Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya, a study into his life and works

Journal of Semitic Studies LVII/1 Spring 2012 doi: 10.1093/jss/fgr035© The author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester.All rights reserved.

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YUSUF B. IBRAHIM B. AL-DAYA (3rd/9th c.): A STUDY INTO HIS LIFE AND WORKS

J. BRUNING

LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This article studies the life and works of a hardly known littérateur and anthologist who lived in early Abbasid Baghdad and al-Fus†a†: Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya. The first part of the article gives an attempted biography on the basis of personal information that can be found in anecdotes that are said to be taken from Yusuf ’s works. In the second part, these anecdotes and their relation to Yusuf ’s largely neglected literary output will be studied.

The names Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a, Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani, and Abu Hif-fan, as authors of works that are important for our knowledge of the history of medieval Arab physicians, cultural life, and the famous poet Abu Nuwas respectively, are well-known to the student of medieval Islamic history and literature. Despite the difference of these authors’ works in contents and time of composition, they have one thing in common: the use of a certain Yusuf b. Ibrahim (d. between 263/876 and 270/884), also known as Ibn al-Daya, as an authority for con-siderable parts of the information they provide. As the father of a well-known Egyptian historian, Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya’s life has been discussed by a small number of modern scholars in the margin of studies dealing with this son.1 He, nevertheless, remains hardly known, despite his appearance in a large number of medieval works in addition to the three mentioned above. The first part of this article attempts to reconstruct the life of this forgotten cultural historian by for a large part scrutinizing quotations of his own works scattered throughout medieval Arabic literature. In the second part, Yusuf ’s

I am grateful to R.E. Kon and P.M. Sijpesteijn for commenting upon a draft of this article. Remaining mistakes are my own.

1 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1914: xii–xv; idem 1940: 3–7 (in preface); idem 1941: iii–vii; Rosenthal 1971: 745b, 746a; Schaade 1934: 269ff.; Sezgin 1967–2010: I, 373; Singh 2005: 61; Steinscheider, ‘Jusuf ben Ibrahim und Ahmed ben Jusuf’; idem, Die arabischen Übersetzungen, 21; al-Zirikli, 1979, IX: 280–1.

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largely neglected literary output — frequently used as a source in medieval Arabic literature — and its relation to the preserved anec-dotes will be studied.

The clear anecdotal or prejudged nature of some of our sources forces us to approach them critically and not to use them ad libitum. Some sources are closely related to Yusuf (e.g. quotations from Yusuf ’s own works or his son’s al-Mukafa’a) and seem relatively relia-ble. Others are indirectly related to Yusuf and need more attention. Taking all sources together, this study will deal only with the obvious contradictions or prejudices and must, therefore, be read with the necessary care.

Personalia

There is hardly anything known about the date and place of Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya’s birth. It is said that Yusuf was about twenty years of age at the death of the famous poet Abu Nuwas in c. 200/8152 and, therefore, modern scholars estimate Yusuf to have been born around the year 180/795.3 This is corroborated by the fact that he is called the foster brother (Ar. ra∂i‘ ) of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu‘taÒim (180/796–227/842).4 With regard to Yusuf ’s mother we are relatively well-informed: she was the wet nurse (Ar. daya, hence Yusuf ’s epithet Ibn al-Daya, ‘the son of the wet nurse’) of the Abbasid prince Ibra-him (d. 224/839), the son of the caliph al-Mahdi (r. 158/775–169/785), who later became his patron.5 Conversely, medieval sources do not give a clue as to the identity of Yusuf ’s father except for his name Ibrahim in Yusuf ’s patronymic. Some medieval authors under-stood this patronymic to refer to Yusuf ’s patron Ibrahim.6 However, most sources call Yusuf a companion (Ar. ÒaÌib) of the prince.7 Two brothers of Yusuf are mentioned, IsÌaq and AÌmad, the first of whom appears a number of times as an authority on social life in and around the ™ulunid governorate and is similarly called ‘the son of Ibrahim’.8

2 Wagner 1958: 312. 3 E.g. AÌmad b. Yusuf 1914: xiv, n. 1; idem 1940: 3 (in preface). 4 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 204; cf. Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 159, where he is

called the ra∂i‘ of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi (162/779–224/839). 5 Lane 1863–93, s.v. d-’-y; Yaqut al-Rumi, 1907–26, II: 157; cf. al-∑uli 1936:

25 where Yusuf is called the son of an aunt (Ar. khala) of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi. 6 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VI: 305. 7 E.g. idem, VI: 262 and VII: 68; al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, XVI: 6. 8 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 20, 35 (?); Ibn Sa‘id 1953: 105, 120, 127 (in an

abridgement of AÌmad b. Yusuf ’s lost Sirat AÌmad b. ™ulun); al-Balawi, 319.


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IsÌaq may have been a secretary of Sa‘id b. Tawfil (d. 269/882 or 279/892), one of AÌmad b. ™ulun’s physicians,9 but more informa-tion cannot be found on Yusuf ’s brothers. Since his mother was related to the caliphal court and he himself was called a foster brother of one of the Abbasid caliphs, Yusuf must have spent most of his youth in the vicinity of the royal palace in Baghdad where he must have enjoyed a sound education.10

More is known about Yusuf ’s adult life. He married a number of women,11 one of whom was (perhaps indirectly) related to the caliphal court as a daughter of a mawla of Îamduna, one of the daughters of Harun al-Rashid and the mother of the latter’s son MuÌammad al-Amin.12 Yusuf is known to have had two sons at least,13 one of whom we know by name: Abu Ja‘far AÌmad (d. between 330/941 and 340/951), the well-known ™ulunid historian who overshadowed his father in fame to the confusion of many medieval and modern schol-ars.14 Concluding from Yusuf ’s kunyas (Abu Ya‘qub and Abu’l-Îasan) he may have had two sons in addition to AÌmad: Ya‘qub and al-Îasan, on whom medieval sources do not give any information.

Some modern scholars claim Yusuf ’s son AÌmad to have been a convert to Islam and Yusuf to have been a Christian.15 This is an unfounded allegation and medieval sources give us a different impres-sion. Yusuf ’s son AÌmad quotes his father as saying that he prayed the midday prayer.16 Ibn al-Mu‘tazz relates an anecdote in which Yusuf, in the company of Abu Nuwas, spent a night in the al-Saluli mosque in Baghdad during the month of Rama∂an17 and Abu Hiffan quotes Yusuf saying that he made the pilgrimage to Mecca in the year 190/805–6 together with Abu Nuwas and a certain Ibn Abi KhaÒÒa.18 Yusuf was clearly a Muslim.

9 Cf. al-Balawi, 319 and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 498. 10 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157. 11 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 192. 12 Idem; al-Sam‘ani 1988: 25. 13 See AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 88. 14 Brockelmann, suppl. 1, 229 (ascribes Yusuf ’s Akhbar al-a†ibba’ incorrectly to

AÌmad); al-Raqiq al-Nadim 1969: 370 (the editor writes wrongfully that AÌmad transmitted anecdotes on Abu Nuwas); Wüstenfeld 1882: 36 (no. 111; ascribes Akhbar al-a†ibba’ incorrectly to AÌmad); for confusion among medieval authors concerning Yusuf ’s books, see nn. 53–7 below.

15 Shaykhu 1909: 482; Graf 1944–53, II: 113. 16 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 191. 17 Ibn al-Mu‘tazz 1939, XIII: 94. 18 Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 98; cf. idem, 70, n. 2. See also Strohmaier 2001:

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There are many professions ascribed to Yusuf in the sources. He is said to have made a career as a katib, ‘secretary’, of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi19 and as a Ìasib, a ‘calculator’ who calculates on the basis of celestial bodies the correct time to apply a medicine.20 He is known to have been a transmitter of anecdotes (Ar. rawi ),21 on which I will elaborate in the second part of this article. Al-Qif†i calls Yusuf al-munajjim al-†abib, ‘the astrologer, the physician’.22 How-ever, from the many anecdotes taken from Yusuf ’s own work on physicians it is evident that he himself was not a practicing physi-cian. A good example is Yusuf ’s discussion with ‘Isa b. Îakam and Salmawayh b. Bunan, both physicians at the caliphal court,23 on the medicinal use of the onion, preserved in e.g. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a and Ibn Îawqal.24 In this anecdote, Yusuf relates that ‘Isa b. Îakam, ‘who laughed little’, burst out in laughter after he told him his con-clusions from his experience with the combination onions-dirty water. Then ‘Isa said: ‘It pleases me that someone like you makes such a mistake, for you took the onion’s most disgusting part as if it were its best part’. He then goes on to explain the medical theories that underlie Yusuf ’s conclusions, indicating that Yusuf was not much experienced in medicine. That al-Qif†i calls Yusuf a physician is probably an assumption based on the fact that Yusuf composed a book on physicians in which he himself appears often in their pres-ence. Similarly (but not necessarily), since Yusuf also is said to have written a book on astrologers, al-Qif†i may have thought that the author was an astrologer himself, but there are no anecdotes that point in this direction. In addition to the professions mentioned above, Yusuf is called a naÌÌas, ‘coppersmith’, or nakhkhas, ‘slave trader’.25 The latter is confirmed in the sources. Ibn ManÂur relates an anecdote based on Yusuf ’s authority in which Abu Nuwas falls madly in love with a maid of Asma’ bint al-Mahdi. After he showed Yusuf this maid’s beauty, Abu Nuwas said to him: ‘“Now, such a one, oh slave trader (Ar. nakhkhas), you should buy! She is no com-

19 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 68. 20 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 171; for an example of the function of Ìasibs, see

idem, 158–9. 21 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157; Ibn ‘Asakir 1995–2000, LXXIV: 212. 22 Al-Qif†i 1903: 382. 23 For an evaluation of biographical data on ‘Isa (also MasiÌ) b. (al-)Îakam, see

Bruning, section 3.2. 24 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 159; Ibn Îawqal 1938, I: 124; for another anecdote,

see Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 169f. (cf. al-Qif†i 1903: 145f.). 25 E.g. Ibn ManÂur 1343/1924: 102, 167; al-IÒfahani 1322/1904: 7.


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parison to your [present?] slave!” Then I said: “Leave me, for I have never seen someone equal to her among the many that have passed through my hands. She will only suit the caliph.”’26 In another anec-dote, Abu Hiffan starts with Yusuf saying: ‘Abu Nuwas was sitting with us at the slave market’.27 The appellation naÌÌas is nothing but a defective writing of nakhkhas.28

After his patron Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’s death in 224/839, Yusuf seems to have searched for a new source of income. For a period of about fifteen months he joined a group of physicians centred around the sick general and poet Abu Dulaf al-‘Ijli — who was appointed over Qazwin and Zanjan in northwestern Persia — to investigate the different opinions held by these physicians about the treatment of Abu Dulaf.29 In one of his books (no. 1 below), Yusuf writes that Abu Dulaf, disobedient to the caliph al-Mu‘taÒim, had appointed him over the (land) taxes and the government of the estates of Qazwin and Zanjan.30 Not much later, he was asked by the caliph al-Mu‘taÒim to resign from this position31 and, at the request of Salmawayh b. Bunan, Yusuf started an investigation into Abu Dulaf’s food and stools in order to know his precise health.32 When Abu Dulaf died ten days later, in c. 226/841, Yusuf moved to Egypt.33 Although it is uncertain why he went to

26 Ibn ManÂur 1343/1924: 166, 167; cf. Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 28–31 for the same anecdote in different wording on the authority of al-Jammaz and al-Jundis-aburi; cf. Ibn ManÂur 1343/1924: 102–3 for an anecdote with a similar story trans-mitted on the authority of Yusuf.

27 Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 106. 28 Instead of nakhkhas or naÌÌas, A. Schaade (1934: 272) argues wrongfully to

read najjam, ‘astrologer’, without a single reference to the sources. Without any arguments of his own, E. Wagner (1958: 312) urges readers not to acknowledge Schaade’s argument.

29 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 215. 30 Idem, 216. 31 Idem. 32 Idem. 33 A number of modern scholars (e.g. KaÌÌala 1376/1957–1381/1961, XIII:

266–7; Schaade 1934: 270; Sezgin 1967–2010; al-Zirikli 1979) write that Yusuf travelled via Damascus to Egypt. The reason for this assumption is that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a (1998: 159) quotes Yusuf saying that he visited ‘Isa b. Îakam in Damas-cus in the year 225/839–40. However, it is not entirely clear for what purpose Yusuf went there. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a adds to this quotation (cf. Ibn Îawqal 1938, I: 124) that Yusuf travelled from Samarra’ (cf. Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157, where it is said that Yusuf departed from Baghdad) to Damascus, and a little fur-ther (p. 159) he cites Yusuf saying that he left ‘Isa b. Îakam for al-Rahib (in Iraq). Did Yusuf travel from Samarra’ via Damascus and al-Rahib to Egypt? Or did he visit these places before he decided to leave the central provinces of the caliphate?


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Egypt,34 it is striking that also two of his brothers are mentioned as living there.35 The family must have had Egyptian contacts, either via the caliphal court or otherwise.

Not surprisingly, Yusuf settled in al-Fus†a†.36 Despite the interest-ing information on Yusuf ’s life in Egypt preserved in the many anec-dotes in his son’s al-Mukafa’a on which medieval authors such as Ibn ‘Asakir (d. 571/1176) and Yaqut al-Rumi (d. 626/1229) heavily draw, we hardly know anything about his profession and contacts there. The latter of these two authors writes that Yusuf was ‘one of the most glorious secretaries of Egypt’.37 In addition, it appears that he had a large number of agricultural estates or at least managed their cultivation on behalf of someone else.38 Furthermore, he seems to have been well-off for he maintained for three decades thirty abna’ al-satr, a group of people who wilfully lived in poverty.39 In one anecdote, however, Yusuf is accused of having stolen some of the produce of estates that belonged to the State at the value of 17,000 dinars which he could not pay back to the State.40

That Yusuf belonged to the well-to-do echelons of Egyptian soci-ety is also reflected in his associates. He knew Yazid b. ‘Abd Allah, who was governor of the province from 242/856 to 253/867, and MuzaÌim b. Khaqan, who held the same office from 253/867 to

For now, the medieval sources do not provide enough information to answer these questions.

There is no reason to think that Yusuf was still in Baghdad at the time of al-Mu‘taÒim’s death in 227/842 as M. Shakir writes (AÌmad b. Yusuf 1940: 5 [in preface]). The reference to al-Aghani does not contain such information at all — maybe p. 111 (on the death of al-Mu‘taÒim) of the 1868 edition is meant?

34 Cf. AÌmad b. Yusuf 1914: xiv, where the editor argues that it may have been because of the increase of Turkish officers in the caliphate of al-Mu‘taÒim that Arab clients had less chance of a career at the caliphal court and which caused Yusuf to go to Egypt (where these Turkish officers had less influence). It is, however, hard to say whether Yusuf had political, social, or economic motivations for his journey.

35 See n. 8. 36 Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, IV: 361, 365. 37 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157. 38 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 190, 204. It would go too far to argue that Yusuf

bought these estates when he moved to Egypt, for our sources are silent on that matter (cf. AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: v). Grohmann 1959: 35, n. 6 cites a document (PSR 251) in which it is stated that an Abu’l-Îasan Yusuf b. Ibrahim farmed out estates in al-Ushmunayn. See now the correct reading in Frantz-Murphy, no. 12 (I am grateful to Andrea Jördens for this latter reference).

39 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 48–50; al-Balawi (pp. 237–9) numbers the abna’ al-satr at one hundred.

40 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 190–1.


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254/868.41 He had to some extent contact with the chief of finance AÌmad b. MuÌammad b. al-Mudabbir (247/861–257/870–1)42 and Ibrahim b. ‘Ali, a physician of AÌmad b. ™ulun.43 Yusuf ’s move from Baghdad to Egypt seems not to have affected his social standing. In Baghdad also he had close links with the ruling élite such as Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, his mother Shakla, and a certain Sulayman who was a mawla of Harun al-Rashid or intellectuals such as Isma‘il b. Abi Sahl b. Nawbakht, Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘, and his nephew Jurjis b. Mikha’il.44 Yusuf was known for his connections at, and esteem for, the caliphal court in Baghdad.45 One anecdote tells us that Yusuf took care of people who moved to Egypt.46 As a result, AÌmad b. ™ulun, who became governor in 254/868, suspected Yusuf of espio-nage for the caliph.47 He was also accused of furtively making contact with the general Musa b. Bugha (d. 264/877) who besieged AÌmad b. ™ulun in the year 263/876.48 Up until the end of his life, Yusuf was a suspicious author in the eyes of the Egyptian administration and his books were thought to contain valuable information about the state of affairs in and around the caliphal court.49

No source gives the exact date of Yusuf ’s death. The last date attested in khabars related to Yusuf is the year 250/864. In this year, Yusuf was very active in the management of agricultural estates.50 Our sources give two dates between which Yusuf must have died. As we have seen, Yusuf was alive when Musa b. Bugha attacked AÌmad b. ™ulun in 263/876. However, Yusuf did not outlive the end of Ibn ™ulun’s reign in 270/884. Yusuf ’s son AÌmad tells us that when his father was on his deathbed Ibn ™ulun gave orders to two of his men to raid Yusuf ’s house, arrest his two sons who sat beside him, and plunder the house in search of information on the caliphate in Yusuf ’s notebooks. AÌmad was released in the end but only after his father had died.51 So, Yusuf died between 263/876 and 270/884.52

41 Ibn Sa‘id 1953: 77; al-Kindi 1912: 202ff. 42 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 190–3. 43 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 226. 44 See e.g. Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157; Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 160ff.; cf.

Steinschneider 1988: 50. 45 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157 (Ar. lahu ‘aÒabiyya mashhura). 46 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 88, 89. 47 Idem. 48 Al-Balawi 221–2; al-Maqrizi 1418/1998, III: 313, 316. 49 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 88. 50 Idem, 204. 51 Idem, 88. 52 A number of modern scholars (KaÌÌala 1376/1957–1381/1961, XIII: 267a;


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Oeuvre

Now we have discussed Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya’s life, let us turn to his literary output. Medieval authors credit Yusuf with the author-ship of five books, namely:

1. Akhbar al-a†ibba’, ‘Anecdotes on physicians’;53

2. Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, ‘Anecdotes on Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’;54

3. Akhbar Abi Nuwas, ‘Anecdotes on Abu Nuwas’;55

4. Akhbar al-munajjimin, ‘Anecdotes on astrologers’;56 and5. Kitab al-†abikh, ‘Cookery book’.57

Throughout medieval Arabic literature, Yusuf is frequently men-tioned as the source of, or one of the authorities on, information concerning different topics. His books, however, are only mentioned sporadically. Could (some of) these passages be taken from works composed by Yusuf ? As mentioned in the former section, Yusuf is said to have been a rawi, an oral transmitter of anecdotes, and the terminology used to introduce khabars transmitted on his authority (e.g. Ìaddathani Yusuf, sa’altu Yusuf, sami‘tu Yusuf and, to a lesser extent,58 rawa Yusuf and Ìaka Yusuf ) supports this view.59 As a con-

Sezgin 1967–2010, I: 373; al-Zirikli 1979, IX: 280b) give the plausible but unfounded year 265/878 as the date for Yusuf ’s death; cf. AÌmad b. Yusuf 1940: 7 (in preface).

53 Ibn ‘Asakir 1995–2000, LXXIV: 212: kitaban fihi al-muta†abbibin; Ibn Îawqal 1938: 124; al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 69: Akhbar al-muta†abbibin ma‘a’l-muluk; al-∑afadi 1962–2004, I: 54 and VIII, 283; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157 (following Ibn ‘Asakir); cf. idem, 159: kitaban fi akhbar al-†ibb, and 160 (ascribed to AÌmad b. Yusuf ).

54 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 204; Îajji Khalifa 1941–3, I: col. 25; Abu'l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, XIX: 158; al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, I: 12; idem, VII: 4; cf. idem, VII: 69: Kitab Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 160 (ascribed to AÌmad b. Yusuf ). See also al-Sakhawi 1382/1963: 330 (following al-Mas‘udi).

55 Ibn al-Nadim 1871, I: 160. 56 Îajji Khalifa 1941–3, I: col. 30; al-∑afadi 1962–2004, I: 54; Yaqut al-Rumi

1907–26, II: 160 (ascribed to AÌmad b. Yusuf ). 57 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 204; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 160 (ascribed to

AÌmad b. Yusuf ); al-∑afadi 1962–2004, VIII: 283: al-™abikh (ascribed to AÌmad b. Yusuf; following Yaqut).

58 Cf. Sezgin 1967–2010, I: 78; see also the next note. 59 Confusing exceptions are e.g. Ibn Îawqal 1938: 124: ‘among what supports

my view and testifies to it as proof is what Yusuf b. Ibrahim the secretary related (Ar. ma Ìakahu Yusuf ) in [his] Kitab akhbar al-a†ibba’ ’, and Abu'l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, XIX: 158: ‘this is what we have heard; a copy of it explain-ing it can be found in Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi which Yusuf b. Ibrahim trans-mitted (Ar. allati rawaha Yusuf ) on his [i.e. Ibrahim’s] authority’.


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sequence, it is difficult to know whether or not these khabars are actually quotations from Yusuf ’s books, for, in view of such terminol-ogy, they could be mere oral traditions with no relation to any book at all. A close examination of the sources at hand may give us a better understanding of these khabars and the books they may have been taken from.

1. Akhbar al-a†ibba’

Our main sources for Yusuf ’s Akhbar al-a†ibba’ are Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a’s (d. 668/1270) ‘Uyun al-anba’ fi †abaqat al-a†ibba’ and al-Zawzani’s abbreviated version of al-Qif†i’s (d. 646/1248) Tarikh al-Ìukama’ written in 647/1249. Passages copied from these two books can be found in, respectively, Ibn Fa∂l Allah al-‘Umari’s (d. 749/1349) Masalik al-abÒar fi mamalik al-amÒar and Bar Hebraeus’ (d. 685/1286) Tarikh mukhtaÒar al-duwal. A few other quotations are found in Ibn Îawqal’s Kitab Òurat al-ar∂ (composed between 331/942 and 378/988) and al-Mas‘udi’s Muruj al-dhahab, which was finished in 332/943–4. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a does not mention Akhbar al-a†ibba’, but a quotation in Ibn Îawqal that can almost identically be found in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a and starts with words cited in note 59 above shows that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a used the book in question. Similarly, many quotations in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a can be found in al-Qif†i. Since only Ibn Îawqal’s quotation mentions its provenance exactly, anec-dotes that Yusuf relates on the authority of, or concerning, Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi60 or anecdotes on Abu Nuwas61 could, in theory, also be taken from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and Akhbar Abi Nuwas, although this is not likely.

Further, some medieval authors explicitly write that Yusuf ‘com-posed’ (Ar. Òannafa) a book on physicians.62 The importance of this observation lies in the fact that forms of the verb Òannafa, in the light of early Muslim written tradition, point at the author’s conscious concern for the composition of the contents of the work. In other words, that Yusuf is accredited with the composition of a work means that this work is not, for example, one of his notebooks63 that came

60 E.g. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 103, 173, 176, 194–6, 203. 61 E.g. idem, 210. 62 Ibn ‘Asakir 1995–2000, LXXIV: 212; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157

(cf. 159: allafa kitaban fi akhbar al-†ibb); al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 68. 63 We know that Yusuf had notebooks containing information on specific per-

sons or entire khabars that he might have used for his books; see AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 88.


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to be transmitted by his audience or a collection of anecdotes which he transmitted and which was collected and brought into circulation by his audience under his name.64

Before we can attempt to sketch the outlines of Akhbar al-a†ibba’ we must establish how Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a and al-Qif†i indicate where they took their information from (because Ibn Fa∂l Allah al-‘Umari and Bar Hebraeus copy these sources, Ibn Îawqal mentions his source, and al-Mas‘udi’s single quotation can be found in its entirety in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a they can be exempted from such an undertak-ing). Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a is very accurate in pointing out his sources. He uses qala or Ìaka followed by the name of an author or qala fi followed by the title of a book or a sura from the Qur’an to indicate a quotation from a written source. He uses Ìaddathani to indicate an oral source and sometimes he describes how he obtained his informa-tion.65 If something is generally known he uses qila, ‘it is said’. When Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a uses multiple sources, or if he does not know in which source he read something, he writes for example naqaltu min ba‘∂ al-tawarikh, ‘I have taken from one/some of the historical books’; and if he adds something himself he introduces it with aqul, ‘I say’. An expression such as qala Yusuf b. Ibrahim must consequently be understood as an indication of the beginning of a quotation taken from a book of Yusuf ’s pen that does not (necessarily) follow the preceding text in that book.66 It must be said, however, that there are also indications that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a added such phrases to make a continuous text more comprehensible.67

Conversely, al-Qif†i does not accurately point out his sources. Although he writes ‘so-and-so used to say’ every now and then, he mostly copies passages from books that he does not mention. This can be exemplified well by comparing a passage taken from Akhbar al-a†ibba’ in both al-Qif†i and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a. When treating the physician YuÌanna b. Masawayh (d. 243/857), Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a cites Yusuf for an anecdote in which the teaching sessions (Ar. majalis) of YuÌanna are characterized. The text goes as follows:

64 Sezgin 1967–2010, I: 55f.; Schoeler 1985: 207f.; cf. MuÒ†afa 1983, I: 92–101.

65 For the last option see e.g. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 430: wa-min shi‘r Fakhr al-Din b. al-Kha†ib anshadani Badi‘ al-Din al-Bundahi mimma sami‘ahu min al-shaykh Fakhr al-Din b. Kha†ib al-Rayy li-nafsihi fa-min dhalika etc.

66 Such a use of qala is found in the works of other authors; see, e.g. Sezgin1967–2010, I: 60; Bellamy 1984: 15.

67 Cf. e.g. al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VI: 305–8 and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 170 where the latter consequently adds qala Sulayman al-khadim.


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And Yusuf b. Ibrahim used to say: ‘YuÌanna b. Masawayh’s session was the most visited session I saw in Baghdad for physicians, mutakallims, and philosophers, for every type of educated people used to attend it. YuÌanna could be enormously funny and some of those who gathered around him came because of that. He could be annoyed and very angry, even more than Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘, and the anger made him say laughable things. The best of his sessions was when he dealt with a bottle of bodily fluid. Ibn Îamdun b. ‘Abd al-∑amad b. ‘Ali, who was surnamed Abu’l-‘Ayr†arad, IsÌaq b. Ibrahim b. MuÌammad b. Isma‘il, who had the surname Bay∂ al-Baghl, and I took it upon ourselves to memorize his aphorisms [Ar. nawadir]. There appeared to be students who read rhetorical books before him and two students who read Galen’s medical books before him.’Yusuf used to say: ‘And of what I memorised of his aphorisms was…’68

A part of this quotation can be found in al-Qif†i. Although this pas-sage in al-Qif†i is directly preceded by another quotation (not indi-cated as such) from Yusuf ’s Akhbar al-a†ibba’ that can be found in its entirety in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a69 and gives the (possibly false) impres-sion to be its original precedent, it appears that al-Qif†i used Yusuf ’s text freely, exerpted it, and left passages out. Al-Qif†i’s version starts as follows:

YuÌanna could be enormously funny and some of those who gathered around him came because of that. He could be annoyed and very angry, even more than Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘, and the anger made Jibra’il [sic] say laughable things. The best of his sessions was when he dealt with a bottle filled with urine.And of what was memorised of his aphorisms was…70

It is evident that al-Qif†i leaves out the beginning of this quotation. He jumps to the next anecdote (starting with ‘And of what was mem-orised of his aphorisms was…’ and in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a with ‘Yusuf used to say: “And of what I memorized of his aphorisms was…”’) without giving the end of the preceding quotation or indicating that he has skipped a part of it. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a gives the entire anecdote and clearly points out that he quotes Yusuf. Since more examples of such an approach can be found in al-Qif†i,71 we must conclude that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a is our most reliable source for Yusuf ’s Akhbar al-a†ibba’.72

68 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 223. 69 Al-Qif†i 1903: 385:1–14 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 214:18–28. 70 Al-Qif†i 1903: 385. 71 Compare, e.g. al-Qif†i 1903: 174:9–12 and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 234:

11–20; al-Qif†i 1903: 329:6–12 and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 232:24–30. 72 This does not mean that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a cannot have copied, or was not


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How much of Akhbar al-a†ibba’ has been preserved is impossible to say with certainty. However, there are a couple of indications that may give us some idea of the book’s original contents and scope. Ibn ‘Asakir and, following him, Yaqut enumerate persons on whose authority Yusuf transmitted anecdotes. Both mention in immediate connection to this list Akhbar al-a†ibba’. A comparison with Yusuf ’s informants according to the passages preserved in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a shows that this list concerns the book under discussion. Ibn ‘Asakir and Yaqut list eight persons and the former concludes with ‘amongst others’ (Ar. wa-ghayrahum).73 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a mentions another eight persons as Yusuf ’s authorities.74 This means that at least some passages on the authority of those persons whom Ibn ‘Asakir consid-ered important to mention (possibly to point at the value of the book) are preserved. Further, Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a’s quotation concern-ing the translator and physician Îunayn b. IsÌaq (d. 260/873 or 264/877) — a considerably long quotation, taking approximately two pages in the edition — seems to be all that Yusuf wrote on that per-son.75 It shows us that Akhbar al-a†ibba’ did not merely consist of separate anecdotes. On the contrary, Yusuf presents different events fluently in one large account. Nevertheless, such accounts could also entail other subjects. An example is an anecdote that deals with the location of Galen’s hometown and has the form of a discussion between several physicians amongst whom was Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘ (d. 213/828). This anecdote has been preserved in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a as a separate account, but al-Qif†i mentions it among other anecdotes regarding Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘, probably in accordance with Akhbar

influenced by, al-Qif†i’s Tarikh al-Ìukama’, for Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a and al-Qif†i have much more in common than some quotations from one of Yusuf ’s books. The dif-ferences between both works and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a’s precedence in trustworthiness over al-Qif†i should probably be ascribed to al-Zawzani, the redactor of al-Qif†i’s text.

73 Ibn ‘Asakir 1995–2000, LXXIV: 212; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157; namely: ‘Isa b. Îakam, Shakla (the mother of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi), Isma‘il b. Abi Sahl b. Nawbakht, Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, AÌmad b. Rashid (mawla of Salam al-Abrash), Jibra’il b. Bukhtishu‘, Ayyub b. al-Îakam al-Kasrawi, and AÌmad b. Harun al-Sharabi.

74 Namely: Sulayman (mawla of Harun al-Rashid), Farakh (mawla of ∑aliÌ b. al-Rashid), Jurjis b. Mikha’il, al-‘Abbas b. ‘Ali b. al-Mahdi, Abu Muslim, Musa b. Isra’il (?), Ibrahim b. Fazarun (?), and Ibrahim b. ‘Ali.

75 At the end of the quotation, Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a (1998: 236) writes ‘this is all that Yusuf b. Ibrahim mentioned’ (Ar. hadha jamlat ma dhakarahu Yusuf b. Ibra-him). Note that Ibn Khallikan (1367/1948, I: 456) presents some information on Îunayn, taken from a book entitled Akhbar al-a†ibba’, that cannot be found in Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a.


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al-a†ibba’.76 Furthermore, a comparison of quotations in al-Qif†i and Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a shows that both sources often present the same quotations in the same succession.77 Although we do not know the exact relation between these two sources,78 this could be understood to mean that these quotations are presented in their original order. Moreover, that the subject is implied in the introductory words to such passages indicates that they must have stood closely together in their original source. So, what has been preserved of Akhbar al-a†ibba’ gives probably not a full, but certainly a fair impression of its con-tents.79

2. Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-MahdiYusuf dedicated one of his writings, Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi (of which he is explicitly called the author [Ar. Òannafa], see above),80 to his patron. Some of the preserved passages imply that he composed the book in Egypt.81 The bulk of possible quotations from this book comes from Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani’s (d. 356/967) al-Aghani in which it is mentioned a number of times although it is uncertain — as will be discussed below — whether or not al-IÒbahani actually used the book. Other quotations can be found in e.g. al-Jahshiyari’s (d. 331/942) Kitab al-wuzara’ wa’l-kuttab, al-Mas‘udi’s Muruj al-dhahab, al-∑uli’s (d. 335/947) Kitab al-awraq, and al-Tanukhi’s (d. 384/994) Kitab al-faraj ba‘d al-shidda. Al-Mas‘udi is the only

76 Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 103–6; al-Qif†i 1903: 135–40. A familiar feature of medieval literature, passages taken from Akhbar al-a†ibba’ sometimes clearly contain additions made by the authors of the books they are preserved in (cf., e.g. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 170:18 and al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VI: 306:4 where the latter source explains the location of ™izanaba∂; see also n. 67 above).

77 E.g. al-Qif†i 1903: 196:13–197:11 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 206:12–30; al-Qif†i 1903: 325:7–326:10 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 210:1–20; al-Qif†i 1903: 74:11–75:7 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 216:30–217:18; al-Qif†i 1903: 382:3–384:22 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 221:4–222:28; al-Qif†i 1903: 385:19–386:23 = Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 223:29–224:21.

78 See n. 72 above. 79 Quotations from Akbar al-a†ibba that could be identified: Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a

1998: 103–6, 157–8, 158–60, 169–73, 173–77, 193–201, 201–4, 206, 207, 207–17, 218, 221–9, 232–36, 437 (Ibn Fa∂l Allah al-‘Umari 2001–4: 9, 324–30, 371–2, 374–5, 378–81, 385–90, 396–403, 408, 410–11, 486–7); Ibn Îawqal 1938: 124; Ibn Khallikan 1367/1948, 1: 456; al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VI: 305–8; al-Qif†i 1903: 74–5, 135–40, 145–6, 152, 174–5, 188–9, 196–7, 219, 249–50, 316–17, 325–6, 329–30, 382–8, 388–91, 432–44 (Bar Hebraeus 1958: 138, 144); Yaqut al-Rumi 1866–73, I: 719–20.

80 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 68. 81 E.g. Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, IV: 361, 365.


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author who indicates that he quotes Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and he even describes the book as containing ‘nice anecdotes (Ar. akhbar Ìusan) on Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and al-Ma’mun’.82 Al-IÒbahani writes that a certain poetical verse was ‘published’ (Ar. akhraja) in the book under consideration ‘because it was his [i.e. Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’s] melody and his poetry, and because his anecdotes are set forth in it’.83 Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1282) describes the book as comprehensive and well-known.84 That anecdotes have been taken from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi can be seen from their contents and the way Yusuf obtained them. It goes without saying that the majority deals, in one way or another, with the Abbasid prince, but most significant is that almost all are transmitted on the authority of Yusuf ’s patron. Although this leaves the possibility open to identify passages from Yusuf ’s other works,85 or anecdotes that he only transmitted orally and never were part of any book, as taken from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, their contents strongly suggest that they would not fit in any of Yusuf ’s other books as we may judge from the titles of, and preserved passages from, these books.

The exact provenance of the anecdotes preserved in al-Aghani remains a complex matter. For the majority of the anecdotes under discussion, al-IÒbahani consulted a certain Ri∂wan b. AÌmad (or Jalinus) al-∑aydalani (d. 324/936),86 who comments in relation to every anecdote he transmitted to al-IÒbahani that Yusuf transmitted it to him orally (Ar. Ìaddathani). This leads one to wonder how much of, and in what form, Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi actually reached al-IÒbahani. Because al-IÒbahani writes that he had permis-sion (Ar. ajaza li)87 to transmit Ri∂wan b. AÌmad’s anecdotes, Man-fred Fleischhammer holds the opinion that the passages in al-IÒbahani are from Ri∂wan b. AÌmad’s recension of Yusuf ’s work.88

Al-IÒbahani, nevertheless, probably knew Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi itself. In a recent article, Hilary Kilpatrick has pointed at the negative image of Yusuf ’s patron, as presented in al-Aghani, in favour of the famous musician IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili (d. 235/850) who rivalled

82 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 4. 83 Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, VII: 304. 84 Ibn Khallikan 1367/1948, I: 21. 85 Some passages from the Akhbar al-a†ibba’ have been transmitted on the

authority of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi (see e.g. Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 173, 194, 203). 86 Fleischhammer 2004: 66. 87 Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, XIX: 135; Sezgin 1967–

2010, I: 59. 88 Fleischhammer 2004: 66.


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Ibrahim at the caliphal court.89 It appears that al-IÒbahani simply chose to present anecdotes in which IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili is presented positively and refused to include passages in favour of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi transmitted by Yusuf. Despite his apparent prejudice, al-IÒbahani fortunately explains the reasons why he did not want to use and quote these passages in the following, interesting words:

Yusuf b. Ibrahim related [Ar. rawa] anecdotes on what happened between the two of them [i.e. Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili]. I found their discussions in favour of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and arranged according to his rhetoric, containing severe attacks on IsÌaq, stories in which the transmitter pointed at his [own] ignorance of his [i.e. IsÌaq's] art [of music], and that IsÌaq was far from equal to him. I understood that Ibrahim was behind this; he composed it and ordered Yusuf to spread it among the people so that he would be remembered well amongst them. But that is far from what happened. […] That Ibrahim’s songs are hardly known, that the only ones that can be found appear to be simple, that his arguments for one [i.e. his] musical movement [only] were repudiated, that IsÌaq’s arguments were followed, and that, as a result, Ibrahim ultimately fell out of favour […] is enough for IsÌaq’s proponents [to be convincing]. Therefore, I turned away from mentioning these anecdotes, not because I could not find them, but because they are anecdotes that clearly contain prejudice and exasperation; they insult, revile, and consider IsÌaq stupid though it is known that he did not treat people in the way described even if he feared to be killed. So, I abstained from all that and rejected it. As a basis, I used the anecdotes on Ibrahim [Ar. akhbar Ibrahim]90 that are true and this book only contains commendable anecdotes and elegant stories without anything prejudged. Presented throughout this book are anecdotes concerning both of them and how IsÌaq became grieved, felt restrained, and embittered out of patience for what was told on the authority of the falsity of his opponent [Ar. ghayrihi].91

From this passage we learn at least four things. Firstly, al-IÒbahani writes about a single collection of anecdotes transmitted, in the form in which it reached al-IÒbahani, by Yusuf. It remains unclear whether or not al-IÒbahani refers to Yusuf ’s Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi. It also remains unclear whether he sees Ri∂wan b. AÌmad as a transmit-ter of this corpus of anecdotes or merely as a transmitter of anecdotes

89 Kilpatrick 2005: 338. 90 Al-IÒbahani most probably does not refer to the Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi

in this instance, for in other passages he uses the full title (Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, VII: 304 and X: 97).

91 Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, X: 148–9.


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of which Yusuf was coincidentally a transmitter too. Secondly, and not surprisingly in view of Yusuf ’s loyalty to his patron, the anecdotes were in favour of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi. Thirdly, al-IÒbahani gives what he thinks is the reason for the existence of the collection of anecdotes: Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’s attempt to have the people remem-ber him well at the expense of IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili. In line with this argument, the collection would stem from before 224/839, the year in which Ibrahim died. Fourthly, al-IÒbahani cites some, albeit not or less biased, anecdotes from the corpus. If, in this instance, al-IÒbahani refers to Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi one wonders where he quotes the book. Because al-IÒbahani is not clear about the prov-enance of the anecdotes he transmits on the authority of Ri∂wan b. AÌmad, he leaves us too many possible interpretations. We must, therefore, compare the anecdotes in al-Aghani with those preserved in other works in order to formulate how these passages should be understood.

Amongst all the possible quotations from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi known presently, there are five that deal with the relationship between IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili and Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi.92 One quota-tion, which has been preserved by al-Mas‘udi, is explicitly taken from the book. In this anecdote, Ibrahim, on the run from al-Ma’mun who wants him imprisoned because he was declared an anti-caliph in 202/817, meets a black servant of IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili’s who asks him to sing three particular songs. When Ibrahim asks why he wishes to hear these three songs, the servant answers: ‘I serve IsÌaq b. Ibrahim al-MawÒili and often I have heard him enumerate those who excel [in musical performance] and what it is they master so well. I never imagined that I could hear it from you in my own house!’,93 implying Ibrahim’s good musical qualities. Al-∑uli presents a khabar on the authority of Yusuf in which a more nuanced picture is put forward. Reporting a dispute between both rivals on division (Ar. tajzi’a and qisma) in music, Yusuf concludes with the words ‘and there was no one after IsÌaq more versed in singing than Ibrahim’,94 recognizing IsÌaq’s skills but still in homage to his patron. In addi-tion to these two anecdotes, even al-IÒbahani cites Yusuf in a passage, prejudged towards Ibrahim, presenting the course of a discussion between the Abbasid prince and IsÌaq on the repertoire of the musi-

92 In addition to the three presented in this paragraph, see Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒba-hani 1345/1927–1394/1974, I: 256–7 and XXIV: 98.

93 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 71. 94 Al-∑uli 1936: 25.


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cian Ibn Surayj (d. 96/714). A number of times, IsÌaq acknowledges that Ibrahim is right and at the end, after both have come to an agreement (in favour of Ibrahim’s arguments), Ibrahim orders Yusuf to note down the course of the discussion.95 All these anecdotes pre-sent a more or less similar picture. Like the first anecdote, the latter two could therefore be taken from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi. All would also fit al-IÒbahani’s description of the corpus of anecdotes transmitted by Yusuf.

Beside passages that deal with Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, Yusuf also transmitted anecdotes concerning a number of poets, some of whom lived long before him.96 These anecdotes are clearly different from those dealt with in the previous paragraph, despite their relation to Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi in the sense that either Yusuf transmitted them on his authority or that Yusuf relates one of Ibrahim’s conversations on these poets which he overheard.97 Al-Mas‘udi has anecdotes of both the kind that deals exclusively with the Abbasid prince and the kind that deals merely with poets which he relates expressis verbis to Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi.98 Nevertheless, one has the impression that both kinds would not naturally be gathered in one book under the title ‘Anecdotes on Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’. Rather, the anecdotes on poets could form a part of a book entitled ‘Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi’s anecdotes’ (because Ibrahim related most of the anecdotes to Yusuf ), which would be the same in Arabic. Since medieval Arabic literature describes the book as dealing with the Abbasid prince,99 we must, for now, give our preference to the title’s first interpretation. This does not mean that we may discard the passages on poets.

For our understanding of the two kinds of anecdotes and the prov-enance of those in al-Aghani their oral transmission is of importance. The three persons often recurring in the anecdotes’ isnads — Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, Yusuf, and Ri∂wan b. AÌmad — play a clearly-defined

95 Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, I: 268–71. 96 E.g. idem, 253–7 and 268–71 (Ibn Surayj, d. 96/714), II: 353–5 (Îunayn

b. Balwa‘ al-Îiri; d. c. 110/728), III: 29 (™uways, d. 92/711). 97 Most of the references to al-Aghani presented in note 104 give testimony to

the first possibility. For examples of the second, see e.g. Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, IV: 361; AÌmad b. Yusuf, 1940: 96; al-Jahshiyari 1357/1938: 83. An exception is Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, IV: 361, where Yusuf transmits an anecdote on the authority of a certain Ziyad b. Abi’l-Kha††ab, a secretary (Ar. katib sirr) of a servant of Harun al-Rashid’s, deal-ing exclusively with an incident concerning the second/eighth-century poet-musi-cian FulayÌ b. Abi’l-‘Awra’.

98 Al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VII: 4, 68. 99 See nn. 82 and 83.


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role in the transmission. The first, Yusuf ’s patron, may be designated as the ‘collector source’,100 who gathered (most of) the anecdotes and transmitted them to Yusuf. Not only the terminology used in the isnads, but also the titles of works allegedly composed by Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi do not give us works in his hand that could have included the khabars under consideration.101 The second authority, Yusuf, is merely a transmitter. However, it seems that it was he who codified (at least some of) the anecdotes in his Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi. Which anecdotes he put into writing remains impossible to say. The use of (note)books during teaching sessions or for reciting stories and anecdotes102 makes it possible that Yusuf used his Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi in recitation. The last person in the isnads, Ri∂wan b. AÌmad, transmitted the khabars to Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani. Ri∂wan had heard the anecdotes from Yusuf — it remains unclear whether or not he heard the entire Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi — and trans-mitted them faithfully to al-IÒbahani.103 The possibility that some passages were added to the corpus of anecdotes written by Yusuf in this phase of transmission should be taken into consideration. In the present state of research, it cannot be claimed that all passages stem from the book in question, neither can those passages be pointed out that were taken from the prejudged collection of anecdotes vividly described by al-IÒbahani or those merely transmitted orally.104

3. Akhbar Abi Nuwas

Yusuf was a well-known companion of Abu Nuwas,105 to whom he allegedly dedicated his Akhbar Abi Nuwas. The only reference to the book can be found in Ibn al-Nadim’s al-Fihrist (completed in

100 Zolondek 1961: 302–3. Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi took anecdotes from a.o. Isma‘il b. Jami‘, Dunya al-Madani, al-Fa∂l b. al-Rabi‘, and ‘Ubayda b. Ash‘ab.

101 Ibn al-Nadim 1971, I: 116. 102 Schoeler 1985: 212 and idem, 1989: 42–3; see also n. 63 above. 103 See n. 87 above. 104 Possible quotations from Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi: AÌmad b. Yusuf

1941: 25–8, 98–100, 145–51; al-Jahshiyari 1357/1938: 83; Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒbahani 1345/1927–1394/1974, I: 253–7, 268–71, 353–5; III: 29; IV: 337–8, 360–2, 365; VI: 22; X: 98, 141–9, 173; XVI: 6–8; XVIII: 301–3; XIX: 135, 155–61, 174, 289–91, 293–8; XXIII: 235–8; XXIV: 98 (Ibn Fa∂l Allah al-‘Umari 2001–4, X: 143f., 216f.; al-Nuwayri 1342/1923–1344/1925, IV: 344–5; V: 82–3); al-Kindi 1912: 168; al-Mas‘udi 1861–77, VI: 262–3, 426–33; VII: 4–9, 68–72; al-∑uli 1936: 25; al-Tanukhi 1398/1978, III: 329–32.

105 Ibn ManÂur 1343/1924, I: 102; Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 108; Îamza al-IÒfahani 1322/1904: 7.


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377/987–8) where it is described106 as a book containing ‘anecdotes on Abu Nuwas and an anthology of his poetry’.107 Although Yusuf is frequently mentioned as a source for anecdotes on (his contact with) Abu Nuwas by e.g. Abu Hiffan (d. between 255/869 and 257/871), Ibn al-JarraÌ (d. 296/908), Ibn al-Mu‘tazz (d. 296/908), and al-Mar-zubani (d. 384/994), most of the anecdotes preserved bear no direct testimony of being taken from a written source. Moreover, Yaqut writes that Yusuf orally transmitted anecdotes on the famous poet.108 From a chronological point of view however, a passage related by (Ar. rawa ) Yusuf which is criticised by Îamza al-IÒfahani (d. after 350/961) and anecdotes preserved by al-Raqiq al-Nadim (d. after 418/1027–8), Ibn ManÂur (d. 711/1311–12), and Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373), for which no other transmitters are mentioned beside Yusuf, must have been put into writing at some time. It can be concluded that in the fourth/tenth and following centuries, in the central prov-inces of the Muslim empire, a book circulated that contained anec-dotes transmitted on Yusuf ’s authority. In the present state of research, parts of that book cannot be indicated with certainty among the relevant anecdotes that have been preserved. However, leaving aside the question of authorship, Yusuf ranks among the oldest authorities on Abu Nuwas. Some of the khabars he transmitted can be found elsewhere on the authority of the poet’s nadim al-Jammaz al-BaÒri (d. shortly after 250/864);109 and even another companion of Abu Nuwas, the already mentioned Abu Hiffan, took some of his information from Yusuf.110 111

106 Cf. the many other books that are described in the same wording (Ar. akhbar Abi Nuwas wa'l-mukhtar min shi‘rihi, Ibn al-Nadim 1871, I: 160).

107 Idem. 108 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157; cf. Schaade 1934: 271. 109 Al-Marzubani 1343/1924: 278 = Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 45; Ibn ManÂur

1343/1924: 166ff. = Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 28ff. 110 See also Sezgin 1967–2010, II: 544ff. and Ibn al-Nadim 1871, I: 160. 111 Possible quotations from Akhbar Abi Nuwas: Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 18,

23, 32, 45, 48, 49, 60, 66–8, 83, 98–9, 105–6, 108–9 (some anecdotes can be found in other sources that do not mention Yusuf as an authority, see Abu Hiffan 1373/1953: 32 [n. 2], 45 [n. 7], 60 [n. 5], 83 [n. 2]); al-Kha†ib al-Baghdadi 1931, XIV: 448; Ibn al-JarraÌ 1372/1953: 10; Ibn Kathir 1351/1932–1358/1939, X: 234; Ibn ManÂur 1343/1924, I: 102–3, 166–71, 174–5 (although the editor of Abu Hiffan’s Akhbar Abi Nuwas refers occasionally, e.g. 45 [n. 7], 68 [n. 1], to a second volume of Ibn ManÂur’s Akhbar Abi Nuwas, no copy of it could be found while writing the present article); Ibn al-Mu‘tazz 1939: 91, 94, 192; Abu’l-Faraj al-IÒba-hani 1345/1927–1394/1974, XVI: 249–50; Îamza al-IÒfahani: 7; al-Marzubani: 278; al-Raqiq al-Nadim 1969: 370–2; Schaade 1934: 260–3; al-Suyu†i: 340.


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4. Akhbar al-munajjimin and 5. Kitab al-†abikh

The remaining two books ascribed to Yusuf are Akhbar al-munajjimin and a Kitab al-†abikh. Both will be discussed in this section because there is nothing known to have been preserved from them.112 The Akhbar al-munajjimin is only ascribed to Yusuf in Kashf al-Âunun where Îajji Khalifa writes that it was composed ‘by Ibn al-Daya’, explaining that ‘this is Abu’l-Îasan Yusuf b. Ibrahim’.113 Other refer-ences to the book are made by Yaqut and, following him, al-∑afadi (d. 764/1363) who ascribe the book to Yusuf ’s son AÌmad.114 Since AÌmad is said to have been an astrologer and was also known as Ibn al-Daya,115 we can, due to the scarce information, only speculate about the authorship of the book.

More can be said about the second of these books. Shortly after the end of the ™ulunid dynasty, Yusuf was known as the author of a Kitab al-†abikh and copies of the book seem to have circulated under his name. His son AÌmad reports that not long after ‘the days of Ibn al-Khalij’,116 a high administrative official named AÌmad b. MuÌam-mad b. Bis†am (d. 297/909–10) came across Yusuf ’s name in some kind of cadastre when checking the agricultural estates that were affected by the wars against the dissident Ibn al-Khalij. When he asked al-Îusayn b. AÌmad al-Madhara’i (d. 314/926)117 who this Yusuf was, al-Madhara’i answered that he was the companion of Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi and a foster brother of al-Mu‘taÒim. Then ‘Abu ’l-‘Abbas [Ibn Bis†am] asked: “The author [Ar. ÒaÌib] of Kitab al-†abikh?” Abu ‘Ali [al-Madhara’i] answered: “Yes.”’ Ibn Bis†am then ordered that the book be brought and read to him.118

No passages or descriptions of Kitab al-†abikh are known to have been preserved. Most of the references to the book, beside the account

112 Sezgin’s (1967–2010, I: 374) remark that Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a used Akhbar al-munajjimin must be revised.

113 Îajji Khalifa 1941–3, I: col. 30. 114 Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 160; al-∑afadi 1962–2004, VIII: 283 (should

the attribution of Akhbar al-a†ibba’ and Akhbar al-munajjin to ‘Ibn ad-Daya’ [I: 54] also be understood to refer to AÌmad?).

115 E.g. al-Qif†i 1903: 78; Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, II: 157; Sezgin 1967–2010, V: 288–90.

116 Referring to a power struggle in the years 292/905 and 293/906 between the Abbasid governor ‘Isa b. MuÌammad al-Nushari (in office 292/905–297/910) and MuÌammad b. al-Khalij, a supporter of the ™ulunid cause who was removed from Egypt by al-Nushari; see al-Kindi 1912: 258–63; al-Maqrizi 1418/1998, II: 142–3.

117 One of the important persons fighting against the ™ulunids; see AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 201, n. 3; al-Maqrizi 1418/1998, II: 143.

118 AÌmad b. Yusuf 1941: 201–5.


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referred to above, ascribe it to Yusuf ’s son AÌmad,119 but there are no other indications that AÌmad authored such a book. However, there are many other medieval authors said to have composed a book bearing the same title,120 among them one that is of significance here: Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi.121 The Abbasid prince is known to have had an interest in cooking — one recipe is named after him: the ibrahimiyya122 — and possibly collected his recipes in a cookery book, his Kitab al-†abikh, parts of which have survived. For example, Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq (fl. fourth/tenth c.) gives a recipe for meat cooked in sour milk (Ar. ma∂ira) and two recipes to dye fish, taken from a book of (Ar. min nuskhat) Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi.123 Other citations can be found in an anonymous cookery book stemming from seventh/thir-teenth-century Andalusia.124 Similar to what we have seen in relation to Yusuf ’s Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi, we must consider the pos-sibility that Yusuf codified his patron’s work which then began to circulate under the codifier’s name (and may have been transmitted by, and hence incorrectly ascribed to, AÌmad).125 However, the exist-ing references to, and citations of, Ibrahim’s Kitab al-†abikh, as well as the immediate post-™ulunid account referring to Yusuf ’s author-ship of the book, bear no testimony to this.

To recapitulate: the first part of this article has sketched Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya’s life. His social standing allowed him to contact men of distinction, some of whom formed the nucleus of his books or anecdotes that often have the form of personal stories in which he himself also appears. Only Yusuf ’s authorship of Akhbar al-a†ibba’ is certain. He seems to be the composer of Akhbar Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi,

119 See n. 57 above. 120 E.g. Ibn al-Nadim 1871, I: 317; Ibn Abi UÒaybi‘a 1998: 232, 270, 305, 500;

Yaqut al-Rumi 1907–26, I: 277, 377, 384; II: 160 (in these sources only Yaqut has AÌmad as an author of a cookery book).

121 Ibn al-Nadim 1871, I: 116. 122 Perry 2001: 306; Ibn al-Karim 1353/1934: 10; Huici Miranda 1961–2: 46. 123 Ibn al-Sayyar al-Warraq 1987: 83, 174 (for more examples see 147, 148, 225

and 260). 124 Huici Miranda 1961–2: 155ff. [min] Kitab a†-†abkh (sic) li-Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi.

It is not clear whether or not a copy of the book has been preserved or only some extracts. Huici Miranda adds ‘from’ to what could be read as the beginning of a copy of Ibrahim’s cookery book. A colophon on p. 233 that writes about ‘this composition’ (Ar. hadha al-ta’lif) may belong to the entire text preceding it or only to the Kitab al-†ab[i ]kh.

125 See, e.g. Ibn ‘Asakir 1995–2000, LXXIV: 212: rawa ‘anhu [i.e. Yusuf] ibnuhu Abu Ja‘far AÌmad. AÌmad took many passages in al-Mukafa’a from his father ([1940], 25, 98, 145). See also al-Kindi 1912: 168.


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but the anecdotes it contained were his patron’s. It can reasonably be hypothesised that in the fourth/tenth and succeeding centuries a book containing Yusuf ’s anecdotes on Abu Nuwas existed. Nothing can be said with certainty about Akhbar al-munajjimin or Kitab al-†abikh.

Address for correspondence: LIAS - Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

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Documents

Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. al-Daya, a study into his life and works