marked that a person versed in one science could find his way in all the others, on which Muhammad said to him: "What is then your opinion of a man who, "in making the satisfactory prostrations which some neglect or irregularity "in the prescribed prayers rendered necessary, again commits an irregularity? "must he renew his prostrations?" To this he replied in the negative (2), and gave for reason that a noun which has already assumed the diminutive form cannot be diminished again.-It is thus that I found this anecdote related in a number of places, but the Khatib says, in his History of Baghdad, that the conversation took place between Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan and al-Farrâ (3), who 458 were sisters' sons.)-Muhammad then asked him if the sentence of divorce joined to the condition of possession was valid? Al-Kisai answered that it was not, and gave for reason that the torrent does not precede the rain (4). He had some conferences and discussions with Sibawail and Abû Muhammad al-Yazidi, of which we shall take further notice in the lives of these two grammarians. The traditional knowledge handed down by al-Kisai was received by him from Abû Bakr Ibn Aiyâsh (vol. I. p. 553), Hamza az-Zaiyât (vol. I. p. 478), Ibn Oyaina (vol. I. p. 578), 578), and others; among the persons who transmitted the information. furnished by al-Kisâi were al-Farrà and Abû Obaid al-Kâsim Ibn Sallam. Al-Kisai died A. H. 189 (A. D. 804-5) at Rai, to which city he had accompanied Harun ar-Rashid. As-Samâni observes that the death of Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan occurred on the same day and at the same place, but Ibn al-Jauzi remarks, in his Shuzûr al-Okûd, that he (the latter) died at Zanbawaih, a village in the canton of Rai. As-Samàni states again that al-Kisâi died at Tûs in A. H. 482 (A. D. 798-9), or 183. God knows best the truth! It is related that ar-Rashid said on this occasion: "The sciences of jurisprudence and grammar have been "interred at Rai."— Kisai means a wearer of a kisâ or cloak: he received this name because, on his arrival at Kûfa, he went muffled up in a cloak to Hamza Ibn Habib az-Zaiyât, who (being then engaged in giving lessons to his pupils) asked which of them wished to read? To this one of them replied: "He with "the cloak (al-Kisdi)." Others state that he was so called because he had used a cloak instead of an ihram when performing the pilgrimage.

(1) Ibn Khallikàn gives the verses, but they cannot be translated. They form an enigma the word of which designates the attribute of Priapus.

سجود السهو في سجود السهو لا يجب : This is conformable to the law which says (2)

(3) The lives of the grammarian Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Farrà and of the jurisconsult Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan will be found in this work.

(4) The sentence of divorce joined to the condition of possession (tâlîk at-talák balmilk) is when a man says to a woman who is not his wife: if I marry thee, thou art divorced, or when he says: Every woman whom I may marry is divorced. The Hanifite doctors admit the validity of the divorce in this case, and consider it as immediately effected by the act of marriage. The Shafites deny its validity. Al-Kisai denied it also on the principle that the torrent does not precede the rain, or, in other words, that the consequence cannot precede the antecedent. The expression he makes use of was proverbial among the Arabs of the desert, and well known also to every philologer and grammarian. It is to be found in Freytag's Meidani, vol. I. page 613, under another form, namely, show ÿ precessit pluvia ejus torrentem ejus.

and the married man is

للملك The milk or possession is effected by the act of marriage

التزويج

the malik or possessor. The persons who take an interest in this question will find the requisite information in D'Ohsson's Tableau général de l'empire othoman, tom. V. p. 208, and Hamilton's Hidaya, vol. I. The following extracts from works of high authority are relative to this question; but as their technicality renders a literal translation extremely difficult, I prefer giving them in the original language.

اذا اضاف الطلاق الى النكاح وقع عقيب النكاح نحوان يقول لامراة ان تزوجتك فانت طالق واذا اضافه الى الشرط وقع عقيب الشرط مثل ان يقول -اوكل امراة اتزوجها فهي طالق لامواته ان دخلت الدار فانت طالق * ولا يصح اضافة الطلاق كلا ان يكون الطالق مالكا او يضيفه الملک کا التزويج كالاضافة الى الملك * الى ملك ولاصافة الى

او عمم

-Futawa Alemgiri, vol. I. p. 586.)

يصح تعليق الطلاق والعنق بالملك فيلزم الطلاق او العنق سوا اطــــلـــق قول ابي حنيفة انه او خصص وصورته ان يقول لاجنبية ان تزوجتك فانت طالق او كل امراة اتزوجها فهي طالق او يقول لعبد ان ملكتك فانت حر اوكل عبد اشتريته فهو حر وقول مالك انه قبيلة أو قرية او امراة بعينها لا ان اطلق او عمم وقول يلزم الطلاق او العتق اذا خصص الشافعى واحمد انه لا يلزم الطلاق او العنق مطلقا *

او عين

-(al-Mizân as-Shârâniya, MS. No. 369, fol.194.)

AD-DARAKUTNI.

Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Omar Ibn Ahmad Ibn Mahdi, a hâfiz of great learning and celebrity, and a jurisconsult of the sect of as-Shâfì, was a native of Baghdad.

of the age in

He acquired his knowledge of the law from Abu Said al-Istakhri the Shafite doctor (vol. I. p. 374); but this statement is contradicted by some, who pretend that one of Abu Said's disciples was his master in that science. He learned the reading of the Koran, by audition and repetition (4), under Muhammad Ibn alHasan an-Nakkâsh, Ali Ibn Said al-Kazzaz, Muhammad Ibn al-Husain at-Tabari, and other eminent teachers of the same period. When a mere boy, he began to learn Traditions from Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid (vol. I. p. 27), and having at length come to be considered as the sole imâm (or first master that science, none of his contemporaries ever disputed his title. Towards the end of his life, he commenced teaching the koran readings at Baghdad. He was well informed on the points wherein the doctors of the different sects disagree, and he knew by heart many of the diwâns, or collected poetical works, of the desert Arabs. As one of these diwâns consisted of the poems composed by as-Saiyid al-Himyari (2), he was held by some for a follower of the Shiite doctrines. Traditional information was given on his authority by Abù Noaim (v. I. p. 74) the author of the Hilyat al-Awliâ, and by many other persons. In the year 376 (A.D. 986-7) he gave evidence as a witness before the kâdi Ibn Màrûf (vol. I. p. 379), an act of which he afterwards repented, "because," said he, "the statements which I furnished relative to the blessed Prophet were ad"mitted on my own authority as exact, whereas my declaration in a court of justice is not receivable unless corroborated by that of another person (3)." Amongst the works composed by him are a Sunan, or collection of Traditions, and a Mukhtalif wa Mûtalif (4). He was induced to leave Baghdad and travel to Egypt by the intelligence which he received that Abu 'l-Fadl Jaafar Ibn Hinzaba (vol. I. p. 319), the vizir of Kâfûr, had the intention of composing a Musnad (5). As he wished to assist in that work, he undertook the journey and remained with the vizir for some time, during which he received from him marks of the highest honour, with a liberal subvention for his expenses, and an abundance of presents. He thus, by the favour of Ibn Hinzàba, became possessor of a large fortune, and he remained with him till the completion of the work. During that period, he and the hâfiz Abd al-Ghani Ibn Said (vol. II. p. 169) contributed their joint efforts to the task of extracting (the materials of) the Musnad (from various sources) and writing them out. Abd al-Ghani used to say: "The persons who discoursed the best of all on the Traditions of the Prophet were

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"three in number; Ali Ibn al-Madini (6) in his age, Mûsa Ibn Hârûn (7) in

66

his, and ad-Darakutni in ours."-One of ad-Dârakutni's pupils having 459 asked him if he ever saw a person equal to himself (in learning), he returned no direct answer, but merely observed that God had said: Justify not yourselves (8). The other insisted notwithstanding, and ad-Darakutni at length replied: "If you mean in a single science, I have seen (persons) more able than myself; "but if you mean in all the branches of knowledge which I possess, why then "I never met my equal." He was versed in a great variety of sciences, and was a master of the highest rank in those connected with the Koran. His birth took place in the month of Zû 'l-Kaada, 306 (April, A. D. 919), and his death occurred at Baghdad on Wednesday the 8th (some say the 2nd) of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 385 (December, A: D. 995). Some place his death in the month of Zû 'lHijja. The funeral service was said over him by Abû Hâmid al-Isfarâini (vol. I. p. 53), and he was buried in the cemetery at the Convent Gate (Bâb ad-Dair), near the tomb of Màrûf al-Karkhi (9).— Dârakutni means belonging to Dar alKutn (cotton-house), an extensive quarter of Baghdad.

(1) See the observations in vol. I. p. 675, note to p. 568.

(2) I am indebted to M. Caussin de Perceval for the following note on as-Saiyid al-Himyari:

Esseyid al-Himyari, dont le prénom était Abou Hàchim et le véritable nom Ismaïl, était fils de Mohammed fils de Yézyd fils de Rabia, etc. Son grand-père Yézyd avait composé des satires contre Zyad (Ibn Abihi) et ses fils, et fut pour cela jeté en prison et tourmenté par Obaydallah fils de Zyâd. Les trois poëtes arabes qui ont fait le plus de vers sont Béchår, Abou 'l-Atahiyya et Esseyid; personne n'a pu recueillir toutes leurs poésies. Quant a Eseyid, ses vers sont tombés dans l'oubli, malgré leur nombre et leur mérite, parcequ'ils sont remplis d'attaques contre les compagnons du Prophète, contre Abou Becr, Omar, Othman, et contre Ayecha et autres épouses de Mahomet. Les père et mère d'Esseyid étaient de la secte hérétique des Ebadhi, lui il était de la secte chiite des Keïssani ä. (Cette secte, suivant Ibn Khaldoun, tirait son nom de son fondateur Keïssân.) Il admettait l'imâmat de Mohammad Ibn al-Hanefiya (his life is given by Ibn Khallikân) et professait l'opinion du retour, c'est-à-dire qu'il croyait que Mohammed Ibn el-Hanefiya n'était point mort et qu'il reviendrait un jour. Esseyid a fait beaucoup de poésies en l'honneur des Hachemites, particulièrement des Alides, et contre leurs adversaires. Lorsque les Omeyyades furent renversés, il complimenta Abou 'l-Abbâs Seffàh, qui, pour le recompenser de ses vers, lui dit de demander ce qu'il voudrait. Esseyid demanda pour Souleymân fils de Habib le gouvernement d'el-Ahwâz, qui lui fut accordé. Le cadi de Basra, Sewwâr fils d'Abdallah, ayant un jour refusé d'admettre son témoignage en justice, Esseyid lui écrivit une lettre où il le baffouait et alla ensuite réciter au calife Mansour une satire virulente contre ce magistrat; celui-ci vint à l'instant se plaindre. Mansour lui dit en riant: "Ne sais-tu pas qu'Eyas fils de "Moawia reçut le témoignage de Farazdak; pourquoi blesser un homme qui a une langue comme celle d'Esseyid?" Ensuite le calife ordonna à Esseyid de faire sa paix avec le cadi. Mais l'inimitié du poëte et

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VOL II.

31

du juge continua, et ils cherchaient à se nuire réciproquement. Esseyid ayant dit un jour au calife que Sewwar voulait suborner des témoins pour le condamner comme coupable de vol, Mansour fit venir le cadi "et lui dit: "Je t'ôte à l'égard d'Esseyid tes fonctions de juge." Esseyid mourut à Wâsit, les uns disent sous le règne de Mansour, d'autres sous celui de Haroun (According to Abû 'l Mahâsin, in his Nujam, this poet died A. H. 171 (A. D. 787-8).)

(3) In all civil and criminal causes, generally speaking, the evidence of two witnesses is requisite to establish the proof of a fact. In civil matters, witnesses may, if they like, withhold their evidence.

(4) This is a treatise on such traditionists as might be confounded with others from the similarity of their

names.

(5) See vol. I. page 323, note (7).

والعلل

الجرح و

(6) Abu 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Jaafar Ibn Najih Ibn al-Madini, a mawla to the tribe of Saad, a hafiz of the highest eminence, and one of the great imâms of Islamism, was a native of Basra. His acquirements in the Traditions were most extensive, and he displayed great penetration in appreciating their authenticity and the credibility of the persons by whom they had been transmitted down frill, He composed nearly two hundred works on the subject, and his authority was cited by alBukhari, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Abû Dâwûd, an-Nisâi, Ibn Mâja, at-Termedi, and others. His conduct and demeanour were modelled on that of the early Moslims, and his actions, words, dress, manner of sitting, and general behaviour were noted down, by the learned doctors of that time, as worthy of imitation. He received his traditional knowledge from his own father, who was also a celebrated traditionist, and from Hammad Ibn Zaid, Sofyan Ibn Oyaina, Hushaim, and others. Al-Bukhâri said of him: "I was never sensible of my inferiority but in the presence of Ali Ibn al-Madini;” and Ibn Oyaina declared that were it not on Ibn al-Madini's account, he would never have given lessons. He was born A. H. 161 (A. D. 777-8), and he died in the month of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 234 (May-June, A. H. 849). — (Oyûn at-Tawârîkh. An-Nujûm azZahira. Tabakåt al-Fokahd. Abû 'l-Feda's Annals; and Reiske's note.)

(7) The hâfiz Abû Imrân Musa Ibn Hârûn was a native of Baghdad. He bore the reputation of being the first imam of the age in the science of Traditions. He died A. H. 294 A. D. 906–7). —(Al-Yâfi.) (8) Koran, surat 53, verse 33.

(9) The life of Mârûf is given by Ibn Khallikân.

AR-RUMMANI.

Abu 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Isa Ibn Ali Ibn Abd Allah ar-Rummâni was a celebrated and learned imâm in the sciences of grammar and scholastic theology. He is also the author of an interpretation of the Koran. His masters in general literature were Abu Bakr Ibn Duraid and Abu Bakr (Muhammad) Ibn as-Sarraj; and some of the information which he acquired was transmitted down from him by Abû 'l-Kasim (Muhammad) at-Tanûkhi (1), Abû Muhammad al-Jauhari, and