Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī better known simply as Ibn Qutaybah ( ar-at, ابن قتيبة, Ibn Qutaybah; c. 828 – 13 November 889 CE / 213 – 15 Rajab 276 AH) was an Islamic

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or research ...

of Persian descent. He served as a judge during the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

, but was best known for his contributions to

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

.Abd Allah Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muslim al-Dinwari Ibn Qutaybah
from The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford Reference, Copyright © 2013. Christopher Melchert, "Qur'anic Abrogation Across the Ninth Century." Taken from ''Studies in Islamic Legal Theory'', pg. 80. Ed. Bernard G. Weiss. Volume 15 of Studies in Islamic law and society / Studies in Islamic law and society.

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

: Brill Publishers, 2002. He was an

Athari Atharī theology or Atharism ( ar, الأثرية: / , "archeological"), otherwise referred to as Traditionalist theology or Scripturalist theology, is one of the main Sunni schools of Islamic theology. It emerged as an Islamic scholarly movem ...

theologian and

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

who wrote on diverse subjects, such as

Qur'anic exegesis Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, philosophy, law and jurisprudence,

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

and

botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

Biography

His full name is Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh b. Muslim ibn Qutaybah ad-Dīnawarī. He was born in

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, 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. Currently, Kufa and Naja ...

in what is now

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

.John C. Lamoreaux, ''The Early Muslim Tradition of Dream Interpretation'', pg. 27. SUNY series in Islamic spirituality. Albany:

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led ...

, 2002. John C. Lamoreaux, "Sources on Ibn Bahlul's Chapter on Dream Interpretation." Taken from ''Augustine and His Opponents, Jerome, Other Latin Fathers After Nicaea, Orientalia'', pg. 555. Ed. Elizabeth A. Livingstone. Volume 33 of Studia patristica. Peeters Publishers, 1997. He was of Persian descent; his father was from

Merv Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...

, Khorasan. Having studied tradition and

he became

qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a ''sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minor ...

Dinawar Dinavar (also spelled Dinawar and Daynavar; fa, دینور) was a major town between the 7th and 10th centuries, located to the northeast of Kermanshah in western Iran. The ruins of the town is now located in Dinavar District, in Sahneh County ...

during the reign of

Al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was ...

, and afterwards a teacher in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

where he was tortured and killed. He was the first representative of the school of Baghdad

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

s that succeeded the schools of Kufa and

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

. He was known as a vocal opponent of "gentile" or '' shu'ubi'' Islam, i.e. openness to non-Islamic wisdom and values.

Legacy

He was viewed by Sunni Muslims as a hadith Master, foremost philologist, linguist, and man of letters. In addition to his literary criticism and anthologies, he was also known for his work in the problems of

Tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

or Qur'anic interpretation. He also authored works on astronomy and legal theory. His book ''Uyun al-Akhbar'', along with the romantic literature of

Muhammad bin Dawud al-Zahiri Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Dawud al-Zahiri, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī, also known as Avendeath, was a medieval theologian and scholar of the Arabic language and Islamic law. He was one of the early propagators of his father D ...

and Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur, were considered by lexicographer

Ibn Duraid Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Duraid al-Azdī al-Baṣrī ad-Dawsī Al-Zahrani (), or Ibn Duraid () (c. 837-933 CE), a leading grammarian of Baṣrah, was described as "the most accomplished scholar, ablest philologer and first poet of t ...

to be the three most important works for those who wished to speak and write eloquently.
His work ''Taʾwīl mukhtalif al-ḥadīth'' was an influential early Atharite treatise that rebuked rationalists on the nature of Tradition. In his treatise, Ibn Qutayba censures the ''mutakallimūn'' (scholastic theologians) for holding contradictory and differing views on the principles of religion.

Works

He wrote more than 60 books, including : *''Gharīb al-Qur'an'', (var., ''Mushkil al-Qur'an''), lexical complexities in the Qur'an. *''Ta’wīl Mukhtalif al-Hadīth'', ( The Interpretation of Conflicting Narrations), defence of

s against

Mu'tazilite Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islami ...

critics. *''Kitāb Adab al-Kātib'' (“Ibn Kutaiba’s Adab al-Kātib,” ed. Max Grünert, Leiden, 1900) *''Kitāb al-Anwā’''. (Hyderabad, 1956) *''Kitāb al-Ma‘ānī al-Kabīr fī Abyāt al-Ma‘ānī''. 2 vols. (Hyderabad, 1949) *''Kitāb al-Ma’ārif'', short universal history, from Creation to the

Jāhiliyya The Age of Ignorance ( ar, / , "wikt:ignorance, ignorance") is an Islamic concept referring to the period of time and state of affairs in Pre-Islamic Arabia, Arabia before the advent of Islam in 610 CE. It is often translated as the "Age of I ...

(pre-Islamic); with index of the Companions, famous jurists and masters of

hadīth Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

(„Ibn Coteiba’s Handbuch de Geschichte“, ed.,

Ferdinand Wüstenfeld Heinrich Ferdinand Wüstenfeld (31 July 1808 – 8 February 1899) was a German orientalist, known as a literary historian of Arabic literature, born at Münden, Hanover. He studied theology and oriental languages at Göttingen and Berlin. He ...

, Gottingen, 1850); (ed., Tharwat ‘Ukāshah, Cairo, 1960). *''Kitāb al-Shi‘r wa-al-Shu‘arā’'' (“Liber Poësie et Poëtarum,” ed., M. J de Goeje, Leiden, 1904) *''Kitab ‘Uyūn al-Akhbār''. 4 vols. (Cairo, 1925-30); biographic history of eminent figures.Arvide Cambra, L.M. (2014), "Kitab 'Uyun al-Akhbar of Ibn Qutayba (828-889)", Advances in Education Research (Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Applied Social Science, ICASS 2014), vol. 51, pp. 650-653. *''Kitāb al-Amwāl'' *''Kitāb al-‘Arab wa ‘Ulūmuhā''; history of Arab scholars *''Kitāb al-Ashriba''; alcoholic beverages. *''Kitāb Dalā’il al-Nubuwwa'', or ''A‘lām al-Nubuwwa'' on the Proofs of the Prophets. *''Kitāb Fad.l al-‘Arab ‘alā al-‘Ajam'', in praise of the Arabs over the Persians. *''Kitāb I‘rāb al-Qur’ān'', a philological commentary on the Qur'ān. *''Kitāb al-Ikhtilāf fī al-Lafz wa al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyya wal-Mushabbiha'', a refutation of the Allegorizers and Anthropomorphists. (Egypt,several editions) *''Kitāb al-Ishtiqāq'' *''Kitāb Is.lāh. Ghalat'', corrections of ''Gharīb al-H.adīth'' by al-Qāsim ibn Salām. *''Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Fiqh'', jurisprudence, dispraised as unreliable by al-T.abarī and Ibn Surayj, as was Ibn Qutayba’s al-Amwāl. *''Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Nah.w al-Kabīr and Jāmi‘ al-Nah.w al-S.aghīr'' *''Kitāb al-Jarāthīm'', linguistics. *''Kitāb al-Jawābāt al-H.ād.ira''. *''Kitāb al-Ma‘ānī al-Kabīr'' *'' Kitāb al-Imāma wal-Siyāsa'' (disputed) *''Kitāb al-Masā’il wal-Ajwiba.'' *''Kitāb al-Maysar wal-Qidāh'', ('Dice and Lots'). *''Kitāb al-Na‘m wal-Bahā’im'', cattle and livestock. *''Kitāb al-Nabāt'', botany. *''Kitāb al-Qirā’āt'', ('The Canonical Readings'). *''Kitāb al-Radd ‘alā al-Qā’il bi Khalq al-Qur’ān'', ('Against the creationist claims about the Qur’an'). *''Kitāb al-Radd ‘alā al-Shu‘aybiyya'', ('Refutation of a sub-sect of the ‘Ajārida ‘At.awiyya, itself a sub-sect of the Khawārij). *''Kitāb al-Rah.l wal-Manzil''. *''Kitāb Ta‘bīr al-Ru’yā'', ('Interpretation of Dreams'). *''Kitāb Talqīn al-Muta‘allim min al-Nah.w'' on grammar. *''Kitāb ‘Uyūn al-Shi‘r'', on poetry.

Citations

References

* * * * * * *

External links