Humbert Geneviève. Les voies de la transmission du Kitāb de Sībawayhi

Brill, 1995. — 375 p.The Kitāb of Sībawayhi, compiled in the 8th century, is the oldest existant Arabic grammar. It has gone through many editions, but all are based on a copy from the 18th century.
The author of this important book has discovered 11 manuscripts in addition to the 66 mentioned by F. Sezgin ( GAS, IX). More than 40 were used in this book to contribute to a new understanding of the history of the text.
She has now definitively shown that all of the recensions, oriental and occidental, follow closely the—now lost—copy of al-Mubarrad (d. 9th century), which functioned as a true vulgate. Only one manuscript, found in Milan, managed to escape its influence, and adhered to the rival Kufan grammatical tradition. This manuscript provides a better version of the text and makes a new reading of the Kitāb possible.