Ibn Al-Khatib
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Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib (; 16 November 1313 – 1374) was an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
Andalusi
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
,
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
,
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
from
Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...
. Being one of the most notable poets from
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, his poems decorate the walls of the palace of
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
. He is known for composing the muwashshaḥāt " Jadaka al-Ghaithu" and possibly " Lamma Bada Yatathanna." Ibn Al-Khatib is highly esteemed both as a historian and as a poet. He was a contemporary and acquaintance of
Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...
. His most significant historical work, ''The Complete Source on the History of Granada'' (), written in 1369 AD, which includes his autobiography, has yet to be translated into English.


Biography

Ibn al-Khatib was born at Loja, Granada. Shortly after his birth, his father was appointed to a high post at the court of Emir Ismail I in Granada. After his father and older brother were killed in the Battle of Río Salado in 1340, Ibn al-Khatib was hired to work as a secretary for his former teacher Ibn al-Jayyab, vizier to Emir Yusuf I. Following Ibn al-Jayyab's early death from the plague, Ibn al-Khatib became vizier and head of the emiri chancery, serving also in diplomatic roles in the courts of Andalusi and Maghrebi rulers. For much of his life he was
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
at the court of the Sultan of Granada, Muhammed V. He spent two periods in exile in the
Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...
empire (between 1360 and 1362 and 1371–74). He resided variously at
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...
,
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
and Fes). In 1374, he was imprisoned for zandaqa ("heresy") and was sentenced to death by suffocation. Earlier and modern historians have speculated that his many private and political feuds with the Emirs of Granada belonging to the
Nasrid dynasty The Nasrid dynasty ( ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; ) was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the foun ...
were probably the main factors in his treatment and execution. His body was burned before being buried at Bab Mahruq, a city gate in Fes.


Poetry

His poetry was influenced by court poets from the
Mashriq The Mashriq (; ), also known as the Arab Mashriq (), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, as opposed to the Maghreb (western) region, and located in West Asia and easter ...
, or Islamic east, especially Abū Nuwās, Abū Tammām, and al-Mutanabbī. Ibn al-Khatib was a master of
saj' Saj' () is a form of rhymed prose defined by its relationship to and use of end-rhyme, meter, and parallelism. There are two types of parallelism in saj': ''iʿtidāl'' (rhythmical parallelism, meaning "balance") and ''muwāzana'' (qualitative m ...
(, rhymed prose), especially in his maqamāt.


''On the Plague''

In his treatise about the plague (''Muqni'at al-Sā'il 'an al-Maraḍ al-Hā'il'', c. 753/1362), ibn al-Khatib explores the idea of transmission of
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
through contagion centuries before
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
conducted his experiments in Europe. The original Arabic text is preserved in the Zaydani Library at
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...
, MS Arabic 1785.M. W. Dols, ''The black death in the Middle East'', New Jersey, 1977, 322. M. Aguiar Aguilar, "Aproximación al léxico árabe medieval de la epidemia y de la peste", ''Medicina e Historia'' (2014) http://issuu.com/fundacionuriach/docs/m_h_2_2014_v7_r Of the estimated deaths due to the outbreak of
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
, known as the "Black Death", which swept through al-Andalus in the 14th century, the numbers range to as high as a third of the Muslim population worldwide. In his treatise ''On the Plague'', Ibn al-Khatib writes:
"The existence of contagion is established by experience ndby trustworthy reports on transmission by garments, vessels, ear-rings; by the spread of it by persons from one house, by infection of a healthy sea-port by an arrival from an infected land ndby the immunity of isolated individuals."
Although this discovery is generally credited to al-Khatib's insight, the well-known plague
hadith 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 ...
found in both
Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...
and
Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...
appears to have already documented this observation ():
Narrated Saud: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place."
A similar narration can be found in .


Death

A detailed account of his demise was written down by
Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...
, a friend and admirer of his. As a loyal courtier of Muhammed V of Granada, Ibn al-Khatib was arrested in the wake of a 1359 coup by Muhammed's half-brother Ismail, and had his property confiscated. He was soon released due to interference by the Marinid sultan of Morocco. He joined a host of Andalusi refugees in Morocco, settling in the Atlantic town of Salé. He immersed himself in
Sufi mysticism Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...
and writing. During this stay in Morocco, he first met Ibn Khaldun and other important North African intellectuals such as ibn Marzuq. In 1362, the former emir of Granada, Muhammed V, was able to regain the throne with help from the Moroccan sultan. This allowed Ibn al-Khatib to return to Granada and resume the office of Great Vizier (''dhu al-wizaratayn'', i.e. 'possessor of the two vizierates', meaning 'head of both the civil and military authority'). He soon ran afoul of severe political intrigue. He eventually strengthened his position while organizing the expulsion of several of his North African political rivals from Granada. His political successes caused friction within Granada between supporters of the expelled North Africans and the politically savvy Ibn al-Khatib. When Ibn Khaldun had some diplomatic success at Granada's court, Ibn al-Khatib, fearing him as a rival, organized his expulsion. His intrigues had made him an unpopular figure in some circles, causing two of his students, ibn Zamrak and ibn Farkun, to join hands with his most powerful enemy in Granada, the Grand Qadi al-Nubahi, a man who had long held a grudge against Ibn al-Khatib. More importantly, emir Muhammed V had grown distrustful of Ibn al-Khatib for his overbearing control of the Granadan state and his strict loyalty to the Marinids of Morocco. Feeling the heat rise, in 1371, Ibn al-Khatib left for
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, where he was well received by the Marinid sultan Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz I. During his refuge, the Grand Qadi al-Nubahi issued a fatwa in which Ibn al-Khatib's work on Sufism and philosophy was branded heretical and his work was ordered burned. The ad hominem nature of al-Nubahi's legal decision strongly suggests that he had a personal grudge against Ibn al-Khatib. Ibn al-Khatib wrote a refutation of the fatwa, in which he harshly attacked al-Nubahi. Numerous attempts by Granada to get Ibn al-Khatib either deported or executed were fruitless, as the Sultan refused to do so. Though Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz I soon died, ibn al-Khatib was then protected by ibn Ghazi, Morocco's main vizier. Ibn al-Khatib's future turned bleak when a Granada-supported coup removed ibn Ghazi from office and brought a new sultan to power, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Mustansir. Indebted to Granada, the new sultan ordered Ibn al-Khatib to be arrested and a trial be held in the Moroccan capital city of Fes, in which a Granadan group of emissaries, including his former student Ibn Zamrak, was actively involved. Despite intimidation and torture, Ibn al-Khatib kept protesting his innocence throughout the trial and denied the accusations of heresy. The final vote was far from unanimous, and a council of Islamic scholars could not reach a conclusive decision. Ibn al-Khatib was said to have been strangled on the night of his trial, as the people couldn't reach a conclusion on his alleged heresy and thus didn't want him to receive an unjust verdict. On the following day, his body was buried near Fes' Bab al-Mahruq city gate. Unsatisfied, his enemies ordered his body dug up and thrown in a bonfire.


List of works

* ''The Appearance of a Ghost During a Trip of Winter and Summer'' (خطرة الطيف في رحلة الشتاء والصيف): a description of a 21-day journey from
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
to
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 ...
with Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, composed in rhyming couplets * ''The Measurement of Choice in the Conditions of Places and Buildings'' (معيار الاختيار في ذكر المعاهد والديار): a muqama in which Ibn al-Khatib describes 34 Andalusi cities, including Malaga, Granada, and Ronda, comparing them to the Moroccan cities
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
,
Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...
, Fes, and Sebta, which he visited while exiled in Morocco * ''The Shaking of the Bag for Entertainment While Abroad'' (نفاضة الجراب في علالة الاغتراب): a collection of praise poetry, writings on history and geography, and personal narrative on his journey from the High Atlas back to
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
*The Badr View in the Nasirian State – ''Al-Lamhat al-Badriya fi al-Dawla al-Nasriya'', ed. Arab and Latin transl. M.Casiri, Biblioteca arabico-hispana escurialensis, II, Madrid 1770. *Compendium on Granada (in 5 vols.) – ''Al'Ihatat fi 'Akhbar Ghurnata'' (Arabic) *Muqni'at al-Sā'il 'an al-Maraḍ al-Hā'il (), a treatise on the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
and contagion, Zaydani Collection at the '' Biblioteca del Real Monasterio de El Escorial'', MS Arabic 1785. *The Scholars' Recitations of Dreams of the Kings of Islam *Biographies, Dates and Connections – Awsaf an-Naas fi al-Tawarikh wa'l-Salaat'' (Arabic) *A Clerk after the People Move (Politics of Granada and Morocco) – ''Kanasat al-Dukan baad Intaqal as-Sakan'' *''Kitab a'mal al-a'lam fi man buyi'a qabl al-ihtilam'' (Deeds of the Great: On Those Who Came to the Throne before Reaching Maturity) *Calibrate Selection in Institutes of Mind *Views of Sanseddin Ben Khatib in Morocco and Andalusia *Malaga and Sala *The Masterpiece of the Book and the Purity of the Elect *Magic and Poetry *The Book of Rehana and the sorrow of the Creator *Garden Definition of Sharif Love *A Message in Politics''


Bibliography

*Jaysh Al-Tawshih of Lisan Al-Din Ibn Al-Khatib (Arabic), ''An Anthology of Andalusian Arabic Muwashshahat'', Alan Jones (Editor), 1997 – *Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib, Tarikh Isbaniya Al Islamiya (history of Muslim Spain), ed. by Levi-Provençal, new edition, Cairo, 2004 *Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib, Awsaf Al Nas (description of peoples), Cairo, 2002 *Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib, Khaṭrat al-ṭayf : riḥlāt fī al-Maghrib wa-al-Andalus, 1347–1362, 2003 *Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib, Nafadhat al-jirab (the Ashtray of the Socks) *Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib homme de lettres et historien, by Abdelbaqui Benjamaa, (French) thesis, Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III, 1992 (microform).


See also

* Ibn abd al-Malik al-Murrakushi


Notes


References


External links

*Poem by Ibn al-Khatib sung by Fairu

(click on the oval above the poem) *Ibn al-Jatib (second part of the page is in English

*Website Ibn Kahldun: Ibn al-Khatib, retrieved on feb. 2, 2008

*Encyclopedia of medieval Iberia, Ibn al-Khatib, retrieved on feb. 2, 2008
Ibn al-Khatib. Polymath Virtual Library, Fundación Ignacio Larramendi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Khatib 1313 births 1374 deaths People from the Province of Granada 14th-century Arabic-language poets Poets from al-Andalus 14th-century physicians Physicians from al-Andalus Philosophers from al-Andalus 14th-century historians from al-Andalus Scholars of the Nasrid period Viziers of the Emirate of Granada Encyclopedists of the medieval Islamic world