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.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.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 (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