Abū 'Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn 'Imrān ibn Mūsā ibn Sa'īd ibn 'Abd Allāh al-Marzubānī al-Khurāsānī () (c. 909 – 10 November 994), was a prolific author of adab,

akhbar Akhbar in Arabic () is the plural of ''khabar'' (), meaning ''news'' or, in Classical Arabic, ''reports'' about significant past events. The Arabic term occurs in the titles of many newspapers and other media, and may refer to: Journals Middle ...

(news), history and

ḥadīth Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

(traditions). He lived all his life in his native city, Baghdad, although his family came originally from Khurāsān.

Life

Al-Marzubānī came from a wealthy Arab family connected to the royal court of the Abbāsid caliph. Ibn al-Jawālīqī in his ''Kitāb al-Mu'arrab'', explains that al-Marzubānī inherited a Persian epithet "

Marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱𐭰𐭠𐭭𐭯 transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱 ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the Middle Persian suffix: 𐭡𐭭𐭯 ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ...

", which means 'Guardian of the frontier'. The

Buyid The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...

amir ‘Aḍūd al-Dawla was known to visit his residence on the east bank of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, where he would also entertain members of a literary circle dedicated to the conservation and transmission of Arabic philological literature. Fellow authors in his circle were Abū Ya'qūb al-Najīramī (d.1031), Abū Sa'īd al-Sīrāfī (d. 979) and Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Tārīkhī. He edited the first dīwān (collected poems) by the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph

Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(r. 661–680), which he produced in a small volume of about three kurrāsa, – ca., 60 ff.

Al-Marzubānī's principal teachers

* 'Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Baghawī (829 – 929), jurist. *Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dā'ūd al-Sijistānī (ca. 844—928/929), ḥāfiẓ, scholar of Ḥadīth and Qur'an, and author of ''Kitāb al-Masābīh''. * al-Ṣūlī held al-Marzubānī in high esteem and much of al-Marzubānī's material in his ''Kitāb al-Muwashshaḥ'' and his compilation technique was apparently borrowed from him.

Al-Marzubānī's principal authorities

* Abū Bakr ibn Durayd (837 -934), a great grammarian of Basra. *Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim ibn al-Anbārī (855 – 940) was a famous pupil of Tha'lab. Abū Bakr al-Khwārizmī led the funeral service. He was buried in his house on Shari Amr al-Rūmī (Amr the Greek Street), on the eastern quarter of Baghdād.

Legacy

He was the last of the authorities of literary and oral tradition Isḥāq al-Nadīm met. He was cited by the

Mu'tazilite Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...

theologian Abū 'Abd Allāh al-Ṣaymarī (d. 927/8), Abū al-Qāsim al-Tanūkhi (940 – 994), Abū Muḥammad al-Jauhari, et al. Some sectarian-based criticismattributed to al-Marzubānī's religious leanings and ''

madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

'', despite his publication of

Ḥanafī The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the use of reasoning ...

, Shī'i and

Mu'tazila Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...

''riwāya'' and ''akhbar'' (biographies).seems to have led to the relative neglect of his writings by

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

scholars in later centuries.

Works

Among his books were:

Books about the ''Sawād''

*''An'ān al-Shi'rEssences of Poetry'; about praise and satire, glory and generosity *''Akhbār al-AjwādTraditions about the Generous' *''Al-AwṣāfQualities' *''Al-TashbihātAllegories' Isḥāq al-Nadīm records that 20,000 ff from sources written in al-Marzubānī's handwriting had survived to his day.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marzubani 900s births 994 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century biographers 10th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate Encyclopedists of the medieval Islamic world Islamic culture Islamic poetry Writers from Baghdad