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the Traditions; a treatise on the ideas and allusions usually met with in poetry; the Kitâb al-Haiyi wa 'l-Maiyit (4), the Kitâb at-Tawassut, or arbiter between alAkhfash and Thaalab relative to their explanations of the Koran; the History of Koss Ibn Saida (5); a treatise on those nouns which have each opposite significa, 354 tions; the History of the Grammarians; and a refutation of al-Farrâ's doctrines in rhetoric. He commenced also a number of other works, but did not finish. them.

(1) See vol. I. page 629.

(2) The Fasth or correct speaker is, as its title implies, a philological work. It is not exactly known who was the author of it; some attribute it to Ibn as-Sikkit, and others to Abû 'l-Abbas Thaalab. It has been elucidated by a great number of commentators.

(3) Hajji Khalifa does not specify the subject of this work.

(4) The Haiyi wa 'l-Maiyit (living and dead) is mentioned by Hajji Khalifa, but without any remark. (5) Koss Ibn Saida Ibn Amr al-Ibâdi (the Nestorian Christian) was bishop of Najrân in Yemen and celebrated for his eloquence. Muhammad met him at Okâz and heard him preach, some time previously to the promulgation of Islamism. Al-Masûdi speaks of him in the Murûj; see Dr. Sprenger's translation of that work, vol. I. page 137.

AL-KAABI.

Abû 'l-Kasim Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Mahmûd al-Kaabi al-Balkhi, a man celebrated for his learning, was the author of that sect of the Motazilites, the members of which are called Kaabites. He taught some doctrines peculiar to himself; for instance, that Almighty God has not the faculty of intention, and that all his acts happen without his having any intention or will to produce them. He was one of the great masters in scholastic theology, and held some eclectic opinions in this science. His death took place on the first of Shaabân, A. H. 317 (September, A. D. 929).— Kaabi means belonging to the tribe of Kaab.- Balkhi signifies belonging to Balkh, one of the great cities of Khorasan.

VOL. II.

AL-KAFFAL AL-MARWAZI.

Abu Bakr Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abd Allah al-Kaffàl al-Marwazi (native of Marw), a doctor of the sect of as-Shâfi, was the paragon of his time for legal knowledge, traditional learning, piety, and self-mortification. The results of

his application to the development of the imam as-Shafi's system of doctrine far surpassed those of his contemporaries: all his deductions are sound and his arguments decisive. Great numbers studied with profit under his tuition, and among the number were Abû Ali as-Sinji, the kâdi Husain (whose life has been already given) (1), and Abû Muhammad al-Juwaini, the father of the Imâm alHaramain. All those persons became imâms of great note; they composed most instructive works, propagated as-Shâfi's doctrines in the different countries of the Moslim empire and taught them to others, who, in their turn, became eminent as imâms. Al-Kaffal was already advanced in years when he began to study the law; he had spent his youth in making locks (akfal), an art in which he attained great skill, and it was for this reason that he was surnamed al-Kaffâl (the locksmith). It is said by some that he was thirty years of age when he commenced learning jurisprudence. He composed a commentary on Ibn al-Haddad al-Misri's (2) treatise on the secondary principles of the law, a work which has been commented also by Abû Ali as-Sinji and by Abû Taiyib at-Tabari; it is a small volume and difficult to be understood; some of the questions treated in it are so obscure (3) and so strange, that none but jurisconsults of superior talent can resolve them and understand their purport: we shall speak of the author of this book when giving the lives of those whose name is Muhammad. AlKaffal died in the year 417 (A. D. 1026-7), at the age of ninety, and was buried in Sijistân, where his tomb is still well known and continues to be visited as a place of sanctity.

(1) For as-Sinji's life, see vol. I. p. 419. In page 418 of the same volume will be found the life of Husain. (2) His life will be found in this work.

(3) In the printed Arabic text read .

ABU MUHAMMAD AL-JUWAINI.

Abû Muhammad Abd Allah Ibn Yûsuf Ibn Muhammad Ibn Haiyûya alJuwâini, a doctor of the sect of as-Shâfi and the father of the Imam al-Haramain (whose life shall be given later), was a great master in the interpretation of the Koran, and in law, dogmatic theology, grammar, and general literature. He cultivated this last science at Juwain under his father Abu Yakub Yûsuf, and then proceeded to Naisâpûr, where he studied jurisprudence under Abû 't-Taiyib Sahl as-Solûki (see vol. I. p. 606). From thence he went to Marw and put himself under the tuition of al-Kaffal al-Marwazi, him whose life has just been given. He followed with great assiduity the lessons of that doctor and derived from them much profit and information; he acquired also under his tuition a solid knowledge of the Shafite doctrines, great skill in controversy, and a perfect acquaintance with the peculiar system followed by him in developing the principles of the law. Having finished his studies under al-Kaffàl, he re- 355 turned to Naisâpûr in the year 407 (A. D. 1016-7), and obtained the place of professor and mufti. A great number of persons, and amongst them his own son the Imam al-Haramain, pursued their studies under him. The deepest respect was always shown to him, and no conversation but the most serious was ever held in his presence. He composed a great commentary on the Koran, containing much varied information, and also a number of works on jurisprudence, such as the Tabsira (elucidator), the Tazkira (remembrancer), the Mukhtasar al-Mukhtasar (abridgment of the abridgment) (1), the Fark (2), the Jamo, the Silsila (chain) (3), the Maukif al-Imâm wa 'l-Mâmûn (station of the imâm and those over whom he presides), etc. He drew up also a number of Talikas (4), and had besides learned a great quantity of the Traditions. His death took place in the month of Zu 'l-Kaada, A.H. 438 (April-May, A.D. 1047), according to as-Samâni in his Zail; but in his Ansab he says that it happened in the year 434 (A.D. 1042-3) at Naisâpûr; God best knoweth the truth! The same author mentions that he died at an advanced age, and he gives the following anecdote as it was related by the shaikh Abû Sâlih, the muwazzin: "The shaikh Abû Muhammad “al-Juwaini's illness lasted seventeen days, and he expressed a desire that the 'washing of his body should be done by me, and that I should preside at his

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"interment. When he died, I washed him, and on shrouding him I perceived "that his right arm, from the shoulder downwards, was luminous although it "bore no traces of injury; it shone with a lustre like that of the moon, at "which I was filled with admiration, and I said to myself: "This is a blessing "which his fatwas (legal decisions) have drawn down upon him.'"- Juwaini means belonging to Juwain, a large territory near Naisâpûr, crowded with villages.

(1) This is an abridgment of al-Muzani's compendium of the Shafite doctrines.-(Tabakåt as-Shafiyin.)

(2) This seems to be a mistake of Ibn Khallikân; the author of the Tabakat as-Shafiyin calls it the Forûk, and Hajji Khalifa mentions it under this title in his bibliographical dictionary.

(3) These works all treat of Shafite jurisprudence.

(4) See below, note (1).

ABU ZAID AD-DABUSI.

Abû Zaid Abd Allah Ibn Omar Ibn Isa ad-Dabûsi, one of the most eminent jurisconsults of the sect of Abû Hanifa, and a doctor of proverbial reputation for his learning, was the first who invented the art of (Moslim) dialectics and brought that science into existence. A number of taalikas (1) were composed by him; he wrote also other works, such as the Asrâr (mysteries) (2) and the Takwîm lilAdilla (system of demonstrations) (3). It is related that he once had a discussion with another doctor, who only smiled or laughed when pressed by his arguments, on which he pronounced these verses :

Why does he answer me by a laugh or a grin when I bring forward a decisive proof? If grinning be the result of legal knowledge, how excellent a jurisconsult is the bear of the desert!

He died in the city of Bokhara, A. H. 430 (A. D. 1038-9).-Dabûsi is derived from Dabasiya, the name of a town between Bokhara and Samarkand, which has produced a number of learned men.

(1) Taalikas were of two kinds: the first consisted of notes taken by the student during the lessons of his professor; and the second, of notes composed to clear up obscure passages in an author and supply his omissions; a sort of commentary, in fact. Ad-Dabùsi's were of the latter kind.

(2) This is a treatise on the dogmas and the secondary points of the law.

(3) This work treats of dogmatic theology.

AL-MURTADA IBN AS-SHAHROZURI.

Abu Muhammad Abd Allah Ibn al-Kåsim Ibn al-Muzaffar Ibn Ali Ibn alKasim as-Shahrozûri, surnamed al-Murtada (him in whom God is pleased), and father of the kadi Kamâl ad-din, was celebrated for his great merit and his piety. (We shall give the life of his father and that of his son.) This fine preacher, who was equally remarkable for the elegance of his figure and the harmony of his style, was kâdi of Mosul and taught the Traditions in that city; he had passed some time at Baghdad in the study of the latter branch of learning and the pursuit of legal knowledge. He composed some beautiful poetry, and amongst other pieces a kasida of great merit, written in the mystical style peculiar to the Sufis. We shall give it here (1):

me.

The light of their fire glimmered (from afar), and already the night had darkened (around us); the weary camel-driver could no longer continue his song, and our guide stood perplexed and bewildered. I looked at that fire, but the glance of my eye was 356 feeble; my mind also had been weakened by my separation (from the beloved); my heart was that afflicted heart (which you have known so long); and my passion, that inmost passion (which has so long been my torment). I then turned towards the flame and said to my companions: "That is Laila's fire; rein over to it." They directed towards it firm glances from their eyes; glances which were repelled and turned aside. Then (my companions) began to reproach (me): "Was it not a flash of lightning which you saw, or "else a phantom of your imagination?" On this I abandoned them and bent thither my way; desire was the camel which conveyed me, and passion the rider who sat behind With me was a companion (love) who followed my traces; for it is the nature of love to be importunate. The fire blazed up and we approached nearer, till some timeworn ruins intervened. We went on to them till our progress was stopped by sighs and sadness. "Who dwell in these abodes?" I exclaimed, and voices answered: "A “wounded man, a captive in bondage, and a victim slain! what seekest thou here?"— "I am a guest," was my reply; "I seek hospitality, where is the stranger's meal of welcome?"-They pointed towards the court of the dwelling: "Stop there," said they, "and kill thy camel for thy food; from us a guest never departeth more! He who comes to us must throw away his staff of travel."- -"But how," said I, "can I reach "that fire? where is the way?" We then halted at the habitation of some people whom the wine had prostrated even before they had tasted of it. Passion had effaced all traces of their former existence, and had itself become the mere traces of a ruin; in this ruin they had fixed their abode. Among them was one abstracted, in whom neither complaints nor tears found any longer place; his sighs alone denoted his existence, and even of these (his will) was guiltless; from these his consciousness was far apart. Among them also was one who made signs that we should observe his passion which, less intense (than that of the others), had allowed his consciousness to exist. I saw that each of them had reached stations the description of which would require a long epistle.

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