Ibn Qutaybah
Encyclopedia
Ibn Qutaybah was a renowned Islamic scholar of Persian
origin.
in what is now modern day Iraq
. He was of Iran
ian descent; his father was from Merv
. Having studied tradition and philology
he became qadi
in Dinawar
, and afterwards a teacher in Baghdad
, where he died. He was the first representative of the eclectic school of Baghdad philologists that succeeded the schools of Kufa and Basra
. Throughout his life of warfare, Qutaybah succeeded in the capture of Bhari and Samarqand. Throughout the distance of over 3000 km towards Sammarqand, Qutayba and his army consisting of 30,000 soldiers and cavalry fought more than 20 battles and won all of them. Once they reached Sammarqand, It was very cold, although food stocks were plentiful on the way.
English translation of his quotation on good government:
There can be no government without an army,
No army without money,
No money without prosperity,
And no prosperity without justice and good administration.
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
origin.
Biography
His full name is Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullaah bin Muslim Ibn Qutaybah Ad-Dinawaree. He was born in KufaKufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
in what is now modern day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. He was of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian descent; his father was from Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
. Having studied tradition and philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
he became qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
in Dinawar
Dinawar
Dinavar was a major city in the 8th-11th centuries, located to the northeast of Kermanshah in western Iran. The ruins of the city is now located in Dinavar District, in Sahneh County, Kermanshah Province....
, and afterwards a teacher in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, where he died. He was the first representative of the eclectic school of Baghdad philologists that succeeded the schools of Kufa and Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
. Throughout his life of warfare, Qutaybah succeeded in the capture of Bhari and Samarqand. Throughout the distance of over 3000 km towards Sammarqand, Qutayba and his army consisting of 30,000 soldiers and cavalry fought more than 20 battles and won all of them. Once they reached Sammarqand, It was very cold, although food stocks were plentiful on the way.
Legacy
He was viewed by Sunni Muslims as a hadith Master, foremost philologist, linguist, and man of letters.English translation of his quotation on good government:
There can be no government without an army,
No army without money,
No money without prosperity,
And no prosperity without justice and good administration.
Works
- Gharīb al-Qur’ān also known as Mushkil al-Qur’ān, on its lexical difficulties.
- Al-Imama wa al-SiyasaAl-Imama wa al-SiyasaAl-Imama wa al-Siyasa is an Arabic work falsely attributed to the Sunni Islamic scholar Ibn Qutaybah about the history of Islam.This book is traditionally known as Ta’rikh al-Khulafa’ .-Editions:*ed. Zini Taha , 21....
, also known as Ta’rikh al-Khulafa’. It is likely a spurious work not penned by him. Shaykh Muhib al-Din al-Khatib states in his edition of the work "`Awasim min al-Qawasim" of Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi al-Maliki, "Nothing from it has been credibly attributed to Ibn Qutaybah at all. Al-Imamah wa-l Siyasah is rife with ignorance, stupidity, falsehoods and deception..." - The Interpretation of Conflicting Narrations (Arabic: Ta’wīl Mukhtalif al-Hadīth)
- Adab al-Kitāb.
- al-Amwāl.
- al-Anwā’.
- al-‘Arab wa ‘Ulūmuhā on Arab intellectual history.
- al-Ashriba on alcoholic beverages.
- Dalā’il al-Nubuwwa or A‘lām al-Nubuwwa on the Proofs of Prophethood.
- Fad.l al-‘Arab ‘alā al-‘Ajam in praise of the Arabs.
- I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, a philological commentary.
- al-Ikhtilāf fī al-Lafz. wa al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyya wal-Mushabbiha, a refutation of both the Allegorizers and the Anthropomorphists. This slim volume received editions in Egypt.
- al-Ishtiqāq.
- Is.lāh. Ghalat. Abī ‘Ubayd, corrections on al-Qāsim ibn Salām’s Gharīb al-H.adīth.
- Jāmi‘ al-Fiqh in jurisprudence, dispraised as unreliable by al-T.abarī and Ibn Surayj, as was Ibn Qutayba’s al-Amwāl.
- Jāmi‘ al-Nah.w al-Kabīr and Jāmi‘ al-Nah.w al-S.aghīr.
- al-Jarāthīm in linguistics.
- al-Jawābāt al-H.ād.ira.
- al-Ma‘ānī al-Kabīr.
- al-Ma‘ārif, a slim volume that manages to cover topics from the beginning of creation and facts about the Jāhiliyya to the names of the Companions and famous jurists and h.adīth Masters.
- al-Masā’il wal-Ajwiba.
- al-Maysar wal-Qidāh. on dice and lots.
- al-Na‘m wal-Bahā’im on cattle and livestock.
- al-Nabāt in botany.
- al-Qirā’āt in the canonical readings.
- al-Radd ‘alā al-Qā’il bi Khalq al-Qur’ān, against those who assert the createdness of the Qur’an.
- al-Radd ‘alā al-Shu‘aybiyya, a refutation of a sub-sect of the ‘Ajārida ‘At.awiyya, itself a sub-sect of the Khawārij.
- al-Rah.l wal-Manzil.
- Ta‘bīr al-Ru’yā on the interpretation of dreams.
- Talqīn al-Muta‘allim min al-Nah.w in grammar.
- ‘Uyūn al-Akhbār in history.
- ‘Uyūn al-Shi‘r in poetry.
- al-Shi‘r wal-Shu‘arā’
See also
- List of Islamic scholars
- List of Iranian scientists and scholars
- Al-Zahiriyah Library