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Biography of Ibn Khallikan

Shams ud-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khallikan (1211 - 1282 CE) was a Muslim jurisconsult, a scholar of high calibre, an historian, a compiler, a poet, and author of the classic Arabic biographical dictionary offered here by Antioch Gate. Our author was born on Thursday, 11th of the latter Rabi, 608 AH / 22nd September, 1211 CE in Irbil / Arbela, in modern day Iraq. He died on 30th October, 1282 CE, in Damascus, in modern day Syria. He adhered to the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence.

Coming from a family with roots in Balkh (modern-day north Afghanistan, so many of the greatest Muslims of the Golden Age came from here), Ibn Khallikan was born the son of a professor reputed to be descended from the Barmecides of the court of Harun al-Rashid and his mother descended from Khalaf ibn Ayub, a disciple of Imam Abu Hanifa.

Ibn Khallikan became the most learned man and ablest historian in Irbil, his birthplace. He studied jurisprudence in Mosul, and when 18 he moved to Aleppo, studied for 6 years and then lived 3 years in Damascus. After a short residence in that city he travelled to Egypt, where he resumed his studies and acquired a competent knowledge of all the sciences, whilst he attained a great pre-eminence as a jurisconsult, a theologian, and a grammarian.

In Egypt he acted in the capacities of a Mufti and a public teacher, without neglecting to cultivate his talent as a prose-writer and a poet. He lived in Alexandria and then in 1238, Cairo. In 1252 he married and in 1261 / on the 27th of Zu'l-Hijja, 666 AH, he was appointed to Chief Judge (Qadi al-Qudat) of Damascus.

During a period of ten years he fulfilled in person the duties of his office; at first he exercised his authority without a colleague, but he then received information that a decree had been issued by order of the noble prince al-Malik az-Zahir (Sultan Bibars), declaring that there should be 4 Qadis at Damascus. Three acts of investiture then arrived, drawn up in favour of Shams ud-Din Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ata the Hanifite, Zain ud-Din Abd as-Salam az-Zowawi the Malikite, and Shams ud-Din Abd ar-Rahman the Hanbalite. Before that time they were merely the deputies of the Shafite Qadi. It was remarked as an extraordinary circumstance by the Shaikh Shihab ud-Din Abu Sama that there should be at the same time 3 Qadis at Damascus, all surnamed Shams ud-Din (Sun of Religion)!

Ibn Khallikan was afterwards removed from the Qadiship of Damascus, and proceeded back to Cairo, where he was nominated deputy to the Chief Qadi Badr ud-Din as-Sinjari until 1278. During his residence there he pursued his literary labours, and discharged the duties of a professor and Mufti till his reappointment to Chief Qadi at Damascus, as successor to Izz ud-Din ibn as-Saigh.

Ibn Khallikan set out for Damascus, and at his approach the governor Izz ud-Din Aidmur went out in state to receive him with the Amirs and the persons in office; as for the principal inhabitants, they had already made a journey of some days to meet him on the road. Numerous kasidas were composed by the poets, in which they congratulated him on his reinstatement. He performed the duties of Chief Qadi of Damascus for another 3 years, until 680 AH / 1281 CE, when he was dismissed, and from then till the day of his death, he never went out of doors. He took up a professorship in Damascus and died on Saturday the 26th (or some say, 16th) of Rajab, 681 AH / 29th October, 1282 CE, in the Najibiya College. He was interred at Mount Kasiyun.

Ibn Khallikan was a man of the greatest reputation for learning, versed in various sciences, and highly accomplished; he was a scholar, a poet, a compiler, and an historian. His celebrated biographical work, the Wafayat, is the acme of perfection. The contemporary poets were encouraged by his generous character to celebrate his praises in poems of great beauty, certain of obtaining an ample recompense from his liberality. His conduct was marked by prudence, moderation, and indulgence for the failings of others. When residing in Egypt, subsequently to his first removal from office at Damascus, he was for a time much reduced in circumstances, and the Lord-Treasurer Badr ud-Din, who happened to be informed of his situation, ordered him a large sum of money as a present, with one hundred ardebs of wheat besides; this gift however he would never consent to accept.

The Hafiz Kutb ud-Din mentions him in his History, and styles him an imam, a learned scholar, a man of superior abilities, an equitable judge, an historian, and a compiler. He is also spoken of by the Hafiz Abu Muhammad al-Berzali in his Mojam, as "one of the most illustrious scholars of his time, the chief of the learned men of the age, even the most famous; master of a great variety of sciences, such as law, grammar, history, philology, etc. He compiled a valuable historical work, in which he gives the lives of those persons only who had attained celebrity in the class to which they belonged. He filled for a time the place of Shafite Qadi and was also a professor and a Mufti. He learned the Traditions at Arbela from Ibn al-Karm as-Sufi, who also explained to him the Sahih of al-Bukhari, after having been taught it himself by Abu'l-Wakt. He received also Traditions from at-Tawi and Ibn al-Jumaizi, and was licensed to teach Traditions ... He was profoundly learned in the pure Arabic language, and no person of that time was better acquainted with the poems of al-Mutanabbi than he. When he received company, the conversation was most instructive, being entirely devoted to learned investigations and the elucidation of obscure points." Shihab ad-Din Mahmud says in his history: "The second time that he filled the place of Qadi, I used to visit him very often, that I might profit by his instructive conversation.". Many other writers have spoken of him in equally favourable terms, but the details which have been given on that subject are already sufficiently copious.

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About this edition

Translated from Arabic into English by Baron William MacGuckin de Slane (1842 – 74).

This is Ibn Khallikan's most famous work. It has always been considered as a work of highest importance for the civil and literary history of the Muslim people. It is of enormous scope. The great majority of the heroes of its thousands of pages hail from Baghdad and its wonderful, intact Oriental past. Later Arabic historians filled their pages with extracts from his work. Arabic rhetoricians, grammarians, and compilers of anecdotes have taken choice passages from it.

Ibn Khallikan restricted his coverage to those persons who held a conspicuous place in the Muslim world. The pages are full of accounts of individuals who have risen to or fallen from power by intrigue or force, of leaders of military campaigns, of learned men, and of poets. Some historians have in fact criticised him for his concision in recounting the lives of men eminent for the learning in religious law compared with the many pages he might devote to a poet or a literary man. It is also noticeable that he prefers to relate anecdotes illustrating the humanistic character of his subjects rather than describing their lives in full. Yet is it such traits that make his work of wider interest to the outside world.

Although we may go to the East for religions and systems of philosophy that were old and proved worthy centuries before Hellenism or Christianity, yet we do not usually find there models for our works of reference. Hardly does Rome give us those. But there is an orderliness and thoroughness about Ibn Khallikan's methods which the Dictionary of National Biography does not exceed. The Persian may be more lenient to floridity ("No flowers, by request," was, it will be remembered, the first English editor's motto), but in his desire to leave out no one who ought to be in and to do justice to his inclusions he is beyond praise.

The modernity of the ancients is continually surprising us. It is one of the phenomena to which we are never quite inured, but towards such inuring Ibn Khallikan should certainly help, since he was eminently a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, and in order to get human nature's fidelity to the type - no matter where found, whether aeons ago or today, whether in savage lands or civilised - brought home to us, it is to such Pepyses and Boswells that we resort, rather than to the Goethes and Platos; to the little recorders rather than the great thinkers. The small traits tell. The work is anecdotal and contains many brief extracts from the poetry of the writers which, although mostly marked by affectation, is now and then beautifully simple.

Ibn Khallikan's Dictionary is as interesting as it is because if a man sets out to take account of everything, much human nature and a little excellence are bound to creep in.

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IBN KHALLIKAN'S
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
 

TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC
 

BY
Bⁿ MAC GUCKIN DE SLANE
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF PARIS, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURIN, ETC.


PARIS,

PRINTED FOR THE
ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND:
 

SOLD BY
BENJAMIN DUPRAT, BOOKSELLER TO THE BIBLIOTHEQUE ROYALE, 7, RUE DU CLOITRE ST-BENOIT,
AND
ALLEN AND CO., 7, LEADENHALL-STREET, LONDON.

MDCCCXLII. - MDCCCLXXI.

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CONTENTS

BOOK 1:

Dedicatory

Introduction - p. iii-xl

Author's Preface - p. 1-4
 

Biographical Dictionary - p. 5-670

Additions and Corrections - p. 671-675

Index to the First Volume:
    Part I - Proper Names - p. 676-686
    Part II - Notes - p. 687-688



BOOK 2:

Introduction - p. v-xvi

Biographical Dictionary - p. 1-682

Additions and Corrections - p. 683-684

Index to the Second Volume:
    Part I - Proper Names - p. 685-694
    Part II - Notes - p. 695



BOOK 3:

Biographical Dictionary - p. 1-678

Additions and Corrections - p. 679-682

Index to the Third Volume:
    Part I - Proper Names - p. 683-697
    Part II - Notes - p. 697-699



BOOK 4:

Life of Ibn Khallikan - p. v-xix

Biographical Dictionary - p. 1-602

Additions and Corrections - p. 603

Index to the Fourth Volume:
    Part I - Proper Names - p. 605-614
    Part II - Notes - p. 614-616

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From the INTRODUCTION to the FIRST VOLUME

IBN KHALLIKAN'S BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY has always been considered as a work of the highest importance for the civil and literary history of the Moslim people. From its first appearance till the present day, its reputation has continued undiminished, and the judgment of the author's countrymen has heen confirmed by the unanimous voice of Oriental scholars. If the later Arabic historians filled their pages with extracts drawn from it as from a pure and abundant source, if rhetoricians, grammarians, and compilers of anecdotes have culled from it the choicest passages, if learned men essayed to complete it by supplements, or to condense it by abridgments with the design of rendering its utility more general, we find, nearer home, an equally valid testimony borne to its merit by the suffrages of the illustrious Pococke, Schultens, Reiske, and De Sacy.

The variety of its subject might have alone sufficed to fix the attention of every person who took an interest in Moslim history and Arabic literature, but when that quality was combined with others which clearly indicated the intelligence, learning, and abilities of the author, the work had an undoubted right to general estimation ...

Were the work of Ibn Khallikan not before the reader, it might be necessary to point out the sources which he consulted and the plan which he adopted; but the author here speaks for himself, he names the writers whose works he has consulted, he or his translator gives their lives in nearly every case, and he follows the natural system of noticing those persons only who held a conspicuous place in the Moslim world. It is true that when he treats of those men whose names figure in history, he prefers relating anecdotes illustrative of their personal character to the less amusing duty of fully sketching out their lives. For this, however, a reason subsists: the great historical work of his friend and professor, Ibn al-Athir, contained all the requisite information, and was then generally read; he did not think it necessary to repeat the tale more fully set forth in a book the well deserved popularity of which he could not suppose would ever be rivalled by the reputation of his own. We might even add that those very anecdotes with which he fills his articles are more precious to a European reader than the fullest narrative of the series of events which mark the life of any individual, since from them we acquire a clearer insight into the manners of the different classes, and collect more useful hints on the civil organisation of the Moslim people, than any indications which a notice exclusively biographical could supply. It must also be observed that in judging a work of this kind, the European reader may find faults where the Moslim sees only beauties, and vice versa ...

Be the imperfections of his work what they may, we must yet take into consideration that it was the first of its kind in the long series of Arabic literature. Before him, none ever thought of combining in one treatise and in alphabetical order, the lives of the most remarkable man of Islamism, no matter to what class they belonged. There existed, it is true, a great number of biographical dictionaries composed anteriorly to his, and some of them dating from a remote period, but they were works of a special cast and limited in their subject: some treated of eminent jurisconsults, to the exclusion of every other profession; others contained notices on the learned men who inhabited a particular city; some again gave the lives of such persons as were mentioned in the Sunan, or Collections of Traditions. The only book which bore any resemblance to his by the generality of its contents was the Fihrist, composed in the fourth century of the Hijra, but that curious biographical and bibliographical work is formed of six sections, each of which is devoted to one particular class of persons, to the total neglect of alphabetical or chronological arrangement.

During many years my attention was directed towards Ibn Khallikan's work, knowing that from it, above all others, the clearest and most correct ideas could be acquired of the rise and progress of Arabic literature, and that it furnished many facts of the utmost importance for general history, and not to be found in any other writer. A natural transition led me from the work to the author, and in my endeavours to attain a fair appreciation of the one, I was led to inquire into the life and times of the other. In pursuing this task, I collected from different sources a great number of notices respecting him, his masters, his disciples, and his acquaintances; whilst the indications furnished by his own work, enabled me to fix with precision the dates of the principal occurrences which marked his life. But the circumstances which influenced his character in youth, the relations which subsisted at different periods between him and the masters of the empire, the great political events which occurred during his career in the world and always attracted his attention; - these were subjects which required long study and extensive researches. The results which I have already obtained encourage me to proceed yet farther, and for this reason I shall reserve my notice on the Life and Times of Ibn Khallikan till the last volume of this translation shall be given to the press. The materials collected by me will be then better digested, and form an article more complete than any which I could draw up at the present moment ...

The difficulty of rendering a work of this nature into a European language can be appreciated by those only who have made similar essays; the writer had at first the intention of giving it in a French translation, and a portion of his task was already executed when he offered his work to the Oriental Translation Committee; in compliance with their wishes he recommenced it in English, and endeavoured to make it as literal as he possibly could. It is true that the idiomatic expressions peculiar to the Arabic tongue, the scholastic terms and technicalities, the learned allusions and pieces of poetry do not always admit of a close translation; to render them fully, clearly, and exactly is incompatible with conciseness, and it was by paraphrases only that such a task could be accomplished ...

A number of biographical notices, drawn from original and authentic sources, have been added in the notes, but there still remain in this volume the names of many persons whose lives are not given. For this, three reasons are to be assigned; the first, that in the text of the following volumes, these lives are to be found, the second, that the translator was unable lo discover who they were; and the third, that the information which he had obtained respecting them was too slight to merit mention, and he preferred waiting some time longer, in hopes that further researches might he more successful and lead to results worthy of insertion in an ensuing volume.

The work itself is arranged in alphabetical order, but as the great majority of the persons whose lives it contains are usually designated by a particular surname, it was absolutely necessary that a general index of such appellations should be given; who but an Oriental scholar could know that the life of the poet Abu Tammam is to be found under the name of Habib; that of al-Mutanabbi under Ahmad; and that of at-Tabari, the historian, under Muhammad? It is hardly necessary to observe that the Arabic nomenclature of persons is composed first, of the surname, as Abu Bakr (the father of Bakr) then, of the real name, as Ahmad; next, of the patronymic, as Ibn Jarir (the son of Jarir); and then the ethnic name, as al-Azdi (belonging to the tribe of Azd), al-Misri (native of Misr, or Egypt), etc., to which must he added nicknames derived from some particular circumstance.

The genealogies are sometimes extended to a great length, but it will he perceived, upon examination, that in this the author's design was to point out correctly the descent of the individual from an ancestor who was well known, and these lists will be sometimes found useful for tracing the relationship and affiliation of the Arabic tribes.

THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE

IN the name of God, the Merciful, the Clement! Thus saith the needy ARABIC suppliant for the mercy of the Most High, Shams ad-din Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Abi-Bakr Ibn Khallikan, follower of the sect of as-Shafi:

Praise be to God, to whom alone belongeth the attribute of eternal existence; who hath passed on his creatures the doom of death, and prescribed to all living beings a certain term, beyond which they cannot pass when once it is expired; who, in this sentence, hath dealt equally between the noble and the lowly-born, the powerful and the weak: to him do I give praise for his abundant favours and his gifts pure; such praise as a man can offer who avoweth his inability to reach even the lowest strain of eulogy: I bear witness that there is no god but the only God, who hath no partner; such witness as a man can bear who showeth at all times a sincere heart, and who hopeth in the mercy of his Lord, morning and evening; I bear witness that Muhammad, his servant and apostle, is the most excellent of the prophets, the most noble of the saints; and that it is he who inviteth to walk in the white path: God grant to him and to his family of illustrious princes such blessings as may endure while heaven and earth do last; God be gracious to his wives, and to his holy and pious companions.

The motive which induced me to compose this work, forming an historical compendium, was this: I had always been intent on studying the history of those men of renown who lived before my lime; I was desirous of knowing the dates of their birth and death, and of learning who among them lived within the limits of each separate century. The results which I obtained incited me to increase the stock which I had acquired, and to redouble my researches; I applied my mind therefore to the study of works written specially on the subject, and gathered, from the mouths of the masters versed in this science, that information which I could not find in books; I persevered in this pursuit till I had amassed a large quantity of documents roughly drawn up, which contained the events of a great number of years; I had also another portion of these facts impressed on my memory. It so happened, however, that when I had to recur to my notes, I could not find what I sought unless with some difficulty, because they were not regularly arranged; I was therefore obliged to class them, and I adopted the alphabetical order, judging it more convenient than the chronological. In this I made it a rule to give the first place to those names which begin with a hamza, and the next to those in which the second letter is a hamza, or the nearest to it in order; thus, I put the word Ibrahim before Ahmad ... This plan I followed up to the last, so that my work might he more easily consulted; it led, however, to the necessity of placing (in some instances, the life, of) a modern before that of an ancient, and of inserting the name of one person between those of two others who belong to a different class; but the convenience (I aimed at) rendered this unavoidable.

I have not assigned a place in this compendium to the companions of Muhammad, or to the Tabis; a few only excepted, whose history many persons require to know; neither have I given the lives of the Khalifs, because the numerous works on the subject rendered it unnecessary for me to do so ; but I have made mention of a great number of talented individuals with whom I was acquainted, and who supplied me with some of the information transmitted in this book; or else who lived in my time, but whom I never saw: (my object in this was) to make known to the future generation the circumstances of their life.

I have not limited my work to the history of any one particular class of persons, as learned men, princes, emirs, vizirs, or poets; but I have spoken of all those whose names are familiar to the public, and about whom questions are frequently asked; I have, however, related the facts I could ascertain respecting them in a concise manner, lest my work should become too voluminous; I have fixed, with all possible exactness, the dates of their birth and death; I have traced up their genealogy as high as I could; I have marked down the orthography of those names which are liable to be written incorrectly; and I have cited the traits which may best serve to characterize each individual, such as noble actions, singular anecdotes, verses, and letters, so that the reader may derive amusement from my work, and find it not exclusively of such a uniform cast as would prove tiresome; for the most effectual inducement to reading a book arises from the variety of its style.

My work thus formed, it was incumbent on me to begin it with a short invocation, intended to conciliate Divine favour; this, joined to the rest, made up the present volume, which I designed as a help to my memory, and which I intitled: "Book of the Deaths of eminent Men, and History of the Sons of the epoch; drawn from written sources and oral traditions, or ascertained by personal observation"; by this I intended that the contents of the work should be denoted by the title alone. If any person possessing information on the subject I have treated, perceive faults in this book, he will do a meritorious action in correcting them after due verification; for I myself have spared no pains in drawing from works of established repute for accuracy, and have never, through carelessness, cited extracts from doubtful authorities; on the contrary, I have done all that lay in my power to attain correctness.

I put this work in order in the year 654 [1256 CE], at Cairo, though taken up by other avocations, and living under circumstances unfavourable to such a task. The reader ought therefore to excuse me, and consider that it was the motive I stated which induced me to undertake it, and that no vain fancy could ever have inspired my mind with the absurd idea of ranking among authors: a current proverb says, "There are men for each business"; and how could such an honour happen to me, who have but a limited share of information in this science? Besides, he who boasts of a talent with which he is not gifted, is like one who arrays himself in the garb of falsehood. God preserve us from falling into the gulfs of error, and grant us, through his grace and bounty, that surest safeguard, the knowledge of our real abilities. Amen.

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The previous summary drew upon various sources, for example:

A reference to Ibn Khallikan in the introduction of "A Boswell In Baghdad" (1917)

An Encyclopædia Britannica article on Ibn Khallikan

An entry on Ibn Khallikan from the 1911 Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica

An Islamic Bookstore article on the latest edition of de Slane's translation

The Salaam Knowledge Database entry on Ibn Khallikan

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About other editions

There have been numerous Arabic print editions (including portions) and also at least 3 reprints of the De Slane English translation (1961, 1970 & 1996). Supplementary material and conspectuses, e.g. in Latin, Arabic and English, have also been published. For example:

Wiistenfeld, F (Gottingen, 1835 - 1843).

Baron De Slane (Paris, 1838 - 1874) - This edition appears to just be the Arabic text.

Cairo (1859 and 1882) - These editions / volumes appear to be the Arabic text.

Haq, Moinul (Ed.) & Baron De Slane (India, 1996) (ISBN 8171511708) - This is the most recent reprint of the English tranlsation, offered by Kitab Bhavan. All of the English editions between 1961 - 1996 are earlier versions of this edition.

Pijnappel (Amsterdam, 1845) - 13 extra biographies from a manuscript in Amsterdam.

A Persian translation exists in manuscript, and various extracts from the work are known.

Several supplements to the book have been written, the best known being that of Muhammad ibn Shakir (d. 1362) (Cairo, 1882).

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Author Bibliography

Apart from his Biographical Dictionary, a collection of poems by Ibn Khallikan also exists.

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QUOTES

Vol. 1, p. 28:

ABU ISHAK AZ-ZAJJAJ.

Abu Ishak Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Ibn as-Sari Ibn Sahl az-Zajjaj, the grammarian, was a man of solid information on philological and religious subjects; he published the following works: Treatise on the figurative expressions of the Koran; Book of Dictates; Extracts from his complete Treatise on Logic, with a commentary by himself; different treatises on etymology, prosody, versification, the Moslim sects, the nature of man, and of the horse; an abridgement of grammar; a work on the relation between the first and fourth forms of Arabic verbs; Treatise on nouns which are either of the first or second declension; Explanation of the Arabic verses cited as examples by Sibawaih in his grammar; Book of 16 Anecdotes; Treatise on the influence of the constellations upon the weather, etc. Al-Mubarrad and Thalab gave him lessons in philology: he was originally a glassgrinder, and was therefore named az-Zajjaj (the glassman), even after he bad quitted his trade to study philology. The vizir Obaid Allah Ibn Solaiman Ibn Wahb honoured him with his intimacy, and al-Kasim, son of Obaid Allah, had him for master in belles-lettres; and when al-Kasim was appointed vizir, az-Zajjaj gained considerable sums through his influence.


Vol. 1, p. 43:

IBN KURKUL.

Abu Ishak Ibrahim Ibn Yusuf Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Badis Ibn al-Kaid al-Hamzi, generally known by the name of Ibn Kurkul, author of the work called Matali'il-Anwar (Rising of the Lights), which he composed on the plan of the Masharik al-Anwar by the kadi Iyad; he was a man of talent and had studied in Spain under a number of learned professors: such is the only information I have been able to procure respecting him. He was born in the month of Safar, A. H. 505 (A. D. 1111) at al-Mariya (Almeria), a town in Spain, and died at Fez early on Friday evening, 6th Shawwal 569 (May, A. D. 1174) after having been to public prayers in the mosque. When his death drew near, he began repeating frequently and quickly the Surat of the Koran entitled Ikhlas; he then made the profession of faith thrice, and falling prostrate in adoration, was dead on touching the ground.


Vol. 1, p. 150:

IBN AL-ARIF.

Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Musa Ibn Ata Allah as-Sunhaji (belonging to the tribe of Sunhaj) al-Mari (native of Almeria) in Spain, and surnamed Ibn al-Arif, was a Sufi eminent for his sanctity and piety, and illustrious by his spiritual gifts. He is author of the work entitled al-Majlis (conferences), and other treaties connected with Sufite doctrines; he composed also some good verses on the same subject ...


Vol. 1, p. 159:

AL-MUSTALI.

Abu 'l-Kasim Ahmad, surnamed al-Mustali (the aspiring), was son of al-Mustansir Ibn az-Zahir Ibn al-Hakim Ibn al-Aziz Ibn al-Moizz Ibn al-Mansur Ibn al-Kaim Ibn al-Mahdi Obaid Allah: we shall give the rest of his genealogy and state the nature of the disagreement resecting it when we relate the life of al-Mahdi, in the letter ain. Al-Mustali succeeded his father al-Mustansir in the government of Egypt and Syria: during his reign, the power of that dynasty was impaired and its authority weakened, their political influence having ceased in most of the Syrian cities, and the provinces of that country having fallen into the possession of the Turkomans on one hand, and the Franks on the other; (may God frustrate their projects!) This people entered Syria and encamped before Antioch in the month of Zu'l-Kaada, A.H. 490 (November, A.D. 1097); they obtained possession of it the 16th Rajab, 491 (20th of June, A.D. 1098); in the following year they took Maarrat an-Noman, and in the month of Shaban of the same year (July, A.D. 1099), they became masters of Jerusalem, after a siege of more than forty days. This city was taken on a Friday morning; during the ensuing week, a great multitude of Moslims perished, and upwards of seventy thousand were slain in the Masjid al-Aksa (or Mosque of Omar). An immense quantity of gold and silver vases were taken from the Sakhra (by the invaders). The fall of this city caused an extreme commotion throughout all the land of Islamism.


Vol. 1, p. 210:

ABU ALI'L-KALI.

The philologer Abu Ali Ismail al-Kali was son of al-Kasim Ibn Aidun Ibn Harun Ibn Isa Ibn Muhammad Ibn Salman; his ancestor Salman was an enfranchised slave of the Omaiyide khalif Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan. Abu Ali surpassed all his contemporaries by his extensive acquaintance with philology, poetry, and the grammatical doctrines established by the learned of Basra.


Vol. 1, p. 238-239:

Ibn al-Kirriya was among the number that were taken, and on being brought before al-Hajjaj, the following dialogue ensued:-

Al-Hajjaj: "Answer what I ask thee." — Ibn al-Kirriya: "Ask what thou wilt." -H.: "What sayest thou of the people of al- Irak?" - R.: "They know the best of any the difference between true (rights) and vain (pretensions)" — H.: "And what of the people of Hijaz?" — K.: "They are the most prompt of any to sedition, and the feeblest when in it." — H.: " What of the people of Syria?" — K.: "The most submissive of any to their khalifs." — H.: "And the people of Egypt?" - K.: "They are the slaves of him who conquers." — H.: "Those of Bahrain?" — K.: "They are Nabateans become Arabs." - H.: "What sayest thou of the people of Amman?" — K.: "They are Arabs become Nabateans." — H.: "The people of Mosul?" — R.: "The bravest of horsemen, and the most fatal to their foes." — H.: "And those of Yemen?" — K.: "People who hear and obey, and cling to the strong side." — H.: "Those of Yemama?" — R.: "They are rude and fickle, yet most firm in fight." — H.: "The people of Fars?" — K.: "They are mighty in their violence, and ready to work woe; their plains are extensive, their towns few." — H.: "Now tell me of the Arabs." — K.: "Ask." - H.: "The Koraish?" — K.: "The greatest in prudence, and the noblest in rank." — H.: "The tribe of Aamir Ibn Sasaa?" — K.: "They bear the longest spears, and are the bravest in making inroads." — H.: "The Banu Sulaim?" — K.: "The most sociable, and also the most generous in their gifts for God's service." — H.: "The tribe of Thakif?" — R.: "The noblest by their ancestry, and the most frequent in their deputations." — H.: "And the Banu Zubaid?" — K.: "They are the most attached to their standards, and the most successful in their vengeances." — H.: "What sayest thou of the tribe of Rudaa?" — K.: "The greatest in importance, the noblest in origin, and the widest in renown." - H.: "What of the Ansars?" — R.: "The best established in rank, the most sincere in their acceptance of Islamism, and the most illustrious in their combats." - H.: "The tribe of Tamim?" — R.: "The most conspicuous for their fortitude, and the greatest by their numbers." — H.: "Bakr Ibn Wail?" - K.: "The firmest in their ranks, the sharpest in their swords." — H.: "And Abd al-Kais?" — R.: "The first to reach the goal, and the best swordsmen under standards." — H.: "What of the Banu Asad ?" — K.: "A people great in number and fortitude; difficult to overcome, and firm in resisting." — H.: "The tribe of Lakhm?" —K.: "Princes, but some of them fools." — H.: "And Judam?" — K.: "They light up war, and fan it into a flame; they make it fruitful, and they reap the profits." —H.: "The Banu'l-Harith?" — K.: "They are maintainers of their ancient glory, and protectors of female honour." — H.: "The tribe of Akk?" ...
 

Vol. 2, p. 25:

AL-KAABI.

Abu'l-Kasim Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Mahmud al-Kaabi al-Balkhi, a man celebrated for his learning, was the author of that sect of the Motazilites, the members of which are called Kaabites. He taught some doctrines peculiar to himself; for instance, that Almighty God has not the faculty of intention, and that all his acts happen without his having any intention or will to produce them. He was one of the great masters in scholastic theology, and held some eclectic opinions in this science. His death took place on the first of Shaaban, A. H. 317 (September, A. D. 929). Kaabi means belonging to the tribe of Kaab. Balkhi signifies belonging to Balkh, one of the great cities of Khorasan.


Vol. 2, p. 77:

OBAID ALLAH THE MAHDI.

The genealogy of Abu Muhammad Obaid Allah, surnamed al-Mahdi (the directed by God), is a subject on which I have met with statements of the most discordant kind; the author of the History of Kairawan says that he was the son of al-Hasan Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Musa Ibn Jaafar Ibu Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn al-Husain Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib; another historian calls him Obaid Allah the son of Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Jaafar (Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali, etc.) as before; a third states that his grandfather Ismail was the son of Ali Ibn al-Husain Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn al-Husain Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib; others again call him the son of at-Taki (the fearer of God), who was the son of al-Wafi (the perfect), who was the son of ar-Rida (him with whom God is well pleased), which three persons are designated as the concealed in the essence of God; Rida was the son of Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Jaafar (this Jaafar is the same person as he mentioned above); the real name of at-Taki was Husain, that of al-Wafi was Ahmad, and that of ar-Rida was Abd Allah; they were called the concealed, because they lay hid through dread of being apprehended by the Abbasides who had been informed that one of them aspired to the khalifate, as others of Ali's descendants, whose adventures and enterprises are well known, had done before; the Mahdi was called Obaid Allah to conceal him more effectually. Such are the statements made by those who consider him to be really descended from al-Husain the son of Ali, and it may he observed how much their accounts are at variance: moreover, among the persons learned in genealogies, the most exact investigators reject Obaid Allah's pretensions to such an origin, and we have already related in the life of Abd Allah Ibn Tabataba (see page 47) what passed between that sharif and al-Moizz on the arrival of the latter in Egypt, with the answer which al-Moizz made to him when questioned on the subject: the words of that prince are in themselves a proof that he did not spring from al-Husain, otherwise he would have set forth his genealogy without having had recourse to the meeting of which we have there spoken. They say also that his true name was Said, and Obaid Allah his surname ...


Vol. 2, p. 95:

IBN AL-ANBARI THE GRAMMARIAN.

Abu'l-Barakat Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi'l-Wafa Muhammad Ibn Obaid Allah Ibn Abi Said al-Anbari the grammarian, surnamed Kamal ad-din (perfection of religion), was one of the most distinguished masters in the science he professed. From his early youth till the time of his death he resided at Baghdad, where he studied, at the Nizamiya college, the system of jurisprudence peculiar to the Shafite sect, and gave lessons in grammar. He learned philology from Abu Mansur (Mauhub) Ibn al-Jawaliki and had lived as a private pupil with the sharif Abu'l-Saadat Hibat Allah Ibn as-Shajari, under whose tuition he made great progress and attained a profound knowledge of philology. His own lessons were attended by great numbers who afterwards became conspicuous for their learning, and with some of whom I was acquainted. He is the author of a grammatical work, easy to be understood and highly instructive, entitled Asrar al-Arabiya (secrets of the Arabic language); he composed also another treatise on the same subject, bearing the title of al-Mizan (the balance).


Vol. 2, p. 205-206:

AL-MUKANNA AL-KHORASANI.

Al-Mukanna al-Khorasani (the veiled impostor of Khorasan), whose real name was Ata, but whose father's name is unknown to me, began his life as a fuller at Marw. Having acquired some knowledge of (natural) magic and incantations, he pretended to be animated by the divinity, which had passed to him by transmigration, and he said to his partisans and followers - "Almighty God entered into the figure of Adam, and it was for that reason that he told the angels to adore Adam, and they adored him except Iblis, who proudly refused, and who thus justly merited the divine wrath. From the figure of Adam, God passed into that of Noah, and from Noah to each of the prophets successively, and of the sages, till he appeared in the figure of Abu Muslim al-Khorasani (vol. II. p. 100), from whom he passed into me." His assertions, having obtained belief with some people, they adored him and took up arms in his defence, notwithstanding the horrible extravagance of his pretensions and the deformity of his person. He was low in stature, ill made, blind of an eye, and a stutterer; he never let his face be seen, but always veiled it with a mask of gold, and it was from this circumstance that he received his name. The influence which he exercised over the minds of his followers was acquired by the delusive miracles which he wrought in their sight by means of magic and incantations. One of the deceptions which he exhibited to them was the image of a moon, which rose so as to be visible to the distance of a two months' journey, after which it set; and he thus inspired them with the firmest belief in his words. It is to this moon that Abu'l-Ala al-Maarri (vol. I. p. 94) alludes in the following line:

Awake (from the delusions of love)! that full moon whose head is shrouded in a veil is a false and delusive object, like the moon of the veiled impostor.

This verse forms part of a long kasida. Abu'l-Kasim Hibat Allah Ibn Sina al-Mulk, another poet whose life we shall give in this work, speaks of this moon also in a long poem of his, where he says:

Beware the veiled (impostor's) rising moon is not more pregnant with magic than the glances of that turbaned moon.

When the reputation of al-Mukanna's conduct became public, the people rose up against him and laid siege to the castle which served him as a place of refuge. Perceiving that death was inevitable, he assembled his women and gave them a poisoned drink; after which he swallowed a draught of the same liquor and expired. On entering the castle, the Moslims put all his followers to the sword. This occurred A. H. 163 (A. D. 779-80): may God's curse be upon him! and may God protect us from deceptions! I never found the name or the situation of this castle mentioned by any person, till I read in Shihab ad-din (Yakut) al-Hamawi's work, wherein he treats of the places which bear the same name, that there are four places called Sanan, and that one of them, situated in Transoxiana, had been inhabited by al-Mukanna al-Khariji (the heretic rebel). This appears to be the castle in question. I have since found, in the history of Khorasan, that it is the very one, and that it is situated in the canton of Kassh.


Vol. 2, p. 209:

ZAIN AL-AABIDIN.

Abu'l-Hasan Ali, the son of al-Husain, the son of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, is generally known by the appellation of Zain al-Aabidin (the ornament of the adorers), but was sometimes designated as Ali the Less. As none of the other children of al-Husain left issue, all his descendants are sprung from this son. Zain al-Aabidin is one of the twelve imams, and ranks among the principal Tabis. It was observed by az-Zuhri that he never met a member of the tribe of Koraish possessing nobler qualities than he. His mother Sulafa was daughter to Yezdegird, the last of the kings of Persia, and she was aunt to the mother of Yazid Ibn al-Walid the Omaiyide, surnamed an-Nakis. When Kutaiba Ibn Muslim al-Bahili, the lieutenant-governor of Khorasan, had overthrown the royal dynasty of Persia and slain Fairuz the son of Yezdegird, he sent the two daughters of the latter to al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf ath-Thakafi (vol. I. p. 356), who was then governor of Irak and Khorasan. Al-Hajjaj kept one of them for himself and sent the other, whose name was Shah Farid, to al-Walid Ibn Abd al-Malik, and she bore him his son Yazid, who was afterwards surnamed an-Nakis (the diminisher), because he diminished the donations, or pay, granted to the troops. Zain al-Aabidin was also called Ibn al-Khiaratain (the son of the two preferred ones), because the Prophet had said: "Of all the human race, Almighty God has preferred two (families); the tribe of Kuraish amongst the Arabs, and the Persians amongst the foreign nations." Abu'l-Kasim az-Zamakshari relates the following circumstance in his work entitled Rabi al-Abrar: "Amongst the number of the Persian captives brought to Medina by the Companions, in the khalifate of Omar Ibn al-Khattab, were three daughters of Yezdegird. When they had sold the other prisoners, Omar ordered them to sell the daughters of Yezdegird also, but Ali said: 'The daughters of kings are not to he treated as those of the common people.' - 'And what must be done with them?' said Omar. Ali replied: 'Let a price be set upon them, to be paid by him who wishes to possess them.' This proposal having received Omar's consent, Ali bought them all, and gave one of them to Abd Allah Ibn Omar, another to his own son al-Husain, and the third to his ward Muhammad, the son of Abu Bakr ...


Vol. 2, p. 680:

IBN MAJA.

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Yazid Ibn Maja al-Kazwini, a mawla to the tribe of Rabia (ar-Rabai) and a celebrated hafiz, is the author of the work on the Traditions entitled Kitab as-Sunan (book of the sunna). He ranked as a high authority in the Traditions, and was versed in all the sciences connected with them, and acquainted with every thing respecting them. He travelled to Irak, Basra, Kufa, Baghdad, Mekka, Syria, Egypt, and Rai, for the purpose of writing down the Traditions under the dictation of the masters who taught them in those countries. He is the author of a commentary on the Koran and a very fine historical work; as for his book on the Traditions, it is counted as one of the six Sahihs (authentic collections). His birth took place in the year 209 (A. D. 824-5), and he died on Monday, the 22nd of Ramadan, A. H. 273 (February, A. D. 887). On the following day he was interred, and his brother Abu Bakr said the funeral prayer over the corpse, and deposited it in the tomb with the assistance of Abd Allah, the third brother. Rabai means belonging to Rabia; a number of tribes bear this name, and I do not know which of them it was that counted Ibn Maja among its members. Kazwini means belonging to Kazwin, a celebrated city in Persian Irak, which has produced many learned men.
 

Vol. 3, p. 224:

TOGHRULBEK THE SELJUKIDE.

Abu Talib Muhammad Ibn Mikayil Ibn Saljuk Ibn Dukak, surnamed Rukn ad-Din Toghrulbek (Toghrulbek, the column of the faith), was the first monarch of the Seljuk dynasty. This people, before it established its domination over so many provinces, dwelt beyond the river (the Oxus) at a place twenty parasangs distant from Bokhara. They were Turks, and their numbers were immense ...

Vol. 4, p. 341:

The sultan, having no longer any cause of uneasiness from that quarter, resolved on making the pilgrimage (to Mekka). The Moslims now frequented the territory of the Franks who, on their side, visited that of the Moslims; goods and merchandise were carried to the towns, and a great number of the Christians went to visit Jerusalem. The sultan also set out for the purpose of inspecting that place; his brother, al-Malik al-Aadil, went to al-Karak; his son, al-Malik az-Zahir, proceeded to Aleppo, and al-Afdal, his other son, departed for Damascus. The sultan, during his stay in Jerusalem, distributed fiefs to his people (his officers) and authorised them to return home; he made also preparations for a journey to Egypt. Having no longer any desire of making the pilgrimage, he continued to mind what he was engaged in till he at length learned positively that al-Anketar had sailed for his own country on the 1st of Shauwal (1Oth October, 1192). He then decided on entering into the Sahil with an escort of cavalry; his intention being to examine the state of his maritime fortresses, advance to Banyas, go from that to Damascus, pass a few days there, return to Jerusalem and then set out for Egypt.

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