Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500
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Subject: Middle East And Islamic Studies
General Editor: David Thomas, Alex Mallett
Associate Editors: Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, Johannes Pahlitzsch, Barbara Roggema, Mark Swanson, Herman Teule and John Tolan
Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History Online is a general online history of relations between the faiths. It covers the period from 600 to 1500, when encounters took place through the extended Mediterranean basin and are recorded in Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin and other languages. Christian Muslim Relations Online comprises introductory essays on the treatment of Christians in the Qur’an, Qur’an commentaries, biographies of the Prophet, Hadith and Sunni law, and of Muslims in canon law, and the main body of more than two hundred detailed entries on all the works recorded, whether surviving or lost.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Associate Editors: Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, Johannes Pahlitzsch, Barbara Roggema, Mark Swanson, Herman Teule and John Tolan
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Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History Online is a general online history of relations between the faiths. It covers the period from 600 to 1500, when encounters took place through the extended Mediterranean basin and are recorded in Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin and other languages. Christian Muslim Relations Online comprises introductory essays on the treatment of Christians in the Qur’an, Qur’an commentaries, biographies of the Prophet, Hadith and Sunni law, and of Muslims in canon law, and the main body of more than two hundred detailed entries on all the works recorded, whether surviving or lost.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Al-ibāna ʿan uṣūl al-diyāna
(110 words)
An elucidation concerning the principles of religion
Al-ʻĀmirī Date: Before 985 Original Language: Arabic
Description The work is not extant. It is mentioned in the author's
Iʿlām and his
Amad (dated 985, which also mentions the
Iʿlām). In the
Iʿlām (p. 150) he refers to the
Ibāna for comparisons between Islam and other religions in the areas of human relations and specific prohibitions.
Significance It is impossible to say what this was.
Manuscripts -
Editions & Translations -
Studies -
Keywords
Chronological Category: 900-1000
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Samanids
Genre & Source Type: Comp…
Al-ibāna ʿan uṣūl al-diyāna
(296 words)
Al-ibāna ʿan uṣūl al-diyānaThe elucidation concerning the principles of religion
Al-Masʿūdī Date: Unknown; before 943 Original Language: Arabic
Description The work has not survived. Its title, which recalls the work of Abū l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī from slightly earlier in the 10th century, suggests that it was an investigation into the true religion, and in turn a refutation of alternative forms. The references to it in the
Murūj and
Tanbīh bear this out. In
Murūj, vi, pp. 23-24, al-Masʿūdī says that in this work he listed the disagreements between a number of Muslim gro…
Ibn al-Abbār
(849 words)
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr al-Qaḍāʿī al-Balansī Date of Birth: 1199 Place of Birth: Valencia Date of Death: 1260 Place of Death: Bougie
Biography Ibn al-Abbār was probably the most famous Andalusian man of letters to come from Valencia during the Middle Ages. He was a poet, historian, critic, linguist, biographer, diplomat, theologian and politician, and also a well-known Arabic calligrapher. His status as a multifaceted scholar, along with his encyclopedic knowledge, was highlighted by writers such…
Ibn ʿAbd al-Rafīʿ
(111 words)
Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd al-Rafīʿ Date of Birth: 1239 Place of Birth: Unknown; presumably North Africa Date of Death: 1333 Place of Death: Tunis
Biography Ibn ʿAbd al-Rafīʿ was a Mālikī jurist and chief
qāḍī of Tunis, distinguishing himself by the length of his career in the judiciary. Among his works were
Mufīd al-ḥukkām (‘Instructions for judges’), and
Ikhtiṣār ajwibat Ibn Rushd (‘Abridgement of the responses of Ibn Rushd’), presumably on the philosopher’s legal opinions.
Primary Sources of Information Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Zarkashī,
Taʾrīkh al-dawlatayn, Tunis, 1872, p. 57
S…
Ibn ʿAbdūn al-Ishbīlī
(182 words)
Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Tujībī al-Ishbīlī al-Nakhāʿī Date of Birth: Mid-11th century Place of Birth: Possibly Seville Date of Death: Early 12th century Place of Death: Possibly Seville
Biography The only information we have about Ibn ʿAbdun appears in his
Risāla fī l-qaḍāʾ wa-l-ḥisba (‘Epistle on the office of judge and the market inspector’). He lived in Seville during the reign of the taifa King al-Muʿtamid (r. 1068-91), and later under the Almoravids. The main subject of his treatise suggests that he himself was a market inspector (
ṣāḥib al-sūq or
muḥtasib), though he does…
Ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Dimashqī
(257 words)
Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Ṭālib al- Anṣārī l-Dimashqī, Shaykh al-Rabwa Date of Birth: 1256 Place of Birth: Ṣafad, near Damascus Date of Death: 1327 Place of Death: Ṣafad
Biography Ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Dimashqī was known in his time for the breadth of his interests. Born near Damascus, he appears to have remained in his native locality for most of his life, serving as
imām at al-Rabwa, and rising to become a local celebrity. He wrote on many subjects. Among his works are
Kitāb al-maqāmāt al-falsafiyya wa-l-tarjamāt al-Ṣūfiyya (‘Philosophical sessions and interpretations…
Ibn Abī Zarʿ
(562 words)
Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Abī Zarʿ al-Fāsī Date of Birth: Mid-13th century Place of Birth: Unknown; probably Fez Date of Death: After 1326 Place of Death: Unknown
Biography A remarkable fact about this author is the lack of information about him, when it is considered that his chronicle
Al-anīs al-muṭrib bi-rawḍ al-qirṭās had great influence in his time. Biographical dictionaries provide only fragmentary details about him, and attribute this work to a number of different individuals, probably members of the same family: Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad…
Ibn Albar al-Qūṭī
(491 words)
Biography We have very little information about the exact identity of this Arabized Christian author. All we know about him is that he was the qāḍī of the Christian community in Cordova and one of the most outstanding intellects of all Christian priests. He was probably born in Cordova in the 9th century and probably died there in the 10th century. Two suggestions have been made about the identity of Ḥafṣ ibn Albar al-Qūṭī: first, that he was the well-known Paul Alvarus (q.v.), one of the leaders of the Christian community in Cordova in the mid-9th century; and second, from information gi…
Ibn al-ʿArabī
(702 words)
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh al-Maʿāfirī Date of Birth: 31 March 1076 Place of Birth: Seville Date of Death: 1147-48; 1148-49; 22 July 1148 Place of Death: Magīla or Ra’s al-Mā’, Morocco
Biography Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī was the son of Abū Muḥammad ibn al-ʿArabī, a courtier in Seville of the Banū ʿAbbād, rulers of one of the most important of the taifa kingdoms. When he was 17, with the Almoravids threatening to overthrow the Banū ʿAbbād, he left with his father on a journey (
riḥla) to the Middle East. He remained there for some time, and the experience …
Ibn ʿArabī
(1,266 words)
Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ṭāʾī al-Ḥātimī Date of Birth: 28 July 1165 Place of Birth: Murcia, Spain Date of Death: 10 November 1240 Place of Death: Damascus
Biography Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ṭāʾī al-Ḥātimī, as he signs himself, stands at a critical juncture in the history of Islam and Islamic thought, during the flowering of Almohad, Ayyūbid and Anatolian Seljuk power. As an exceptional mystic and writer, he exerted an unparalleled influence on later Sufis and schola…
Ibn ʿAsākir
(1,225 words)
Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hibat Allāh Ibn ʿAsākir Date of Birth: 13 September 1105 Place of Birth: Damascus Date of Death: 25 January 1176 Place of Death: Damascus
Biography Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan Ibn ʿAsākir is the most notable figure of the Sunnī ʿAsākir family, whose members occupied prestigious scholarly positions in Damascus for more than two centuries (11th-13th centuries). Ibn ʿAsākir was born in 1105. He started his pursuit of religious education at a very young age, accompanying his father and elder brother to the teaching circles …
Ibn ʿAskar
(518 words)
Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī (ibn ʿUbayd Allāh) ibn Khaḍir ibn Hārūn al-Ghassānī Date of Birth: About 1188 Place of Birth: Malaga Date of Death: 12 January 1239 Place of Death: Malaga
Biography Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, known as Ibn ʿAskar, was a noted jurist of Malaga. Among his teachers were his uncle Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad, Abū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Shaykh, the author of
Kitāb alif bāʾ, and Abū ʿAlī ῾Umar ibn ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Rundī. During the rule of Muḥammad ibn Hūd (1230-38), Ibn ʿAskar served as deputy to the judge Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad…
Ibn Athradī
(226 words)
Abū l-Ghanā’im Hibat Allāh ibn ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Athradī Date of Birth: Early 11th century Place of Birth: Unknown Date of Death: End of the 11th century, around 1080 Place of Death: Unknown
Biography Ibn Athradī belonged to the East-Syrian (‘Nestorian’) community of Baghdad and was a disciple of Abū l-Faraj ‘Abdallāh ibn al-Ṭayyib (q.v.). He was the author of several medical and philosophical works. One of his medical writings was addressed to the West Syrian author Yaḥyā ibn Jarīr (later 11th century) (q.v.). He also wrote a theological handbook, on which see below.
Primary Sources…
Ibn ʿAtīq
(240 words)
Abū ʿAlī l-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAtīq ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Rashīq al-Taghlibī Date of Birth: 1154 Place of Birth: Murcia Date of Death: 1235 Place of Death: Cairo
Biography A native of Murcia, Ibn ʿAtīq was a renowned Andalusī scholar. As a boy he lived in Ceuta in northern Morocco, and then he went to Alexandria to study. He remained in Egypt, and taught there. Some reports state that he spent his last days in Granada and others that he died in Egypt. Similarly, some say that he died in 1235 and others in 1281, though the latter seems unlikely in view of the date of his birth. Ibn ʿAtīq wrote on a range of subj…
Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār
(181 words)
Shihāb al-Dīn Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī l-Dunaysirī Date of Birth: 1345 or before Place of Birth: Cairo Date of Death: 1392 Place of Death: Cairo
Biography Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār was known for his literary works, primarily poetry. He first studied the Qur’an and legal thinking, but later in his short life he turned to literature. While the date of his birth is generally given as 1345, Ibn al-ʿImād gives it as 1339. His patronymic, which is presumably derived from Dunaysir near Mardin in eastern Anatolia, suggests that his family originated from this area.
Primary Sources of Informat…
Ibn ʿAwf
(638 words)
Abū l-Ṭāhir Ismāʿīl ibn Makkī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAwf al-Zuhrī l-Kurashī l-Iskandarānī Date of Birth: 1092 Place of Birth: Unknown; presumably Alexandria Date of Death: October-November 1185 Place of Death: Alexandria
Biography Ibn ʿAwf was an important Mālikī jurist in Ayyubid Egypt whose lineage went back to the Companion of the Prophet, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. He was the stepson of the eminent Andalusī scholar Abū Bakr al-Ṭurṭūshī (d. 1126; q.v.), who had settled in Alexandria. He learnt under al-Ṭurṭūshī law and Hadith (al-S…
Ibn Bābawayh
(620 words)
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī, Ibn Bābūya, al-Shaykh al-Ṣadūq Date of Birth: Unknown; possibly 923 Place of Birth: Unknown, maybe Khurāsān Date of Death: 991-92 Place of Death: Rayy
Biography Although he is regarded as one of the major Shīʿī theologians and
muḥaddiths, few details about Ibn Bābawayh’s life are known. Ibn al-Nadīm says that he was the son of an acknowledged Shīʿī authority, which would explain his own learning and that of his two brothers. In the 960s and 970s he lived in Baghdad and Kufa, a…
Ibn Barrajān
(317 words)
Abū l-Ḥakam ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Lakhmī l-Ishbīlī Date of Birth: Between 1058 and 1078 Place of Birth: Unknown; possibly Seville Date of Death: 1141 Place of Death: Marrakesh
Biography Ibn Barrajān lived in Seville for most of his life. He studied Arabic language and literature, Qurʾan exegesis, arithmetic, geometry and other disciplines of the time. He was known as an ascetic (
zāhid), and was a famous Sufi, being known as
Shaykh al-ṣūfiyya. Ibn Barrajān is known for five books. Apart from his best-known work,
Sharḥ asmāʾ Allāh al-ḥusnā, he also wrote an un…
Ibn Bashkuwāl
(668 words)
Abū l-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Masʿūd ibn Mūsā ibn Bashkuwāl ibn Yūsuf ibn Dāḥa ibn Dāka ibn Naṣr ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Wāqid al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī Date of Birth: 29 September 1101 Place of Birth: Cordova Date of Death: 5 January 1183 Place of Death: Cordova
Biography An Andalusī traditionist, historian and jurist, Ibn Bashkuwāl is known mainly for his biographical dictionary
Kitāb al-ṣila fī taʾrīkh aʾimmat al-Andalus (‘The continuation on the history of the sages of al-Andalus’). Ibn Bashkuwāl was the son of the Cordovan jurist Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik (d. 1139)…
Ibn Bassām
(626 words)
Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Bassām al-Shantarīnī Date of Birth: Second half of the 11th century Place of Birth: Santarem, Portugal Date of Death: 1147 Place of Death: Possibly Santarem
Biography Ibn Bassām was born in the town of Santarem in the second half of the 11th century. We have very little information about his youth, except that he travelled to Lisbon in 1084-85. After the conquest of Santarem by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1092-93, Ibn Bassām was forced to leave his birthplace. Around the year 1100, Ibn Bassām went to Cordova for the first time, though the reasons for this are…