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Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. Khafīf b. Isfakshādh (Iskafshādh) al-Ḍabbī al-Shīrāzī (c.268–371/882–982), known as Ibn Khafīf, was a Ṣūfī, ascetic, and prolific writer of Shirazi origin with an Ashʿarī orientation. By virtue of his many encounters with the great masters, his immense achievements, and his long life, he was considered the “seal of Ṣūfism” ( khātam al-ṣūfiyya; Junayd, 38–9). 1. Life His mother was of Nīshāpūrī descent, and his father, mostly absent, served as a Daylamī commander in the army of the Ṣaffārid ʿAmr b. Layth (r. 265–87/879–900) (al-Daylamī, Sīrat, 9) (the Ṣaffā…

, Abū S̲h̲arāḥīl (or S̲h̲uraḥbīl ) al-Rammāḥ b. Abrad (Yazīd in Ibn Ḳutayba) b. T̲h̲awbān al-Murrī , of the Banū Murra b. ʿAwf, Bedouin poet who lived in the Ḥid̲j̲āz and in Nad̲j̲d from the reign of His̲h̲ām b. ʿAbd al-Malik (105-25/724-43) to the period of the early ʿAbbāsids; he died during the caliphate of al-Manṣūr, about 136/754 according to al-Bag̲h̲dādī, in 149/766 according to Yāḳūt. His mother Mayyāda (= one who swings) was a slave, said to have been of Berber or Slav origin, who…

Abū Sharāḥīl (or Shuraḥbīl) (al-)Rammāḥ b. Abrad b. Thawbān (d. 149/766), known as Ibn Mayyāda, was a Bedouin poet. His tribe was the Murra, a branch of the Dhubyān (a subtribe of the Ghaṭafān). He lived in western Najd (in the north-central Arabian Peninsula), in or near a place called Ḥimā Ḍariyya, close to the Ḥijāz. His father was a shepherd, despite being a descendant of al-Ḥārith b. Ẓālim (d. 600 C.E.), the leader of the Ghaṭafān, and a grandson of Salmā, the daughter of the famous poet Kaʿb b. Zuhayr (…

(sometimes, incorrectly, Ṣaṣarrā , Ṣaṣarī , and Ṣarṣarī ), the name of a scholarly family of Damascus which can be traced for several centuries. Probably of Mesopotamian origin, as is attested by their nisba s al-Tag̲h̲libī and al-Baladī (referring to the town of Balad/Balaṭ, now Eski Mosul), the family, like others of its class during Ayyūbid and Mamlūk times, carried on a tradition of Islamic scholarship and activity for generations. Traditionists, teachers, and jurists appear on the family tree from ca. 450/1060 to 800/1398. The most important members of the family are t…

Sharaf al-Dīn Abū l-Maḥāsin Muḥammad b. Naṣrallāh al-Kūfī al-Dimashqī Ibn ʿUnayn (d. 630/1233) was a poet of the Ayyūbid era, most famous for his invective and satirical poems against the ruling elite in his hometown of Damascus. Trained by eminent scholars, including the traditionist and historian Ibn ʿAsākir (d. 571/1176), the physician and eclectic author ʿAbd al-Rahmān al-Shayzarī (d. after 565/1169), and the jurist al-Shahrazūrī (d. 586/1190), he is said to have memorised the exhaustive lexicon al-Jamhara fī l-lugha of Ibn Durayd (d. 321/933). Ibn ʿUnayn’s poetry rev…

, Abū S̲h̲arāhīl (ou S̲h̲uraḥbīl) al-Rammāh b. Abrad (Yazīd chez Ibn Ḳutayba) b. T̲h̲awbān al-Murrī, des Banū Murra b. ʿAwf, poète bédouin qui vécut au Ḥid̲j̲āz et au Nad̲j̲d de l’époque de His̲h̲ām b. ʿAbd al-Malik (105-25/724-43) à celle des premiers ʿAbbāsides; il mourut sous le califat d’al-Manṣūr, vers 136/754 d’après al-Bag̲h̲dādī, en 149/766 selon Yāḳūt. Sa mère Mayyāda ( = qui se balance) était une esclave que l’on dit d’origine berbère ou slave, mais que le poète prétend persane en se glorifiant d’ap…

Abū l-Fityān Muḥammad b. Sulṭān b. Muḥammad Ibn Ḥayyūs (394–473/1003–80) was a prominent Syrian poet descended from the Arabian Ghanī tribe. The scion of a notable Damascene family, he started his career as a eulogist of Anūshtakīn al-Dizbirī, the Fāṭimid governor of Damascus and Syria (419–33/1028–42), on whom he composed forty odes that celebrated his just rule and victories over his enemies, both the Byzantines and the local Arab tribes and rulers that opposed Fāṭimid rule. He also eulogised some of …

ʿImād al-Dīn Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar b. Kat̲h̲īr , born in Boṣrā circa 700/1300 and died in Damascus in S̲h̲aʿbān 774/February 1373, was one of the best-known historians and traditionists of Syria under the Baḥrī Mamlūk dynasty. Educated at Damascus, where he went to live with his elder brother in 706/1306, after the death of their father, he had as his main teacher, in fiḳh , the S̲h̲āfiʿī Burhān al-Dīn al-Fazārī (in 729), but next fell strongly, and very early, under the influence of Ibn Taymiyyā (d. 728/1328) and his school. In addition, th…

Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī b. Salama b. ʿĀmir  Ibn Harma al-Fihrī al-Madanī (d. mid-to-late second/eighth century), was an Arab poet of Medina, whose lifetime spanned the Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid eras. His poetry praises, among others, prominent figures of both dynasties and descendants of the fourth caliph, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. His nasab, or lineage—albeit in a shorter form—is known from Ibn al-Sikkīt (d. 244/858) (followed by Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, d. 356/967, in al-Aghānī), who left out b. ʿĀmir, and by Ibn al-Nadīm (d. 380/990), who calls him only Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī b. H…

, ʿImād al-dīn Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar b. Kat̲h̲īr, né à Boṣrā vers l’année 700/1300 et mort à Damas en s̲h̲aʿbān 774/février 1373, fut un des historiens et des traditionnistes les plus connus de Syrie sous les Baḥriyya. Formé à Damas, où il vint s’installer avec son frère aîné dès 706/1306, après la mort de leur père, il eut pour principal maître, en fiḳh, le S̲h̲āfiʿīte Burhān al-dīn al-Fazāri (en 729), mais subit ensuite profondément et de fort bonne heure l’influence d’Aḥmad b. Taymiyya (m. 728/1328) et de son école. Il devenait d’autre part, par son mariage …

, auteur d’un ouvrage sur les expéditions ( mag̲h̲āzī [ q v.]) utilisé par des historiens postérieurs tels qu’Ibn Sayyid al-Nās et al-Ḏh̲ahabī. Il s’appelait Muḥammad, avait pour kunya Abū ʿAbd Allāh ou Abū Aḥmad, et son grand-père portait le nom de Saʿīd ou ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Né à Damas en 150/767, il mourut dans la même ville le jeudi 25 rabīʿ II 233/8 décembre 847 (ou en d̲h̲ū l-ḥid̲j̲d̲j̲a 232/juillet-août 847, ou encore en 234/848), après avoir été percepteur dans la G̲h̲ūṭa sous le califat d’al-Maʾmūn. Comme historien, …

, Muḥammad b. Mukarram b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-Anṣārī al-Ifrīḳī al-Miṣrī d̲j̲amāl al-Dīn Abu ’l-Faḍl , author of the famous dictionary Lisān al-ʿArab , in the East known as Ibn Mukarram , was born in Ramaḍān 630/June-July 1233 and died in S̲h̲aʿbān 711/December 1311-January 1312. He claimed descent from Ruwayfiʿ b. T̲h̲ābit who had been after 48/668 governor of Tripolis in North Africa. According to Ibn Ḥad̲j̲ar, Ibn Mukarram was ḳāḍī of Tripolis and “all his life” employed in the dīwān al-ins̲h̲āʾ ; so he is perhaps identical with Muḥammad b. Mukarram, one of the kuttāb al-ins̲h̲āʾ …

Ibn Rushayd (657–721/1259–1321), the greatest traditionist of his time in the Islamic West, possessed great intellectual authority and social prestige due to his extensive knowledge. He was recognised by his contemporaries and is still admired today. He is renowned for the seven-volume account of his three-year journey (riḥla) of pilgrimage and study to more than twenty-seven cities. His full name was Muḥibb al-Dīn Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Muḥammad b. Idrīs b. ʿAbdallāh b. Saʿīd b. Masʿūd b. Ḥasan/Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. ʿ…

, Abū ʿUmar ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĀmir al-Yaḥṣubī , “reader” of the Ḳurʾān whose ḳirāʾa [ q.v.] is counted among the seven canonical “readings”. Of south Arabian origin, he belonged to the first class of the Tābiʿūn [ q.v.], his guarantors being ʿUt̲h̲mān b. ʿAffān, Abu ’l-Dardāʾ [ q.v.] and other less famous Companions. He settled in Damascus, where he was appointed ḳāḍī , by al-Walīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik and chief of police by Yazīd b. al-Walīd and Ibrāhīm b. al-Walīd; his “reading” was adopted by the inhabitants of Damascus. He died in 118/736…

, Muḥammad b. Mukarram b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-Anṣārī al-Ifrīḳī al-Miṣrī, Ḏj̲amāl al-dīn Abū l-Faḍl, connu en Orient sous le nom d’Ibn Mukarram, auteur du célèbre dictionnaire, le Lisān al-ʿArab, naquit en ramaḍān 630/juinjuillet 1233 et mourut en s̲h̲aʿbān 711/décembre 1311-janvier 1312. Il faisait remonter son origine à Ruwayfiʿ b. T̲h̲ābit qui avait été gouverneur de Tripoli d’Afrique après 48/668. Selon Ibn Ḥad̲j̲ar, Ibn Mukarram fut ḳāḍī de Tripoli et travailla «toute sa vie» au dīwān al-ins̲h̲āʾ; il s’agit peut-être du même Muḥammad b. Mukarram qui fut un des kuttāb al-ins̲h̲āʾ sou…

, Abū ʿUmar ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĀmīr al-Yaḥṣubī, «lecteur» du Ḳurʾān dont la ḳirāʾa [ q.v.] est comptée au nombre des sept «lectures» canoniques. D’origine sud-arabique, il appartient à la première classe des Tābiʿūn [ q.v.] et a pour garants ʿUt̲h̲mān b. ʿAffān, Abū l-Dardāʾ [ q.v.] et d’autres Compagnons moins célèbres. Établi à Damas, il fut chargé des fonctions de ḳāḍī par al-Walīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik et de chef de la police par Yazīd b. al-Walīd et Ibrāhīm b. al-Walīd; sa «lecture» fut adoptée par les Damascains. Il mourut en 118/736, après avoir eu pour dis…

, Abū Sulaymān Ayyūb b. Zayd , of the Zayd Manāt (al-Ḳirriyya was probably the name of his mother or of one of his grandmothers), is presented as an illiterate Bedouin whose eloquence, however, became proverbial to the extent of eclipsing the fame of Saḥbān Wāʾil [ q.v.]. Tradition relates that he lived in the entourage of al-Ḥad̲j̲d̲j̲ād̲j̲ [ q.v.], and adab books contain discourses, generally rhymed, which he is said to have given on various occasions or in reply to questions from his master. He is reported however to have joined the party of Ibn al-As̲h̲ʿat̲h̲ [ q.v.], drawing up his lett…

, Abū Sulaymān Ayyūb b. Zayd, des Zayd Manāt (al-Ḳirriyya serait le nom de sa mère ou de l’une de ses grand’mères), est présenté comme un Bédouin illettré, mais dont l’éloquence est devenue proverbiale au point d’éclipser la renommée de Saḥbān Wāʾil [ q.v.]. La tradition rapporte qu’il vivait dans l’entourage d’al-Ḥad̲j̲d̲j̲ād̲j̲ [ q.v.], et les livres d’ adab contiennent des propos, généralement rimes, qu’il aurait tenus en diverses circonstances ou pour répondre à des questions de son maître. Il aurait cependant embrassé le parti d’Ibn al-As̲h̲ʿat̲h̲ [ q.v.] dont il aurait rédigé…

(parfois, mais à tort, Ṣaṣarrā, Ṣaṣarī et Ṣarṣarī), nom d’une famille de savants damascains dont on peut retracer l’histoire au cours de plusieurs siècles; elle était probablement d’origine mésopotamienne, ainsi que l’attestent ses nisas d’al-Tag̲h̲lihī et al-Baladī (Balad/Balaṭ, aujour-d’hui Eski Mosul) et, comme d’autres familles de sa classe à l’époque des Ayyūbides et des Mamlūks, maintint durant des générations une tradition d’activité et de science dans le domaine islamique. De 450/1060 environ à 800/1060-1398, on trouve …

Jamāl al-Dīn Abū l-Faḍl Muḥammad b. Mukarram b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad Ibn Manẓūr al-Anṣārī al-Ruwayfiʿī al-Ifrīqī al-Miṣrī is most famous for having compiled the Lisān al-ʿArab (“The tongue of the Arabs”), a lexicon that comprises five earlier works and is considered one of the most authoritative in the tradition. He was born in Cairo on 22 Muḥarram 630/8 November 1232 and died on 10–11 Shaʿbān 711/23–24 December 1311. He was called al-Ruwayfiʿī after Ruwayfiʿ b. Thābit, a Companion of the prophet Muḥammad. He served in the dīwān al-inshāʾ (chancery) in Cairo and then as qāḍī of Tripoli. He beca…