Although some sources ascribe precise dates and places of birth to ibn Faris, including 329 AH/941 CE in Kursuf, in the district of al-Zahrāʾ, modern scholars conclude that this cannot be known.
He also studied in Zanjān (making the acquaintance of Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn al-Khaṭīb), Baghdad, and, while undertaking hajj, in Mecca.
[9] At that time, Rayy was a centre of literature, enabling ibn Faris to mix with scholars and men of letters.
[3] Ibn Fāris specialised in lexicography, but also studied poetry, grammar, Koranic exegesis (tafsīr) and jurisprudence (fiḳh).
[11] During his lifetime, Ibn Fāris produced many original works on a wide range of subjects: lexicography, grammar, poetry, literature, hadith (the words of the Prophet), the history of the Arabic language, ethics and jurispridence.
[15] He is generally credited with being the first scholar to organise words in alphabetical order, rather than according to rhyming patterns, as was customary practice at the time.