Abu al-Arab

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Abu al-Arab
أبو العرب
Born9th-century
Kairouan, Fatimid Caliphate
Diedc. 945
Kairouan
Academic background
Academic work
EraIslamic Golden Age, Fatimid era
Main interestsHistory, hadith, poetry

Muḥammad ibn Tamīm ibn Tamām al-Tamīmī (Arabic: محمد بن تميم بن تمام التميمي) (died 945) more commonly known as Abu al-Arab (أبو العرب; lit. 'Father of the Arabs') was a 10th-century Arab Muslim historian, poet, traditionist and faqih of the Maliki school.[1] His most celebrated work is Tabaqat 'Ulama Ifriqiya (lit. 'Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya') which include numerous scholars of his time.

Biography[]

Abu al-Arab year of birth is unknown, though he most probably was born between 864 and 873 in the city of Kayrawan, the cultural center of Ifriqiya (corresponds to modern-day Tunisia), at the time was under the control of the Fatimid Caliphate. He belonged to a noble Arab family of governors. His great-grandfather held the governorship of Tunis and he also successfully managed to seize control of Kayrawan in the year 799.[1] Abu al-Arab studied under a number of scholars who were themselves took knowledge from the renowned Kayrawani jurist Sahnun (d. 854/55), and he wrote a detailed account of Sahnun's life.[2] Sequentially, Abu al-Arab devoted his time to teaching in Kayrawan, his most notable student was Ibn Abi Zayd al-Kayrawani (d. 996).[1] Abu al-Arab participated in Abu Yazid's revolt against the Fatimids, eventually he was imprisoned. Few years later, he died in 945.[1]

Works[]

According to al-Zirkili, Abu al-Arab works consist of 3,000 books which are mostly lost.[3]

  • Tabaqat 'Ulama Ifriqiya (طبقات علماء إفريقية; Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya)
  • 'Ibad Ifriqiya (عباد إفريقية; People of Ifriqiya)
  • Kitab al-Tarikh (كتاب التاريخ; Book of History) in seventeen volumes.
  • Manaqib Bani Tamim (مناقب بني تميم; Merits of Bani Tamim)
  • Al-Mihan (المحن; Adversities)
  • Fada'il Malik (فضائل مالك; Merits of Malik)
  • Manaqib Sahnun (مناقب سحنون; Merits of Sahnun)
  • Mawt al-'Ulama (موت العلماء; Death of Scholars) in two volumes.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Pellat, Ch (2012-04-24). "Abu 'l-ʿArab". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.
  2. ^ Powers, David; Spectorsky, Susan; Arabi, Oussama (2013-09-25). Islamic Legal Thought: A Compendium of Muslim Jurists. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-25588-3.
  3. ^ Al-Zirikili. "Al-'Alam". shamela.ws (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-03-01.
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