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"year," says he, "died the kâdi Abû Khuzaima Ibrahîm Ibn Yazid al-Himyari "(descended from Himyar) (5); he was succeeded by Abd Allah Ibn Lahîa al"Hadrami. Ibn Khudaij (Hudaij), who was in Irak at that time, relates in the following terms the cause of his nomination: 'I went to see Abû Jaafar al-Mansûr, "who said to me : Ibn Khudaij! there is a man in your city who has just died "and left the people in affliction for his loss.-Commander of the faithful! “I replied, it must be Ibn Khuzaima! —It is, said he; and whom do you "think we should put in his place?—I answered, Commander of the faith"""ful! I suppose Ibn Maadan al-Yahsubi.—It is not fit that a kâdi should be "deaf, replied al-Mansûr, and he is.-It is then Ibn Lahia, said I.—The

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man, answered the khalif, although his memory be a little weak. He then gave orders for his appointment and settled on him thirty dinars a month.' "He was the first kâdi who received a salary, and the first also who was nomi"nated directly by the khalif; before that, the kâdi was chosen by the go"vernor of the city." (6)-Ibn Lahîa died at Old Cairo on Sunday, the 15th of the first Rabi, A. H. 174 (August, A. D. 790), or by another account in 170, -aged eighty-one years. Abû Mûsa al-Anazi (7) says in his History, that alLaith Ibn Saad was one or two years older than Ibn Lahia. Ibn Yûnus also mentions him in his History, in these terms: "Abd Allah Ibn Lahîa Ibn Okba “Ibn Furân Ibn Rabia belonged to the family of Odûl, one of the first in "Hadramaut. His surname was Abû Abd ar-Rahmân. Traditions were given "on his authority by Amr Ibn al-Hârith (8), al-Laith Ibn Saad, Othman Ibn "al-Hakam al-Judami, and Ibn al-Mubarak (9)." He then gives the date of his death and adds: “He was born A. H. 97 (A. D. 715-6);" after which, he mentions the following words, and traces them down, through an uninterrupted series of narrators, from Ibn Lahia to himself: "On going to see Yazid “Ibn Abi Habib (10), he said to me: 'I think I see you seated on the cushion,' "meaning the one on which the kâdi sits.'' And so it came to pass, for Ibn Lahia did not die before he filled the place of a kadi.- Hadrami means belonging to Hadramaut, which is a country in the most distant part of Yemen.

(1) According to the author of the Ansab, Ghâfik was the son of as-Shâhid Ibn Alkama Ibn Akk, a descendant from Kahlân.

(2) Students took notes of the master's lessons and read them to him the next day.

(3) In those countries where the Sunnite doctrines are professed, the fast of Ramadan is not commenced till the appearance of the new moon has been regularly certified.

(4) Ibn Khallikân might have observed that it was discontinued under the Fatimite Jynasty and had been re-established by Salâh ad-din.

(5) Abû Khuzaima Ibrahim Ibn Yazid, a native of Old Cairo, was appointed kadi of that city by Yazid Ibn Hâtim, A.H. 144 (A.D. 761-2). He continued to fill this place till his death, which took place A.H. 154 (A. D. 770-1). He was a man of great piety and lived by making halters, of which he sold two every day; with the price of one he supported himself, and he gave the price of the other to his brethren in Alexandria.—(History of the kådis of Cairo, by Sibt Ibn Hujr, MS. No. 691.)

(6) Sibt Ibn Hujr, in his Lives of the Kâdis, mentions Ibn Lahîa and relates the anecdote given here. Ibn Khudaij, or, as he writes the name, Abd Allah Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân Ibn Hudaij, was the son of a kâdi of Cairo who had been nominated A. H. 86 and died A. H. 94 (A. D. 712-3).

(7) In the Arabic text this name is incorrectly printed.

(8) Abû Omaiya Amr Ibn al-Hârith Ibn Yakûb, a native of Egypt and surnamed al-Muwaddib (the preceptor), was allied by adoption to the Ansârs. He learned the Traditions from Katâda and other great masters, and among his own pupils he had Ibn Wahb. His death took place between A. H. 147 (A. D. 764) and 149. He was then upwards of fifty.-(Tab. al-Muhad.)

(9) The life of Ibn al-Mubarak is given in this volume, page 12.

(10) Abû Rajâ Yazîd Ibn Abi Habib Suwaid, a member by adoption of the tribe of Koraish and a native of Egypt, studied the Traditions under a number of eminent masters and had al-Laith Ibn Saad among his own pupils. He died A. H. 128 (A.D. 745), aged between seventy-five and eighty years.—(Tab. al-Muhaddithîn.)

AL-KAANABI.

Abu Abd ar-Rahmân Abd Allah Ibn Maslama Ibn Kaanab al-Hârithi, surnamed al-Kaanabi, was a native of Medina. He received instructions in jurisprudence and the Traditions from the imâm Mâlik, and was one of his most talented, learned (1), and virtuous disciples. He knew by heart his master's work, the Muwatta, and taught it to his own pupils from memory; for such was the manner in which this work was transmitted down by a number of Mâlik's disciples: some diversity exists in the text as thus related by each; but the most perfect copy of it is that given viva voce by Yahya Ibn Yahya, as shall be again remarked in his life. Al-Kaanabi was surnamed ar-Râhib (the monk) for his devotion and his virtue. Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Haitham related that his grandfather had said to him, in speaking of al-Kaanabi: "When we went to see him, he would "come out to us with the face of one who had been looking down on (the ter

"rors of) hell; may God preserve us from it!' preserve us from it!" He died at Basra, the city where he resided, on Friday the 6th of Muharram, A. H. 221 (January, A. D. 836). Ibn Bashkuwàl mentions, in his list of those who transmitted orally 552 the Muwatta from Malik to their own pupils, that al-Kaanabi died at Mekka.— The surname of Kaanabi is derived from the name of his grandfather.

(1) The word signifies esteemed as a sure authority for the exactness of the Traditions which he transmits. It is here rendered by learned

IBN KATHIR THE KORAN-READER.

Abû Mabad (1) Abd Allah Ibn Kathir, one of the seven great masters in the science of koran-reading, died at Mekka, A. H. 120 (A. D. 737-8). This is the only information I can find respecting him.—I have since discovered that he is spoken of in the Kitâb al-Iknd (2), a work treating of the different readings of the Koran. The author of that book says: "Ibn Kathir al-Makki (native of

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Mekka) ad-Dâri (belonging to the tribe of ad-Dâr), which is a branch of that of "Lakhm and produced Tamim ad-Dâri (3); some say however that he took "this surname from Dàrain (4), because he was a druggist and perfumer, and "that is the place where perfumes are procured; this last derivation is the true They say that he was a mawla to Amr Ibn Alkama al-Kinâni, and "that he drew his origin from one of those Persians whom Chosroes had sent by sea to Yemen, when he expelled the Abyssinians from that country (5). "He dyed his beard with hinna (6) and was kâdi of the community at Mekka (7). "In the classification of the Tâbis, he was placed in the second division (8). He

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was advanced in years, his hair was white, his beard long, his body large, his "complexion tawny, and his eyes dark blue; his grey hair was dyed with hinna "or with yellow dye (sufra), and in his conduct he displayed a dignified gravity. "He was born at Mekka, A. H. 45 (A. D. 665-6), and he died in that city, A. H. "120."--This writer gives here the same date for his death as that mentioned above, and it seems a point on which all the readers agree; but, in my opinion, it cannot be exact, for Abd Allah Ibn Idris al-Audi, who learned the readings of the Koran under Ibn Kathir, was born A.H. 115; and how could he have done

So, if his master had only lived till A.H. 120? This error originated with Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid, who was deceived by the fact that Abd Allah Ibn Kathir of the tribe of Koraish, but a different person from the koran-reader (9), died in that year; but God knows best! (10) The system of reading followed by Ibn Kathir was transmitted down orally by two persons, Kunbul and al-Bazzi; the former, whose real name was Muhammad Ibn Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khâlid Ibn Said Ibn Jurja al-Makki al-Makhzûmi died A. H. 291 (A.D. 903-4), aged ninety-six years; the latter, who bore the name of Abu 'l-Husain Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn al-Kâsim Ibn Nâfi Ibn Abi 'l-Bazza Bashshar al-Fârii (14), died A. H. 270 (A.D. 883-4), aged eighty.

(1) The autograph has Abu Said, but the Nujum writes the name Abu Mabad as here, and the author of the Tabakat al-Kurrd states expressly that such was his real surname.

(2) Abû Jaafar Ahmad Ibn Abi 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Bâdish, a descendant from the Ansårs and a celebrated teacher of the koranic readings, was a native of Granada, and held the office of public preacher in that city. His work, the Iknd fi 'l-Kiradt (the sufficient help, treating of the koranic readings), is esteemed one of the best treatises on the subject. He was likewise well acquainted with the Traditions. Died A.H. 542 (A.D. 1147-8).-(Tab. al-Kurra, fol. 162 verso.)

(3) Abû Rukaiya Tamim Ibn Aùs ad-Dâri was originally a Christian, but embraced Islamism in the ninth year of the Hijra and became one of Muhammad's Companions. He was so assiduous in the practice of devotion, that he obtained the appellation of Rahib al-Omma (the monk of the people). He possessed a talent for relating stories or histories, and he continued that practice with the permission of the Prophet.-(Majma 'l-Ahbab, MS. fonds St. Germain, No. 131; Siar as-Salaf, ibid. No. 133.)-See d'Herbelot's Bib. Orient. TAMIM. (4) According to al-Idrisi, Dârain is situated in the province of Fars; and the author of the Marâsid calls it a sea-port where musk was imported from India.

(5) According to Abû 'l-Fedâ, this occurred in the reign of Anushirwân; Saif Ibn Zi-Yazan then recovered the throne of his ancestors.

(6) See vol. I. page 46, note (3).

(7) Kadi of the community

; this was a title given to the chief kadi (kadi 'l Kudat), more

particularly in Africa and Spain. See Notices et Extraits, tom. XII. page 578.

(8) The Tabis were classed by the length of time which they had known and frequented the companions of Muhammad.

(9) This Ibn Kathir is cited in the Sahih as an authority for one of the Traditions given in that work. His grandfather's name was al-Muttalib.-(Tab. al-Kurra.)

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(10) On this subject, ad-Dahabi makes the following observations in his Tabakat al Kurra: Abu Jaafar Ibn "al-Bådish al-Andalusi is grossly mistaken in saying that Abd Allah Ibn Idris al-Audi studied koran-reading under Ibn Kathir; a statement on which an opinion has been founded that Ibn Kathir died later than A. H. "120, which is another mistake."-(MS. No. 742, fol. 17 verso.)

(11) Al-Bazzi was a mawla to the tribe of Makhzům, and a muwazzin in the great mosque of Mekka. AdDahabi has a long article on him in the Tabakat al-Kurrâ.

IBN KUTAIBA.

Abu Muhammad Abd Allah Ibn Muslim Ibn Kutaiba ad-Dinawari (native of Dinawar),-some say al-Marwazi (native of Maru),-the author of the Kitab al-Maârif (1) and the Adab al-Kâtib (2), was a grammarian and a philologer of eminent talent and noted for the correctness of his information. He resided at Baghdad and taught the Traditions in that city on the authority of Ishak Ibn Râhwaih (3), Abû Ishak Ibrahim az-Ziâdi (4), Abû Hàtim as-Sijistàni (5), and other masters of the same period; his own authority was cited for Traditions by his son Ahmad and by Ibn Durustûya (6). Besides the works just mentioned, he composed a number of others equally instructive, such as his Explanation of the rare expressions occurring in the Koran, Explanation of the rare expressions occurring in the Traditions, the Oyûn al-Akhbâr (7), the Mushkil al-Korân (obscurities of the Koran), the Mushkil al-Hadîth (obscurities of the Traditions), the Tabakât as-Shuarâ (notices on the poets), the Kitâb al-Ashriba (treatise on the different sorts of drinks), the Islah al-Ghalat (faults corrected) (8), the Kitâb atTafkih (the instructor) (9), the Kitab al-Khail (treatise on horses), the seven Readings of the Koran analysed grammatically, a work on the Anwa (10), the Kitâb alMasail, etc. (book of questions and answers), the Kitâb al-Maisir wa 'l-Kidâh (on games of chance) (11). These books he continued to explain to his pupils at Baghdad till his death. His father was, it is said, a native of Marw, but he himself was born at Baghdad, or, according to some, at Kûfa; having acted for some time in the capacity of a kâdi at Dinawar, he received the surname of Dinawari. His birth took place A. H. 213 (A. D. 828-9), and his death occur535 red in the month of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 270 (May, A. D. 884); but this point is not well established, as some say that he died in A. H. 271, others in A.H. 296, on the first of Rajab, or on the 15th of that month (April, A. H. 909), and this last opinion is nearest to the truth. His death happened quite suddenly; he uttered a cry loud enough to be heard at a great distance, and then, falling into a state of insensibility, he expired. Another account says: He had eaten some harisa (a sort of pottage so called) which brought on an inflammation (12); he then uttered a loud cry and fell into a state of insensibility which lasted till the hour of noon; he was then agitated convulsively for some time, after which

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