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he remained quiet, and he continued to utter the profession of faith till daybreak the next morning, when he expired.-His son Abû Jaafar Ahmad Ibn Abd Allah was a doctor of the law, and taught also all the works of his father, by whom he had himself been instructed in them. He filled the place of kâdi in Old Cairo, which city he first entered on the 18th of the latter Jumâda, A. H. 324 ; he died there in the exercise of his functions, A. H. 322, in the month of the first Rabi (February-March, A. D. 934): he was born at Baghdad.—It is said that most of the learned men (of that time) called the Adab al-Kâtib a preface without a book, and the Islâh al-Mantik (Ibn as-Sikkit's work) a book without a preface; but this observation betrays a certain degree of prejudice against Ibn Kutaiba, for his Adab al-Kâtib contains an abundance of information disposed under regular heads; and I am convinced that their only motive for saying so was, because its preface is very long, whilst the Islah has none at all. It is reported that he composed this work for Abû 'l-Hasan Obaid Allah Ibn Yahya Ibn Khâkân (13), the vizir of the Abbaside khalif al-Motamid, son of al-Mutawakkil. It has been commented by Abû Muhammad (Abd Allah) Ibn as-Sid al-Batalyausi, whose life will be found farther on. This learned scholar has explained therein the difficulties of the Adab al-Katib in the fullest manner, and pointed out the mistakes into which the author has fallen. His treatise bears the title of al-Iktidâb fi sharh Adab al-Kuttâb (Extemporizing, being a commentary on the Guide for Kâtibs), and is a proof of the extensive information possessed by its author. -Kutaiba is the diminutive of kitba, the singular form of the word aktâb, which signifies entrails. It is a common noun, but came to be used as a proper name. From it is formed the relative adjective Kutabi.-Dinawari (or Dainawari, as it is pronounced by as-Samâni, but incorrectly) means belonging to Dinawar, a town in Persian Irak near Kirmisin, which has produced a great number of eminent

men.

(1) The Kitab al-Madrif, or, as it might be denominated, the Book of Facts, is a most useful work. Eichhorn extracted from it the genealogies of the Arabs published in his Monumenta historiæ Arabum. It contains besides a great number of short biographical notices on the early Moslims, etc.

(2) The Adab al-Katib, or Writer's Guide, is a short work on orthography, philology, synonyms, and grammar. The preface is remarkable for its length.

(3) See vol. I. page 180.

(4) Abû Ishak az-Ziâdi descended from Ziad Ibn Abth by the following line: His father Sofyan was son to Sulaiman Ibn Abi Bakr Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân Ibn Ziâd Ibn Abih.

(5) See vol. I. page 603.

(6) The life of Ibn Durustûya comes immediately after this.

(7) The Oyun al-Akhbar (sources of information) forms a large volume in ten books, each of which treats of

a different subject. One is on the sultan, another on knowledge, a third on food, a fourth on women, etc.

(8) In this work he points out the mistakes into which Abu Obaida had fallen.

(9) The subject of this work is not specified by Hajji Khalifa.

(10) The anwa are the mansions of the moon in the Zodiac. The ancient Arabs imagined that they had great influence on the weather.

(11) See Pocock's Specimen, p. 315.

(12) This signification of the word is not given in the dictionaries, but it was known to M. de Sacy. See his edition of Abdallatif, page 16.

(13) Obaid Allah Ibn Khâkân was vizir to al-Mutawakkil and al-Motamid, in whose reign he died. He possessed great abilities as an administrator of public affairs, and by his generous character he gained the favour of the public and the military. He had refused to accept the vizirat a second time, but the troops insisted so strongly on his returning to office, that he was obliged to consent.-(See Fakhr ad-din Ibn Tabâtabâ's ad-Dual al-Islamiya, MS. No. 895. fol. 221, 232.)

IBN DURUSTUYA.

Abû Muhammad Abd Allah Ibn Jaafar Ibn Durustûya Ibn al-Marzubân alFârisi al-Fasawi (native of Fasa in the province of Fars) was a grammarian of great learning and talent. He studied philology at Baghdad under al-Mubarrad, Ibn Kutaiba (him whose life has been just given) and other masters; and a number of eminent men, such as ad-Dârakutni and others, received lessons from him on the same subject. He was born A.H. 258 (A.D. 871-2), and died at Baghdad on Monday, the 20th of Safar,—some say the 23rd,—A. H. 347 (May, A. D. 958). His father was an eminent Traditionist. According to as-Samâni, the word

is pronounced Durustûya, but Ibn Mâkúla says in his Kitâb al-Aâmâl that Darastawaih is the true pronunciation. As for the denominations Fârisi and Fasawi, we have already explained them in the life of al-Basàsiri (vol.I. page 173). -Ibn Durustûya's works are the height of excellence and exactness; they consist in a commentary on al-Jarmi's work (the Farkh) (1); the Irshâd (direction), a treatise on grammar; a treatise on the alphabet; a commentary on the philological work entitled al-Fasih (2); an answer to al-Mufaddal ad-Dubbi's refutation of al-Khalil (Ibn Ahmad); the Hidâya (direction) (3); a treatise on the words which end in a long or a short elif; an explanation of the rare expressions occurring in

the Traditions; a treatise on the ideas and allusions usually met with in poetry; the Kitab 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 Najrån 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-Masudi 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 Maru), 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-Shâfi'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 Imam alHaramain. All those persons became imâms of great note; they composed most instructive works, propagated as-Shafi's doctrines in the different countries of the Moslim empire and taught them to others, who, in their turn, became eminent as imâms. Al-Kaffàl was already advanced in years when he began to study the law; he had spent his youth in making locks (akfâl), 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-Haddâd 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 Abú Yakûb 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 Imâm 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 Zû '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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