This short text comprises a translation and analysis of selected chapters from the seminal eighth-century treatise on Arabic grammar entitled al-Kitāb (the Book), composed by the Basran grammarian Sībawayhi (d. 180/796). The original work has long been considered the magnum opus of Arabic linguistic thought as it not only offered the earliest systematic treatment of Arabic grammar, but also definitively shaped the form and content of successive centuries of Arabic grammatical thought. Consisting of approximately 950 pages in some editions, the Kitāb is divided into three principal subject areas: syntax, morphology and phonology. The chapters selected for translation here cover the topic of imāla, which features in the work's phonological discussions as presented in the final part of the Kitāb. It should be pointed out that imāla constitutes the phonological phenomenon of the inclining of the fatḥā towards the kasra in the context of its pronunciation; it also includes the inclination of the “ā” (alif) towards the “ī” (yā’) (See Aryeh Levin, “The authenticity of Sībawayhi's description of the imāla”, Jerusalem Studies in Islam 1998, 15, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 74–92). In the literature on Quranic readings (or qirā’āt) this phenomenon was referred to as iḍjāʿ and examined in conjunction with other related phonological traits such as idghām (assimilation), fatḥ (raising), and tashīl (omission of the hamza). Despite being fleetingly treated at different junctures in the Kitāb, Sībawayhi devoted six chapters to the discussion of imāla (477–482) and these form the subject of Sara's translation and analysis.

The book is divided into three parts: the first offers a general introduction to the translation; the second features the six chapters, translated in a rich translation format incorporating the transliterated Arabic terminology – the Arabic text is included alongside the translation; finally, in the third section, corresponding chapters are devoted to the analysis of the translated materials. A glossary of technical terms together with lists of sundry examples is included in the book's appendixes. It is the case that earlier versions of selected parts of the work were previously published in the International Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies (1994/9, pp. 58–115 and 37–82). Interestingly, a complete German translation of the Kitāb by Gustav Jahn was published from 1894–1900. It was based on the original Arabic work edited by Hartwig Derenbourg (1881–85), whose edition is actually used as the source of Sara's translation.

For those familiar with classical Arabic linguistic thought, Sībawayhi's work is an immensely challenging but rewarding text; it confirms not only the incredibly advanced levels of scholarship achieved within the discipline of grammar, but also the distinctly innovative approach to the study of language refined by its author. The significance of Sībawayhi's work is reflected in the attention it continues to receive as evidenced by recent studies, including Ramzi Baalbaki's The Legacy of the Kitāb: Sībawayhi's Analytical Methods within the Context of the Arabic Grammatical Theory (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2008) and Amal E. Marogy's Kitāb Sībawayhi: Syntax and Pragmatics. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2010). The intended aim of Sara's translation, which despite its covering only a minor portion of the original text, is to make aspects of this influential work accessible to a wider academic audience. Overcoming “obstacles and challenges posed” by the original work, it is hoped that the translation will foster interest in Sībawayhi's book, inspiring non-experts and experts in Arabic to learn more about his theoretical accomplishments in the field of linguistic thought. Although it might be argued that such translations would not necessarily be required by those who are able to grapple with the language of the original materials, such efforts do draw attention to the richness and intricacy of the early sources and thereby allow a relative gauging of the sophistication of the theories and constructs developed within the tradition of Arabic grammatical thought.