funeral chapel bearing his name and situated near the mosque erected by his ancestor Abù 'l-Hasan Ibn Farghân (4).-His son Abd Allah al-Murtada, the author of the Mausiliyan Kasida (vol. II. p. 29), was the father of Kamål ad-din.— As for the Kadi 'l-Khafikain, as-Samâni says of him that he studied the science (of the law) under Abû Ishak as-Shirâzi (vol. I. p. 9) and that he acted as kâdi in a number of towns; he travelled to Iråk, Khorâsân, and al-Jibâl (Persian Irak), where he received by oral transmission a great quantity of Traditions, some of which he communicated to as-Samâni himself. He was born at Arbela, A. H. 453 (A. D. 1061-3) or 454; he died at Baghdad in the month of the first Jumâda, A. H. 538 (Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1443), and was interred at the Abrez Gate. The title of Kadi 'l-Khafikain (kadi of the East and West) was given to him in consequence of his having exercised the functions of that office in a great number of towns. His brother Abû Mansûr al-Muzaffar is thus noticed by as-Sàmani, in his Zail" He was born at Arbela and brought up at Mosul, whence he re"moved to Baghdad, and studied under the shaikh Abû Ishak as-Shîrâzi. He "then returned to Mosul, and, at a very advanced period of life, he accepted the post of kâdi at Sinjâr although he had lost his sight (5).—I asked him the year "of his birth, and he informed me that he was born in the month of the latter “Jumâda, or of Rajab, A.H. 457 (May-June, A.D. 1065), at Arbela." He does not indicate the year of his death.-Shahrozûri means belonging to Shahrozûr, a large town which is now counted among the dependencies of Arbela; it was built by Zûr, the son of ad-Dabhâk (6). Shahrozûr signifies in Persian, the city of Zûr; al-Iskander (Alexander) Zû 'l-Karnain died there on his return from the East (7); I asked a native of the place about his tomb, and he informed me that a tomb did exist there, called the Tomb of al-Iskander, but that the inhabitants did not know who this person was. It is a city of great antiquity. The Khatib (vol. I. page 75) says, in his History of Baghdad, that al-Iskander made Madain Kisra (Ctesiphon) his residence, and that he continued to inhabit that 590 city till his death; his coffin was then transported to Alexandria, because his mother was dwelling there, and he was interred near her (8).

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(1) Hakim is a general name for magistrates of every rank.

(2) As-Suha is a small star in the tail of the Greater Bear; it is marked in Flamsteed's Celestial Atlas. The Arabs give the name of the two Zubanas to the stars and 0. of the Balance.

(3) He means the Divinity.

(4) One of the manuscripts has

the ancestor of, and I acknowledge that the text seems to me corrupted, as I read in the Kamus: FARGHAN; an ancestor of Abu 'l-Hasan al-Mausili (of Mosul), the traditionist.

(3) See the observations of our author in pages 33 and 34 of this volume.

(6) Zohak or ad-Dahhak, as the Arabs pronounce the name, was the tyrant who makes so conspicuous a figure in the fabulous history of ancient Persia.

(7) Alexander the Great died at Babylon, as is well known.

(8) Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, never inhabited Alexandria, and she lost her life in Macedonia, eight years after the death of her son.

IBN FIRRO AS-SHATIBI.

Abû Muhammad al-Kàsim Ibn Firro lbn Abi 'l-Kâsim Kalaf Ibn Ahmad arRoaini as-Shatibi ad-Darir (the blind) al-Mukri (the teacher of the Koran-readings), is the author of the kasida on the Koran-readings, named by him Hirz al-Amâni wa Wajh at-Tahani (Wishes accomplished, and open congratulations (1)), consisting of one thousand one hundred and seventy-three verses, and displaying in its composition the utmost ingenuity. It is the main authority on which the Koranreaders of this age rely, in their instructions to pupils, and very few persons undertake to study the readings till they have learned this poem by heart and mastered its meaning. It is filled with extraordinary allusions, obscure and subtle indications, and I do not believe that any work of a similar kind was ever produced before. He is declared to have said: "No one will read this kasida of "mine without Almighty God's permitting him to derive profit from it; for I "composed it purely and simply with the view of serving Almighty God." He composed also another kasida of five hundred verses and rhyming in d, from which, if learned by heart, a complete acquaintance is obtained with the contents of Ibn Abd al-Barr's Tamhid (2). Ibn Firro was learned in the reading and interpretation of the Book of God (the Koran), and pre-eminent by his knowledge of the Traditions relative to the Prophet; when pupils read to him out of the Sahîh of al-Bukhari, or that of Muslim, or the Muwatta (of Mâlik), he would correct the text of their copies from memory, and indicate the necessary vowels and diacri

tical points, wherever their presence was required. In grammar and philology he stood unrivalled; in the interpretation of dreams he displayed great skill; in all his conduct he was actuated by the purest motives, and his deeds, like his words, proceeded from a heart devoted to God. He read the Koran, according to the different readings, under Abû Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi 'l-Aâsi an-Nafri (3), and under Abû 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Hudail al-Andalusi; he learned Traditions from Abû Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Yûsuf Ibn Saâda (4), Abû Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Abd ar-Rahim al-Khazraji, Abû 'l-Hasan Ibn Hudail, the hâfiz Abû 'l-Hasan Ibn an-Nima (5), and others. A great number of persons studied under him with profit, and I met in Egypt with many of his former pupils. In his discourse he avoided prolixness; never, on any occasion, did he pronounce a word without necessity, and he never took his seat to teach the readings of the Koran without being in a state of purity (6), and assuming an air of dignified gravity and profound humility. When suffering under a severe illness, he neither complained nor uttered a groan, and, being asked how he was, he replied: "In health," without adding another word. One of his disciples recited some verses to me and said: "Our shaikh frequently "repeated them; they form an enigma the word of which is bier." I asked him if they were the shaikh's, and he replied that he did not know. Some time afterwards, I met with them in the diwân of the khatib Yahya Ibn Salama al-Haskafi, a person whose life will be found in this work. These verses are :

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Do you know an object to which one similar exists in the sky (7)? When it moves forward, people utter loud exclamations. When we meet it, it bears a burden and is borne as one, and every chief who may ride on it is a prisoner. It incites to piety, and yet it is avoided; it admonishes mankind, and yet they shun it. (When it visits a house,) it was not called for through a wish for its presence, but it comes unwelcome to the person visited.

He

As-Shâtibi was born towards the end of A. H. 538 (June, A. D. 1444), and, at a very early age he officiated as khatib (preacher) in his native town. came to Egypt in the year 572 (A. D. 1176-7) and said on arriving: "I know by heart enough of the sciences to load a camel so heavily that, if a single leaf "more were added, it could not support the burden." He lodged at the house of al-Kadi 'l-Fadil (vol. II. p. 144) who appointed him professor of Koran391 reading, grammar, and philology. He died on Sunday, the 28th of the latter

Jumâda, A. H. 590 (June, A. D. 1194), a little later than the hour of the afternoon prayer, and was interred on the Monday following in the funeral chapel of al-Kâdi 'l-Fâdil. I have frequently visited his tomb, which is situated in the Lesser Karâfa Cemetery. The prayer was said over his grave by Abû Ishak alIraki (vol. I. p. 12), the khatib of the Great Mosque of Old Cairo.-Firro signifies iron in the Latin language of the non-Moslim inhabitants of Spain.-Roaini means descended from Za Roain, who was one of the princes of Yemen; a great number of persons have drawn their surnames from this ancestor.- Shatibi means belonging to Shatiba (Xativa), a large city with a strong citadel in the east of Spain, which has produced many men eminent for learning. It fell into the power of the Franks on one of the last ten days of Ramadan, A. H. 645 (end of January, A. D. 1248). Some say that as-Shâtibi's name was Muhammad and his surname Abû 'l-Kâsim, but I found his name written Abû Muhammad al-Kâsim in different ijazas (licences to teach and certificates of capacity) granted to him by his

masters.

(1) Literally: Custodia votorum et facies gratulationum.

(2) The life of Ibn Abd al-Barr is given in this work. In the 8th vol. of the Notices et Extraits, M. de Sacy has given a notice on the Akila or Raiya, another poem of Ibn Firro's, on the orthography of the Koran. (3) Al-Makkari mentions this an-Nafri in his notice on 1bn Firro. See MS. No. 704, fol. 160.

(4) Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Saada was an inhabitant of Xativa, but his ancestors dwelt in Valencia. Having received lessons in his native place from many men distinguished for learning, he travelled to the western provinces of Spain for the same purpose. In A. H. 320 (A. D. 1126) he journeyed to the East, and there cultivated jurisprudence and other branches of knowledge. He made the pilgrimage in the following year, and on his return to Egypt, he frequented the society of Abú Tâhir Ibn Aûf (see page 197, note (2, In the year 526 (A. D. 1131-2) he of this vol.), as-Silafi (vol. I. page 86) and other illustrious doctors. returned to Murcia with a vast stock of information in the Traditions, Koran-reading, koranic interpretation, law, philology and scholastic theology. He had an inclination for Sufism. Being appointed member of the town-council _ and preacher at the great mosque of Murcia, he began to teach the Traditions and jurisprudence, and he exercised the functions of kâdi in the same city till the downfal of the Almoravides. He then passed to the kadiship of Xativa, and taught Traditions not only there, but in Murcia and Valencia, in which places also he filled the office of khatib, or public preacher. Previously to this, he had taught Traditions at Almeria. He died at Xativa on the last day of Zû 'l-Hijja, A. H. 563 (Sept. A. D. 1170), leaving

He was سخرة الموهم المرتقية الى ذروة الفهم one single work on quite an original plan and entitled

born in the month of Ramadan, A. H. 496 (June-July, A. D. 1103).—(Al-Makkari; MS. No. 704, fol. 187.) (5) The name of Ibn an-Nima is mentioned by al-Makkari. MS. No. 704, fol. 160 recto.

(6) That is: In the state of bodily purity which is required of every Moslim when he proceeds to say his prayers.

(7) Part of the constellation of the Greater Bear is called an-Naash (the bier) by the Arabs.

ABU DULAF AL-IJLI.

Abú Dulaf al-Kasim Ibn Isa Ibn Idris Ibn Makil Ibn Omair Ibn Shaikh Ibn Moawia Ibn Khozài Ibn Abd al-Ozza Ibn Dulaf Ibn Jushm Ibn Kais Ibn Saad Ibn Ijl Ibn Lujaim Ibn Saab Ibn Ali Ibn Bakr Ibn Wail Ibn Kâsit Ibn Hinb Ibn Afsa Ibn Domii Ibn Jadila Ibn Asad Ibn Rabia Ibn Nizâr Ibn Saad Ibn Adnân al-Ijli was one of al-Màmûn's generals, and served also that khalif's successor, al-Motasim, in the same capacity. We have already mentioned his name in the life of alAkawwak (vol. II. p. 290), with some verses composed by that poet in his praise, and we have observed (vol. II. p. 101) that Abû Muslim al-Khorâsàni had been brought up under the care of (Isa Ibn Makil, the brother of Idris,) Abû Dulaf's grandfather. The life of the emir Abû Nasr Ali Ibn Mâkûla, the author of the Ikmal and one of Abû Dulaf's descendants, has also been given in this work vol. II. p. 248). Abû Dulaf was a spirited, noble, and generous chief, highly extolled for his liberality, courageous and enterprising, noted for his victories and his beneficence; men distinguished in literature and the sciences derived instruction from his discourse, and his talent was conspicuous even in the art of vocal music. Amongst the works which he composed are the following: the Kitab al-Buzût wa 's-Said (on falcons and game), the Kitâb as-Salah (on weapons), the Kitâb an-Nuzah (on agreeable country retreats, and the Kitab Siasa tal-Mulûk on the policy of princes). His praises were celebrated, in kasidas of the greatest beauty, by Abû Tammâm at-Tài (vol. I. page 348), and by Bakr Ibn an-Nattàh vol. I. p. 399); the latter said of him :

O thou who pursuest the study of alchemy, the great alchemy (the philosopher's stone) consists in praising the son of Isa. Was there but one dirhem in the world, thou wouldst obtain it by this means.

It is stated that, for these two verses, Abû Dulaf gave Ibn an-Nattah ten thousand dirhems. The poet then ceased visiting him for some time and employed the money in the purchase of a village (or estate) on the river Obolla. afterwards went to see him and addressed him in these words :

He

Thanks to thee, I have purchased an estate on the Obolla, crowned by a pavilion erected in marble. It has a sister beside it which is now on sale, and you have always money to bestow.