Ibn Fadl Allah al-‘Umari
Ibn Fadl Allah al-‘Umari (1301-1349). Author and administrator of the Mameluke period. He was a writer and expert on a wide variety of subjects related to politics and administration.
Ibn Fadlan
Ibn Fadlan (Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rašīd ibn Hammād). Arabic writer of the tenth century. He left an account of the diplomatic mission sent by the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir to the king of the Bulghars of the Volga in 921.
Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rašīd ibn Hammād was a 10th century Arab Muslim writer and traveler who wrote an account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Volga Bulgars, the Kitāb ilā Mulk al-Saqāliba. His account is most known for providing a description of the Volga Vikings, including an eye-witness account of a ship burial.
For a long time, only an incomplete version of the account was known, as transmitted in the geographical dictionary of Yāqūt (under the headings Atil, Bashgird, Bulghār, Khazar, Khwārizm, Rūs), published in 1823 by Fraehn. Only in 1923 was a manuscript discovered by the Turkic scholar of Bashkir origin Zeki Validi Togan in the Astane Quds Museum, Mashhad, Iran/Persia. The manuscript dates from the 13th century (7th century Hijra). Besides other geographical treatises, it contains a fuller version of Ibn Fadlan's text.
Ibn Fadlan was sent from Baghdad in 921 to serve as the secretary to an ambassador from the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir to the iltäbär (vassal-king under the Khazars) of the Volga Bulgaria, Almış.
The embassy's objective was to have the king of the Bolğars pay homage to Caliph al-Muqtadir and, in return, to give the king money to pay for the construction of a fortress. Although they reached Bolğar, the mission failed because they were unable to collect the money intended for the king. Annoyed at not receiving the promised sum, the king refused to switch from the Maliki rite to the Hanafi rite of Baghdad.
The embassy left Baghdad on June 21, 921. It reached the Bulghars after much hardship on May 12, 922. (This day is an official religious holiday in modern Tatarstan.) The journey took Ibn Fadlan from Baghdad to Bukhara and Khwarizm (south of the Aral Sea). Although promised safe passage by the Oghuz warlord, or Kudarkin, they were waylaid by Oghuz bandits but luckily were able to bribe their attackers. They spent the winter in Gorgan, Iran before travelling north across the Ural River until they reached the towns of the Bulghars at the three lakes of the Volga north of the Samara bend.
After arriving in Bolğar, Ahmad ibn Fadlan made a trip to Wisu and recorded his observations of trade between the Volga Bolğars and local Finnic tribes.
A substantial part of Ibn Fadlan's account is dedicated to the description of a people he called the Rūs or Rūsiyyah. Most scholars identify them with the Rus or Varangians, which would make Ibn Fadlan's account one of the earliest portrayals of Vikings.
The Rūs
appear as traders that set up shop on the river banks nearby the Bolğar camp. They are described as having bodies tall as palm-trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. They were tattooed from "fingernails to neck" with dark blue or dark green "tree patterns" and other "figures" and that all men were armed with an axe and a long knife.
Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus as having perfect bodies, with high cheekbones in the face. In contrast to their physical beauty, he describes the hygiene of the Rūsiyyah as disgusting (while also noting with some astonishment that they comb their hair every day) and considers them vulgar and unsophisticated. In that, his impressions contrast those of the Persian traveler Ibn Rustah. He also describes in great detail the funeral of one of their chieftains (a ship burial involving human sacrifice). Some scholars believe that it took place in the modern Balymer complex.
Elements of Ibn Fadlan's account are used in the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton (filmed as The 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fadlan), in which the Arab ambassador is taken even further north and is involved in adventures inspired by the Old English epic Beowulf. Indeed Crichton designed "Eaters of the Dead" as being a fictional version of the historic events which created the basis of the epic "Beowulf".
A major Arabic TV series, The Roof of the World or Saqf al-Alam, was produced in 2007 charting Ibn Fadlan's journey from a contemporary perspective. The 30 one-hour episodes tackle the relations between Islam and Europe at two moments: the time of Ibn Fadlan and the present. The motivation for the series was the 2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark.
Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rašīd ibn Hammād see Ibn Fadlan
Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus as having perfect bodies, with high cheekbones in the face. In contrast to their physical beauty, he describes the hygiene of the Rūsiyyah as disgusting (while also noting with some astonishment that they comb their hair every day) and considers them vulgar and unsophisticated. In that, his impressions contrast those of the Persian traveler Ibn Rustah. He also describes in great detail the funeral of one of their chieftains (a ship burial involving human sacrifice). Some scholars believe that it took place in the modern Balymer complex.
Elements of Ibn Fadlan's account are used in the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton (filmed as The 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fadlan), in which the Arab ambassador is taken even further north and is involved in adventures inspired by the Old English epic Beowulf. Indeed Crichton designed "Eaters of the Dead" as being a fictional version of the historic events which created the basis of the epic "Beowulf".
A major Arabic TV series, The Roof of the World or Saqf al-Alam, was produced in 2007 charting Ibn Fadlan's journey from a contemporary perspective. The 30 one-hour episodes tackle the relations between Islam and Europe at two moments: the time of Ibn Fadlan and the present. The motivation for the series was the 2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark.
Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rašīd ibn Hammād see Ibn Fadlan
Ibn Fahd
Ibn Fahd. Name of an important Meccan family who, through four successive generations (the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries), boasted of productive historians whose chief interest lay in local history and biography.
Ibn Fahd. Name of an important Meccan family who, through four successive generations (the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries), boasted of productive historians whose chief interest lay in local history and biography.
Ibn Faraj al-Jayyani
Ibn Faraj al-Jayyani. Poet, anthologist, and historian of Muslim Spain during the tenth century. He is the author of a remarkable anthology of Andalusian poetry.
Ibn Faraj al-Jayyani. Poet, anthologist, and historian of Muslim Spain during the tenth century. He is the author of a remarkable anthology of Andalusian poetry.
Ibn Farighun
Ibn Farighun. Author from the upper Oxus lands of the tenth century. He wrote a concise Arabic encyclopedia of the sciences.
Ibn Farighun. Author from the upper Oxus lands of the tenth century. He wrote a concise Arabic encyclopedia of the sciences.
Ibn Faris
Ibn Faris (d. 1004). Arab philologist of Persia. He wrote some 40 works, but lexicography was his favorite domain. To the Arab world he remained “the grammarian.”
The Grammarian see Ibn Faris
Ibn Faris (d. 1004). Arab philologist of Persia. He wrote some 40 works, but lexicography was his favorite domain. To the Arab world he remained “the grammarian.”
The Grammarian see Ibn Faris
Ibn Ghalbun
Ibn Ghalbun. Ruler of Molina de Aragon during the eleventh century. He was the son of a convert and was brought up in Islam. He became a loyal subject of El Cid.
Ibn Ghalbun. Ruler of Molina de Aragon during the eleventh century. He was the son of a convert and was brought up in Islam. He became a loyal subject of El Cid.
Ibn Ghalib
Ibn Ghalib (Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-Rusafi) (d. 1177). Poet, historian and geographer living in Granada during the twelfth century. In his geographical work he gives details about the habitats of the Arab tribes in Spain.
Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-Rusafi see Ibn Ghalib
Ibn Ghalib (Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-Rusafi) (d. 1177). Poet, historian and geographer living in Granada during the twelfth century. In his geographical work he gives details about the habitats of the Arab tribes in Spain.
Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-Rusafi see Ibn Ghalib
Ibn Ghannam, Abu Tahir
Ibn Ghannam, Abu Tahir (Abu Tahir ibn Ghannam). Author of a treatise on oneiromancy -- on divination by means of dreams. He led this discipline away from the traditional paths by renouncing the plan inspired by that of the Book of Dreams of Artemidorus of Ephesus.
Abu Tahir ibn Ghannam see Ibn Ghannam, Abu Tahir
Ibn Ghannam, Abu Tahir (Abu Tahir ibn Ghannam). Author of a treatise on oneiromancy -- on divination by means of dreams. He led this discipline away from the traditional paths by renouncing the plan inspired by that of the Book of Dreams of Artemidorus of Ephesus.
Abu Tahir ibn Ghannam see Ibn Ghannam, Abu Tahir
Ibn Gharsiya
Ibn Gharsiya (Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi) (d. 1084). Andalusian writer and poet of the eleventh century. Of Basque origin, he was a fervent Muslim but wrote a violent, insulting and bitter treatise against the Arabs, glorifying the Slavs, the Rum and all the non-Arabs.
Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi was an 11th century Muwallad poet and katib (writer) in the taifa court of Denia. He is usually referred to as Ibn Gharsiya by modern historians and scholars. The poet, Ibn Gharsiya, should not be confused with a Cordoban faqih of the same name.
Ibn Gharsiya was born into a Christian Basque family, but was taken prisoner in his childhood and raised in the Islamic faith. He grew up proficient and eloquent in both Classical Arabic and the Andalusi Arabic dialect. Ibn Gharsiya was proud of his Basque origin and remained a life long fervent Muslim throughout his lifetime. His surname "al-Bashqunsi" is the Arabic word for Basque, and therefore, signified his Basque heritage.
He served under the Slavic Emir of Denia, Mujahid al-Amiri, and his son, Ali ibn Mujahid. Like Ibn Gharsiya, the ruling family of Denia were also Muladi and had broken free from the Caliphate of Cordoba after the turbulent year of 1009. Like other taifas, his kingdom had sought to distance itself from the Umayyad period. Ibn Gharsiya subsequently spent most of his life as a katib at the court of Denia.
Ibn Gharsiya was a leading proponent and advocate of the Shu'ubiyya thought in Al-Andalus. The Shu'ubiyyah movement demanded equality of power, wealth and status of the Non-Arab Berbers and Muwalladun by Arabs. The Shu'ubiyyah Movement of Al-Andalus was active like the Arabs in promoting the Arab-Islamic culture and language and claimed their integration with the Arab ethnic groups.
Between 1051 and 1056 Ibn Gharsiya wrote an epistle against the Arab ascendancy in Al-Andalus, which concurrently praises non-Arab Islam. Opponents of this work have called it violent, insulting and bitter in its attack on the Arabs and, contrary to prevailing tradition, it criticizes Arab Muslims as being inferior in rank and lineage. Simultaneously it is said to glorify non-Arab Muslims, such as the Berbers, and also those converts from the Visigoths, Slavs, and Romans.
In the epistle, Ibn Gharsiya tried to show that Non-Arab rule in Denia was much better than those of the other taifas. By doing so, he attempted to formulate and legitimize a non-Arab alternative to Arab rule which involved combining Arab and non-Arab traditions, which were mainly Persian and Byzantine. This gave him an opportunity to debate with the Arab Islamic scholar, Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn al-Jazzar, who had been present at the court of Ibn Sumadih, Emir of Almeria. However, according to the Escorial manuscript, the letter was addressed to a certain, Abu Abd'allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Haddad al-Quaisi. However, despite this difference, it is clear that the addressee was linked to the court of Ibn Sumadih and to the taifa state of Almeria.
Ibn Gharsiya's epistle addresses some of the most fundamental and important questions in the Muslim community of Al-Andalus at the time, such as the relationshp between the Arabs and Berbers of the Islamic faith with the Muwalladun, who were the descendants of the indigenous Iberian converts to Islam. Ibn Gharsiya stressed that a sound interpretaion of Islam should also be of value to the non-Arab Muslims. This epistle represents the adoption of the Eastern Shu'ubi ideology by many indigenous Andalusian Muslims, which argued against Arab exclusivity, as expressed in their treatises comparing the Arabs unfavorably with the Persians and the Byzantines.
Ibn Gharsiya's epistle was written in Arabic courtly prose. Therefore, it did not represent a rejection of Arabic literary culture, but only of Arab lineage. The epistle elicited at least seven refutations, only five of which actually survive. Like the original, the refutations seem to have been written in imitation of eastern models. Only one of the refutations was specifically directed against Ibn Gharsiya.
Besides the epistle, the only words from Ibn Gharsiya that have been preserved are some lines by the 12th century Andalusian geographer, historian and writer, Ibn Said al-Maghribi. These lines are believed to have been composed in praise of Ibn Gharsiya's lord, Ali ibn Mujahid.
Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi see Ibn Gharsiya
Ibn Gharsiya (Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi) (d. 1084). Andalusian writer and poet of the eleventh century. Of Basque origin, he was a fervent Muslim but wrote a violent, insulting and bitter treatise against the Arabs, glorifying the Slavs, the Rum and all the non-Arabs.
Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi was an 11th century Muwallad poet and katib (writer) in the taifa court of Denia. He is usually referred to as Ibn Gharsiya by modern historians and scholars. The poet, Ibn Gharsiya, should not be confused with a Cordoban faqih of the same name.
Ibn Gharsiya was born into a Christian Basque family, but was taken prisoner in his childhood and raised in the Islamic faith. He grew up proficient and eloquent in both Classical Arabic and the Andalusi Arabic dialect. Ibn Gharsiya was proud of his Basque origin and remained a life long fervent Muslim throughout his lifetime. His surname "al-Bashqunsi" is the Arabic word for Basque, and therefore, signified his Basque heritage.
He served under the Slavic Emir of Denia, Mujahid al-Amiri, and his son, Ali ibn Mujahid. Like Ibn Gharsiya, the ruling family of Denia were also Muladi and had broken free from the Caliphate of Cordoba after the turbulent year of 1009. Like other taifas, his kingdom had sought to distance itself from the Umayyad period. Ibn Gharsiya subsequently spent most of his life as a katib at the court of Denia.
Ibn Gharsiya was a leading proponent and advocate of the Shu'ubiyya thought in Al-Andalus. The Shu'ubiyyah movement demanded equality of power, wealth and status of the Non-Arab Berbers and Muwalladun by Arabs. The Shu'ubiyyah Movement of Al-Andalus was active like the Arabs in promoting the Arab-Islamic culture and language and claimed their integration with the Arab ethnic groups.
Between 1051 and 1056 Ibn Gharsiya wrote an epistle against the Arab ascendancy in Al-Andalus, which concurrently praises non-Arab Islam. Opponents of this work have called it violent, insulting and bitter in its attack on the Arabs and, contrary to prevailing tradition, it criticizes Arab Muslims as being inferior in rank and lineage. Simultaneously it is said to glorify non-Arab Muslims, such as the Berbers, and also those converts from the Visigoths, Slavs, and Romans.
In the epistle, Ibn Gharsiya tried to show that Non-Arab rule in Denia was much better than those of the other taifas. By doing so, he attempted to formulate and legitimize a non-Arab alternative to Arab rule which involved combining Arab and non-Arab traditions, which were mainly Persian and Byzantine. This gave him an opportunity to debate with the Arab Islamic scholar, Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn al-Jazzar, who had been present at the court of Ibn Sumadih, Emir of Almeria. However, according to the Escorial manuscript, the letter was addressed to a certain, Abu Abd'allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Haddad al-Quaisi. However, despite this difference, it is clear that the addressee was linked to the court of Ibn Sumadih and to the taifa state of Almeria.
Ibn Gharsiya's epistle addresses some of the most fundamental and important questions in the Muslim community of Al-Andalus at the time, such as the relationshp between the Arabs and Berbers of the Islamic faith with the Muwalladun, who were the descendants of the indigenous Iberian converts to Islam. Ibn Gharsiya stressed that a sound interpretaion of Islam should also be of value to the non-Arab Muslims. This epistle represents the adoption of the Eastern Shu'ubi ideology by many indigenous Andalusian Muslims, which argued against Arab exclusivity, as expressed in their treatises comparing the Arabs unfavorably with the Persians and the Byzantines.
Ibn Gharsiya's epistle was written in Arabic courtly prose. Therefore, it did not represent a rejection of Arabic literary culture, but only of Arab lineage. The epistle elicited at least seven refutations, only five of which actually survive. Like the original, the refutations seem to have been written in imitation of eastern models. Only one of the refutations was specifically directed against Ibn Gharsiya.
Besides the epistle, the only words from Ibn Gharsiya that have been preserved are some lines by the 12th century Andalusian geographer, historian and writer, Ibn Said al-Maghribi. These lines are believed to have been composed in praise of Ibn Gharsiya's lord, Ali ibn Mujahid.
Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi see Ibn Gharsiya
Ibn Ghidhahum
Ibn Ghidhahum (Ben Ghedahem) (c.1815-1867). Leader of the 1864 revolution in Tunisia. The revolt against the Khaznadar government was started in 1864 as a result of a doubling of taxes. It was crushed in the same year and Ibn Ghidhahum died in prison.
Ben Ghedahem see Ibn Ghidhahum
Ibn Ghidhahum (Ben Ghedahem) (c.1815-1867). Leader of the 1864 revolution in Tunisia. The revolt against the Khaznadar government was started in 1864 as a result of a doubling of taxes. It was crushed in the same year and Ibn Ghidhahum died in prison.
Ben Ghedahem see Ibn Ghidhahum
Ibn Habib, Badr al-Din
Ibn Habib, Badr al-Din (Badr al-Din ibn Habib) (1310-1377). Scholar and jurist. He wrote a history in rhymed prose of the Mameluke Empire from its beginning in 1250 down to his own time.
Badr al-Din ibn Habib see Ibn Habib, Badr al-Din
Ibn Habib, Badr al-Din (Badr al-Din ibn Habib) (1310-1377). Scholar and jurist. He wrote a history in rhymed prose of the Mameluke Empire from its beginning in 1250 down to his own time.
Badr al-Din ibn Habib see Ibn Habib, Badr al-Din
Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani
Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad) (February 18, 1372 -February 2, 1449). Egyptian scholar of hadith, judge and historian. He is one of the greatest and most typical representatives of Muslim religious scholarship. He wrote a great commentary on the Sahih of al-Bukhari, and some large biographical dictionaries.
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his origin) was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith.
Ibn Hajar was born in Cairo in 1372, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali. Both of his parents died in his infancy, and he and his sister, Sitt al-Rakb, became wards of his father's first wife's brother, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who enrolled Ibn Hajar in Qur'anic studies when he was five. There he excelled, learning Surah Maryam in a single day, and progressing to the memorization of texts such as the Qur'an, then the abridged version of Ibn al-Hajib's work on the foundations of fiqh.
When he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Mecca at the age of 12, he was considered competent to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan. When his guardian died in 1386, Ibn Hajar's education in Egypt was entrusted to hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by al-Bulqini (d. 1404) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 1402) in Shafi'i fiqh, and Hafiz al-Iraqi (d. 1404) in hadith, after which he travelled to Damascus and Jerusalem, to study under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d. 1407), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d. 1401), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d. 1401). After a further visit to Mecca, Medina, and Yemen, he returned to Egypt.
In 1397, at the age of twenty-five, Ibn Hajar married Anas Khatun, who was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Hafiz al-Iraqi. She gave celebrated public lectures to crowds of ulema, including al-Sakhawi.
Ibn Hajar went on to be appointed to the position of Egyptian chief-judge (Qadi) several times.
Ibn Hajar died after Isha prayers on February 2, 1449. His funeral in Cairo was attended by an estimated fifty thousand people, including the sultan and the caliph.
Ibn Hajar authored more than fifty works on hadith, hadith terminology, biographical evaluation, history, Quranic exegesis , poetry and Shafi'i jurisprudence. These works include:
* Fath al-Bari – considered the most prominent and reliable commentary on al-Bukhari's Jami` al-Sahih: In 1414 (817 A.H.), Ibn Hajar commenced the enormous task of assembling his commentary on Sahih Bukhari. Ibn Rajab had begun to write a huge commentary on Sahih Bukhari in the 1390s with the title of Fath al-Bari, thus Ibn Hajar decided to name his own commentary with the same title, Fath al-Bari, which in time became the most valued commentary of Sahih Bukhari. When it was finished, in December 1428 (Rajab 842 A.H.), a celebration was held near Cairo, attended by the ulema, judges, and leading Egyptian personalities. Ibn Hajar read the final pages of his work, after which poets recited eulogies and gold was distributed.
* al-Durar al-Kamina – a biographical dictionary of leading figures of the eighth century.
* Tahdhib al-Tahdhib – an abbreviation of Tahdhib al-Kamal, the encyclopedia of hadith narrators by Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi
* Taqrib al-Tahdhib – the abridgement of Tahdhib al-Tahdhib
* Ta'jil al-Manfa'ah – biographies of the narrators of the Musnads of the four Imams, not found in al-Tahdhib.
* al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba – the most comprehensive dictionary of the Companions.
* Bulugh al-Maram min adillat al-ahkam – on hadith used in Shafi'i fiqh.
* Nata'ij al-Afkar fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Adhkar
* Lisan al-Mizan – a reworking of Mizan al-'Itidal by al-Dhahabi.
* Talkhis al-Habir fi Takhrij al-Rafi`i al-Kabir
* al-Diraya fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Hidaya
* Taghliq al-Ta`liq `ala Sahih al-Bukhari
* Risala Tadhkirat al-Athar
* al-Matalib al-`Aliya bi Zawa'id al-Masanid al-Thamaniya
* Nukhbat al-Fikar along with his explanation of it entitled Nuzhah al-Nathr in hadith terminology
* al-Nukat ala Kitab ibn al-Salah – commentary of the Muqaddimah of Ibn al-Salah
* al-Qawl al-Musaddad fi Musnad Ahmad a discussion of hadith of disputed authenticity in the Musnad of Ahmad
* Silsilat al-Dhahab
* Ta`rif Ahl al-Taqdis bi Maratib al-Mawsufin bi al-Tadlis
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad see Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani
Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad) (February 18, 1372 -February 2, 1449). Egyptian scholar of hadith, judge and historian. He is one of the greatest and most typical representatives of Muslim religious scholarship. He wrote a great commentary on the Sahih of al-Bukhari, and some large biographical dictionaries.
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his origin) was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith.
Ibn Hajar was born in Cairo in 1372, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali. Both of his parents died in his infancy, and he and his sister, Sitt al-Rakb, became wards of his father's first wife's brother, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who enrolled Ibn Hajar in Qur'anic studies when he was five. There he excelled, learning Surah Maryam in a single day, and progressing to the memorization of texts such as the Qur'an, then the abridged version of Ibn al-Hajib's work on the foundations of fiqh.
When he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Mecca at the age of 12, he was considered competent to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan. When his guardian died in 1386, Ibn Hajar's education in Egypt was entrusted to hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by al-Bulqini (d. 1404) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 1402) in Shafi'i fiqh, and Hafiz al-Iraqi (d. 1404) in hadith, after which he travelled to Damascus and Jerusalem, to study under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d. 1407), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d. 1401), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d. 1401). After a further visit to Mecca, Medina, and Yemen, he returned to Egypt.
In 1397, at the age of twenty-five, Ibn Hajar married Anas Khatun, who was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Hafiz al-Iraqi. She gave celebrated public lectures to crowds of ulema, including al-Sakhawi.
Ibn Hajar went on to be appointed to the position of Egyptian chief-judge (Qadi) several times.
Ibn Hajar died after Isha prayers on February 2, 1449. His funeral in Cairo was attended by an estimated fifty thousand people, including the sultan and the caliph.
Ibn Hajar authored more than fifty works on hadith, hadith terminology, biographical evaluation, history, Quranic exegesis , poetry and Shafi'i jurisprudence. These works include:
* Fath al-Bari – considered the most prominent and reliable commentary on al-Bukhari's Jami` al-Sahih: In 1414 (817 A.H.), Ibn Hajar commenced the enormous task of assembling his commentary on Sahih Bukhari. Ibn Rajab had begun to write a huge commentary on Sahih Bukhari in the 1390s with the title of Fath al-Bari, thus Ibn Hajar decided to name his own commentary with the same title, Fath al-Bari, which in time became the most valued commentary of Sahih Bukhari. When it was finished, in December 1428 (Rajab 842 A.H.), a celebration was held near Cairo, attended by the ulema, judges, and leading Egyptian personalities. Ibn Hajar read the final pages of his work, after which poets recited eulogies and gold was distributed.
* al-Durar al-Kamina – a biographical dictionary of leading figures of the eighth century.
* Tahdhib al-Tahdhib – an abbreviation of Tahdhib al-Kamal, the encyclopedia of hadith narrators by Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi
* Taqrib al-Tahdhib – the abridgement of Tahdhib al-Tahdhib
* Ta'jil al-Manfa'ah – biographies of the narrators of the Musnads of the four Imams, not found in al-Tahdhib.
* al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba – the most comprehensive dictionary of the Companions.
* Bulugh al-Maram min adillat al-ahkam – on hadith used in Shafi'i fiqh.
* Nata'ij al-Afkar fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Adhkar
* Lisan al-Mizan – a reworking of Mizan al-'Itidal by al-Dhahabi.
* Talkhis al-Habir fi Takhrij al-Rafi`i al-Kabir
* al-Diraya fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Hidaya
* Taghliq al-Ta`liq `ala Sahih al-Bukhari
* Risala Tadhkirat al-Athar
* al-Matalib al-`Aliya bi Zawa'id al-Masanid al-Thamaniya
* Nukhbat al-Fikar along with his explanation of it entitled Nuzhah al-Nathr in hadith terminology
* al-Nukat ala Kitab ibn al-Salah – commentary of the Muqaddimah of Ibn al-Salah
* al-Qawl al-Musaddad fi Musnad Ahmad a discussion of hadith of disputed authenticity in the Musnad of Ahmad
* Silsilat al-Dhahab
* Ta`rif Ahl al-Taqdis bi Maratib al-Mawsufin bi al-Tadlis
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad see Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki) (Shihab al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Hajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī) (1503/1504-1566/1567). Scholar and prolific writer of the Shafi‘i school of law. His main work is a commentary on Muhyi al-Din al-Nawawi’s Path of the Students.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami was a student of Zakariyya al-Ansari, and he represents the foremost resource for legal opinion (fatwa) in the late Shafi`i school.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī was born in Abū Haytam, western Egypt. He was the Shāfiʿī Imām of his time, a brilliant scholar of in-depth applications of Sacred Law, and with al-Imām Aḥmad al-Ramlī, represents the foremost resource for fatwa (legal opinion) for the entire late Shāfiʿī school. He was educated at al-Azhar, but later moved to Makkah, where he authored major works in Shāfiʿī jurisprudence, hadīth, tenets of faith, education, hadīth commentary, and formal legal opinion. His most famous works include Tuhfah al-muḥtāj bi sharh al-Minhāj, a commentary on al-Imām al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-ṭālibīn whose ten volumes represent a high point in Shāfiʿī scholarship; the four volume al-Fatāwā al-kubrā al-fiqhiyyah; and al-Zawājir ʿan iqtirāf al-kabāʾir, which with its detailed presentation of Qurʾān and Hadīth evidence and masterful legal inferences, remains unique among Muslim works dealing with taqwa (godfearingness) and is even recognized by Hanafi scholars as a source of authoritative legal texts valid in their own school. After a lifetime of outstanding scholarship, the Ibn Hajar al-Haytami died and was buried in Mecca (Makkah).
The works of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami include:
* al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah
* Asma al-Matalib
* Tahrir al-Maqal fi Adab wa Ahkam fi ma yahtaj ilay-ha Mu'addibu al-Atfal
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki see Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Shihab al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Hajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī see Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki) (Shihab al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Hajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī) (1503/1504-1566/1567). Scholar and prolific writer of the Shafi‘i school of law. His main work is a commentary on Muhyi al-Din al-Nawawi’s Path of the Students.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami was a student of Zakariyya al-Ansari, and he represents the foremost resource for legal opinion (fatwa) in the late Shafi`i school.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī was born in Abū Haytam, western Egypt. He was the Shāfiʿī Imām of his time, a brilliant scholar of in-depth applications of Sacred Law, and with al-Imām Aḥmad al-Ramlī, represents the foremost resource for fatwa (legal opinion) for the entire late Shāfiʿī school. He was educated at al-Azhar, but later moved to Makkah, where he authored major works in Shāfiʿī jurisprudence, hadīth, tenets of faith, education, hadīth commentary, and formal legal opinion. His most famous works include Tuhfah al-muḥtāj bi sharh al-Minhāj, a commentary on al-Imām al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-ṭālibīn whose ten volumes represent a high point in Shāfiʿī scholarship; the four volume al-Fatāwā al-kubrā al-fiqhiyyah; and al-Zawājir ʿan iqtirāf al-kabāʾir, which with its detailed presentation of Qurʾān and Hadīth evidence and masterful legal inferences, remains unique among Muslim works dealing with taqwa (godfearingness) and is even recognized by Hanafi scholars as a source of authoritative legal texts valid in their own school. After a lifetime of outstanding scholarship, the Ibn Hajar al-Haytami died and was buried in Mecca (Makkah).
The works of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami include:
* al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah
* Asma al-Matalib
* Tahrir al-Maqal fi Adab wa Ahkam fi ma yahtaj ilay-ha Mu'addibu al-Atfal
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki see Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Shihab al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Hajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī see Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Ibn Hamdis
Ibn Hamdis (c.1055/1056-1132/1133). Arab poet of Muslim Sicily. He exulted in the failure of the expedition mounted by Roger II of Sicily against al-Mahdiyya in Tunisia in 1123.
Ibn Hamdis was born in Noto, near Syracuse. When he was 31, his town was captured by the Normans and he was forced to move to Andalusia, then still under Muslim control, at Sevilla, where he made friends with Prince Al Mutamid, who was also a poet. After the death of the latter in an Almoravid prison of Maroc (1095), Ibn Hamdis moved to Algeria under the protection of Prince al-Mansur. When the latter died, he then moved to Madhiyya in Tunisia, as a guest of the Zirid rulers.
Ibn Hamdis continued to move about most of the Mediterranean Islamic countries until his death at Majorca in 1133. His works include about 6,000 verses, many of them devoted to his lost Sicily.
Ibn Hamdis (c.1055/1056-1132/1133). Arab poet of Muslim Sicily. He exulted in the failure of the expedition mounted by Roger II of Sicily against al-Mahdiyya in Tunisia in 1123.
Ibn Hamdis was born in Noto, near Syracuse. When he was 31, his town was captured by the Normans and he was forced to move to Andalusia, then still under Muslim control, at Sevilla, where he made friends with Prince Al Mutamid, who was also a poet. After the death of the latter in an Almoravid prison of Maroc (1095), Ibn Hamdis moved to Algeria under the protection of Prince al-Mansur. When the latter died, he then moved to Madhiyya in Tunisia, as a guest of the Zirid rulers.
Ibn Hamdis continued to move about most of the Mediterranean Islamic countries until his death at Majorca in 1133. His works include about 6,000 verses, many of them devoted to his lost Sicily.
Ibn Hamdun
Ibn Hamdun. Name of the members of the Banu Hamdun family in Baghdad who were “boon companions” of the caliphs and who flourished mainly in the first half of the ninth century.
The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shi'a Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq (Al-Jazirah) and Syria (890-1004). They claimed to have been descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia Anizzah northern Arabia.
The Hamdanid dynasty was founded by Hamdan ibn Hamdun (after whom it is named), when he was appointed governor of Mardin in southeast Anatolia by the Abbasid Caliphs in 890.
His son Abdallah (904-929) was in turn appointed governor of Mosul in northern Iraq (906) and even governed Baghdad (914). His sons were installed as governors in Mosul and Aleppo.
The rule of Hassan Nasir ad-Daula (929-968), governor of Mosul and Diyarbakır, was sufficiently tyrannical to cause him to be deposed by his own family.
His lineage still ruled in Mosul, a heavy defeat by the Buyids in 979 notwithstanding, until 990. After this, their area of control in northern Iraq was divided between the Uqailids and the Marwanids.
Ali Saif al-Daula ('Sword of the State') ruled (945-967) Northern Syria from Aleppo, and became the most important opponent of the Byzantine Empire's (Christian) expansion. His court was a center of culture, thanks to its nurturing of Arabic literature, but it lost this status after the Byzantine conquest of Aleppo.
To stop the Byzantine advance, Aleppo was put under the suzerainty of the Fatimids in Egypt, but in 1003 the Fatimids deposed the Hamdanids anyway.
A listing of the Hamadanid rulers reads as follows:
Hamdanids in Al-Jazira
1. Hamdan ibn Hamdun (868-874)
2. al-Husayn ibn Hamdan (895-916)
3. Abdullah ibn Hamdan (906-929)
4. Nasir ad-Daula (929-967)
5. Adid ad-Daula (967-980)
6. Abul Tahir Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan (989-997)
7. Abu Abdillah al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan (989-997)
Hamdanids in Aleppo
1. Sayf al-Daula (945-967)
2. Saad al-Daula (967-991)
3. Said al-Daula (991-1002)
4. Abul Hasan Ali (1002–1004)
5. Abul Ma'ali Sharif (1004–1004)
Ibn Hamdun. Name of the members of the Banu Hamdun family in Baghdad who were “boon companions” of the caliphs and who flourished mainly in the first half of the ninth century.
The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shi'a Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq (Al-Jazirah) and Syria (890-1004). They claimed to have been descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia Anizzah northern Arabia.
The Hamdanid dynasty was founded by Hamdan ibn Hamdun (after whom it is named), when he was appointed governor of Mardin in southeast Anatolia by the Abbasid Caliphs in 890.
His son Abdallah (904-929) was in turn appointed governor of Mosul in northern Iraq (906) and even governed Baghdad (914). His sons were installed as governors in Mosul and Aleppo.
The rule of Hassan Nasir ad-Daula (929-968), governor of Mosul and Diyarbakır, was sufficiently tyrannical to cause him to be deposed by his own family.
His lineage still ruled in Mosul, a heavy defeat by the Buyids in 979 notwithstanding, until 990. After this, their area of control in northern Iraq was divided between the Uqailids and the Marwanids.
Ali Saif al-Daula ('Sword of the State') ruled (945-967) Northern Syria from Aleppo, and became the most important opponent of the Byzantine Empire's (Christian) expansion. His court was a center of culture, thanks to its nurturing of Arabic literature, but it lost this status after the Byzantine conquest of Aleppo.
To stop the Byzantine advance, Aleppo was put under the suzerainty of the Fatimids in Egypt, but in 1003 the Fatimids deposed the Hamdanids anyway.
A listing of the Hamadanid rulers reads as follows:
Hamdanids in Al-Jazira
1. Hamdan ibn Hamdun (868-874)
2. al-Husayn ibn Hamdan (895-916)
3. Abdullah ibn Hamdan (906-929)
4. Nasir ad-Daula (929-967)
5. Adid ad-Daula (967-980)
6. Abul Tahir Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan (989-997)
7. Abu Abdillah al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan (989-997)
Hamdanids in Aleppo
1. Sayf al-Daula (945-967)
2. Saad al-Daula (967-991)
3. Said al-Daula (991-1002)
4. Abul Hasan Ali (1002–1004)
5. Abul Ma'ali Sharif (1004–1004)
Ibn Hamid
Ibn Hamid (d. 1012). One of the most prominent Hanbali scholars of Baghdad under the Buyids.
Ibn Hamid (d. 1012). One of the most prominent Hanbali scholars of Baghdad under the Buyids.
Ibn Hanbal
Ibn Hanbal (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal) (Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani) (780-855). Founder of the Hanbalite school of Islamic law. Ibn Hanbal was a student of al-Shafi‘i and was widely traveled, as was the custom for students of traditional learning. Ibn Hanbal was in strong sympathy with the Traditionists and adamantly opposed to speculative theology, particularly that of the Mu‘tazilites. Under the ‘Abbasid caliphs, when Mu‘tazilism became the state religion, Ibn Hanbal was persecuted, flogged, and imprisoned because of his adherence to Traditionist beliefs. Only with the return of the state to orthodoxy under al-Mutawakkil was he saved from further persecution, by which time Ibn Hanbal had a wide reputation as a staunch defender of the faith. Ibn Hanbal’s most famous work, the Musnad, was compiled by his son ‘Abdullah. The Musnad actually pertains to hadith rather than being a treatise on fiqh. Indeed, some commentators (most notably the historian Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari) have not regarded Ibn Hanbal as being an authority on fiqh. However, Ibn Hanbal’s views on jurisprudence are quite clearly set forth in the form of opinions on disputed points of law. Upon his death in Baghdad in 855, Ibn Hanbal was given an elaborate burial, and his tomb became the object of veneration, despite his opposition to such veneration.
Ibn Hanbal’s Traditionist stance has marked the character of the Islamic legal school named after him. Ibn Hanbal rejected judicial discretionary opinion and even the more restrictive analogic reasoning, preferring to base law on the Qur‘an and the Sunna. For this reason Hanbalites have a tendency to prefer weak traditions to any form of judicial reasoning. This preoccupation with tradition led to one of the best analyses of hadith, by Ibn Abu Hatim.
The Hanbalite school adopted a strong moral approach to law and was consequently opposed to the strategems of the Hanafites. On the question of consensus -- on ijma -- the Hanbalites rejected the notion that it was possible to obtain agreement among all the qualified jurists, and the famous Hanbalite jurist Ibn Taymiyya reserved the theoretical right of a type of independent judgment -- of ijtihad -- which had been discarded by the other schools on the basis of consensus. The seeming conservative nature of the Hanbalite school has led, because of its emphasis on the Qur‘an and tradition to a greater degree of individual responsibility in contractual obligations, including marriage, and allows greater freedom to women than the other schools. The Hanbalite school did not enjoy dominance in any particular geographic area, although its influence was pervasive, until its adoption by the Wahhabis
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal see Ibn Hanbal
Ibn Hanbal (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal) (Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani) (780-855). Founder of the Hanbalite school of Islamic law. Ibn Hanbal was a student of al-Shafi‘i and was widely traveled, as was the custom for students of traditional learning. Ibn Hanbal was in strong sympathy with the Traditionists and adamantly opposed to speculative theology, particularly that of the Mu‘tazilites. Under the ‘Abbasid caliphs, when Mu‘tazilism became the state religion, Ibn Hanbal was persecuted, flogged, and imprisoned because of his adherence to Traditionist beliefs. Only with the return of the state to orthodoxy under al-Mutawakkil was he saved from further persecution, by which time Ibn Hanbal had a wide reputation as a staunch defender of the faith. Ibn Hanbal’s most famous work, the Musnad, was compiled by his son ‘Abdullah. The Musnad actually pertains to hadith rather than being a treatise on fiqh. Indeed, some commentators (most notably the historian Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari) have not regarded Ibn Hanbal as being an authority on fiqh. However, Ibn Hanbal’s views on jurisprudence are quite clearly set forth in the form of opinions on disputed points of law. Upon his death in Baghdad in 855, Ibn Hanbal was given an elaborate burial, and his tomb became the object of veneration, despite his opposition to such veneration.
Ibn Hanbal’s Traditionist stance has marked the character of the Islamic legal school named after him. Ibn Hanbal rejected judicial discretionary opinion and even the more restrictive analogic reasoning, preferring to base law on the Qur‘an and the Sunna. For this reason Hanbalites have a tendency to prefer weak traditions to any form of judicial reasoning. This preoccupation with tradition led to one of the best analyses of hadith, by Ibn Abu Hatim.
The Hanbalite school adopted a strong moral approach to law and was consequently opposed to the strategems of the Hanafites. On the question of consensus -- on ijma -- the Hanbalites rejected the notion that it was possible to obtain agreement among all the qualified jurists, and the famous Hanbalite jurist Ibn Taymiyya reserved the theoretical right of a type of independent judgment -- of ijtihad -- which had been discarded by the other schools on the basis of consensus. The seeming conservative nature of the Hanbalite school has led, because of its emphasis on the Qur‘an and tradition to a greater degree of individual responsibility in contractual obligations, including marriage, and allows greater freedom to women than the other schools. The Hanbalite school did not enjoy dominance in any particular geographic area, although its influence was pervasive, until its adoption by the Wahhabis
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal see Ibn Hanbal
Ibn Hani‘ al-Andalusi
Ibn Hani‘ al-Andalusi (c.934-c.973). Court poet of the Banu Hamdun, rulers of Masila, and of the last Fatimid Caliph of Ifriqiyya al-Mu‘izz li-din Allah. He is considered the first great poet of the Muslim West.
Poetry has always been central to the spiritual life of Islam, particularly among the Sufis and other esoteric traditions of the faith. Through the ages, it has been composed in classical languages and local dialects to express love and devotion for God, and for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Although a large body of the great poetry of Islam has been translated into English, the poetry of the Ismailis, except for a small portion, is still only accessible in the original languages.
Among the arts, the cultivation of poetry was especially encouraged by the Fatimid Caliph-Imams. As was customary with most ruling Muslim dynasties, the Fatimids maintained a staff of a few professional poets, ranked according to their skills, who performed important roles in the court rituals and public ceremonials.
The most famous of the court poets was Muhammad ibn Hani al-Andalusi, who entered the service of the Fatimids in 958, after fleeing from persecution in Muslim Spain. He was reputed as the foremost Arabic poet of the Maghrib (present-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and his poetry was widely admired. He was the official court poet of Imam al-Mansur and Imam al-Mu’izz
Ibn Hani‘ al-Andalusi (c.934-c.973). Court poet of the Banu Hamdun, rulers of Masila, and of the last Fatimid Caliph of Ifriqiyya al-Mu‘izz li-din Allah. He is considered the first great poet of the Muslim West.
Poetry has always been central to the spiritual life of Islam, particularly among the Sufis and other esoteric traditions of the faith. Through the ages, it has been composed in classical languages and local dialects to express love and devotion for God, and for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Although a large body of the great poetry of Islam has been translated into English, the poetry of the Ismailis, except for a small portion, is still only accessible in the original languages.
Among the arts, the cultivation of poetry was especially encouraged by the Fatimid Caliph-Imams. As was customary with most ruling Muslim dynasties, the Fatimids maintained a staff of a few professional poets, ranked according to their skills, who performed important roles in the court rituals and public ceremonials.
The most famous of the court poets was Muhammad ibn Hani al-Andalusi, who entered the service of the Fatimids in 958, after fleeing from persecution in Muslim Spain. He was reputed as the foremost Arabic poet of the Maghrib (present-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and his poetry was widely admired. He was the official court poet of Imam al-Mansur and Imam al-Mu’izz
Ibn Hatim
Ibn Hatim. State official and historian under the Rasulid sultan of Yemen al-Muzaffar Yusuf (r.1249-1295).
Ibn Hatim. State official and historian under the Rasulid sultan of Yemen al-Muzaffar Yusuf (r.1249-1295).
Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hawqal (Mohammed Abul-Kassem ibn Hawqal). Arab geographer of Nisibis in Upper Mesopotamia in the tenth century. With his contemporary al-Muqaddasi, he is one of the best exponents of geography based on travel and direct observation. He began his series of journeys in 943 and was engaged in the activities of a merchant and a supporter of Fatimid policy. His journeys brought him to North Africa, Spain, and the southern edge of the Sahara (947-951), Egypt, Armenia and Azerbaijan (955), al-Jazira, Iraq, Khuzistan, and Fars (961-969), Khwarazm and Transoxiana (c.969), and finally Sicily (973). His main work is called Configuration of the Earth (The Face of the Earth), which is more original than that of his senior and predecessor, al-Istakhri, whom he met. Ibn Hawqal was formerly credited with having been the earliest known Arabic chronicler to cross the Sahara. Recent research, however, has indicated that his brief description of the ancient Ghana Kingdom was based on second hand information. Nevertheless, he did leave a useful description of the trans-Saharan trade network.
Ibn Hawqal was born in Nisibis. His most famous work, written in 977, is called Surat al-Ardh ("The face of the Earth").
What little is known of his life is extrapolated from his book, which was a revision and extension of the Masalik ul-Mamalik of Istakhri (951). That itself was a revised edition of the Suwar al-aqalim of Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, who wrote it around 921.
Ibn Hawqal was clearly more than an editor. He was a traveler who spent much of his time writing about the areas and things he had seen. He spent the last 30 years of his life traveling to remote parts of Asia and Africa. One of his travels brought him 20° south of the equator along the East African coast. One of the things he noticed was that there were large numbers of people living in areas that the Greeks, working from logic rather than experience, said must be uninhabitable.
His descriptions were accurate and very helpful to travelers. Surat al-Ardh included a detailed description of Muslim-held Spain, Italy and particularly Sicily, and the "Lands of the Romans," the term used by the Muslim world to describe the Byzantine Empire. In it, among other things, he describes his first-hand observation that 360 languages are spoken in the Caucasus, with Azeri and Persian languages being used as Lingua Franca across the Caucasus, he also gives a description of Kiev, and is said to have mentioned the route of the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars, perhaps by Sviatoslav I of Kiev. He also mentions the geography and culture of Sindh.
Mohammed Abul-Kassem ibn Hawqal see Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hawqal (Mohammed Abul-Kassem ibn Hawqal). Arab geographer of Nisibis in Upper Mesopotamia in the tenth century. With his contemporary al-Muqaddasi, he is one of the best exponents of geography based on travel and direct observation. He began his series of journeys in 943 and was engaged in the activities of a merchant and a supporter of Fatimid policy. His journeys brought him to North Africa, Spain, and the southern edge of the Sahara (947-951), Egypt, Armenia and Azerbaijan (955), al-Jazira, Iraq, Khuzistan, and Fars (961-969), Khwarazm and Transoxiana (c.969), and finally Sicily (973). His main work is called Configuration of the Earth (The Face of the Earth), which is more original than that of his senior and predecessor, al-Istakhri, whom he met. Ibn Hawqal was formerly credited with having been the earliest known Arabic chronicler to cross the Sahara. Recent research, however, has indicated that his brief description of the ancient Ghana Kingdom was based on second hand information. Nevertheless, he did leave a useful description of the trans-Saharan trade network.
Ibn Hawqal was born in Nisibis. His most famous work, written in 977, is called Surat al-Ardh ("The face of the Earth").
What little is known of his life is extrapolated from his book, which was a revision and extension of the Masalik ul-Mamalik of Istakhri (951). That itself was a revised edition of the Suwar al-aqalim of Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, who wrote it around 921.
Ibn Hawqal was clearly more than an editor. He was a traveler who spent much of his time writing about the areas and things he had seen. He spent the last 30 years of his life traveling to remote parts of Asia and Africa. One of his travels brought him 20° south of the equator along the East African coast. One of the things he noticed was that there were large numbers of people living in areas that the Greeks, working from logic rather than experience, said must be uninhabitable.
His descriptions were accurate and very helpful to travelers. Surat al-Ardh included a detailed description of Muslim-held Spain, Italy and particularly Sicily, and the "Lands of the Romans," the term used by the Muslim world to describe the Byzantine Empire. In it, among other things, he describes his first-hand observation that 360 languages are spoken in the Caucasus, with Azeri and Persian languages being used as Lingua Franca across the Caucasus, he also gives a description of Kiev, and is said to have mentioned the route of the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars, perhaps by Sviatoslav I of Kiev. He also mentions the geography and culture of Sindh.
Mohammed Abul-Kassem ibn Hawqal see Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hayyan
Ibn Hayyan (Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Jalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi) (987-1075/1076). Historian of the Middle Ages in all Spain, both Muslim and Christian. His history of al-Andalus is an assemblage of earlier writings. His original work covers the history of his own times.
Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Jalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi, usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus. Born at Córdoba, he was an important official at the court of the Andalusian ruler al-Mansur and published several works on history which have only survived in part. His books constitute one of the most important sources for the study of the Andalusian history, especially the history of Córdoba and the kings of the taifas.
Like Ibn Hazm he defended the dynasty of the Umayyads and deplored its fall and the following dissolution of the Andalusian state and the coming of the taifas.
He died in Córdoba.
The following works are ascribed to Ibn Hayyan:
* Tarikh fuqaha Cordova
* Al-Kitab al ladi jama'a fihi bayna kitbay al-Qubbashi wa Ibn Afif
* Intijab al-Jamil li Ma'athir Banu Khatab
* Al-Akhbar fi'l dawla al-Amiriya (in 100 volumes)
* Al-Batsha al-Kubra (in ten volumes).
* Al-Muqtabis fi Tarikh al-Andalus (in ten volumes)
* Kitab al-matin.
His best known works are al-Muqtabis and al-Matin.
Ibn Hayyan (Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Jalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi) (987-1075/1076). Historian of the Middle Ages in all Spain, both Muslim and Christian. His history of al-Andalus is an assemblage of earlier writings. His original work covers the history of his own times.
Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Jalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi, usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus. Born at Córdoba, he was an important official at the court of the Andalusian ruler al-Mansur and published several works on history which have only survived in part. His books constitute one of the most important sources for the study of the Andalusian history, especially the history of Córdoba and the kings of the taifas.
Like Ibn Hazm he defended the dynasty of the Umayyads and deplored its fall and the following dissolution of the Andalusian state and the coming of the taifas.
He died in Córdoba.
The following works are ascribed to Ibn Hayyan:
* Tarikh fuqaha Cordova
* Al-Kitab al ladi jama'a fihi bayna kitbay al-Qubbashi wa Ibn Afif
* Intijab al-Jamil li Ma'athir Banu Khatab
* Al-Akhbar fi'l dawla al-Amiriya (in 100 volumes)
* Al-Batsha al-Kubra (in ten volumes).
* Al-Muqtabis fi Tarikh al-Andalus (in ten volumes)
* Kitab al-matin.
His best known works are al-Muqtabis and al-Matin.
Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Jalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi see Ibn Hayyan
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