there are two volumes (J 35 and J 49), of a very early lexicographical work indeed, the so-called Kitab al-ayn by al-Khalil, both copies in the abridged version of al-Zubaydi. This dictionary is one of the great classic works of Arabic linguistic scholarship, still a basic work of reference today, and its presence in Almonacid would seem to point to its owner being a sophisticated student of the literary language. Just to consult this particular dictionary would have required some linguistic specialization and training, for it is arranged not in the conventional order of the alphabet with which we are familiar today and which was already in use in the sixteenth century. The arrangement is phonetic rather than alphabetic. It begins with sounds produced at the back of the mouth (hence its title, since ayn is the first of the guttural consonants to be listed) and works forward to the dentals. Not surprisingly, the Almonacid volumes in question are provided with a key index to assist consultation! — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 752

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains how the Kitab al-ayn dictionary arranges entries phonetically from back of mouth forward, a non-alphabetic system worth remembering.
• SEED: The image of a persecuted, boundary-pushed community whose library contains a demanding classical dictionary — evidence of deep intellectual seriousness right at the edge of erasure — could anchor an essay on what libraries reveal about the inner lives of dying communities.