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MUHAMMAD IBN YAHYA.

Abu Saad Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Abi Mansûr, a doctor of the Shafite sect, a native of Naisâpûr, and surnamed Muhi ad-din (reviver of religion), was the most eminent of the later jurisconsults, and surpassed them all in learning and piety. He studied the law under Abû Hâmid al-Ghazzâli (vol. II. p. 621), and Abu 'l-Muzaffar Ahmad al-Khawâfi (vol. I. p. 79). Having acquired a superior knowledge of this science and composed a number of works, some on it, and others in defence of his sect, he was appointed chief of the jurisconsults of Naisàpûr. Persons then came from all countries to pursue their studies under him, and, of the numerous students who profited by his tuition, the majority became saiyids (able doctors) and skilful controvertists. His works are: the Muhit (comprehensive) (1), being an explanation of (al-Ghazzâlî's) Wasit; the Intisâf fi Masail al-Kilaf (justification; treatise on controverted points of Shafite doctrine), etc. The hâfiz Abd al-Ghâfir al-Fàrisi (vol. II. p. 170) mentions him with commendation in the Siak, or Continuation of the history of Naisâpûr, and adds: “He "possessed abilities as an exhorter to piety, and his mind was stocked with "copious information on various sciences. He taught in the Nizâmiya College 653" of Naisâpûr, and then in the Nizâmiya College of Herât. Among the portions

"of traditional information which he had received, were some transmitted "to him orally by shaikh Abû Hâmid Ahmad Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn "Abdûs, and (then) read to him by the imâm Abû Nasr Abd ar-Rahim, son of "Abu 'l-Kâsim Abd al-Karim al-Kushairi (vol. II. page 154) in the year 496

(A. D. 1102). The following verses, were recited to him by a person of "talent who happened to attend one of his lectures, and was struck with his "instructive observations and the manner in which they were conveyed :

The mouldering remains of religion and of Islamism receive new life from our master Muhi ad-din (the reviver of religion), the son of Yahya (the living). When he gives a lesson, (it seems) as if he had received a revelation from God, the Lord of the Throne.

I found the following verses attributed to him in a collection of extracts; and I have since read in a life of the shaik Shihâb ad-din Abu 'l-Fath Muhammad

Ibn Mahmûd Ibn Muhammad, a Shafite jurisconsult, born at Tùs and settled at Egypt (2), that this doctor said: "The imâm Abû Saad Muhammad Ibn Yahya "recited to me the following verses composed by himself:

'When they said that a hair placed in water and exposed to the sun becomes a serpent, I did not credit their words; but, when the ringlets of my beloved settled on the water of her face (3) and stung my heart, I found the statement true..'"

This doctor was born at Turaithit, A. H. 476 (A. D. 1083-4), and he died a martyr in the month of Ramadan, A. H. 548 (Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1153), having been killed by the Ghozz, when they took Naisàpûr after defeating the Seljûk sultan, Sinjar (vol. I. p. 601). They put Muhammad Ibn Yahya to death by cramming earth into his mouth. Ibn al-Azrak al-Fâriki states, in his history (of Maiyâfârikîn) that this occurred in the year 553, but the former is the correct date. A number of learned men composed elegies on his death, and one of them, Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Abi 'l-Kâsim al-Baihaki, said in allusion to his fate :

O thou who hast shed the blood of a man profoundly learned, whose reputation reached to distant kingdoms ! tell me, wicked man, I conjure thee, and speak without dread: How couldst thou take away the life of him who was a muhi ad-din (giver of life to religion)?

The Shihab ad-din at-Tûsi mentioned in this article died in Old Cairo on the 20th of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 596 (September, A. D. 1200), and was interred in the Karâfa cemetery. His birth took place A. H. 522 (A. D. 1128). He professed at the college called Manâzil al-Izz (vol. II. p. 392), and sojourned in Cairo, at the khanakah (convent) of Said as-Saadà.-Turaithît is an extensive district in the dependencies of Naisâpûr; it has produced a number of eminent men, some of them remarkable for learning.

(1) According to the author of the Tabakåt as-Shafiyin, this work forms eight volumes.

(2) The date of this doctor's death will be found farther on.

(3) By the water of her face, he means the clear complexion of her cheeks. It must be recollected also that, in Arabic, ringlets and scorpions are permutable terms. See Introduction to vol. I. page xxxvi.

ABU MANSUR AL-BARAWI.

Abu Mansur Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Saad Ibn Abd Allah al-Barawi, a highly distinguished jurisconsult of the Shafite sect, attained the eminent rank which he held by his knowledge of the law, his talent for discussion, and his abilities as a dogmatic theologian and preacher. His style was charming, and his diction pure and elegant. He studied the law under Muhammad Ibn Yahya, the doctor whose life has been just given, and was one of his best pupils. He composed an excellent and well-known Taalika (1) on the points of controversy between his sect and the other three, and a treatise on dialecties, entitled al-Muktarih fi 'l-Mustalih (the requisite for the conventional). This is also a good and well known treatise; jurisconsults make it one of their principal subjects of study, and it has been fully elucidated by the doctor Taki addin Abû 'l-Fath Muzaffar Ibn Abd Allah al-Misri (2), who was ever afterwards known by the surname of at-Taki (Taki ad-din) al-Muktarih, because he knew this book by heart (3). In the year 567 (A. D. 1171-2), al-Barawi went to 634 Baghdad, and was most honourably received by both high and low. He then

obtained the place of professor in the Bahdiya (4), a college situated near the Nizamiya, and every day he gave a number of lessons which were attended by crowds of people. He opened also a class for the discussing of points of law) in the Mosque of the Castle, and this attracted all the professors and other distinguished men. He held sittings also at the Nizamiya college for the purpose of giving pious exhortations, and, at that time, the person who professed there was Abu Nasr Ahmad Ibn Abd Allah as-Shashi. He sometimes betrayed there, by his gestures, his desire of becoming professor at the Nizamiya; and, one day, in the course of the sitting, he pointed to the place which the professor used to occupy, and recited the following verses, taken from the commencement of one of al-Mutanabbi's kasidas:

I wept, O thou vernal mansion! till I had nearly made thee also weep; I poured forth my feelings and my tears over thy abodes. Receive my morning salutation! thou hast awakened my heart to sadness; return our greeting, for, behold, we salute thee. How could time have decreed that the gazelles of the desert were to replace the gazelles (maidens), thy former inhabitants!

The persons present understood the allusion, and, as he was worthy of the place, he received the promise of obtaining it, but death overtook him. He was born at Tûs on Tuesday, the 15th of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 517 (January, A. D. 1124), and he died at Baghdad on the afternoon of Thursday, the 16th of Ramadan, A. H. 567 (May, A. D. 1172). The next day, Friday, the funeral service was said over him in the Mosque of the Castle by the khalif al-Mustadi biamr illah. He was buried the same day, at the Abrez Gate, in the funeral chapel of the shaikh Abu Ishak as-Shirazi (vol. I. p. 9). The hafiz Ibn Asâkir (vol. II. p. 252) mentions, in his history of Damascus, that Abû Mansûr al-Barawi went to that city, in the year 565, and lodged in the ribât of as-Sumaisâti. He states also that he read over to him some pieces which had been written down under his dictation.-Barawi: I do not know the derivation of this relative adjective, neither is it given by as-Samani (vol. II. p. 156); but I am inclined to think that the place to which it refers is in the dependancies of Tûs.

(1) See vol. I. page 55.

(2) Taki ad-din Muzaffar Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Ali al-Misri (native of Egypt), and surnamed al-Muktarih because he knew by heart the work bearing that title, composed some works on jurisprudence, dogmatic theology, and controversy, and was remarkable for his piety, humility, and learning. A number of pupils finished their studies under him at Cairo and at Alexandria. His birth took place A. H. 526 (A. D. 1131-2), and his death in the month of Shaabån, A. H. 612 (Dec. A.D. 1215).-(As-Soyûti's Husn al-Muhadira.)

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(5) This Bahdiya was probably the college founded by the vizîr Bahà ad-dîn Sâbùr Ibn Ardashir (see vol. I. p. 555). The Nizâmiya college was founded, as its name imports, by the vizir Nizâm al-Mulk (see vol. I. p. 413).

ABU '1-HASAN IBN AL-KHALL.

Abu 'l-Hasan Muhammad Ibn Abi 'l-Bakà al-Mubarak Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad, surnamed Ibn al-Khall, was a doctor of the Shafite sect and a native of Baghdad. He studied jurisprudence under Abû Bakr Muhammad Ibn Ahmad as-Shâshi, surnamed al-Muztazhiri (vol. II. p. 625), and he

attained a high distinction by his learning. It was his custom to remain seated in the mosque of ar-Rahaba, a place on the east side of Baghdad, and never to leave it unless in cases of absolute necessity; and there he passed his time, giving opinions on points of law, and instructing pupils. Previously to this, he had been the sole depository, at Baghdad, of the decisions given by preceding doctors on points connected with the Suraijian question (1). He composed a work in the form of a commentary on (Abû Ishak as-Shirâzi's work) the Tanbîh, or Call, and to which he gave the title of Taujih at-Tanbih (the right directing of the Call); it is a short treatise, however, and of no utility, though the first composed on the subject. In another of his works he treats of the fundamentals of jurisprudence. He learned Traditions from Abu Abd Allah al-Husain Ibn Abi Talha an-Niâli, Abu Abd Allah al-Husain al-Busri, and other masters. Some Traditions were delivered down on his authority by Abû 's-Saad as-Samàni (vol. II. p. 156) and others. I heard a jurisconsult mention that Ibn al-Khall wrote an excellent mansûb (2) hand, and that, to obtain specimens of it, the people used to ask him for fatwas (written answers to questions on points of law), although they had no real occasion for them. The quantity of fatwas thus required of him became so great, that he had not a moment left to himself, and, discovering at length the motive of these numerous applications, he in future broke the point of his pen before writing his answers. The people then ceased to trouble him. Some say, however, that it was his brother who wrote so well, but God knows best! Ibn alKhall died at Baghdad in the year 552 (A. D. 1157-8), and his body was taken to Kûfa for interment.-His brother, Abû 'l-Husain Ahmad Ibn al-Mubarak, was 655 also an able jurisconsult and a good poet. Imàd ad-din al-Ispahâni mentions him with commendation in the Kharida, and quotes some passsages from his poems, with some of his couplets. One of the pieces which he gives is the following, on a certain preacher :

How vexatious that people should place reliance on the whims of that stuttering madman !—of a shaikh whose piety is tainted with hypocrisy, and whose hypocrisy imposes on very few. When he casts his eyes on the professor's chair, he perks up, as if he meant to say: "That place, by right, should be mine." With his bony fist he strikes his bosom (3), filled (not with compunction but) with hidden hate, and says: "What shall I say?" words which proceed, not from an abundance of ideas, but from the want of them.

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From his dûbaits, or couplets, we select the following:

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