Ifran, Banu
Ifran, Banu (Banu Ifran) (Banou Ifran) (Ifran) (Ifranid) . Most important branch of the large Berber tribe of the Zanata, whose presence in Tripolitania, Wargla, Ifriqiya, the Maghrib and Spain is recorded from the seventh century onwards.
The Banu Ifran or Ifran or Ifranid, a Berber tribe, prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. Tlemcen in present-day Algeria was a capital of the Kingdom of Banu Ifran (790 - 1068).
The Banu Ifran, the children of the Afri resisted or revolted against the foreign occupiers of their Africa -(Romans, Vandals, Byzantines). In the 7th century, they sided with Kahina in her resistance against the Muslim Umayyad invaders. In the 8th century, they mobilized around the dogma of Sufri in revolting against the Arab Umayyads and Abbasids. In the 10th century, they founded a dynasty opposed to the Fatimids, the Zirids, the Umayyads, the Hammadids and the Maghraoua. The Banu Ifran was defeated by the Almoravids and the invading Yemeni Arabs Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym - Hammadid to the end of the 11th century. The Ifranid dynasty was recognized as the only dynasty that defended the indigenous people of the Maghreb, and, by the Romans, were referred to as the Africani.
In 11th century Iberia, the Banou Ifran conquered and built the city of Ronda in Andalusia and governed from Cordoba for several centuries.
The Roman name Africa means Land of the Afri, the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. Ifran is a plural for Afar, Efri or Ifri, and ifri means cave in Berber and was also the name of a cave goddess.
The Banu Ifran were one of the four major tribes of the Zenata or Gaetulia confederation. Their name probably derives from ifri, a Berber word meaning cave. They first came to notice when their chief Abu Qurra rebuilt the city of Tlemcen in Algeria in 765 (formerly it was a Roman city named Pomaria). They opposed the Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate, aligning themselves with the Maghrawa tribe and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, although they themselves became Kharijites. Led by Abu Yazid, they surged east and attacked Kairouan in 945. Another leader, Ya'la ibn Muhammad captured Oran and constructed a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara. The Fatimids struck back hard. Their able general Jawhar killed Ya'la in battle in 954 and destroyed Ifgan, and for some time afterward the Banu Ifran reverted to being scattered nomads in perpetual competition with their Sanhaja neighbors. Some went to Spain, where they settled in Malaga and other places. Others, led by Hammama, managed to gain control of the Moroccan province of Tadla. Later, led by Abu al-Kamāl, they established a new capital at Salé on the Atlantic coast. During this period they began conflict with the Barghawata tribes on the seaboard.
During the 11th century the Banu Ifran contested with the Maghrawa tribe for the sovereignty over the former Idrisid Kingdom of Fes. Ya'la's son Yaddū took Fes by surprise in January 993 and held it for some months until the Maghrawa ruler Ziri ibn Atiyya returned from Spain and regained control after some bloody battles.
In May or June of 1033, Fes was recaptured by Ya'la's grandson Tamīm. Fanatically devoted to religion, he began a persecution of the Berber Jews, and is said to have killed 6000 of their men while confiscating their wealth and women . Sometime in the period 1038-1040 the Maghrawa tribe re-took Fes, forcing Tamīm to flee to Salé.
Soon after that time, the Almoravids began their rise to power and effectively eliminated and exterminated both the Banu Ifran and their brother-rivals the Maghrawa.
The leaders of the Banu Ifran have included:
* Abu Qurra Tlemcen 736 - 790.
o Abou Yazid Tozeur 873 - 947
+ Abd-Allah-Ibn-Bekkar Tlemcen
# Yala Ibn Mohamed Ifgan near Mascara 950 - 958
* Yeddou 958 - Fez 993
o Habbous 993 - Fez 1029
+ Temim Ibn Ziri 1029 Salé - 1035
# Abou -l- Kemal 1036 Salé - 1054
# Yocuf 1055-1056
# Hammad 1056- 1066
# Mohamed 1066
Banu Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifranid see Ifran, Banu
Banou Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran, Banu (Banu Ifran) (Banou Ifran) (Ifran) (Ifranid) . Most important branch of the large Berber tribe of the Zanata, whose presence in Tripolitania, Wargla, Ifriqiya, the Maghrib and Spain is recorded from the seventh century onwards.
The Banu Ifran or Ifran or Ifranid, a Berber tribe, prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. Tlemcen in present-day Algeria was a capital of the Kingdom of Banu Ifran (790 - 1068).
The Banu Ifran, the children of the Afri resisted or revolted against the foreign occupiers of their Africa -(Romans, Vandals, Byzantines). In the 7th century, they sided with Kahina in her resistance against the Muslim Umayyad invaders. In the 8th century, they mobilized around the dogma of Sufri in revolting against the Arab Umayyads and Abbasids. In the 10th century, they founded a dynasty opposed to the Fatimids, the Zirids, the Umayyads, the Hammadids and the Maghraoua. The Banu Ifran was defeated by the Almoravids and the invading Yemeni Arabs Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym - Hammadid to the end of the 11th century. The Ifranid dynasty was recognized as the only dynasty that defended the indigenous people of the Maghreb, and, by the Romans, were referred to as the Africani.
In 11th century Iberia, the Banou Ifran conquered and built the city of Ronda in Andalusia and governed from Cordoba for several centuries.
The Roman name Africa means Land of the Afri, the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. Ifran is a plural for Afar, Efri or Ifri, and ifri means cave in Berber and was also the name of a cave goddess.
The Banu Ifran were one of the four major tribes of the Zenata or Gaetulia confederation. Their name probably derives from ifri, a Berber word meaning cave. They first came to notice when their chief Abu Qurra rebuilt the city of Tlemcen in Algeria in 765 (formerly it was a Roman city named Pomaria). They opposed the Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate, aligning themselves with the Maghrawa tribe and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, although they themselves became Kharijites. Led by Abu Yazid, they surged east and attacked Kairouan in 945. Another leader, Ya'la ibn Muhammad captured Oran and constructed a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara. The Fatimids struck back hard. Their able general Jawhar killed Ya'la in battle in 954 and destroyed Ifgan, and for some time afterward the Banu Ifran reverted to being scattered nomads in perpetual competition with their Sanhaja neighbors. Some went to Spain, where they settled in Malaga and other places. Others, led by Hammama, managed to gain control of the Moroccan province of Tadla. Later, led by Abu al-Kamāl, they established a new capital at Salé on the Atlantic coast. During this period they began conflict with the Barghawata tribes on the seaboard.
During the 11th century the Banu Ifran contested with the Maghrawa tribe for the sovereignty over the former Idrisid Kingdom of Fes. Ya'la's son Yaddū took Fes by surprise in January 993 and held it for some months until the Maghrawa ruler Ziri ibn Atiyya returned from Spain and regained control after some bloody battles.
In May or June of 1033, Fes was recaptured by Ya'la's grandson Tamīm. Fanatically devoted to religion, he began a persecution of the Berber Jews, and is said to have killed 6000 of their men while confiscating their wealth and women . Sometime in the period 1038-1040 the Maghrawa tribe re-took Fes, forcing Tamīm to flee to Salé.
Soon after that time, the Almoravids began their rise to power and effectively eliminated and exterminated both the Banu Ifran and their brother-rivals the Maghrawa.
The leaders of the Banu Ifran have included:
* Abu Qurra Tlemcen 736 - 790.
o Abou Yazid Tozeur 873 - 947
+ Abd-Allah-Ibn-Bekkar Tlemcen
# Yala Ibn Mohamed Ifgan near Mascara 950 - 958
* Yeddou 958 - Fez 993
o Habbous 993 - Fez 1029
+ Temim Ibn Ziri 1029 Salé - 1035
# Abou -l- Kemal 1036 Salé - 1054
# Yocuf 1055-1056
# Hammad 1056- 1066
# Mohamed 1066
Banu Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifranid see Ifran, Banu
Banou Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan, al- (“The Brothers”). Refers to the sedentarized bedouin soldiers for Ibn Saud. The term applies to the Arab tribesmen who joined a religious and military movement between 1912 and 1930 under the rule of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al Sa‘ud. The movement, which was inspired by the resurgence of Wahhabism and spread rapidly, was characterized by religious fervor and the settlement of nomadic tribesmen in military cantonments. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz‘s intention was to supersede the tribal tie with that of religion. Thanks to the prowess of the Ikhwan, most of the Arabian Peninsula was brought under the sway of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. However, they at last revolted against their sovereign who checked and confined them. Ikhwan also refers to members of the Society of the Muslim Brothers.
The Ikhwan was the Islamic religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin tribes. According to Wilfred Thesiger, this militant religious brotherhood declared that they were dedicated to the purification and the unification of Islam. This movement had aimed at breaking up the tribes and settling the Bedu around the wells and oases. They felt that the nomadic life was incompatible with strict conformity with Islam. Ibn Saud had risen to power on this movement. Later the Ikhwan rebelled when they accused Ibn Saud of religious laxity when he forbade them to raid into neighboring states. After the conquest of the Hejaz in 1926 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control, the monarch found himself in some conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He crushed their power at the Battle of Sabilla in 1930, following which the militia was reorganized into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
The Ikhwan, being irregular tribesmen, relied mainly on traditional weapons such as lances and swords and sometimes old fashioned firearms. Usually, they attacked in the forms of raids which is a style Bedouins had always used in the deserts of Arabia. Those raiders traveled mainly on camels and some horses. Their savage raids on others in and around Najd were merciless. Typically, every male captured was put to death by cutting his throat.
In August 1924, the Ikhwan militia traveled 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) from Najd in modern day Saudi Arabia to attack Transjordan; now Jordan which was at that time under British mandate. Just 15 kilometers off Amman, the raiders were spotted by the British RAF which in turn attacked the Ikhwan using airplanes. The Ikhwan army suffered heavy casualties. It is reported that out of the 1500 raiders, only 100 escaped. Without the help of the RAF, Amman would most likely have been captured by the Ikhwans.
Other raids include, the Ikhwan raid on Southern Iraq in November 1927, and on Kuwait in January 1928 in which they looted camels and sheep. On both occasions, though they raided brutally, they suffered heavy retaliations from RAF and Kuwaitis.
The Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan, al- (“The Brothers”). Refers to the sedentarized bedouin soldiers for Ibn Saud. The term applies to the Arab tribesmen who joined a religious and military movement between 1912 and 1930 under the rule of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al Sa‘ud. The movement, which was inspired by the resurgence of Wahhabism and spread rapidly, was characterized by religious fervor and the settlement of nomadic tribesmen in military cantonments. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz‘s intention was to supersede the tribal tie with that of religion. Thanks to the prowess of the Ikhwan, most of the Arabian Peninsula was brought under the sway of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. However, they at last revolted against their sovereign who checked and confined them. Ikhwan also refers to members of the Society of the Muslim Brothers.
The Ikhwan was the Islamic religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin tribes. According to Wilfred Thesiger, this militant religious brotherhood declared that they were dedicated to the purification and the unification of Islam. This movement had aimed at breaking up the tribes and settling the Bedu around the wells and oases. They felt that the nomadic life was incompatible with strict conformity with Islam. Ibn Saud had risen to power on this movement. Later the Ikhwan rebelled when they accused Ibn Saud of religious laxity when he forbade them to raid into neighboring states. After the conquest of the Hejaz in 1926 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control, the monarch found himself in some conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He crushed their power at the Battle of Sabilla in 1930, following which the militia was reorganized into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
The Ikhwan, being irregular tribesmen, relied mainly on traditional weapons such as lances and swords and sometimes old fashioned firearms. Usually, they attacked in the forms of raids which is a style Bedouins had always used in the deserts of Arabia. Those raiders traveled mainly on camels and some horses. Their savage raids on others in and around Najd were merciless. Typically, every male captured was put to death by cutting his throat.
In August 1924, the Ikhwan militia traveled 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) from Najd in modern day Saudi Arabia to attack Transjordan; now Jordan which was at that time under British mandate. Just 15 kilometers off Amman, the raiders were spotted by the British RAF which in turn attacked the Ikhwan using airplanes. The Ikhwan army suffered heavy casualties. It is reported that out of the 1500 raiders, only 100 escaped. Without the help of the RAF, Amman would most likely have been captured by the Ikhwans.
Other raids include, the Ikhwan raid on Southern Iraq in November 1927, and on Kuwait in January 1928 in which they looted camels and sheep. On both occasions, though they raided brutally, they suffered heavy retaliations from RAF and Kuwaitis.
The Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al- (“The Muslim Brethren”) (The Muslim Brotherhood) (The Society of the Muslim Brothers). Muslim movement both religious and political, founded in Egypt by Hasan al-Banna‘ in 1928. Dedicated to the service of Islam, the Brethren’s main objective was the struggle against western invasion in all its forms and the creation of an authentically Muslim state. Their ideas are still widely spread.
The al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn (the Muslim Brotherhood) was religio-political organization founded in 1928 at Ismailia, Egypt, by Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ. It advocated a return to the Qurʾān and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Although figures of Brotherhood membership are variable, it is estimated that at its height in the late 1940s it may have had some 500,000 members.
Initially centered on religious and educational programs, the Muslim Brotherhood was seen as providing much-needed social services, and in the 1930s its membership grew swiftly. In the late 1930s the Brotherhood began to politicize its outlook, and, as an opponent of Egypt’s ruling Wafd party, during World War II it organized popular protests against the government. An armed branch organized in the early 1940s was subsequently linked to a number of violent acts, including bombings and political assassinations, and it appears that the armed element of the group began to escape Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ’s control. The Brotherhood responded to the government’s attempts to dissolve the group by assassinating Prime Minister Maḥmūd Fahmī al-Nuqrāshī in December 1948. Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ himself was assassinated shortly thereafter; many believe his death was at the behest of the government.
With the advent of the revolutionary regime in Egypt in 1952, the Brotherhood retreated underground. An attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in Alexandria on October 26, 1954, led to the Muslim Brotherhood’s forcible suppression. Six of its leaders were tried and executed for treason, and many others were imprisoned. Among those imprisoned was writer Sayyid Quṭb, who authored a number of books during the course of his imprisonment; among these works was Signposts in the Road, which would become a template for modern Sunni militancy. Although he was released from prison in 1964, he was arrested again the following year and executed shortly thereafter. In the 1960s and ’70s the Brotherhood’s activities remained largely clandestine.
In the 1980s the Muslim Brotherhood experienced a renewal as part of the general upsurge of religious activity in Islamic countries. The Brotherhood’s new adherents aimed to reorganize society and government according to Islamic doctrines, and they were vehemently anti-Western. An uprising by the Brotherhood in the Syrian city of Ḥamāh in February 1982 was crushed by the government of Ḥafiz al-Assad at a cost of perhaps 25,000 lives. The Brotherhood revived in Egypt and Jordan in the same period, and, beginning in the late 1980s, it emerged to compete in legislative elections in those countries.
In Egypt, the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections there in the 1980s was followed by its boycott of the elections of 1990, when it joined most of the country’s opposition in protesting electoral strictures. Although the group itself remained formally banned, in the 2000 elections Brotherhood supporters running as independent candidates were able to win 17 seats, making it the largest opposition bloc in the parliament. In 2005, again running as independents, the Brotherhood and its supporters captured 88 seats in spite of efforts by President Ḥosnī Mubārak’s administration to restrict voting in the group’s strongholds. Its unexpected success in 2005 was met with additional restrictions and arrests, and the Brotherhood opted to boycott the 2008 local elections. In the 2010 parliamentary elections the Mubārak administration continued to restrict the Muslim Brotherhood by arresting members and barring voters in areas where the organization had strong support. After Mubārak’s National Democratic Party won 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting, effectively eliminating the Muslim Brotherhood from the parliament, the organization boycotted the second round.
In January 2011 a non-religious youth protest movement against the Mubārak regime appeared in Egypt. After hesitating briefly, the Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leadership endorsed the movement and called on its members to participate in demonstrations. When protests forced Mubārak to step down as president in February, leaving a transitional military administration in control of the country, the Muslim Brotherhood signaled that it intended to begin officially participating in Egyptian politics. The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it would apply to become a recognized political party as soon as constitutional amendments allowing wider political participation were completed but stated that it did not intend to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections.
In late April 2011 the Muslim Brotherhood took further steps toward open participation in Egyptian politics, founding a political party called the Freedom and Justice Party and applying for official recognition from the Egyptian interim government. Leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party stated that the party’s policies would be grounded in Islamic principles but that the party, whose members included women and Christians, would be non-confessional. The party received official recognition in June, allowing it to enter candidates in upcoming elections.
The Muslim Brethren see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Muslim Brotherhood see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al- (“The Muslim Brethren”) (The Muslim Brotherhood) (The Society of the Muslim Brothers). Muslim movement both religious and political, founded in Egypt by Hasan al-Banna‘ in 1928. Dedicated to the service of Islam, the Brethren’s main objective was the struggle against western invasion in all its forms and the creation of an authentically Muslim state. Their ideas are still widely spread.
The al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn (the Muslim Brotherhood) was religio-political organization founded in 1928 at Ismailia, Egypt, by Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ. It advocated a return to the Qurʾān and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Although figures of Brotherhood membership are variable, it is estimated that at its height in the late 1940s it may have had some 500,000 members.
Initially centered on religious and educational programs, the Muslim Brotherhood was seen as providing much-needed social services, and in the 1930s its membership grew swiftly. In the late 1930s the Brotherhood began to politicize its outlook, and, as an opponent of Egypt’s ruling Wafd party, during World War II it organized popular protests against the government. An armed branch organized in the early 1940s was subsequently linked to a number of violent acts, including bombings and political assassinations, and it appears that the armed element of the group began to escape Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ’s control. The Brotherhood responded to the government’s attempts to dissolve the group by assassinating Prime Minister Maḥmūd Fahmī al-Nuqrāshī in December 1948. Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ himself was assassinated shortly thereafter; many believe his death was at the behest of the government.
With the advent of the revolutionary regime in Egypt in 1952, the Brotherhood retreated underground. An attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in Alexandria on October 26, 1954, led to the Muslim Brotherhood’s forcible suppression. Six of its leaders were tried and executed for treason, and many others were imprisoned. Among those imprisoned was writer Sayyid Quṭb, who authored a number of books during the course of his imprisonment; among these works was Signposts in the Road, which would become a template for modern Sunni militancy. Although he was released from prison in 1964, he was arrested again the following year and executed shortly thereafter. In the 1960s and ’70s the Brotherhood’s activities remained largely clandestine.
In the 1980s the Muslim Brotherhood experienced a renewal as part of the general upsurge of religious activity in Islamic countries. The Brotherhood’s new adherents aimed to reorganize society and government according to Islamic doctrines, and they were vehemently anti-Western. An uprising by the Brotherhood in the Syrian city of Ḥamāh in February 1982 was crushed by the government of Ḥafiz al-Assad at a cost of perhaps 25,000 lives. The Brotherhood revived in Egypt and Jordan in the same period, and, beginning in the late 1980s, it emerged to compete in legislative elections in those countries.
In Egypt, the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections there in the 1980s was followed by its boycott of the elections of 1990, when it joined most of the country’s opposition in protesting electoral strictures. Although the group itself remained formally banned, in the 2000 elections Brotherhood supporters running as independent candidates were able to win 17 seats, making it the largest opposition bloc in the parliament. In 2005, again running as independents, the Brotherhood and its supporters captured 88 seats in spite of efforts by President Ḥosnī Mubārak’s administration to restrict voting in the group’s strongholds. Its unexpected success in 2005 was met with additional restrictions and arrests, and the Brotherhood opted to boycott the 2008 local elections. In the 2010 parliamentary elections the Mubārak administration continued to restrict the Muslim Brotherhood by arresting members and barring voters in areas where the organization had strong support. After Mubārak’s National Democratic Party won 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting, effectively eliminating the Muslim Brotherhood from the parliament, the organization boycotted the second round.
In January 2011 a non-religious youth protest movement against the Mubārak regime appeared in Egypt. After hesitating briefly, the Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leadership endorsed the movement and called on its members to participate in demonstrations. When protests forced Mubārak to step down as president in February, leaving a transitional military administration in control of the country, the Muslim Brotherhood signaled that it intended to begin officially participating in Egyptian politics. The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it would apply to become a recognized political party as soon as constitutional amendments allowing wider political participation were completed but stated that it did not intend to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections.
In late April 2011 the Muslim Brotherhood took further steps toward open participation in Egyptian politics, founding a political party called the Freedom and Justice Party and applying for official recognition from the Egyptian interim government. Leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party stated that the party’s policies would be grounded in Islamic principles but that the party, whose members included women and Christians, would be non-confessional. The party received official recognition in June, allowing it to enter candidates in upcoming elections.
The Muslim Brethren see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Muslim Brotherhood see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al- (The Brethren of Purity) (The Brethren of Sincerity). Arabic phrase meaning “brethren of purity.” Al-Ikhwan al-Safa‘ was a secret philosophical-religious society which arose in the tenth century at Basra, in Iraq. They were associated with the Batini Isma‘ilis, who had engaged in secret political propaganda since the death of their imam, Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far al-Sadiq, in 760. The Brethren injected into this propaganda a new scientific and philosophical spirit and dedicated themselves to enlightening and spiritually purifying themselves. They propagated their ideas in various parts of the Islamic empire and produced fifty-two philosophical epistles and a compendium of their teachings. The so-called Epistles of
the Brethren of Purity conceal the identity of the brethren. Of Isma‘ili inspiration, the Epistles were composed in Basra around 960, and should be regarded as an attempt to reunite the non-Fatimid Isma‘ilis on a common doctrinal basis countering the ideological offensive of the Fatimids.
The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ(Brethren of Purity) was a secret Arab confraternity, founded at Basra, Iraq, that produced a philosophical and religious encyclopaedia, Rasāʾil ikhwān aṣ-ṣafāʾ wa khillān al-wafāʾ (“Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends”), sometime in the second half of the 10th century of the Christian calendar.
Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ has been definitively established, but the various authors of the Rasāʾil do seem to reflect the doctrinal position of the Ismāʿīlīyah, a radical Shīʿī Muslim sect influenced by Manichaeism and Neoplatonism, which preached an esoteric interpretation of the Qurʾān open only to initiates. The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, like all other Islāmic philosophers, attempted to naturalize Greek philosophy in a way of their own. They chose to follow a fairly orthodox Neoplatonic position and admitted Hermetic, Gnostic, astrological, and occult sciences on a large scale in the belief that their absorption of ancient wisdom enabled them to fathom the esoteric meaning of revelation.
According to the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, individual human souls emanate from the universal soul and rejoin it after death; the universal soul in its turn will be united with God on the day of the Last Judgment. The Rasāʾil are thus intended to purify the soul of misconceptions and lead it to a clear view of the essence of reality, which in turn will provide for happiness in the next life. To accomplish this enlightenment, the Rasāʾil are structured theoretically to lead the soul from concrete to abstract knowledge. There is also an important summary of the whole encyclopaedia, ar-Risālah al-jāmiʿah.
The Brethren of Purity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Brethren of Sincerity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ(Brethren of Purity) was a secret Arab confraternity, founded at Basra, Iraq, that produced a philosophical and religious encyclopaedia, Rasāʾil ikhwān aṣ-ṣafāʾ wa khillān al-wafāʾ (“Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends”), sometime in the second half of the 10th century of the Christian calendar.
Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ has been definitively established, but the various authors of the Rasāʾil do seem to reflect the doctrinal position of the Ismāʿīlīyah, a radical Shīʿī Muslim sect influenced by Manichaeism and Neoplatonism, which preached an esoteric interpretation of the Qurʾān open only to initiates. The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, like all other Islāmic philosophers, attempted to naturalize Greek philosophy in a way of their own. They chose to follow a fairly orthodox Neoplatonic position and admitted Hermetic, Gnostic, astrological, and occult sciences on a large scale in the belief that their absorption of ancient wisdom enabled them to fathom the esoteric meaning of revelation.
According to the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, individual human souls emanate from the universal soul and rejoin it after death; the universal soul in its turn will be united with God on the day of the Last Judgment. The Rasāʾil are thus intended to purify the soul of misconceptions and lead it to a clear view of the essence of reality, which in turn will provide for happiness in the next life. To accomplish this enlightenment, the Rasāʾil are structured theoretically to lead the soul from concrete to abstract knowledge. There is also an important summary of the whole encyclopaedia, ar-Risālah al-jāmiʿah.
The Brethren of Purity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Brethren of Sincerity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
‘Ikrima
‘Ikrima (643-723). Successor and one of the main transmitters of the traditional interpretation of the Qur‘an, attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas.
‘Ikrima (643-723). Successor and one of the main transmitters of the traditional interpretation of the Qur‘an, attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas.
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