Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Qasī (died 1151) was a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, a rebel leader against the

Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

Al-Garb Al-Andalus Gharb al-Andalus (, trans. ''gharb al-ʼandalus''; "west of al-Andalus"), or just al-Gharb (, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal and part of West-central ...

and governor of Silves for the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

. The main sources for his life are

Ibn al-Abbār Ibn al-Abbār (), he was Hāfiẓ Abū Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abū Bakr al-Qudā'ī al-Balansī () (1199–1260) a secretary to Hafsid dynasty princes, well-known poet, diplomat, jurist and hadith scholar from al ...

Ibn al-Khaṭīb Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib (; 16 November 1313 – 1374) was an Arab Andalusi polymath, poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Being one of the most notable poets from Granada, his poems decorate ...

and ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Marrakūshī. The last is the source for his biography in the biographical dictionary of

al-Ṣafadī Khalīl ibn Aybak al-Ṣafadī, or Ṣalaḥ al-Dīn al-Ṣafadī (; full name - Ṣalaḥ al-Dīn Abū al-Ṣafa Khalīl ibn Aybak ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Albakī al-Ṣafari al-Damascī Shafi'i. (1296 – 1363) was a Turkic Mamluk author and histo ...

.Goodrich 1978, pp. 16–27. He was of native Iberian stock, ''rūmī al-aṣl'' in the words of Ibn al-Abbār. He was born at Silves, but the date of his birth is unknown. His name sustains the possibility that he was a descendant of the

Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi (, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier territory of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, l ...

, that had once staged a rebellion against the

Emirate of Cordoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

.William Elliot:
The Career of In Qasi as Religious Teacher and Political Revolutionary in 12th Century Islamic Spain
', University of Edinburgh, 1979 p.39 According to Ibn al-Abbār, he was a minor government official at Silves, while Ibn al-Khaṭīb describes him as a spendthrift. He eventually sold all his goods, gave the money to the poor and became a '' murīd''. He studied under Khalaf Allāh al-Andalusī and Ibn Khalīl in Niebla, although he may also have met Ibn al-ʿArīf in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

. His main influences were the ''

Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity The ''Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' (, Rasā'il Ikhwān al-ṣafā') also variously known as the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity'', ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' and ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Frien ...

'' (Ibn al-Abbār) and the works of

al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

(Ibn al-Khaṭīb).

Notes

References

*Viguera, María Jesús; ''Los reinos de Taifas''. 2007. RBA Coleccionables. *J. Dreher, ed. and tr., ''Ibn Qasi, Abu l-Qasim Ahmad b. al-Husayn: Kitab Khal al-Na'Layn wa-Iqtibas al-Anwar min Mawdi al-Qadamayn'' (''Das Imamat des islamischen Mystikers, Abulqasim Ahmad Ibn al-Husain Ibn Qasi: Eine Sudie zum Selbstverständnis des Autors des Buch vom Ausziehen der beiden Sandalen'') Bonn, 1985 *J. Dreher, "L'Imamat d'Ibn Qasi à Mertola (Automne 1144-été 1145); Légitimité d'Une Domination Soufie?", MIDEO 18 (1988), pp. 195–210 *D. R. Goodrich, dissertation, ''A Sufi Revolt in Portugal: Ibn Qasi and his Kitab khal'al-na'layn'', Columbia University, PH D. 1978 *Nagendra Kr Singh, ''International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties'', p. 3

(retrieved 1-12-2010) *William Elliot,
The Career of In Qasi as Religious Teacher and Political Revolutionary in 12th Century Islamic Spain
', thesis submitted to University of Edinburgh, 1979. Year of birth unknown 1151 deaths 12th century in Portugal Sufis from al-Andalus Gharb Al-Andalus 12th-century writers from al-Andalus People from Silves, Portugal Self-declared mahdi Governors of the Almohad Caliphate Muwallads 12th-century rebels {{Islam-bio-stub

See also

Notes

References