The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Literary History of the Arabs by Reynold A. Nicholson

667 It may be noted as a coincidence that Ibn Khaldún calls Mas‘údí imám^an lil-mu’arrikhín, "an Imám for all the historians," which resembles, though it does not exactly correspond to, "the Father of History."

668 Mas‘údí gives a summary of the contents of his historical and religious works in the Preface to the Tanbíh wa-’l-Ishráf, ed. by De Goeje, p. 2 sqq. A translation of this passage by De Sacy will be found in Barbier de Meynard's edition of the Murúju ’l-Dhahab, vol. ix, p. 302 sqq.

669 See Murúj, vol. i, p. 201, and vol. iii, p. 268.

670 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 372 sqq.

671 De Sacy renders the title by 'Le Livre de l'Indication et de l'Admonition ou l'Indicateur et le Moniteur'; but see De Goeje's edition of the text (Leyden, 1894), p. xxvii.

672 The full title is Kitábu ’l-Kámil fi ’l-Ta’ríkh, or 'The Perfect Book of Chronicles.' It has been edited by Tornberg in fourteen volumes (Leyden, 1851-1876).

673 Ibn Khallikán, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 289.

674 An excellent account of the Arab geographers is given by Guy Le Strange in the Introduction to his Palestine under the Moslems (London, 1890). De Goeje has edited the works of Ibn Khurdádbih, Iṣṭakhrí, Ibn Ḥawqal, and Muqaddasí in the Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum (Leyden, 1870, &c.)

675 De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 9 sqq.

677 The translators employed by the Banú Músá were paid at the rate of about 500 dínárs a month (ibid., p. 43, l. 18 sqq.).

678 Ibid., p. 271; Ibn Khallikán, De Slane's translation, vol. iii, p. 315.

679 A chapter at least would be required in order to set forth adequately the chief material and intellectual benefits which European civilisation has derived from the Arabs. The reader may consult Von Kremer's Culturgeschichte des Orients, vol. ii, chapters 7 and 9; Diercks, Die Araber im Mittelalter (Leipzig, 1882); Sédillot, Histoire générale des Arabes; Schack, Poesie und Kunst der Araber in Spanien und Sicilien; Munk, Mélanges de Philosophie Juive et Arabe; De Lacy O'Leary, Arabic Thought and its Place in History (1922); and Campbell, Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages (1926). A volume entitled The Legacy of the Islamic World, ed. by Sir T. W. Arnold and Professor A. Guillaume, is in course of publication.

680 Ibn Khallikán, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 440.

681 The Chronology of Ancient Nations (London, 1879) and Alberuni's India (London, 1888).

683 The passages concerning the Ṣábians were edited and translated, with copious annotations, by Chwolsohn in his Ssabier und Ssabismus (St. Petersburg, 1856), vol. ii, p. 1-365, while Flügel made similar use of the Manichæan portion in Mani, seine Lehre und seine Schriften (Leipzig, 1862).

684 Wellhausen, Das Arabische Reich, p. 350 seq.

685 See Goldziher, Muhamm. Studien, Part II, p. 53 sqq.

686 Ibid., p. 70 seq.

687 Fragmenta Historicorum Arabicorum, ed. by De Goeje and De Jong, p. 298.

688 There are, of course, some partial exceptions to this rule, e.g., Mahdí and Hárún al-Rashíd.

689 See p. 163, note.

690 Several freethinkers of this period attempted to rival the Koran with their own compositions. See Goldziher, Muhamm. Studien, Part II, p. 401 seq.

691 Al-Nujúm al-Záhira, ed. by Juynboll, vol. i, p. 639.

692 This is the literal translation of Ikhwánu ’l-Safá, but according to Arabic idiom 'brother of purity' (akhu ’l-ṣafá) simply means 'one who is pure or sincere,' as has been shown by Goldziher, Muhamm. Studien, Part I, p. 9, note. The term does not imply any sort of brotherhood.

693 Ibnu ’l-Qifṭí, Ta’ ríkhu ’l-Ḥukamá (ed. by Lippert), p. 83, l. 17 sqq.

694 Notice sur un manuscrit de la secte des Assassins, by P. Casanova in the Journal Asiatique for 1898, p 151 sqq.

695 De Goeje, Mémoire sur les Carmathes, p. 172.

696 Ṣâliḥ b. ‘Abd al-Quddûs und das Zindîḳthum während der Regierung des Chalifen al-Mahdí in Transactions of the Ninth Congress of Orientalists, vol. ii, p. 105 seq.

697 Ṭabarí, iii, 522, 1.

698 I.e. the sacred books of the Manichæans, which were often splendidly illuminated. See Von Kremer, Culturgesch. Streifzüge, p. 39.

699 Cf. Ṭabarí, iii, 499, 8 sqq.

700 Ibid., iii, 422, 19 sqq.

701 Cf. the saying "Aẓrafu mina ’l-Zindíq" (Freytag, Arabum Proverbia, vol. i, p. 214).

702 As Professor Bevan points out, it is based solely on the well-known verse (Aghání, iii, 24, l. 11), which has come down to us without the context:—

"Earth is dark and Fire is bright, And Fire has been worshipped ever since Fire existed."

703 These popular preachers (quṣṣáṣ) are admirably described by Goldziher, Muhamm. Studien, Part II, p. 161 sqq.

704 The Arabic text of these verses will be found in Goldziher's monograph, p. 122, ll. 6-7.

705 See a passage from the Kitábu ’l-Ḥayawán, cited by Baron V. Rosen in Zapiski, vol. vi, p. 337, and rendered into English in my Translations from Eastern Poetry and Prose, p. 53. Probably these monks were Manichæans, not Buddhists.

706 Zaddíq is an Aramaic word meaning 'righteous.' Its etymological equivalent in Arabic is siddíq, which has a different meaning, namely, 'veracious.' Zaddíq passed into Persian in the form Zandík, which was used by the Persians before Islam, and Zindíq is the Arabicised form of the latter word. For some of these observations I am indebted to Professor Bevan. Further details concerning the derivation and meaning of Zindíq are given in Professor Browne's Literary Hist. of Persia (vol. i, p. 159 sqq.), where the reader will also find a lucid account of the Manichæan doctrines.

707 Ibnu ’l-Athír, vol. viii, p. 229 seq. (anno 323 a.h. = 934-935 a.d.).

709 Ibid., p. 230 seq.

711 I.e., he is saved from Hell but excluded from Paradise.

712 Ibn Khallikán, ed. by Wüstenfeld, No. 440; De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 228.

713 The clearest statement of Ash‘arí's doctrine with which I am acquainted is contained in the Creed published by Spitta, Zur Geschichte Abu ’l-Ḥasan al-Ash‘arí's (Leipzig, 1876), p. 133, l. 9 sqq.; German translation, p. 95 sqq. It has been translated into English by D. B. Macdonald in his Muslim Theology, p. 293 and foll.

714 Op. cit., p. 7 seq.

715 Schreiner, Zur Geschichte des Ash‘aritenthums in the Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Orientalists (1889), p. 5 of the tirage à part.

716 Z.D.M.G., vol. 31, p. 167.

717 See Goldziher in Z.D.M.G., vol. 41, p. 63 seq., whence the following details are derived.

719 I have used the Cairo edition of 1309 a.h. A French translation by Barbier de Meynard was published in the Journal Asiatique (January, 1877), pp. 9-93.

720 These are the Ismá‘ílís or Báṭinís (including the Carmathians and Assassins). See p. 271 sqq.

721 A Literary History of Persia, vol. ii, p. 295 seq.

722 The Life of al-Ghazzālī in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. xx (1899), p. 122 sqq.

723 Herrschende Ideen, p. 67.

724 Idee und Grundlinien einer allgemeiner Geschichte der Mystik, an academic oration delivered on November 22, 1892, and published at Heidelberg in 1893.

725 The following sketch is founded on my paper, An Historical Enquiry concerning the Origin and Development of Ṣúfiism (J.R.A.S., April, 1906, p. 303 sqq.).

726 This, so far as I know, is the oldest extant definition of Ṣúfiism.

727 It is impossible not to recognise the influence of Greek philosophy in this conception of Truth as Beauty.

728 Jámí says (Nafahátu ’l-Uns, ed. by Nassau Lees, p. 36): "He is the head of this sect: they all descend from, and are related to, him."

729 See ‘Aṭṭár's Tadhkiratu ’l-Awliyá, ed. by Nicholson, Part I, p. 114; Jámí's Nafaḥát, p. 35; Ibn Khallikán, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 291.

730 Murúju ’l-Dhahab, vol. ii, p. 401 seq.

731 The Influence of Buddhism upon Islam, by I. Goldziher (Budapest, 1903). As this essay is written in Hungarian, I have not been able to consult it at first hand, but have used the excellent translation by Mr. T. Duka, which appeared in the J.R.A.S. for January, 1904, pp. 125-141.

732 It was recognised by the Ṣúfís themselves that in some points their doctrine was apparently based on Mu‘tazilite principles. See Sha‘rání, Lawáqiḥu ’l-Anwár (Cairo, 1299 a.h.), p. 14, l. 21 sqq.

733 This definition is by Abu ’l-Ḥusayn al-Núrí († 907-908 a.d.).

734 See Professor Browne's Lit. Hist. of Persia, vol. ii, p. 261 sqq.

735 The Díwán of ‘Umar Ibnu ’l-Fáriḍ, ed. by Rushayyid al-Daḥdáḥ (Marseilles, 1853).

736 I.e., New and Old Cairo.

737 The Díwán, excluding the Tá’iyyatu ’l-Kubrá, has been edited by Rushayyid al-Daḥdáḥ (Marseilles, 1853).

738 Díwán, p. 219, l. 14 and p. 213, l. 18.

739 Ibnu ’l-Fáriḍ, like Mutanabbí, shows a marked fondness for diminutives. As he observes (Díwán, p. 552):—

má qultu ḥubayyibí mina ’l-taḥqíri bal ya‘dhubu ’smu ’l-shakhṣi bi-’l-taṣghíri.

"Not in contempt I say 'my darling.' No! By 'diminution' names do sweeter grow."

740 Dìwàn, p. 472 sqq. A French rendering will be found at p. 41 of Grangeret de Lagrange's Anthologie Arabe (Paris, 1828).

741 The words of God to Moses (Kor. vii, 139).

742 Díwán, p. 257 sqq.

743 This refers to Kor. vii, 171. God drew forth from the loins of Adam all future generations of men and addressed them, saying, "Am not I your Lord?" They answered, "Yes," and thus, according to the Ṣúfí interpretation, pledged themselves to love God for evermore.

744 Díwán, p. 142 sqq.

745 See A Literary History of Persia, vol. i, p. 428 sqq. But during the last twenty years a great deal of new light has been thrown upon the character and doctrines of Ḥalláj. See Appendix.

746 The best-known biography of Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí occurs in Maqqarí's Nafḥu ’l-Ṭíb, ed. by Dozy and others, vol. i, pp. 567-583. Much additional information is contained in a lengthy article, which I have extracted from a valuable MS. in my collection, the Shadharátu ’l-Dhahab, and published in the J.R.A.S. for 1906, pp. 806-824. Cf. also Von Kremer's Herrschende Ideen. pp. 102-109.

747 Muḥyi ’l-Dín means 'Reviver of Religion.' In the West he was called Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí, but the Moslems of the East left out the definite article (al) in order to distinguish him from the Cadi Abú Bakr Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí of Seville († 1151 a.d.).

748 Al-Kibrít al-aḥmar (literally, 'the red sulphur').

749 See Von Kremer, op. cit., p. 108 seq.

750 The above particulars are derived from an abstract of the Futúḥát made by ‘Abdu ’l-Wahháb al-Sha‘rání († 1565 a.d.), of which Fleischer has given a full description in the Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Leipzig Univ. Library (1838), pp. 490-495.

751 Maqqarí, i, 569, II.

752 Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal.

754 Fuṣúṣu ’l-Ḥikam (Cairo, a.h. 1321), p. 78. The words within brackets belong to the commentary of ‘Abdu ’l-Razzáq al-Káshání which accompanies the text.

755 Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí uses the term "Idea of ideas" (Ḥaqíqatu ’l-ḥaqá’iq) as equivalent to λόγος ἐνδιάθετος, while "the Idea of Muḥammad" (al-Ḥaqíqatu ’l-Muḥammadiyya) corresponds to λόγος ἐνδιάθετος.

756 The Arabic text of these verses will be found in the collection of Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí's mystical odes, entitled Tarjumánu ’l-Ashwáq, which I have edited (Oriental Translation Fund, New Series, vol. xx, p. 19, vv. 13-15).

757 Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí has been studied by Asin Palacios, Professor of Arabic at Madrid, whose books are written in Spanish, and H. S. Nyberg (Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-‘Arabí, Leiden, 1919). A general view may be obtained from my Studies in Islamic Mysticism, pp. 77-142 and pp. 149-161.

758 See Asin Palacios, Islam and the Divine Comedy, London, 1926.

759 Abridged from Ibnu ’l-‘Idhárí, al-Bayán al-Mughrib, ed. by Dozy, vol. ii, p. 61 seq.

760 Ibn Khallikán, ed. by Wüstenfeld, No. 802; De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 29 sqq.

761 Muqaddasí (ed. by De Goeje), p. 236, cited by Goldziher, Die Zâhiriten, p. 114.

762 Dozy, Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne (Leyden, 1861), vol. iii, p. 90 sqq.

763 ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán III was the first of his line to assume this title.

764 Maqqarí, vol. i, p. 259. As Maqqarí's work is our principal authority for the literary history of Moslem Spain, I may conveniently give some account of it in this place. The author, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Tilimsání al-Maqqarí († 1632 a.d.) wrote a biography of Ibnu ’l-Khaṭíb, the famous Vizier of Granada, to which he prefixed a long and discursive introduction in eight chapters: (1) Description of Spain; (2) Conquest of Spain by the Arabs; (3) History of the Spanish dynasties; (4) Cordova; (5) Spanish-Arabian scholars who travelled in the East; (6) Orientals who visited Spain; (7) Miscellaneous extracts, anecdotes, poetical citations, &c., bearing on the literary history of Spain; (8) Reconquest of Spain by the Christians and expulsion of the Arabs. The whole work is entitled Nafḥu ’l-Ṭíb min ghuṣní ’l-Andalusi ’l-raṭíb wa-dhikri wazírihá Lisáni ’l-Dín Ibni ’l-Khaṭíb. The introduction, which contains a fund of curious and valuable information—"a library in little"—has been edited by Dozy and other European Arabists under the title of Analectes sur l'Histoire et la Littérature des Arabes d'Espagne (Leyden, 1855-1861).

765 The name of Slaves (Ṣaqáliba) was originally applied to prisoners of war, belonging to various northern races, who were sold to the Arabs of Spain, but the term was soon widened so as to include all foreign slaves serving in the harem or the army, without regard to their nationality. Like the Mamelukes and Janissaries, they formed a privileged corps under the patronage of the palace, and since the reign of ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán III their number and influence had steadily increased. Cf. Dozy, Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne, vol. iii, p. 58 sqq.

766 Dozy, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 103 seq.

767 Qazwíní, Átháru ’l-Bilád, ed. by Wüstenfeld, p. 364, l. 5 sqq.

768 See Schack, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 46 sqq.

769 The Arabic original occurs in the 11th chapter of the Ḥalbatu ’l-Kumayt, a collection of poems on wine and drinking by Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-Nawájí († 1455 a.d.), and is also printed in the Anthologie Arabe of Grangeret de Lagrange, p. 202.

770 Al-Ḥullat al-Siyará of Ibnu ’l-Abbár, ed. by Dozy, p. 34. In the last line instead of "foes" the original has "the sons of ‘Abbás." Other verses addressed by ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán to this palm-tree are cited by Maqqarí, vol. ii, p. 37.

771 Full details concerning Ziryáb will be found in Maqqarí, vol. ii, p. 83 sqq. Cf. Dozy, Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne, vol. ii, p. 89 sqq.

772 Maqqarí, loc. cit., p. 87, l. 10 sqq.

773 Dozy, Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, vol. iii, p. 107 sqq.

774 See the verses cited by Ibnu ’l-Athír, vol. viii, p. 457.

775 Ibn Khallikán, No. 697, De Slane's translation, vol. iii, p. 186.

776 Ibn Khallikán, loc. cit.

777 Loc. cit., p. 189. For the sake of clearness I have slightly abridged and otherwise remodelled De Slane's translation of this passage.

778 A somewhat different version of these events is given by Dozy, Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, vol. iv, p. 189 sqq.

779 The term Mulaththamún, which means literally 'wearers of the lithám' (a veil covering the lower part of the face), is applied to the Berber tribes of the Sahara, the so-called Almoravides (al-Murábiṭún), who at this tune ruled over Northern Africa.

780 Ibnu ’l-Abbár (Dozy, Loci de Abbadidis, vol. ii, p. 63).

781 Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, vol. iv, p. 287.

782 I.e., 'holder of the two vizierships'—that of the sword and that of the pen. See De Slane's translation of Ibn Khallikán, vol. iii, p. 130, n. 1.

783 The Arabic text of this poem, which occurs in the Qalá’idu ’l-‘Iqyán of Ibn Kháqán, will be found on pp. 24-25 of Weyers's Specimen criticum exhibens locos Ibn Khacanis de Ibn Zeidouno (Leyden, 31).

784 Cited by Ibn Khallikán in his article on Ibn Ḥazm (De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 268).

785 Maqqarí, vol. i, p. 511, l. 21.

786 Maqqarí, loc. cit. p. 515, l. 5 seq.

787 See p. 341, note 1.

788 The contents of the Kitábu ’l-Milal wa-’l-Niḥal are fully summarised by Dozy in the Leyden Catalogue, vol. iv, pp. 230-237. Cf. also Zur Komposition von Ibn Ḥazm's Milal wa’n-Niḥal, by Israel Friedlaender in the Nöldeke-Festschrift (Giessen, 1906), vol. i, p. 267 sqq.

789 So far as I am aware, the report that copies are preserved in the great mosque at Tunis has not been confirmed.

790 His Arabic name is Ismá‘íl b. Naghdála. See the Introduction to Dozy's ed. of Ibnu ’l-‘Idhárí, p. 84, n. 1.

791 An interesting notice of Samuel Ha-Levi is given by Dozy in his Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne, vol. iv, p. 27 sqq.

792 Kámil of Ibnu ’l-Athír, ed. by Tornberg, vol. ix, p. 425 sqq. The following narrative (which has been condensed as far as possible) differs in some essential particulars from the accounts given by Ibn Khaldún (History of the Berbers, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 64 sqq.) and by Ibn Abí Zar‘ (Tornberg, Annales Regum Mauritaniæ, p. 100 sqq. of the Latin version). Cf. A. Müller, Der Islam, vol. ii, p. 611 sqq.