Abu 'l-‘Ala, Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah
Abu 'l-‘Ala, Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah (Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah Abu 'l-‘Ala) (973-1058). A poet. Abu 'l-‘Ala was born near Aleppo (Syria). He lost his sight due to smallpox as a child and spent nearly all his life in northern Syria. Having gained some local fame, Abu 'l-‘Ala tried the literary world of Baghdad, but soon returned home unsuccessful.
Abu 'l-‘Ala was an ascetic and a vegetarian. He never married because he did not wish to wrong anyone by bringing a child into the world. Abu 'l-‘Ala was too poor to provide financial help to students, but many came to him anyway for advice. Abu 'l-‘Ala was to a certain extent an adherent of the Modern school of poetry, particularly in his early poems. In his later work, however, Abu 'l-‘Ala stands apart from all other Arab poets, Traditional or Modern.
In the Luzumiyyat (The Making Necessary of What is Not Necessary), Abu 'l-‘Ala passes a harsh and almost atheistical judgment on the world, and fearlessly and rationally attacks injustice, hypocrisy and superstition. Orthodox Muslims, displeased by these poems, have almost universally considered Abu 'l-‘Ala’s earlier poems to have been better.
Abu 'l-‘Ala also wrote Risalat al-Ghufran. Risalat al-Ghufran is the description of a journey through Heaven and Hell, in which the author discusses literary matters with the famous poets he meets.
Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah Abu'l-‘Ala see Abu 'l-‘Ala, Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah
Abu 'l-‘Ala was an ascetic and a vegetarian. He never married because he did not wish to wrong anyone by bringing a child into the world. Abu 'l-‘Ala was too poor to provide financial help to students, but many came to him anyway for advice. Abu 'l-‘Ala was to a certain extent an adherent of the Modern school of poetry, particularly in his early poems. In his later work, however, Abu 'l-‘Ala stands apart from all other Arab poets, Traditional or Modern.
In the Luzumiyyat (The Making Necessary of What is Not Necessary), Abu 'l-‘Ala passes a harsh and almost atheistical judgment on the world, and fearlessly and rationally attacks injustice, hypocrisy and superstition. Orthodox Muslims, displeased by these poems, have almost universally considered Abu 'l-‘Ala’s earlier poems to have been better.
Abu 'l-‘Ala also wrote Risalat al-Ghufran. Risalat al-Ghufran is the description of a journey through Heaven and Hell, in which the author discusses literary matters with the famous poets he meets.
Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah Abu'l-‘Ala see Abu 'l-‘Ala, Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah
Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr
Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr. See Ibn Zuhr.
Ibn Zuhr see Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr.
Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr. See Ibn Zuhr.
Ibn Zuhr see Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr.
Abu ’l-‘Anbas al-Saymari
Abu ’l-‘Anbas al-Saymari (828-888). A famous humorist of the ‘Abbasid court. He was also a jurist, astrologer, oneiromancer (interpreter of dreams), poet and man of letters.
Saymari, Abu 'l-'Anbas al- see Abu ’l-‘Anbas al-Saymari
Abu ’l-‘Anbas al-Saymari (828-888). A famous humorist of the ‘Abbasid court. He was also a jurist, astrologer, oneiromancer (interpreter of dreams), poet and man of letters.
Saymari, Abu 'l-'Anbas al- see Abu ’l-‘Anbas al-Saymari
Abu ’l-‘Atahiya
Abu ’l-‘Atahiya (Abu Ishaq Isma'il ibn Qasim al-Anazi) (748-828). Arab poet who is known for the freshness and unconventionality of his style.
Abu'l-'Atahiya was born at 'Aynu t-Tamar in the Iraqi desert, near al-Anbar. His ancestors were of the tribe of Anaza. His youth was spent in Kufa, where he was engaged for some time in selling pottery. Moving to Baghdad, he continued his business there, but became famous for his verses, especially for those addressed to Utba, a concubine of the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. His love was unrequited, although al-Mahdi, and after him, Caliph ar-Rashid, interceded for him. Having offended the caliph, he was imprisoned for a short time.
The latter part of his life was more ascetic. He died in 828 during the reign of Caliph al-Ma'mun.
The poetry of Abu'l-'Atahiya is notable for its avoidance of the artificiality that was almost universal in his time. The older poetry of the desert had been constantly initiated up to this time, although it was not natural to town life. Abu'l-'Atahiya was one of the first to drop the old qasida (elegy) form. He was very fluent and used many metres. He is also regarded as one of the earliest philosophical poets of the Arabs. Much of his poetry is concerned with the observation of common life and morality, and at times is pessimistic. Because of the philosophical nature of his poetry, Abu'l-'Atahiya was often suspected of heresy.
'Atahiya, Abu 'l- see Abu ’l-‘Atahiya
Abu Ishaq Isma'il ibn Qasim al-Anazi see Abu ’l-‘Atahiya
Abu ’l-Barakat
Abu ’l-Barakat (1077-1164). Philosopher and physician in Iraq whose main work deals with logic and metaphysics.
Barakat, Abu 'l- see Abu ’l-Barakat
Abu ’l-Barakat (1077-1164). Philosopher and physician in Iraq whose main work deals with logic and metaphysics.
Barakat, Abu 'l- see Abu ’l-Barakat
Abulelizor
Abulelizor. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abulelizor. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib
Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib (Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus) (d.1043). Nestorian monk, physician, philosopher and theologian of Baghdad.
Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus see Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib
Benattibus, Abulpharagius Abdalla see Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib
Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib (Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus) (d.1043). Nestorian monk, physician, philosopher and theologian of Baghdad.
Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus see Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib
Benattibus, Abulpharagius Abdalla see Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib
Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani (Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani) ('Ali ibn Husain Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani) ('Ali ibn al-Husayn ul-Isbahani) (Abu-l-Faraj) (Abulfaraj) (897-967). Iranian scholar of Arab-Quraysh origin who is noted for collecting and preserving ancient Arabic lyrics and poems in his major work, the Kitab al-Aghani -- the Book of Songs.
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani was born in Isfahan, Persia, but spent his youth and made his early studies n Baghdad, Iraq. He was a direct descendant of the last of the Umayyad caliphs, Marwan II, and was thus connected with the Umayyad rulers in Spain, and seems to have kept up a correspondence with them and to have sent them some of his works. He became famous for his knowledge of early Arabian antiquities.
His later life was spent in various parts of the Islamic world, in Aleppo with its governor Sayf ad-Dawlah (to whom he dedicated the Kitab al-Aghani), in Ray with the Buwayhid vizier Ibn 'Abbad, and elsewhere.
Abu'l-Faraj was a prolific writer. He wrote poetry as well as an anthology of verses on the monasteries of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and a genealogical work. However, today he is principally remembered for a large literary encyclopedia entitled Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs). The Kitab al-Aghani is a collection of songs chosen by famous musicians, to which Abu 'l Faraj added rich information about the poets who were the authors of the songs and about ancient Arab tribes.
Kitab al-Aghani is a history of Arabian poetry down to Abu 'l-Faraj’s own time. It is based on a collection of 100 poems that had been set to music for Harun al-Rashid. Abu 'l-Faraj added others of his own choice, and interspersed the biographical and other information that he supplied with a great deal more poetry, both ancient and modern. Because of the accompanying biographical annotations on the authors and composers, the work is an important historical source. It contains a mass of information as to the life and customs of the early Arabs, and is the most valuable authority we have for their pre-Islamic and early Islamic days.
The Kitab al-Aghani is one of modern scholar's chief sources for information concerning life, culture and social conditions in pre-Islamic and early Muslim Arabia. It became so popular in the Muslim world that one leading statesman, accustomed to traveling with a camel-load of books restricted himself to the Kitab al-Aghani alone.
Ibn Khaldun, the great Arab historian, said of the Kitab al-Aghani, “It is the final resource of the student of literature, for he can desire nothing more.”
Isfahani, Abu 'l-Faraj al- see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
‘Ali ibn Husain Abu 'l-Faraj al-Isfahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
'Ali ibn al-Husayn ul-Isbahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu-l-Faraj see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abulfaraj see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani (Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani) ('Ali ibn Husain Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani) ('Ali ibn al-Husayn ul-Isbahani) (Abu-l-Faraj) (Abulfaraj) (897-967). Iranian scholar of Arab-Quraysh origin who is noted for collecting and preserving ancient Arabic lyrics and poems in his major work, the Kitab al-Aghani -- the Book of Songs.
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani was born in Isfahan, Persia, but spent his youth and made his early studies n Baghdad, Iraq. He was a direct descendant of the last of the Umayyad caliphs, Marwan II, and was thus connected with the Umayyad rulers in Spain, and seems to have kept up a correspondence with them and to have sent them some of his works. He became famous for his knowledge of early Arabian antiquities.
His later life was spent in various parts of the Islamic world, in Aleppo with its governor Sayf ad-Dawlah (to whom he dedicated the Kitab al-Aghani), in Ray with the Buwayhid vizier Ibn 'Abbad, and elsewhere.
Abu'l-Faraj was a prolific writer. He wrote poetry as well as an anthology of verses on the monasteries of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and a genealogical work. However, today he is principally remembered for a large literary encyclopedia entitled Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs). The Kitab al-Aghani is a collection of songs chosen by famous musicians, to which Abu 'l Faraj added rich information about the poets who were the authors of the songs and about ancient Arab tribes.
Kitab al-Aghani is a history of Arabian poetry down to Abu 'l-Faraj’s own time. It is based on a collection of 100 poems that had been set to music for Harun al-Rashid. Abu 'l-Faraj added others of his own choice, and interspersed the biographical and other information that he supplied with a great deal more poetry, both ancient and modern. Because of the accompanying biographical annotations on the authors and composers, the work is an important historical source. It contains a mass of information as to the life and customs of the early Arabs, and is the most valuable authority we have for their pre-Islamic and early Islamic days.
The Kitab al-Aghani is one of modern scholar's chief sources for information concerning life, culture and social conditions in pre-Islamic and early Muslim Arabia. It became so popular in the Muslim world that one leading statesman, accustomed to traveling with a camel-load of books restricted himself to the Kitab al-Aghani alone.
Ibn Khaldun, the great Arab historian, said of the Kitab al-Aghani, “It is the final resource of the student of literature, for he can desire nothing more.”
Isfahani, Abu 'l-Faraj al- see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
‘Ali ibn Husain Abu 'l-Faraj al-Isfahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
'Ali ibn al-Husayn ul-Isbahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu-l-Faraj see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abulfaraj see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani see Abu ’l-Faraj al-Isfahani
Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi (Abu-al-Faraj Runi) (Abul Faraj Runi) (d. 1091 [1099?]). Persian court poet of the Ghaznavid period of the eleventh century. His family came from Nishapur in Khorasan. He was born in Lahore and the scene of his career was mainly at the court of Lahore. He had great influence on Persian poetry and was the author of Mathnavi.
Runi, Abu 'l-Faraj ibn Mas'ud see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abu-al-Faraj Runi see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abul Faraj Runi see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi (Abu-al-Faraj Runi) (Abul Faraj Runi) (d. 1091 [1099?]). Persian court poet of the Ghaznavid period of the eleventh century. His family came from Nishapur in Khorasan. He was born in Lahore and the scene of his career was mainly at the court of Lahore. He had great influence on Persian poetry and was the author of Mathnavi.
Runi, Abu 'l-Faraj ibn Mas'ud see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abu-al-Faraj Runi see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abul Faraj Runi see Abu ’l-Faraj ibn Mas‘ud Runi
Abu ’l Fazl
Abu ’l Fazl (Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak) (Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak) (Abu'l-Fazl) (Abu'l Fadl) (Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami) (January 14, 1551 - August 12, 1602). Adviser and historiographer of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Abu 'l Fazl rose from being the son of a persecuted religious preacher to a high position in court, gaining the personal confidence of Akbar. Although Abu 'l Fazl died as a lone ambushed soldier, his principal contribution was an official history of Akbar’s reign until 1601. The work, Akbarnama, originally comprised three volumes, two of narrative history and the third a detailed gazetteer of information of the empire, the ‘Ain-i Akbari. The Akbarnama was the point of departure in medieval Indian historiography. Unlike its predecessors, this was a well-researched work and not an impressionistic narrative of events. Its argument was a mix of the notion of the semi-divinity of Akbar’s personality and a secular projection of events. Abu 'l Fazl’s treatment of history was essentially teleological. He began his narrative with Adam and showed history moving toward its fulfillment in Akbar’s reign. The language of the Akbarnama is high ornate Persian.
Abu 'l Fazl was the fifth descendant of Shaikh Musa who lived in Rel in Siwistan (Sindh). His grandfather, Shaikh Khizr settled at Nagaur, where his father Shaikh Mubarak was born. Initially Shaikh Mubarak studied in Nagaur under Khwaja Ahrar. Later he went to Ahmedabad and studied under Shaikh Abu 'l Fazl, Shaikh Umar and Shaikh Yusuf. Finally, he settled in Agra, where his eldest son, poet Abu 'l Faizi and his second son Abu 'l Fazl were born. Shaikh Mubarak came to Akbar's court in 1575 and was influential in Akbar's religious views becoming more liberal into the 1580s and 1590s. He also led the Mughal imperial army in its wars in the Deccan.
Abu 'l Fazl was assassinated by Vir Singh Bundela (who later became the ruler of Orchha) between Sarai Vir and Antri (near Narwar) in a plot contrived by the Mughal Prince Salim, who later became the Emperor Jahangir in 1602, because Abu 'l Fazl was known to oppose the accession of Prince Salim (Jahangir) to the throne. His severed head was sent to Salim at Allahabad. Abu 'l Fazl was buried at Antri. Abu 'l Fazl's son Shaikh Abdur Rahman Afzal Khan (December 29, 1571 - 1613) was later appointed governor of Bihaj in 1608 by Jahangir.
Abu 'l Fazl's Akbarnama is a document of history of Akbar's reign and his ancestors spread over three volumes. It contains the history of Akbar's ancestors from Timur to Humayun, Akbar's reign up to the 46th regnal year (1602), and an administrative report of Akbar's empire, the Ain-i-Akbari, which itself is in three volumes. The third volume of Ain-i-Akbari gives an account of the ancestery and life of the author. The Ain-i-Akbari was completed in the 42nd regnal year, but a slight addition was made to it in the 43rd regnal year on the account of the conquest of Berar.
The Ruqa'at-i-Abu 'l Fazl is a collection of private letters from Abu 'l Fazl to Muran, Daniyal, Akbar, Mariam Makani, Salim (Jahangir), Akbar's queens and daughters, his father, mother and brothers and several other notable contemporaries compiled by his nephew Nur al-Din Muhammad.
The Insha-i-Abu 'l Fazl or the Maqtubat-i-Allami contains the official dispatches written by Abu 'l Fazl. It is divided into two parts. The first part contains Akbar's letters to Abdullah Khan Uzbeg of Turan, Shah Abbas of Persia, Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh, Burhan-ul-Mulk of Ahmadnagar and his own nobles such as Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan. The second part consists of Abu 'l Fazl's letters to Akbar, Daniyal, Mirza Shah Rukh and Khan Khanan. This collection was compiled by Abd-us-samad, son of Afzal Muhammad, who claims that he was Abu 'l Fazl's sister's son as well as his son-in-law.
Fazl, Abu 'l see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l Fadl see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu ’l Fazl (Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak) (Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak) (Abu'l-Fazl) (Abu'l Fadl) (Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami) (January 14, 1551 - August 12, 1602). Adviser and historiographer of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Abu 'l Fazl rose from being the son of a persecuted religious preacher to a high position in court, gaining the personal confidence of Akbar. Although Abu 'l Fazl died as a lone ambushed soldier, his principal contribution was an official history of Akbar’s reign until 1601. The work, Akbarnama, originally comprised three volumes, two of narrative history and the third a detailed gazetteer of information of the empire, the ‘Ain-i Akbari. The Akbarnama was the point of departure in medieval Indian historiography. Unlike its predecessors, this was a well-researched work and not an impressionistic narrative of events. Its argument was a mix of the notion of the semi-divinity of Akbar’s personality and a secular projection of events. Abu 'l Fazl’s treatment of history was essentially teleological. He began his narrative with Adam and showed history moving toward its fulfillment in Akbar’s reign. The language of the Akbarnama is high ornate Persian.
Abu 'l Fazl was the fifth descendant of Shaikh Musa who lived in Rel in Siwistan (Sindh). His grandfather, Shaikh Khizr settled at Nagaur, where his father Shaikh Mubarak was born. Initially Shaikh Mubarak studied in Nagaur under Khwaja Ahrar. Later he went to Ahmedabad and studied under Shaikh Abu 'l Fazl, Shaikh Umar and Shaikh Yusuf. Finally, he settled in Agra, where his eldest son, poet Abu 'l Faizi and his second son Abu 'l Fazl were born. Shaikh Mubarak came to Akbar's court in 1575 and was influential in Akbar's religious views becoming more liberal into the 1580s and 1590s. He also led the Mughal imperial army in its wars in the Deccan.
Abu 'l Fazl was assassinated by Vir Singh Bundela (who later became the ruler of Orchha) between Sarai Vir and Antri (near Narwar) in a plot contrived by the Mughal Prince Salim, who later became the Emperor Jahangir in 1602, because Abu 'l Fazl was known to oppose the accession of Prince Salim (Jahangir) to the throne. His severed head was sent to Salim at Allahabad. Abu 'l Fazl was buried at Antri. Abu 'l Fazl's son Shaikh Abdur Rahman Afzal Khan (December 29, 1571 - 1613) was later appointed governor of Bihaj in 1608 by Jahangir.
Abu 'l Fazl's Akbarnama is a document of history of Akbar's reign and his ancestors spread over three volumes. It contains the history of Akbar's ancestors from Timur to Humayun, Akbar's reign up to the 46th regnal year (1602), and an administrative report of Akbar's empire, the Ain-i-Akbari, which itself is in three volumes. The third volume of Ain-i-Akbari gives an account of the ancestery and life of the author. The Ain-i-Akbari was completed in the 42nd regnal year, but a slight addition was made to it in the 43rd regnal year on the account of the conquest of Berar.
The Ruqa'at-i-Abu 'l Fazl is a collection of private letters from Abu 'l Fazl to Muran, Daniyal, Akbar, Mariam Makani, Salim (Jahangir), Akbar's queens and daughters, his father, mother and brothers and several other notable contemporaries compiled by his nephew Nur al-Din Muhammad.
The Insha-i-Abu 'l Fazl or the Maqtubat-i-Allami contains the official dispatches written by Abu 'l Fazl. It is divided into two parts. The first part contains Akbar's letters to Abdullah Khan Uzbeg of Turan, Shah Abbas of Persia, Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh, Burhan-ul-Mulk of Ahmadnagar and his own nobles such as Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan. The second part consists of Abu 'l Fazl's letters to Akbar, Daniyal, Mirza Shah Rukh and Khan Khanan. This collection was compiled by Abd-us-samad, son of Afzal Muhammad, who claims that he was Abu 'l Fazl's sister's son as well as his son-in-law.
Fazl, Abu 'l see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l Fadl see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami see Abu ’l Fazl
Abu ’l-Fida
Abu ’l-Fida (Abu al-Fida) (Abul Fida Ismail Hamvi) (Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn 'Ali ibn Mahmud al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad 'Imad ad-Din) (Abulfeda) (Abu Alfida) (November 1273 - October 27, 1331). Syrian prince of the Ayyubid dynasty. He is mainly known as a historian and geographer. His fame rests on a universal history (Tarikhu 'l-mukhtasar fi Akhbari 'l-bashar) covering the pre-Islamic period and Islamic history down to 1329, and on a descriptive geography.
Abu al-Fida was born in Damascus, where his father Malik ul-Afdal, brother of the prince of Hamah, had fled from the Mongols. He was a descendant of Ayyub, the father of Saladin. In his boyhood, he devoted himself to the study of the Qur'an and the sciences, but from his twelfth year was almost constantly engaged in military expeditions, chiefly against the crusaders.
In 1285, Abu al-Fida was present at the assault of a stronghold of the Knights of Saint John, and took part in the sieges of Tripoli, Acre and Qal'at ar-Rum. In 1298, he entered the service of the Mamluk Sultan Malik al-Nasir and after twelve years was invested by him with the governorship of Hama. In 1312, he became prince with the title Malik us-Salhn, and in 1320 received the hereditary rank of sultan with the title Malik ul-Mu'ayyad.
For more than twenty years all together he reigned in tranquillity and splendour, devoting himself to the duties of government and to the composition of the works to which he is chiefly indebted for his fame. He was a munificent patron of men of letters, who came in large numbers to his court. He died in 1331.
Tarikhu 'l-mukhtasar fi Akhbari 'l-bashar (The Concise History of Humanity or Chronicles) also known as Tarikh Abu al-Fida (History of Abu al-Fida); his Geography; Taqwim al-Buldan; and Kunash are Abu al-Fida's most well known works.
Fida, Abu 'l see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu al-Fida see Abu ’l-Fida
Abul Fida Ismail Hamvi see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn 'Ali ibn Mahmud al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad 'Imad ad-Din see Abu ’l-Fida
Abulfeda see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu Alfida see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu ’l-Fida (Abu al-Fida) (Abul Fida Ismail Hamvi) (Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn 'Ali ibn Mahmud al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad 'Imad ad-Din) (Abulfeda) (Abu Alfida) (November 1273 - October 27, 1331). Syrian prince of the Ayyubid dynasty. He is mainly known as a historian and geographer. His fame rests on a universal history (Tarikhu 'l-mukhtasar fi Akhbari 'l-bashar) covering the pre-Islamic period and Islamic history down to 1329, and on a descriptive geography.
Abu al-Fida was born in Damascus, where his father Malik ul-Afdal, brother of the prince of Hamah, had fled from the Mongols. He was a descendant of Ayyub, the father of Saladin. In his boyhood, he devoted himself to the study of the Qur'an and the sciences, but from his twelfth year was almost constantly engaged in military expeditions, chiefly against the crusaders.
In 1285, Abu al-Fida was present at the assault of a stronghold of the Knights of Saint John, and took part in the sieges of Tripoli, Acre and Qal'at ar-Rum. In 1298, he entered the service of the Mamluk Sultan Malik al-Nasir and after twelve years was invested by him with the governorship of Hama. In 1312, he became prince with the title Malik us-Salhn, and in 1320 received the hereditary rank of sultan with the title Malik ul-Mu'ayyad.
For more than twenty years all together he reigned in tranquillity and splendour, devoting himself to the duties of government and to the composition of the works to which he is chiefly indebted for his fame. He was a munificent patron of men of letters, who came in large numbers to his court. He died in 1331.
Tarikhu 'l-mukhtasar fi Akhbari 'l-bashar (The Concise History of Humanity or Chronicles) also known as Tarikh Abu al-Fida (History of Abu al-Fida); his Geography; Taqwim al-Buldan; and Kunash are Abu al-Fida's most well known works.
Fida, Abu 'l see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu al-Fida see Abu ’l-Fida
Abul Fida Ismail Hamvi see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn 'Ali ibn Mahmud al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad 'Imad ad-Din see Abu ’l-Fida
Abulfeda see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu Alfida see Abu ’l-Fida
Abu ’l-Ghazi Bahadur Khan
Abu ’l-Ghazi Bahadur Khan (b. 1603). The ruler of Khiba (r. 1644-1663) and a Chagatay historian who wrote a history of the Mongols and another of the Shaybanids.
Abu ’l-Ghazi Bahadur Khan (b. 1603). The ruler of Khiba (r. 1644-1663) and a Chagatay historian who wrote a history of the Mongols and another of the Shaybanids.
Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal (Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi 'l-Rijal) (Abenragel) (Albohazen) (Haly) (Hali) (Albohazen Haly filii Abenragel) (Haly Abenragel) (Ibn Rijal) (d. c. 1037). An Arab astrologer at the Zirid court of Qayrawan in the late tenth and early eleventh century. He wrote an important scientific work on astrology, which was translated into Latin, Old Castilian and Old Portuguese.
Ibn Rijal is best known for his Kitab al-bari' fi akham an-nujum. He was a court astrologer to the Tunisian prince al-Mu'izz ibn Badis in the first half of the eleventh century. Haly died after 1037 in Kairouan in what is now Tunisia.
Ibn Rijal's Kitab al-bari' fi akham an-nujum was translated by Yehuda ben Moshe into Old Castilian for Alfonso X of Castile in 1254 under the title El libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas (The complete book on the judgment of the stars). The only surviving manuscript of the Old Castilian translation is at the National Library in Madrid, which however only contains five of the eight boods of the complete Old Castilian translation.
In 1485, at Venice a complete copy of the Old Castilian manuscript was translated into Latin and published by Erhard Ratdolt as Praeclarissimus liber completus in judiciis astrorum (The very famous complete book on the judgment of the stars). This printing (and later Latin versions) is commonly known as De iudiciis astrorum (or De judiciis astrorum).
Abenragel see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Albohazen see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi 'l-Rijal see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Haly see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Hali see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Albohazen Haly filii Abenragel see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal (Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi 'l-Rijal) (Abenragel) (Albohazen) (Haly) (Hali) (Albohazen Haly filii Abenragel) (Haly Abenragel) (Ibn Rijal) (d. c. 1037). An Arab astrologer at the Zirid court of Qayrawan in the late tenth and early eleventh century. He wrote an important scientific work on astrology, which was translated into Latin, Old Castilian and Old Portuguese.
Ibn Rijal is best known for his Kitab al-bari' fi akham an-nujum. He was a court astrologer to the Tunisian prince al-Mu'izz ibn Badis in the first half of the eleventh century. Haly died after 1037 in Kairouan in what is now Tunisia.
Ibn Rijal's Kitab al-bari' fi akham an-nujum was translated by Yehuda ben Moshe into Old Castilian for Alfonso X of Castile in 1254 under the title El libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas (The complete book on the judgment of the stars). The only surviving manuscript of the Old Castilian translation is at the National Library in Madrid, which however only contains five of the eight boods of the complete Old Castilian translation.
In 1485, at Venice a complete copy of the Old Castilian manuscript was translated into Latin and published by Erhard Ratdolt as Praeclarissimus liber completus in judiciis astrorum (The very famous complete book on the judgment of the stars). This printing (and later Latin versions) is commonly known as De iudiciis astrorum (or De judiciis astrorum).
Abenragel see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Albohazen see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi 'l-Rijal see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Haly see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Hali see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Albohazen Haly filii Abenragel see Abu ’l-Hazan ibn Abi 'l-Rijal
Abu ’l-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf
Abu ’l-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf (752-840). The first speculative theologian of the Mu‘tazila. His theology is essentially polemical and is opposed to the anthropomorphism of popular Islam. He also became an apologist of Islam against other religions.
Abu 'l-Hudhayl al-'Allaf was born in Basra, where he lived in the quarter of the 'allafun (or foragers), thus the origin of his surname, al-'Allaf. He was indirectly a disciple of Wasil ibn 'Ata', through the intermediary of one of Wasil's companions, 'Uthman al-Tawil. Like Wasil, he was lettered. His profound knowledge of poetry was especially celebrated. Some hadiths also are quoted under his name.
The theology which he inherited from the school of Wasil was still rudimentary. Essentially polemical, it opposed -- in a rather unsystematic fashion -- the anthropomorphism of popular Islam and of the traditionists, the doctrine of determinism favored for political reasons by the Umayyads, and the divination of 'Ali preached by the extreme Shi'ites. While continuing his polemic, Abu 'l-Hudhayl was the first to engage in the speculative struggles of the age, a task for which he was exceptionally well equipped by his philosophical mind, his sagacity and his eloquence. He became the apologist of Islam against other religions and against the great currents of thought of the preceding epoch: the dualists, represented by the Zoroastrians; the Manichaeans and other Gnostics; the philosophers of Greek inspiration, the dahriyya, mainly represented by the champions of the natural sciences; and the increasingly numerous Muslims who were influenced by these foreign ideas. Crypto-Manichaean poets like 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Quddus, the theologians of the "modern" type who had adopted certain gnostic and philosophical doctrines, etc. It seems that it was only at a mature age did Abu 'l-Hudhayl become acquainted with philosophy. On the occasion of his pilgrimage (the date of which is unknown) he met in Mecca the Shi'ite theologian Hisham ibn al-Hakam and disputed with him concerning his anthropomorphist doctrines, which show a gnostic influence; and it was only then that he began to study the books of the dahriyya. Later historians observe certain similarities between his doctrine of the divine attributes and the philosophy of Pseudo-Empedocles, forged by the Neo-Platonists and natural scientists of late antiquity.
In effect, the philosophical sources of Abu 'l-Hudhayl must have been of such a kind which are represented in general by medieval Aristotelianism. These philosophers attracted, as well as repelled, him. While combatting the Neo-Platonists, he adopted their methods and their manner of looking at problems. Naive as a thinker, and having no scholastic tradition, he approached speculative problems with a daring that did not even recoil from the absurd. Thus, all the prematurity and the lack of balance that characterize his theology, but also the freshness of his attempts. Abu 'l-Hudhayl was the first to set many of the fundamental problems at which the whole of the later Mu'tazila was to labor.
The unity, spirituality and transcendence of God are carried in the theology of Abu 'l-Hudhayl to the highest degree of abstraction. God is one. God does not resemble God's creatures in any respect. God is not a body. God has no figure (hay'a), form (sura), or limit. God is knowing with a knowledge; is powerful with a power; is alive with a life; is eternal with an eternality; is seeing with a faculty of sight; etc. This abstract philosophy is in contrast to the philosophy of the Shi'ites who asserted that God is knowledge.
For Abu 'l-Hudhayl, God is omnipresent in the sense that God directs everything and God's direction is exercised in every place. God is invisible in the other world. The believers will see him with their hearts. The knowledge of God is unlimited, as to what concerns God's knowledge of God's self. As for God's knowledge of the world, it is circumscribed by the limits of God's creation, which forms a limited totality. The same applies to the divine power.
Abu 'l-Hudhayl strove to reconcile the Qur'anic doctrine of creation ex nihilo with Aristotelian cosmology, according to which the world, set in motion by God, is eternal, movement being co-eternal with the prime mover himself. While accepting movement as the principle of the universal process, Abu 'l-Hudhayl declared it to be created in the Qur'anic sense. In consequence, movement also will reach its end and will cease. This end is placed by Abu 'l-Hudhayl in the other world. After the last day, movement having ceased, paradise and hell will come to a standstill and their inhabitants will be fixed in a state of immobility, the blessed enjoying for eternity the highest pleasures and the damned enduring the most cruel torments.
This unorthodox doctrine, which, according to tradition, Abu 'l-Hudhayl himself revoked, is unanimously rejected by all the Muslim theologians, Mu'tazilites or not; nor have its grave consequences for the doctrine of God's omniscience and omnipotence escaped them. In regard to theodicy, Abu 'l-Hudhayl taught that God has the power to do evil and injustice, but God does not do it, because of God's goodness and wisdom. God admits the evil actions of man, but God is not their author. Man has the power to commit evil acts and Man is responsible for them, and responsible even for the involuntary consequences resulting from his actions. The responsible being is Man in his entirety, his ruh together with his visible body. It was Abu 'l-Hudhayl who introduced into Mu'tazilite speculation the concept of the accidents (a'rad) of bodies, and that of the atom, which Abu 'l-Hudhayl called dhawhar. These concepts, which originally had a purely physical relevance, were made by Abu 'l-Hudhayl to serve as the basis for theology proper, cosmology, anthropology and ethics.
This is Abu 'l-Hudhayl's most original innovation, as well as the most heavy with consequences. It was this which gave to Mu'tazili theology its mechanical character. Life, soul, spirit, the five senses, are accidents and therefore not enduring. Even spirit (ruh) will not endure. Human actions can be divided into two phases, both of them movements. The first is the approach ("I shall do"), the second the accomplished action ("I have done"). Man having free will, the first movement can be suspended in the second phase, so that the action remains unaccomplished. It is only the accomplished action that counts. Divine activity is interpreted in the light of the doctrine of accidents. The whole process of the world consists in an incessant creation of accidents, that descended into the bodies. Some accidents, however, are not to be found in a place or in a body; e.g., time and divine will (irada). The latter is identical with the eternal creating word kun. It is distinct from its object (al-murad) and also from the divine order (amr), which man can either obey or disobey. Those who are not acquainted with the Qur'anic revelation, but have nevertheless accomplished laudable acts prescribed by the Qur'an, have obeyed God without having intention to do so. The Qur'an is an accident created by God; being written, recited or committed to memory, it is at the same time in various places.
During his long life, Abu 'l-Hudhayl had an enormous influence on the development of theology and he collected around him a large number of disciples of different generations. The best known amongst them is al-Nazzam, though he quarrelled with his master because of his destructive theories concerning the atom. Abu 'l-Hudhayl condemned him and composed several treatises against him. Among his disciples are named Yahya ibn Bishr al-Arradhani, al-Shahham, and others. His school continued to exist for a long time. Even al-Dhubba'i still avowed his indebtedness to Abu 'l-Hudhayl's theology, in spite of the numerous points on which he differed from him.
'Allaf, Abu 'l-Hudhayl al- see Abu ’l-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf
Abu ’l-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf (752-840). The first speculative theologian of the Mu‘tazila. His theology is essentially polemical and is opposed to the anthropomorphism of popular Islam. He also became an apologist of Islam against other religions.
Abu 'l-Hudhayl al-'Allaf was born in Basra, where he lived in the quarter of the 'allafun (or foragers), thus the origin of his surname, al-'Allaf. He was indirectly a disciple of Wasil ibn 'Ata', through the intermediary of one of Wasil's companions, 'Uthman al-Tawil. Like Wasil, he was lettered. His profound knowledge of poetry was especially celebrated. Some hadiths also are quoted under his name.
The theology which he inherited from the school of Wasil was still rudimentary. Essentially polemical, it opposed -- in a rather unsystematic fashion -- the anthropomorphism of popular Islam and of the traditionists, the doctrine of determinism favored for political reasons by the Umayyads, and the divination of 'Ali preached by the extreme Shi'ites. While continuing his polemic, Abu 'l-Hudhayl was the first to engage in the speculative struggles of the age, a task for which he was exceptionally well equipped by his philosophical mind, his sagacity and his eloquence. He became the apologist of Islam against other religions and against the great currents of thought of the preceding epoch: the dualists, represented by the Zoroastrians; the Manichaeans and other Gnostics; the philosophers of Greek inspiration, the dahriyya, mainly represented by the champions of the natural sciences; and the increasingly numerous Muslims who were influenced by these foreign ideas. Crypto-Manichaean poets like 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Quddus, the theologians of the "modern" type who had adopted certain gnostic and philosophical doctrines, etc. It seems that it was only at a mature age did Abu 'l-Hudhayl become acquainted with philosophy. On the occasion of his pilgrimage (the date of which is unknown) he met in Mecca the Shi'ite theologian Hisham ibn al-Hakam and disputed with him concerning his anthropomorphist doctrines, which show a gnostic influence; and it was only then that he began to study the books of the dahriyya. Later historians observe certain similarities between his doctrine of the divine attributes and the philosophy of Pseudo-Empedocles, forged by the Neo-Platonists and natural scientists of late antiquity.
In effect, the philosophical sources of Abu 'l-Hudhayl must have been of such a kind which are represented in general by medieval Aristotelianism. These philosophers attracted, as well as repelled, him. While combatting the Neo-Platonists, he adopted their methods and their manner of looking at problems. Naive as a thinker, and having no scholastic tradition, he approached speculative problems with a daring that did not even recoil from the absurd. Thus, all the prematurity and the lack of balance that characterize his theology, but also the freshness of his attempts. Abu 'l-Hudhayl was the first to set many of the fundamental problems at which the whole of the later Mu'tazila was to labor.
The unity, spirituality and transcendence of God are carried in the theology of Abu 'l-Hudhayl to the highest degree of abstraction. God is one. God does not resemble God's creatures in any respect. God is not a body. God has no figure (hay'a), form (sura), or limit. God is knowing with a knowledge; is powerful with a power; is alive with a life; is eternal with an eternality; is seeing with a faculty of sight; etc. This abstract philosophy is in contrast to the philosophy of the Shi'ites who asserted that God is knowledge.
For Abu 'l-Hudhayl, God is omnipresent in the sense that God directs everything and God's direction is exercised in every place. God is invisible in the other world. The believers will see him with their hearts. The knowledge of God is unlimited, as to what concerns God's knowledge of God's self. As for God's knowledge of the world, it is circumscribed by the limits of God's creation, which forms a limited totality. The same applies to the divine power.
Abu 'l-Hudhayl strove to reconcile the Qur'anic doctrine of creation ex nihilo with Aristotelian cosmology, according to which the world, set in motion by God, is eternal, movement being co-eternal with the prime mover himself. While accepting movement as the principle of the universal process, Abu 'l-Hudhayl declared it to be created in the Qur'anic sense. In consequence, movement also will reach its end and will cease. This end is placed by Abu 'l-Hudhayl in the other world. After the last day, movement having ceased, paradise and hell will come to a standstill and their inhabitants will be fixed in a state of immobility, the blessed enjoying for eternity the highest pleasures and the damned enduring the most cruel torments.
This unorthodox doctrine, which, according to tradition, Abu 'l-Hudhayl himself revoked, is unanimously rejected by all the Muslim theologians, Mu'tazilites or not; nor have its grave consequences for the doctrine of God's omniscience and omnipotence escaped them. In regard to theodicy, Abu 'l-Hudhayl taught that God has the power to do evil and injustice, but God does not do it, because of God's goodness and wisdom. God admits the evil actions of man, but God is not their author. Man has the power to commit evil acts and Man is responsible for them, and responsible even for the involuntary consequences resulting from his actions. The responsible being is Man in his entirety, his ruh together with his visible body. It was Abu 'l-Hudhayl who introduced into Mu'tazilite speculation the concept of the accidents (a'rad) of bodies, and that of the atom, which Abu 'l-Hudhayl called dhawhar. These concepts, which originally had a purely physical relevance, were made by Abu 'l-Hudhayl to serve as the basis for theology proper, cosmology, anthropology and ethics.
This is Abu 'l-Hudhayl's most original innovation, as well as the most heavy with consequences. It was this which gave to Mu'tazili theology its mechanical character. Life, soul, spirit, the five senses, are accidents and therefore not enduring. Even spirit (ruh) will not endure. Human actions can be divided into two phases, both of them movements. The first is the approach ("I shall do"), the second the accomplished action ("I have done"). Man having free will, the first movement can be suspended in the second phase, so that the action remains unaccomplished. It is only the accomplished action that counts. Divine activity is interpreted in the light of the doctrine of accidents. The whole process of the world consists in an incessant creation of accidents, that descended into the bodies. Some accidents, however, are not to be found in a place or in a body; e.g., time and divine will (irada). The latter is identical with the eternal creating word kun. It is distinct from its object (al-murad) and also from the divine order (amr), which man can either obey or disobey. Those who are not acquainted with the Qur'anic revelation, but have nevertheless accomplished laudable acts prescribed by the Qur'an, have obeyed God without having intention to do so. The Qur'an is an accident created by God; being written, recited or committed to memory, it is at the same time in various places.
During his long life, Abu 'l-Hudhayl had an enormous influence on the development of theology and he collected around him a large number of disciples of different generations. The best known amongst them is al-Nazzam, though he quarrelled with his master because of his destructive theories concerning the atom. Abu 'l-Hudhayl condemned him and composed several treatises against him. Among his disciples are named Yahya ibn Bishr al-Arradhani, al-Shahham, and others. His school continued to exist for a long time. Even al-Dhubba'i still avowed his indebtedness to Abu 'l-Hudhayl's theology, in spite of the numerous points on which he differed from him.
'Allaf, Abu 'l-Hudhayl al- see Abu ’l-Hudhayl al-‘Allaf
Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Abu ’l-Kalam Azad (Mohiuddin Ahmad) (Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed) (Maulana Azad) (November 11, 1888 - February 22, 1958). The reviver of Muslim thought in India. He was an Indian journalist, politician, and religious thinker and an ardent opponent of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Educated along traditional lines in India, Azad toured the centers of Muslim learning in the Arab world (1907-1909). Emerging as a nationalistic critic of the Raj, he also repudiated the Aligarh movement and Muslim separatism. Not easily classified as a thinker, his writings stressed the Qur’an as the highest authority in matters of faith. On shari’a, he advised scholars to consolidate the opinions of previous generations of thinkers in order to establish a core of fundamental doctrines. Such notions indicate Azad’s agreement with traditional religious thought. At the same time, his stress on the importance of evolutionary adaptation to environment resembled the “naturalism” of Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the “vitalism” of Muhammad Iqbal. He also showed interest in Hindu and Buddhist doctrines and accepted religious pluralism. Although it is certainly acceptable in “orthodox” terms, traditionalist scholars have either criticized or ignored Azad’s work. His influence was primarily political. A close associate of Gandhi, he became the most prominent Muslim in the Congress Party and was the first minister of education in independent India.
Abu 'l-Kalam Azad was born in Mecca in 1888 in an Indian family which had emigrated from the subcontinent, but they returned to settle in Calcutta in the mid-1890s. Azad studied at home, receiving his lessons from his father, Khairuddin Dihlawi, who was a sufi pir of the Qadiri and Naqshbandi orders, and from several other teachers. He received a thorough knowledge of the classical foundations of Islam, but the family atmosphere was extremely conservative and there was no room for the question "why," and Azad came to decide that the beliefs he had been brought up with were "nothing but taqlid of ancestors, devotion to ancient customs and inherited dogma."
The writings of Sayyid Ahmad Khan had a profound influence on Azad's religious and intellectual development, initially inciting him to be free from the limitations of the religion of his family, and then infused in him a passion for modern knowledge. He read profusely and claimed to have read nearly everything on modern knowledge published in Arabic. He was open to all sorts of trends of thought and belief but maintained that everything should be in moderation. Azad recognized that the Mu'tazilites and Sayyed faced similar challenges, each in their own time.
Azad believed that God called him to arouse the Muslims of India and persuade them to join the movement for political liberation. He began publishing his own newspaper Al-Hilal (The Crescent Moon) in 1912 to arouse a new political consciousness, a desire for freedom in the religious class and a reverence for religion in the western-educated class. He called for a revival of the faith, to win the freedom represented by Islam, which was relevant to all aspects of life. He resisted, however, the establishment of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state.
Azad edited or co-edited numerous periodicals: Al-Balagh (Calcutta, 1915-1916); Al-Hilal (Calcutta, 1912-1914, 1927); Al-Jami'a (Calcutta, 1923-1924); Al-Nadwa (Lucknow, 1905-1906); Lisan al-Sidq (Calcutta, 1903-1905); and Paigham (Calcutta, 1921).
Azad started a column in his journal Al-Hilal on "scientific matters" (muzakira-e-'ilmiya') in February 1913 to make up for what he considered Muslims' current lack of knowledge in all things scientific. He complained that western-educated Muslims could not believe that learned ulama studied philosophy thoroughly, and he criticized those Westernized college graduates for their lack of a true love of knowledge, saying that no Aligarh graduates write books, translate great works, or make any contribution to knowledge.
Although Azad was reluctant to admit the benefits of western education, and disdained the products of Aligarh, his columns on scientific matters focused on marvels of modern science. He wrote an article on radium, followed by one on Scott's expedition to the South Pole, wherein he praised European devotion to science and the search for truth. He translated articles from Scientific American, the first was on Montessori educational methods.
Abu 'l Kalam Azad was elected president of the Indian Congress in 1923, and was re-elected in 1940. He served as Gandhi's adviser in Muslim affairs. He was also minister for education in independent India from 1947 until his death in 1958. Imprisoned six times throughout his politically active life, he cherished his time in detention. At age 53, in August 1942, he was imprisoned for the sixth time in Fort Ahmadnagar, having spent a total of ten and a half years in jail. Towards the end of his life, he commented that "a seventh part of my life I have been detained. Thus, the English gave me a fine Sabbath-rest."
In his early years, Azad had a derogatory attitude toward science. Later, he developed his idea that science is concerned with things that can be perceived by the senses, religion with the supra-sensual. He wrote "true science and true religion, although they travel on different paths, in the end arrive at the same destination." Azad maintained that religion is the only source of moral values.
Azad avoided trying to find evidence of scientific theories in the Qur'an. In his Tarjuman, he said, "The aim of the Qur'an is to invite the attention of man to His power and wisdom and not to make an exposition of the creation of the universe." Azad postulated that the Qur'an contains things which the people of that time understood according to their own conceptions of life and custom, and could not contain any discussion of the facts of science and history in it, because the people of the time had no comprehension of them. He maintained that the Qur'an is the "word from God" (kalam min 'inda llah) rather than the "word of God" (kalam Allah). In a collection of Azad's letters, published as Malfuzat-e-Azad, he states that we should understand the "divine word" in the sense that it is divine (khuda'i<), while at the same time being in the words of the Prophet.
On the problem of the existence of God, Azad based his solutions on intuition, rather than rational reasoning. Without God, there can be no understanding of the origin of life in the universe. There is only one solution to this problem. There is one way out of the maze. There is one piece to solve the puzzle. The problem of life in the universe is like a book with the first and last page missing. We know neither the beginning nor the end. If there is an omniscient being behind the curtain, everything has meaning, if not, all is dark.
Azad also argued from the position that man is so superior to animals that he must have superior inspiration. Everything around him is distraction, but he aspires to higher things. This can only be the case if there is something higher in front of him, which can only be God. The natural answer to the search is inherent in man's nature; man's quest for rising higher is a natural search, for which the answer is God. Azad gives an example that in learning to talk, children need living examples, and this requirement is naturally met by the mother and the father.
Without denying the validity of either religion or modern knowledge, Azad insisted that the realm of religious knowledge must be regarded as forbidden territory for reason. He insisted that modern knowledge must not be allowed to cut away what belongs to religion. Azad dissociated himself from both the modernist rejection of religious knowledge, and the ulama's lack of respect for modern knowledge.
Azad pursued questions of spirit and nature throughout his life. He concluded that the true relation between science and religion is not one of controversy but of harmonious coexistence and leads to the discovery of the actual existence of a Universal Religion, despite all the extant divergent rites and creeds. For this primary purpose, Azad wrote his commentary Tardjuman al-Qur'an (1930). this commentary is esteemed by Urdu readers because of the excellent Qur'an translation which it contains.
Azad died in New Delhi in 1958. He is buried in a simple tomb within a garden surrounded by a stone wall, between Jama Masjid and the Red Fort in the old city of Delhi.
Azad, Abu 'l-Kalam see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Mohiuddin Ahmad see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Ahmad, Mohiuddin see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Maulana Azad see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Abu ’l-Kalam Azad (Mohiuddin Ahmad) (Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed) (Maulana Azad) (November 11, 1888 - February 22, 1958). The reviver of Muslim thought in India. He was an Indian journalist, politician, and religious thinker and an ardent opponent of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Educated along traditional lines in India, Azad toured the centers of Muslim learning in the Arab world (1907-1909). Emerging as a nationalistic critic of the Raj, he also repudiated the Aligarh movement and Muslim separatism. Not easily classified as a thinker, his writings stressed the Qur’an as the highest authority in matters of faith. On shari’a, he advised scholars to consolidate the opinions of previous generations of thinkers in order to establish a core of fundamental doctrines. Such notions indicate Azad’s agreement with traditional religious thought. At the same time, his stress on the importance of evolutionary adaptation to environment resembled the “naturalism” of Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the “vitalism” of Muhammad Iqbal. He also showed interest in Hindu and Buddhist doctrines and accepted religious pluralism. Although it is certainly acceptable in “orthodox” terms, traditionalist scholars have either criticized or ignored Azad’s work. His influence was primarily political. A close associate of Gandhi, he became the most prominent Muslim in the Congress Party and was the first minister of education in independent India.
Abu 'l-Kalam Azad was born in Mecca in 1888 in an Indian family which had emigrated from the subcontinent, but they returned to settle in Calcutta in the mid-1890s. Azad studied at home, receiving his lessons from his father, Khairuddin Dihlawi, who was a sufi pir of the Qadiri and Naqshbandi orders, and from several other teachers. He received a thorough knowledge of the classical foundations of Islam, but the family atmosphere was extremely conservative and there was no room for the question "why," and Azad came to decide that the beliefs he had been brought up with were "nothing but taqlid of ancestors, devotion to ancient customs and inherited dogma."
The writings of Sayyid Ahmad Khan had a profound influence on Azad's religious and intellectual development, initially inciting him to be free from the limitations of the religion of his family, and then infused in him a passion for modern knowledge. He read profusely and claimed to have read nearly everything on modern knowledge published in Arabic. He was open to all sorts of trends of thought and belief but maintained that everything should be in moderation. Azad recognized that the Mu'tazilites and Sayyed faced similar challenges, each in their own time.
Azad believed that God called him to arouse the Muslims of India and persuade them to join the movement for political liberation. He began publishing his own newspaper Al-Hilal (The Crescent Moon) in 1912 to arouse a new political consciousness, a desire for freedom in the religious class and a reverence for religion in the western-educated class. He called for a revival of the faith, to win the freedom represented by Islam, which was relevant to all aspects of life. He resisted, however, the establishment of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state.
Azad edited or co-edited numerous periodicals: Al-Balagh (Calcutta, 1915-1916); Al-Hilal (Calcutta, 1912-1914, 1927); Al-Jami'a (Calcutta, 1923-1924); Al-Nadwa (Lucknow, 1905-1906); Lisan al-Sidq (Calcutta, 1903-1905); and Paigham (Calcutta, 1921).
Azad started a column in his journal Al-Hilal on "scientific matters" (muzakira-e-'ilmiya') in February 1913 to make up for what he considered Muslims' current lack of knowledge in all things scientific. He complained that western-educated Muslims could not believe that learned ulama studied philosophy thoroughly, and he criticized those Westernized college graduates for their lack of a true love of knowledge, saying that no Aligarh graduates write books, translate great works, or make any contribution to knowledge.
Although Azad was reluctant to admit the benefits of western education, and disdained the products of Aligarh, his columns on scientific matters focused on marvels of modern science. He wrote an article on radium, followed by one on Scott's expedition to the South Pole, wherein he praised European devotion to science and the search for truth. He translated articles from Scientific American, the first was on Montessori educational methods.
Abu 'l Kalam Azad was elected president of the Indian Congress in 1923, and was re-elected in 1940. He served as Gandhi's adviser in Muslim affairs. He was also minister for education in independent India from 1947 until his death in 1958. Imprisoned six times throughout his politically active life, he cherished his time in detention. At age 53, in August 1942, he was imprisoned for the sixth time in Fort Ahmadnagar, having spent a total of ten and a half years in jail. Towards the end of his life, he commented that "a seventh part of my life I have been detained. Thus, the English gave me a fine Sabbath-rest."
In his early years, Azad had a derogatory attitude toward science. Later, he developed his idea that science is concerned with things that can be perceived by the senses, religion with the supra-sensual. He wrote "true science and true religion, although they travel on different paths, in the end arrive at the same destination." Azad maintained that religion is the only source of moral values.
Azad avoided trying to find evidence of scientific theories in the Qur'an. In his Tarjuman, he said, "The aim of the Qur'an is to invite the attention of man to His power and wisdom and not to make an exposition of the creation of the universe." Azad postulated that the Qur'an contains things which the people of that time understood according to their own conceptions of life and custom, and could not contain any discussion of the facts of science and history in it, because the people of the time had no comprehension of them. He maintained that the Qur'an is the "word from God" (kalam min 'inda llah) rather than the "word of God" (kalam Allah). In a collection of Azad's letters, published as Malfuzat-e-Azad, he states that we should understand the "divine word" in the sense that it is divine (khuda'i<), while at the same time being in the words of the Prophet.
On the problem of the existence of God, Azad based his solutions on intuition, rather than rational reasoning. Without God, there can be no understanding of the origin of life in the universe. There is only one solution to this problem. There is one way out of the maze. There is one piece to solve the puzzle. The problem of life in the universe is like a book with the first and last page missing. We know neither the beginning nor the end. If there is an omniscient being behind the curtain, everything has meaning, if not, all is dark.
Azad also argued from the position that man is so superior to animals that he must have superior inspiration. Everything around him is distraction, but he aspires to higher things. This can only be the case if there is something higher in front of him, which can only be God. The natural answer to the search is inherent in man's nature; man's quest for rising higher is a natural search, for which the answer is God. Azad gives an example that in learning to talk, children need living examples, and this requirement is naturally met by the mother and the father.
Without denying the validity of either religion or modern knowledge, Azad insisted that the realm of religious knowledge must be regarded as forbidden territory for reason. He insisted that modern knowledge must not be allowed to cut away what belongs to religion. Azad dissociated himself from both the modernist rejection of religious knowledge, and the ulama's lack of respect for modern knowledge.
Azad pursued questions of spirit and nature throughout his life. He concluded that the true relation between science and religion is not one of controversy but of harmonious coexistence and leads to the discovery of the actual existence of a Universal Religion, despite all the extant divergent rites and creeds. For this primary purpose, Azad wrote his commentary Tardjuman al-Qur'an (1930). this commentary is esteemed by Urdu readers because of the excellent Qur'an translation which it contains.
Azad died in New Delhi in 1958. He is buried in a simple tomb within a garden surrounded by a stone wall, between Jama Masjid and the Red Fort in the old city of Delhi.
Azad, Abu 'l-Kalam see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Mohiuddin Ahmad see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Ahmad, Mohiuddin see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Maulana Azad see Abu ’l-Kalam Azad
Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri
Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri (Abu Khattab al-Maafiri) (d. 761). The first Imam elected by the Ibadis of the Maghrib. He was one of the five missionaries sent from Basra to preach the Ibadi creed in the West.
Ma'afiri, Abu 'l-Khattab al- see Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri
Abu Khattab al-Maafiri see Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri
Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri (Abu Khattab al-Maafiri) (d. 761). The first Imam elected by the Ibadis of the Maghrib. He was one of the five missionaries sent from Basra to preach the Ibadi creed in the West.
Ma'afiri, Abu 'l-Khattab al- see Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri
Abu Khattab al-Maafiri see Abu ’l-Khattab al-Ma‘afiri
Abu ’l-Khayr
Abu ’l-Khayr (Abu 'l-Khayr Khan) (1412-1468). Founder of the Shaybanid dynasty. He reigned from 1429 to 1468. Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was the leader who united the nomadic Uzbek tribes from which the Kazakh khanate later separated in rebellion under Janybek Khan and Kerei Khan beginning in 1466.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was born in 1412. He was a descendant of Jenghiz Khan, through Jochi's fifth son Shiban, and a bej of the White Horde. At the time of his birth, the ulus (tribe) of Siban had divided into separate nomadic groups, one of which was led by Jumaduq Khan. Abu 'l-Khayr served in Jumaduq's army, and was taken prisoner when Jumaduq was killed in battle in 1427.
After being released in 1428, Abu 'l-Khayr began consolidating various nomadic groups of the old Sibani ulus in the area around Tynmen and the Tura River. He deposed and killed the khan of the Khanate of Sibir after a battle on the Tobol River, after which he was proclaimed khan of western Siberia. The next four years were spent strengthening his control throughout the region.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was assisted in his consolidation by the Manghits, another tribe in the White Horde, and especially by Vaqqas Bej, Edigu's grandson.
In 1430-1431, Abu 'l-Khayr, joined by Vaqqas, launched an attack on Khwarezm, occupying the regional capital Urganj. The Uzbeks could not hold the city, however, and retreated in the summer of 1431. Abu 'l-Khayr's army pulled back to the step, where they defeated two opposing khans near Astrakhan. In 1435-1436, the Uzbek armies attacked Khwarezm again, and several years later they raided Astrakhan. Starting in 1446, Abu 'l-Khayr and his forces invaded the Syr Darya region, eventually wresting some lands from Timurid control. The town of Sighnaq became Abu 'l-Khayr's new capital, from where he later launched raids into Mawarannahr.
In 1451, Abu Sa'id requested Abu 'l-Khayr Khan's assistance in battle against 'Abdullah. Abu 'l-Khayr agreed to support Abu Sa'id, and the two armies marched on Samarkand. 'Abdullah was defeated and killed, after which Abu Sa'id quickly moved his forces into the city and locked the gates, leaving Abu 'l-Khayr and the Uzbeks outside. To avoid reprisal, Abu Sa'id presented the Uzbeks with many presents and riches.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan died in 1468. After Abu 'l-Khayr Khan's death two separate lines of descent controlled the twin Uzbek states of Mawara al-Nahr and Khwarezm.
In the first decade of the 16th century of the Christian calendar, the grandson of Abu 'l-Khayr Khan, Muhammad Shaybani, finally succeeded in the unification of the Uzbeks and established the short lived Shaybanid Empire, centered in Samarkand.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan see Abu ’l-Khayr
Abu ’l-Khayr (Abu 'l-Khayr Khan) (1412-1468). Founder of the Shaybanid dynasty. He reigned from 1429 to 1468. Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was the leader who united the nomadic Uzbek tribes from which the Kazakh khanate later separated in rebellion under Janybek Khan and Kerei Khan beginning in 1466.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was born in 1412. He was a descendant of Jenghiz Khan, through Jochi's fifth son Shiban, and a bej of the White Horde. At the time of his birth, the ulus (tribe) of Siban had divided into separate nomadic groups, one of which was led by Jumaduq Khan. Abu 'l-Khayr served in Jumaduq's army, and was taken prisoner when Jumaduq was killed in battle in 1427.
After being released in 1428, Abu 'l-Khayr began consolidating various nomadic groups of the old Sibani ulus in the area around Tynmen and the Tura River. He deposed and killed the khan of the Khanate of Sibir after a battle on the Tobol River, after which he was proclaimed khan of western Siberia. The next four years were spent strengthening his control throughout the region.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan was assisted in his consolidation by the Manghits, another tribe in the White Horde, and especially by Vaqqas Bej, Edigu's grandson.
In 1430-1431, Abu 'l-Khayr, joined by Vaqqas, launched an attack on Khwarezm, occupying the regional capital Urganj. The Uzbeks could not hold the city, however, and retreated in the summer of 1431. Abu 'l-Khayr's army pulled back to the step, where they defeated two opposing khans near Astrakhan. In 1435-1436, the Uzbek armies attacked Khwarezm again, and several years later they raided Astrakhan. Starting in 1446, Abu 'l-Khayr and his forces invaded the Syr Darya region, eventually wresting some lands from Timurid control. The town of Sighnaq became Abu 'l-Khayr's new capital, from where he later launched raids into Mawarannahr.
In 1451, Abu Sa'id requested Abu 'l-Khayr Khan's assistance in battle against 'Abdullah. Abu 'l-Khayr agreed to support Abu Sa'id, and the two armies marched on Samarkand. 'Abdullah was defeated and killed, after which Abu Sa'id quickly moved his forces into the city and locked the gates, leaving Abu 'l-Khayr and the Uzbeks outside. To avoid reprisal, Abu Sa'id presented the Uzbeks with many presents and riches.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan died in 1468. After Abu 'l-Khayr Khan's death two separate lines of descent controlled the twin Uzbek states of Mawara al-Nahr and Khwarezm.
In the first decade of the 16th century of the Christian calendar, the grandson of Abu 'l-Khayr Khan, Muhammad Shaybani, finally succeeded in the unification of the Uzbeks and established the short lived Shaybanid Empire, centered in Samarkand.
Abu 'l-Khayr Khan see Abu ’l-Khayr
Abu ’l-Mahasin ibn Taghribirdi
Abu ’l-Mahasin ibn Taghribirdi (1409-1470). An Arab historian who wrote biographies of the Burji Mameluke sultans and a history of Egypt covering the period from 641 until the mid-1400s.
Abu ’l-Mahasin ibn Taghribirdi (1409-1470). An Arab historian who wrote biographies of the Burji Mameluke sultans and a history of Egypt covering the period from 641 until the mid-1400s.
Abu ’l-Mutarrif ibn Wafid
Abu ’l-Mutarrif ibn Wafid (Abenguefith) (Ibn Wafid) (1007-1074). An Andalusian physician, pharmacologist and agricultural theorist. One of his works was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona with the title Liber Albenguefith philosophi de virtutibus medicinarum et ciborum.
Ibn Wafid held a number of political positions during the reign of al-Mamun, but was fundamentally a man of science. Three of his works have been preserved. In Spanish the titles are: Libro de los medicamentos, Libro de la almohada, and Suma de agricultura.
Abenguefith see Abu ’l-Mutarrif ibn Wafid
Abu ’l-Mutarrif ibn Wafid (Abenguefith) (Ibn Wafid) (1007-1074). An Andalusian physician, pharmacologist and agricultural theorist. One of his works was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona with the title Liber Albenguefith philosophi de virtutibus medicinarum et ciborum.
Ibn Wafid held a number of political positions during the reign of al-Mamun, but was fundamentally a man of science. Three of his works have been preserved. In Spanish the titles are: Libro de los medicamentos, Libro de la almohada, and Suma de agricultura.
Abenguefith see Abu ’l-Mutarrif ibn Wafid
Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus
Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus. See Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib.
Benattibus, Abulpharagius Abdalla see Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus.
Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib see Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus.
Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus. See Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib.
Benattibus, Abulpharagius Abdalla see Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus.
Abu ’l-Faraj ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib see Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus.
Abu ’l Qasim As’ad ibn Billita
Abu ’l Qasim As’ad ibn Billita (c. 1050). Arab poet.
Abu ’l Qasim As’ad ibn Billita (c. 1050). Arab poet.
Abu’l-Su‘ud
Abu’l-Su‘ud (Khoji Celebi) (1490-1574). Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam who succeeded in bringing the administrative law of the Ottoman Empire into agreement with the sacred law of Islam.
Khoji Celebi see Abu’l-Su‘ud
Celebi, Khoji see Abu’l-Su‘ud
Abu’l-Su‘ud (Khoji Celebi) (1490-1574). Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam who succeeded in bringing the administrative law of the Ottoman Empire into agreement with the sacred law of Islam.
Khoji Celebi see Abu’l-Su‘ud
Celebi, Khoji see Abu’l-Su‘ud
Abu Lu’lu’a
Abu Lu’lu’a. Christian Persian slave of al-Mughira ibn Shu‘ba who in 644 killed the Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. Abu Lu'lu'a used a dagger and stabbed 'Umar in the back. The dagger may also have been poisoned.
Lu'lu'a, Abu see Abu Lu’lu’a.
Abu Lu’lu’a. Christian Persian slave of al-Mughira ibn Shu‘ba who in 644 killed the Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. Abu Lu'lu'a used a dagger and stabbed 'Umar in the back. The dagger may also have been poisoned.
Lu'lu'a, Abu see Abu Lu’lu’a.
Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani
Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani. See Abul Wefa.
Buzajani, Abu'l-Wafa' al- see Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani.
Abul Wefa see Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani.
Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani. See Abul Wefa.
Buzajani, Abu'l-Wafa' al- see Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani.
Abul Wefa see Abu ’l-Wafa’ al-Buzajani.
Abul Wefa
Abul Wefa (Abul Wafa' Buzjani) (Abu al-Wafa' Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il ibn al-'Abbas al-Buzjani) (June 10, 940 - July 1, 998). Mathematician and astronomer who played a major role in the development of sines and cosines as they apply to the field of trignonometry. These he used to correct astronomical calculations carried forward from classical into Islamic times.
Born on June 10, 940, in either Buzshan, Khorasan Province, or Buzadhan, Kuhistan Province, Iran, during the reign of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mutaqqi, Abul Wefa lived during a period of extraordinary cultural and intellectual productivity. His own fields of accomplishment, mathematics and astronomy, were already widely recognized as essential elements of high Islamic civilization. Very little is known about Abul Wefa’s early life. Apparently, his early education in mathematics occurred under the tutelage of two uncles, one of whom (Abu Amr al-Mughazili) had received formal training from the famous geometricians Abu Yahya al-Marwazi and Abu ’l Ala ibn Karnib.
Whatever the possible source of patronage for the young man’s further education may have been, his decision to move to Baghdad at the age of nineteen (in 959) greatly benefitted the ‘Abbasid court. Baghdad at this time was politically troubled, following the seizure of de facto control by a military clique headed by the Persian Buyid emirs. Thereafter, the Buyids dominated the house of the caliphs until their fall from power in 1055. The Buyids were inclined to favor talented Persians who were drawn toward scholarly circles in the center of the empire. It is reported, for example, that it was Abul Wefa, himself then forty years of age and well established (circa 980), who introduced the Persian scholar and philosopher Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi into the Baghdad entourage of the vizier Ibn Sa’dan. Abu Hayyan soon became famous under the vizier’s patronage, composing a major work, al-Imta’ wa’l mu’anasa (a collection of notes drawn from philosophical and literary “salon” meetings), with a dedication to Ibn Sa’dan.
Patronage for Abul Wefa’s work in courtly circles, however, must have come from a different milieu, that of the so-called Baghdad School. This scientific assembly flourished in the ‘Abbasid capital in the last century before its conquest by the Seljuk Turks in 1055. According to some historians, patronage for the natural sciences in particular came precisely during the period in which Abul Wefa passed into the main stages of his scholarly career. The Buyid emir Adud al-Dawlah (978-983) had nurtured an interest in astronomy through his own studies. He passed this interest on to his son, Saraf al-Dawlah, who built an observatory next to his palace and called scholars from all regions of the empire to glorify the reputation of his reign by carrying out scientific experiments. Abul Wefa was among this group.
The environment for learning in the Baghdad School, with its circle of eminent Islamic scientists, may explain how the young Persian scholar mastered so many technical fields in such a limited period of time. Beyond mere speculation regarding Abul Wefa’s early personal contacts, however, one must consider the importance of translation work in the Baghdad School. Abul Wefa himself translated the work of the Greek algebraist Diophantus (fl. c. 250), who had explored the field of indeterminate algebraic equations. Abul Wefa was also known for his studies of, and commentaries on, Euclid. There are, however, no surviving texts to indicate what use he made of the work of these two forerunners of the classical pre-Islamic period.
By contrast, Abul Wefa’s attention to the work of the second century Greek astronomer Ptolemy not only contributed to the preservation and transmission to the medieval West of the classical knowledge contained in Ptolemy’s Mathematike suntaxis (c. 150; Almagest) but also earned for him an original and lasting reputation as an Islamic mathematician. The Almagest examined the field of trigonometry, which proposed mathematical relationships in terms of the angles and sides of right triangles. This called for the development of sines, or systematic relationships defined in a right triangle working from one of the acute angles, symbolically represented as A. Modern trigonometry expresses this relationship as sin A = a/c, or sin A is equal to the ratio of the length of the side opposite that angle (a) to the length of the hypotenuse (c).
Ptolemy, in pioneering the field of spherical trigonometry, had laid down an approximate method for calculating sines (which he described as “chords”). Abul Wefa, however, drew on his studies of Indian precedents in the field of trigonometry that were unknown to Ptolemy, as well as models provided by Abul Wefa’s predecessor al-Battani (858-929), to perfect Ptolemy’s chords. This was done by applying algebraic, instead of geometric, methods of systematizing the sines. In particular, Abul Wefa’s development of the “half-chord” made it possible to achieve much more precise measurements that would eventually be used in surveying and navigation. The most immediate application of his tables of sines, however, was in the field of astronomy.
One of Abul Wefa’s contributions which left a legacy that lasted for many centuries involved the study of evection, or irregularity, in the longitude of the moon. Later European commentators looked at the Islamic astronomer’s work and concluded that he, not Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), had been the first scientist to posit the theory of the “third inequality of the moon.” Although this theory was later proved to be erroneous, the debate at least drew attention to the importance of Abul Wefa’s originality in the field.
Abul Wefa himself compiled, in addition to his well-known tables of sines, a book of astronomical tables entitled Zif al-wadith (that which is clear). Like his earlier work on sines, this text is not extant in the original. Scholars tend to agree, however, that certain anonymous manuscripts preserved in European libraries, such as the Zij al-shamil, are taken from Abul Wefa’s work.
Works that have survived and that have been at least partially translated include a book of arithmetic entitled Kitab fi ma yahtaj ilayh al-kuttab wa l-‘ummal min ‘ilm al-hisab (Book on What is Necessary from the Science -- of Arithmetic for Scribes and Businessmen [961-976]), the Kitab fi ma yahtaj ilayh al-sani ‘min al-a’mal al-handasiyha (Book on What is Necessary from Geometric Construction for the Artisan [after 990]), and a book entitled Kitab al-kamil. It is thought that Abul Wefa may have still been living in Baghdad at the time of his death in 998 (July 1, 998).
The crater Abul Wafa on the Moon is named after Abul Wefa.
Wefa, Abul see Abul Wefa
Abul Wafa' Buzjani see Abul Wefa
Buzjani, Abul Wafa' see Abul Wefa
Abu al-Wafa' Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il ibn al-'Abbas al-Buzjani see Abul Wefa
Abul Wefa (Abul Wafa' Buzjani) (Abu al-Wafa' Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il ibn al-'Abbas al-Buzjani) (June 10, 940 - July 1, 998). Mathematician and astronomer who played a major role in the development of sines and cosines as they apply to the field of trignonometry. These he used to correct astronomical calculations carried forward from classical into Islamic times.
Born on June 10, 940, in either Buzshan, Khorasan Province, or Buzadhan, Kuhistan Province, Iran, during the reign of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mutaqqi, Abul Wefa lived during a period of extraordinary cultural and intellectual productivity. His own fields of accomplishment, mathematics and astronomy, were already widely recognized as essential elements of high Islamic civilization. Very little is known about Abul Wefa’s early life. Apparently, his early education in mathematics occurred under the tutelage of two uncles, one of whom (Abu Amr al-Mughazili) had received formal training from the famous geometricians Abu Yahya al-Marwazi and Abu ’l Ala ibn Karnib.
Whatever the possible source of patronage for the young man’s further education may have been, his decision to move to Baghdad at the age of nineteen (in 959) greatly benefitted the ‘Abbasid court. Baghdad at this time was politically troubled, following the seizure of de facto control by a military clique headed by the Persian Buyid emirs. Thereafter, the Buyids dominated the house of the caliphs until their fall from power in 1055. The Buyids were inclined to favor talented Persians who were drawn toward scholarly circles in the center of the empire. It is reported, for example, that it was Abul Wefa, himself then forty years of age and well established (circa 980), who introduced the Persian scholar and philosopher Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi into the Baghdad entourage of the vizier Ibn Sa’dan. Abu Hayyan soon became famous under the vizier’s patronage, composing a major work, al-Imta’ wa’l mu’anasa (a collection of notes drawn from philosophical and literary “salon” meetings), with a dedication to Ibn Sa’dan.
Patronage for Abul Wefa’s work in courtly circles, however, must have come from a different milieu, that of the so-called Baghdad School. This scientific assembly flourished in the ‘Abbasid capital in the last century before its conquest by the Seljuk Turks in 1055. According to some historians, patronage for the natural sciences in particular came precisely during the period in which Abul Wefa passed into the main stages of his scholarly career. The Buyid emir Adud al-Dawlah (978-983) had nurtured an interest in astronomy through his own studies. He passed this interest on to his son, Saraf al-Dawlah, who built an observatory next to his palace and called scholars from all regions of the empire to glorify the reputation of his reign by carrying out scientific experiments. Abul Wefa was among this group.
The environment for learning in the Baghdad School, with its circle of eminent Islamic scientists, may explain how the young Persian scholar mastered so many technical fields in such a limited period of time. Beyond mere speculation regarding Abul Wefa’s early personal contacts, however, one must consider the importance of translation work in the Baghdad School. Abul Wefa himself translated the work of the Greek algebraist Diophantus (fl. c. 250), who had explored the field of indeterminate algebraic equations. Abul Wefa was also known for his studies of, and commentaries on, Euclid. There are, however, no surviving texts to indicate what use he made of the work of these two forerunners of the classical pre-Islamic period.
By contrast, Abul Wefa’s attention to the work of the second century Greek astronomer Ptolemy not only contributed to the preservation and transmission to the medieval West of the classical knowledge contained in Ptolemy’s Mathematike suntaxis (c. 150; Almagest) but also earned for him an original and lasting reputation as an Islamic mathematician. The Almagest examined the field of trigonometry, which proposed mathematical relationships in terms of the angles and sides of right triangles. This called for the development of sines, or systematic relationships defined in a right triangle working from one of the acute angles, symbolically represented as A. Modern trigonometry expresses this relationship as sin A = a/c, or sin A is equal to the ratio of the length of the side opposite that angle (a) to the length of the hypotenuse (c).
Ptolemy, in pioneering the field of spherical trigonometry, had laid down an approximate method for calculating sines (which he described as “chords”). Abul Wefa, however, drew on his studies of Indian precedents in the field of trigonometry that were unknown to Ptolemy, as well as models provided by Abul Wefa’s predecessor al-Battani (858-929), to perfect Ptolemy’s chords. This was done by applying algebraic, instead of geometric, methods of systematizing the sines. In particular, Abul Wefa’s development of the “half-chord” made it possible to achieve much more precise measurements that would eventually be used in surveying and navigation. The most immediate application of his tables of sines, however, was in the field of astronomy.
One of Abul Wefa’s contributions which left a legacy that lasted for many centuries involved the study of evection, or irregularity, in the longitude of the moon. Later European commentators looked at the Islamic astronomer’s work and concluded that he, not Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), had been the first scientist to posit the theory of the “third inequality of the moon.” Although this theory was later proved to be erroneous, the debate at least drew attention to the importance of Abul Wefa’s originality in the field.
Abul Wefa himself compiled, in addition to his well-known tables of sines, a book of astronomical tables entitled Zif al-wadith (that which is clear). Like his earlier work on sines, this text is not extant in the original. Scholars tend to agree, however, that certain anonymous manuscripts preserved in European libraries, such as the Zij al-shamil, are taken from Abul Wefa’s work.
Works that have survived and that have been at least partially translated include a book of arithmetic entitled Kitab fi ma yahtaj ilayh al-kuttab wa l-‘ummal min ‘ilm al-hisab (Book on What is Necessary from the Science -- of Arithmetic for Scribes and Businessmen [961-976]), the Kitab fi ma yahtaj ilayh al-sani ‘min al-a’mal al-handasiyha (Book on What is Necessary from Geometric Construction for the Artisan [after 990]), and a book entitled Kitab al-kamil. It is thought that Abul Wefa may have still been living in Baghdad at the time of his death in 998 (July 1, 998).
The crater Abul Wafa on the Moon is named after Abul Wefa.
Wefa, Abul see Abul Wefa
Abul Wafa' Buzjani see Abul Wefa
Buzjani, Abul Wafa' see Abul Wefa
Abu al-Wafa' Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il ibn al-'Abbas al-Buzjani see Abul Wefa
Abu Madyan
Abu Madyan (Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari) (c.1126-1197). Andalusian mystic whose fame rests on the memory of him handed down by his disciples and on the maxims attributed to him.
Abu Madyan was a Sufi teacher, scholar, writer and poet. He is the single most important founder of Sufism in the Maghreb and Andalusia. He was born in Cantillama in the region of Sevilla and died in Tlemcen. He was the teacher of Abdeslam Ben Mchich and through Ben Mchich of Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili.
Still young, Abu Madyan moved to Morocco where he lived in Ceuta, Tangier and Marrakech. He received his religious education in Fes, where he underwent the influence of the teachings of al-Jilani, Abu Yaza, and al-Ghazali (through Ibn Hirzihim et Abu Bakr ibn al Arabi), master of Abu Yaza. After his pilgrimage to Mecca and studies in the Middle East, he returned to teach in Bougie (now in Algeria).
Abu Madyan is the patron saint of Tlemcen. His mausoleum and the nearby mosque in that city are masterpieces of Merinid art. Ibn Arabi called Abu Madyan "the teacher of teachers."
Madyan, Abu see Abu Madyan
Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari see Abu Madyan
Ansari, Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al- see Abu Madyan
Abu Madyan (Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari) (c.1126-1197). Andalusian mystic whose fame rests on the memory of him handed down by his disciples and on the maxims attributed to him.
Abu Madyan was a Sufi teacher, scholar, writer and poet. He is the single most important founder of Sufism in the Maghreb and Andalusia. He was born in Cantillama in the region of Sevilla and died in Tlemcen. He was the teacher of Abdeslam Ben Mchich and through Ben Mchich of Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili.
Still young, Abu Madyan moved to Morocco where he lived in Ceuta, Tangier and Marrakech. He received his religious education in Fes, where he underwent the influence of the teachings of al-Jilani, Abu Yaza, and al-Ghazali (through Ibn Hirzihim et Abu Bakr ibn al Arabi), master of Abu Yaza. After his pilgrimage to Mecca and studies in the Middle East, he returned to teach in Bougie (now in Algeria).
Abu Madyan is the patron saint of Tlemcen. His mausoleum and the nearby mosque in that city are masterpieces of Merinid art. Ibn Arabi called Abu Madyan "the teacher of teachers."
Madyan, Abu see Abu Madyan
Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari see Abu Madyan
Ansari, Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al- see Abu Madyan
Abu Mahalli
Abu Mahalli (d. 1613). A jurist and mystic of Morocco who played a part in the final years of the Sa‘did dynasty.
Mahalli, Abu see Abu Mahalli
Abu Mahalli (d. 1613). A jurist and mystic of Morocco who played a part in the final years of the Sa‘did dynasty.
Mahalli, Abu see Abu Mahalli
Abu Marwan ibn Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr
Abu Marwan ibn Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abu Marwan ibn Abu ’l-‘Ala’ ibn Zuhr. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi (Albumasar) (Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi) (al-Falaki) (August 10, 787 - March 9, 886). Arab astrologer from Balkh who was known in the West as Albumasar. He wrote several works on astrology, some of which were translated into Latin with such titles as Introductorium in astronomiam Albumasaris Abalachii; De magnis coniunctionibus; and Flores astrologiae.
Abu Ma'shar was a South Asian Afghan mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and Islamic philosopher. Many of his works were translated into Latin and were well known amongst many European astrologers, astronomers, and mathematicians during the European Middle Ages.
It has been argued that the writings of Abu Ma'shar were very likely the single most important original source of Aristotle's theories of nature for European scholars, starting a little before the middle of the 12th century. It was not until later in the 12th century that the original books of Aristotle on nature began to become available in Latin. The works of Aristotle on logic had been known earlier, and Aristotle was generally recognized as "the master of logic." However, during the course of the 12th century, Aristotle was transformed into the "master of those who know," and in particular a master of natural philosophy. It is especially interesting that the work of Abu Ma'shar in question is a treatise on astrology. Its Latin title is Introductorium in Astronomiam, a translation of the Arabic Kitab al-mudkhal al-kabir ila 'ilm 'ahkam an-nujjum, written in Baghdad in the year 848. It was translated into Latin first by John of Seville in 1133, and again, less literally and abridged, by Hermann of Carinthia in 1140. Amir Khusrav mentions that Abu Mashar came to Benaras (Varanasi) and studied astronomy there for ten years.
Abu Ma'shar has been credited as the first astronomer to define astrological ages -- the Age of Pisces, the Age of Aquarius, etc. -- on the basis of the precession of the equinoxes through the zodiac.
Abu Ma'shar developed a planetary model that some have interpreted as a heliocentric model. This is due to the orbital revolutions of the planets being given as heliocentric revolutions rather than geocentric revolutions, and the only known planetary theory in which this occurs is in the heliocentric theory. His work on planetary theory has not survived, but his astronomical data was later recorded by al-Hashimi and al-Biruni.
Balkhi, Abu Ma'shar al- see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Albumasar see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Falaki, al- see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi (Albumasar) (Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi) (al-Falaki) (August 10, 787 - March 9, 886). Arab astrologer from Balkh who was known in the West as Albumasar. He wrote several works on astrology, some of which were translated into Latin with such titles as Introductorium in astronomiam Albumasaris Abalachii; De magnis coniunctionibus; and Flores astrologiae.
Abu Ma'shar was a South Asian Afghan mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and Islamic philosopher. Many of his works were translated into Latin and were well known amongst many European astrologers, astronomers, and mathematicians during the European Middle Ages.
It has been argued that the writings of Abu Ma'shar were very likely the single most important original source of Aristotle's theories of nature for European scholars, starting a little before the middle of the 12th century. It was not until later in the 12th century that the original books of Aristotle on nature began to become available in Latin. The works of Aristotle on logic had been known earlier, and Aristotle was generally recognized as "the master of logic." However, during the course of the 12th century, Aristotle was transformed into the "master of those who know," and in particular a master of natural philosophy. It is especially interesting that the work of Abu Ma'shar in question is a treatise on astrology. Its Latin title is Introductorium in Astronomiam, a translation of the Arabic Kitab al-mudkhal al-kabir ila 'ilm 'ahkam an-nujjum, written in Baghdad in the year 848. It was translated into Latin first by John of Seville in 1133, and again, less literally and abridged, by Hermann of Carinthia in 1140. Amir Khusrav mentions that Abu Mashar came to Benaras (Varanasi) and studied astronomy there for ten years.
Abu Ma'shar has been credited as the first astronomer to define astrological ages -- the Age of Pisces, the Age of Aquarius, etc. -- on the basis of the precession of the equinoxes through the zodiac.
Abu Ma'shar developed a planetary model that some have interpreted as a heliocentric model. This is due to the orbital revolutions of the planets being given as heliocentric revolutions rather than geocentric revolutions, and the only known planetary theory in which this occurs is in the heliocentric theory. His work on planetary theory has not survived, but his astronomical data was later recorded by al-Hashimi and al-Biruni.
Balkhi, Abu Ma'shar al- see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Albumasar see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Falaki, al- see Abu Ma‘shar al-Balkhi
Abumeron
Abumeron. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abumeron. See Ibn Zuhr.
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari (Hasan al-'Askari) (844-873). Eleventh Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a. At his death, dissension arose on the question whether or not he had a child named Muhammad al-Qa’im.
Hasan al-'Askari, whose ancestor was the Prophet Muhammad, was born in Medina to 'Ali al-Hadi and Saleel. His title al-Askari derives from the Arabic word Asker which means Army. Hasan's title was reflective of his living most of his life in a garrison town. He married a Byzantine princess who was the granddaughter of a Byzantine emperor, named Narjis.
Hasan al-'Askari lived almost his entire life under house arrest in Samarra and under supervision of 'Abbasid caliphs. Despite his confinement as a prisoner, he was occasionally allowed to go to Baghdad, although it was under guard.
Hasan al-'Askari was very knowledgeable and despite being confined to house arrest for almost his entire life, Hasan al-'Askari was able to teach others about Islam, and even compiled a commentary on the Qur'an that would be used by later scholars. Hasan al-'Askari was like a roaring river of wisdom, which quenched the thirst of those thirsty for it. As per Khawarzami's, eighteen thousand men, thirsty for knowledge, benefitted from Hasan al-'Askari's assembly. The first one out of al-Mu'tazz's court, who took an oath of allegiance for him was the famous Iranian genius and talented person named Mohammad ibn Masood Shirazi. It is narrated that such was Hasan al-Askari's wisdom that even al-Kindi the teacher of Abu Nasr Farabi, was defeated and failed in discussion with him, and burned his book which he had written against Islam.
Hasan al-'Askari died without apparent issue. However, Twelver Shi'a believe that Hasan al-'Askari had one son, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was five at the time of Hasan al-'Askari's death and who was hidden from the 'Abbasids. Nevertheless, many Muslims and scholars question the historical existence of this son.
Twelver Shi'as believe Muhammad al-Mahdi to be the Mahdi -- a very important figure in Islamic teaching who it is believed will reappear at the end of time to fill the world with justice, peace and to establish Islam as the global religion.
'Askari, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al- see Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari
Hasan al-'Askari see Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari (Hasan al-'Askari) (844-873). Eleventh Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a. At his death, dissension arose on the question whether or not he had a child named Muhammad al-Qa’im.
Hasan al-'Askari, whose ancestor was the Prophet Muhammad, was born in Medina to 'Ali al-Hadi and Saleel. His title al-Askari derives from the Arabic word Asker which means Army. Hasan's title was reflective of his living most of his life in a garrison town. He married a Byzantine princess who was the granddaughter of a Byzantine emperor, named Narjis.
Hasan al-'Askari lived almost his entire life under house arrest in Samarra and under supervision of 'Abbasid caliphs. Despite his confinement as a prisoner, he was occasionally allowed to go to Baghdad, although it was under guard.
Hasan al-'Askari was very knowledgeable and despite being confined to house arrest for almost his entire life, Hasan al-'Askari was able to teach others about Islam, and even compiled a commentary on the Qur'an that would be used by later scholars. Hasan al-'Askari was like a roaring river of wisdom, which quenched the thirst of those thirsty for it. As per Khawarzami's, eighteen thousand men, thirsty for knowledge, benefitted from Hasan al-'Askari's assembly. The first one out of al-Mu'tazz's court, who took an oath of allegiance for him was the famous Iranian genius and talented person named Mohammad ibn Masood Shirazi. It is narrated that such was Hasan al-Askari's wisdom that even al-Kindi the teacher of Abu Nasr Farabi, was defeated and failed in discussion with him, and burned his book which he had written against Islam.
Hasan al-'Askari died without apparent issue. However, Twelver Shi'a believe that Hasan al-'Askari had one son, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was five at the time of Hasan al-'Askari's death and who was hidden from the 'Abbasids. Nevertheless, many Muslims and scholars question the historical existence of this son.
Twelver Shi'as believe Muhammad al-Mahdi to be the Mahdi -- a very important figure in Islamic teaching who it is believed will reappear at the end of time to fill the world with justice, peace and to establish Islam as the global religion.
'Askari, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al- see Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari
Hasan al-'Askari see Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari
Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim (Abu Muslim Khorasani) (Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani) (c.700-755). Persian leader of the revolutionary ‘Abbasid movement in Khurasan who was executed by the second ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur.
Abu-Muslim was an 'Abbasid general of Persian (Tajik) origin, born in the city of Balkh in Khorasan (modern day Afghanistan) who led the first liberal movement against the Umayyad dynasty. He grew up in Kufa, in Iraq.
Abu Muslim was a major supporter of the 'Abbasid cause, having met with their imam Ibrahim ibn Muhamad in Mecca, and was later a personal friend of Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah, the future caliph. Abu Muslim observed the revolt in Kufa in 736 tacitly. With the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war. Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by the 'Abbasids initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He took Merv in December 747 (or January 748), defeating the Umayyad governor there Nasr ibn Sayyar, as well as Shayban al-Khariji, a Kharijite aspirant to the caliphate. He became the de facto 'Abbasid governor of Khorasan, and gained fame as a general in the late 740s in defeating the peasant rebellion of Bihafarid, the leader of a syncretic Persian sect that was Mazdaism. Abu Muslim received support in suppressing the rebellion both from purist Muslims and Zoroastrians. In 750, Abu Muslim became leader of the 'Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, later that year.
His heroic role in the revolution and military skill, along with his conciliatory politics toward Shi'a, Sunnis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians made him extremely popular among the people. Although it appears that Abu al-'Abbas trusted him in general, he was wary of his power, limiting his entourage to 500 men upon his arrival to Iraq on his way to Hajj in 754. Abu al-'Abbas's brother, al-Mansur (r.754-775), advised al-Saffah on more than one occasion to have Abu Muslim killed, fearing his rising influence and popularity. It seems that this dislike was mutual, with Abu Muslim aspiring to more power and looking down in disdain on al-Mansur, feeling al-Mansur owed Abu Muslim for his position. When the new caliph's uncle, Abdullah ibn Ali rebelled, Abu Muslim was requested by al-Mansur to crush this rebellion, which he did, and Abdullah was given to his nephew as a prisoner. Abdullah was ultimately executed.
Relations deteriorated quickly when al-Mansur sent an agent to inventory the spoils of war, and then appointed Abu Muslim governor of Syria and Egypt, outside his powerbase. After an increasingly acrimonious correspondence between Abu Muslim and al-Mansur, Abu Muslim feared he was going to be killed if he appeared in the presence of the Caliph. He later changed his mind and decided to appear in his presence due to a combination of perceived disobedience, al-Mansur's promise to keep him as governor of Khorasan, and the assurances of some of his close aides, some of whom were bribed by al-Mansur. He went to Iraq to meet with al-Mansur in Madain in 755, where al-Mansur proceeded to enumerate his grievances against Abu Muslim while Abu Muslim kept reminding al-Mansur of his efforts to enthrone him. Al-Mansur then signaled five of his guards hidden behind a portico to kill Abu Muslim.
Abu Muslim's mutilated body was thrown in the river Tigris, and his commanders were bribed to acquiesce to the murder.
The murder of Abu Muslim was not well-received by the Persians, particularly not by the residents of Khorasan, and there was resentment among the population over the brutal methods used by al-Mansur. He became a legendary figure for many in Persia, and several Persian heretics started revolts claiming he had not died and would return. The latter included his own propagandist, Ishaq al-Turk, the Zoroastrian cleric, Sunpadh, in Nishapur, and al-Muqanna in Khorasan. Even Babak claimed descent from Abu Muslim.
Muslim, Abu see Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Khorasani see Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani see Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim (Abu Muslim Khorasani) (Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani) (c.700-755). Persian leader of the revolutionary ‘Abbasid movement in Khurasan who was executed by the second ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur.
Abu-Muslim was an 'Abbasid general of Persian (Tajik) origin, born in the city of Balkh in Khorasan (modern day Afghanistan) who led the first liberal movement against the Umayyad dynasty. He grew up in Kufa, in Iraq.
Abu Muslim was a major supporter of the 'Abbasid cause, having met with their imam Ibrahim ibn Muhamad in Mecca, and was later a personal friend of Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah, the future caliph. Abu Muslim observed the revolt in Kufa in 736 tacitly. With the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war. Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by the 'Abbasids initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He took Merv in December 747 (or January 748), defeating the Umayyad governor there Nasr ibn Sayyar, as well as Shayban al-Khariji, a Kharijite aspirant to the caliphate. He became the de facto 'Abbasid governor of Khorasan, and gained fame as a general in the late 740s in defeating the peasant rebellion of Bihafarid, the leader of a syncretic Persian sect that was Mazdaism. Abu Muslim received support in suppressing the rebellion both from purist Muslims and Zoroastrians. In 750, Abu Muslim became leader of the 'Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, later that year.
His heroic role in the revolution and military skill, along with his conciliatory politics toward Shi'a, Sunnis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians made him extremely popular among the people. Although it appears that Abu al-'Abbas trusted him in general, he was wary of his power, limiting his entourage to 500 men upon his arrival to Iraq on his way to Hajj in 754. Abu al-'Abbas's brother, al-Mansur (r.754-775), advised al-Saffah on more than one occasion to have Abu Muslim killed, fearing his rising influence and popularity. It seems that this dislike was mutual, with Abu Muslim aspiring to more power and looking down in disdain on al-Mansur, feeling al-Mansur owed Abu Muslim for his position. When the new caliph's uncle, Abdullah ibn Ali rebelled, Abu Muslim was requested by al-Mansur to crush this rebellion, which he did, and Abdullah was given to his nephew as a prisoner. Abdullah was ultimately executed.
Relations deteriorated quickly when al-Mansur sent an agent to inventory the spoils of war, and then appointed Abu Muslim governor of Syria and Egypt, outside his powerbase. After an increasingly acrimonious correspondence between Abu Muslim and al-Mansur, Abu Muslim feared he was going to be killed if he appeared in the presence of the Caliph. He later changed his mind and decided to appear in his presence due to a combination of perceived disobedience, al-Mansur's promise to keep him as governor of Khorasan, and the assurances of some of his close aides, some of whom were bribed by al-Mansur. He went to Iraq to meet with al-Mansur in Madain in 755, where al-Mansur proceeded to enumerate his grievances against Abu Muslim while Abu Muslim kept reminding al-Mansur of his efforts to enthrone him. Al-Mansur then signaled five of his guards hidden behind a portico to kill Abu Muslim.
Abu Muslim's mutilated body was thrown in the river Tigris, and his commanders were bribed to acquiesce to the murder.
The murder of Abu Muslim was not well-received by the Persians, particularly not by the residents of Khorasan, and there was resentment among the population over the brutal methods used by al-Mansur. He became a legendary figure for many in Persia, and several Persian heretics started revolts claiming he had not died and would return. The latter included his own propagandist, Ishaq al-Turk, the Zoroastrian cleric, Sunpadh, in Nishapur, and al-Muqanna in Khorasan. Even Babak claimed descent from Abu Muslim.
Muslim, Abu see Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Khorasani see Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani see Abu Muslim
