al-Kisa'i al-Kufi

Ali ibn Hamzah al-Kisa'i al-Kufi (119-189H) was both one of the Seven Canonical Reciters and the leading grammarian of the Kufi school of Arabic linguistics. He was the personal teacher of Harun al-Rashid's sons and served as chief tutor at the Abbasid court. In recitation, he studied under Hamzah al-Zayyat and others. His recitation is transmitted through Abu al-Harith and Hafs al-Du'ri. In grammar, he famously debated Sibawayhi, the founder of the Basri school. His breadth — recitation, grammar, and literature — made him one of the most versatile scholars of early Islam.