Adang Spread of Zahirism

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE SPREAD OF HIRISM IN POST-CALIPHALAL-ANDALUS: THE EVIDENCE FROM THE

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES1

Camilla Adang

The first reprehensible innovation (bid'a) I encountered on my journeywas the doctrine of the bin, but when I returned I found that thewhole of the Maghrib had been filled with the doctrine of the hirby a feeble-minded man by the name of Ibn azm, from the coun-tryside of Seville [. . .] When I returned from my voyage, I found thatmy city was teeming with [ hirs], and that the fire of their errorwas scorching. Therefore, I stood up to them, though unaided by mypeers and lacking any worthy helpers to follow in my footsteps. SometimesI would feel attracted by them, then again I bared my teeth at them,hesitating whether to shun them or to take them on. 2

The author of these lines is the famous Andalusi q Ab Bakr

Muammad ibn al-'Arab (d. 543 A.H./1148 C.E.).3

This man, astaunch Mlik, was born in the year 468/1076, to a family of nota-bles in Seville. His father Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn al-'Arab(b. 435/1043)4 served the 'Abbdid dynasty ruling in Seville as a

1 Research for this chapter was carried out during a stay at the Institute ofAdvanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, September 1999February2000, as a member of the research group on Islamic law convened by ProfessorYohanan Friedmann and Dr. Nurit Tsafrir. My thanks also go to David J. Wassersteinand Avraham Hakim for their valuable comments. In preparing this article, I greatlybenefited from the volumes in the Estudios Onomstico-Biogrficos de al-Andalus(EOBA),an indispensable tool for anyone dealing with the social and religious history ofMuslim Iberia.

2 Al-Dhahab, Tadhkira iii, 1149; id., Siyarxviii, 189; for a different translation,see Chejne, Ibn Hazm 9.

3 On Ab Bakr ibn al-'Arab, see al-abb,Bughya12531, n. 180; al-Nubh,Qut1057; Ibn Khallikn, Wafaytiv, 296f., n. 626; al-Dhahab, Siyarxx, 197203,n. 128; id., Tadhkiraiv, 12941298, n. 1081; al-Maqqar,Naf ii, 2543; al-Ru'ayn,

Barnmaj117120; Ibn al-'Imd, Shadhart iv, 141f.; Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 303f.;A'rb, Ma'a l-QAbBakr; lib, r" AbBakr; Lagardre, Ab Bakr; id., Lahaute judicature 195215; id., Le vendredi de Zallqa166175; Drory, Ibn el-Arabi.

4 On Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn al-'Arab, see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila438f.,n. 640; al-Dhahab, Siyarxix, 130f., n. 68; Ibn Khallikn, Wafaytiv, 297; al-afad,

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vizier, until they were deposed in the year 484/1091 by the Almoravids,

who added al-Andalus to their North African territories, thus mark-

ing the end of the period of the party-kings (mulk al-aw"if).5 Itwas at least partly his fall from grace and his fear of Almoravid ret-

ribution which made Ab Muammad ibn al-'Arab decide to leaveal-Andalus and to embark on a ri la, together with his son Ab Bakr.They left in the year 485/1092, and visited North Africa, Egypt,

Palestine, Syria and Iraq, as well as the holy cities of Mecca and

Medina, taking the opportunity to study law and theology under the

famous masters of the regional capitals. They did not limit them-

selves to jurists of their own, Mlik, school, but developed exten-sive contacts with anafs, Shfi's and anbals alike. At some pointthey were commissioned by the Almoravids, who had apparently for-

given them, to procure messages from the 'Abbsid caliph confirmingthe legitimacy of the new lords of North Africa and al-Andalus. In

493/1099 Ab Muammad ibn al-'Arab died in Egypt, on the wayback to al-Andalus, and his son Ab Bakr arrived in Seville on hisown in 495/1101. Once back, the younger Ibn al-'Arab devotedhimself to teaching, and showed himself a loyal servant to his new

patrons. When in 503/1109 all those who owned copies of the works

of al-Ghazl were forced, under threat, to dispose of these books,Ibn al-'Arab, who had himself studied with the master in Baghdadand had introduced his writings into al-Andalus, destroyed his copy

of the Iy" 'ulm al-dn.6 In 528/1134 Ibn al-'Arab was brieflyappointed chief judge of Seville, after a long period of scholarly activ-

ity during which he produced an impressive series of works in the

fields ofadth, theology, language, exegesis andfiqh.7 His interest inthe different schools of law and their methods of deduction did not

extend to the hir, or literalist, school.8 In fact, he composed

Wf xvii, 568, n. 477; Ibn al-'Imd, Shadhart iv, 142; Asn Palacios, Abenhzam295f. References to Ab Muammads position as vizier may be found in Yqt,Irshd iv, 1652, 1653.

5 The "ifaperiod had officially started in the year 422/1031, with the removalof the last caliph, Hishm III al-Mu'tadd, but in fact small states had begun to beformed since the assassination of the third 'mirid jib, 'Abd al-Ramn Sanchuelo,in 399/1009. On this chapter in Spanish history, see Wasserstein, Rise and Fall;Viguera, Los reinos de taifas; ead., Historia poltica. For a collection of historical textson the 'Abbdids, see Dozy, Scriptorum arabum loci.

6 Fierro, Opposition to fism 186, and Religious dissension 472.7 For a complete list, see A'rb,Ma'a l-Q, Chapter 4.8 The hir madhhab was founded by Ab Sulaymn Dwd ibn 'Al al-Ifahn

(d. 370/883), who advocated the literal interpretation of the Quran and the Sunna,

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polemical tracts against the hir school in general, and its Andalusiimm Ibn azm in particular.9 The quotation abovewhich is bothpreceded and followed by invective against Ibn azmgives someindication of the vehemence of his polemics.10 This is interesting for

two reasons: first of all, his own father, Ab Muammad, had beenone of the most loyal students of Ibn azm, and secondly, as weshall see, Ab Bakr ibn al-'Arab had himself been on very goodterms with a number of Andalusi hirs he encountered in Baghdad.

In the passage which opens this chapter Ibn al-'Arab suggeststhat there had been few hirs in al-Andalus when he embarked

on his journey, in the early Almoravid period, but that they hadmultipliedespecially in the region of Sevilleduring his absence,

which had lasted all of ten years. This is certainly an exaggeration,

as is his claim that he almost single-handedly took on the hirssince he had no true peers who could help him in his polemic, which

seems to have centred mainly on ul al-fiqh. It implies criticism ofhis fellow Mliks, most of whom were indeed no match for the lit-eralists with their superior knowledge of uland ofadth. On theother hand, there may be a grain of truth to Ibn al-'Arabs state-ment: he may in fact have noticed upon his return from the Mashriq

that the number ofhirs in al-Andalus was rather large in com-parison with other places he had been to, probably including Damascus

and Baghdad.11 It seems worth while to examine his statement more

and categorically rejected any use of qiysand other methods that were acceptedby other legal scholars, as too arbitrary. See on him Schacht, Dwd ibn 'Al. Ingeneral on the hir madhhab and the principles which distinguish it from the otherschools of law, see Goldziher, hirs; Turki, al-hiriyya. On its origins and earlyspread in the East, see Melchert, The formation, Chapter 9.

I am currently preparing a monograph on hir ulandfur', with ample atten-tion to comparative aspects.

9 The titles of these tracts are al-Nawh 'an al-dawh, on legal matters; al-Ghurraf naq al-Durra, against Ibn azms theological tract Rislat al-Durrafi l-i'tiqd; al-'Awim min al-qawim, in which he polemicizes against the views on the battle ofiffn of a variety of sects and individuals, and finally a qadaagainst Ibn azm;see A'rb,Ma'a l-Q144, 150, 151, 167; Drory, Ibn el-Arabi51, 52, 55.Al-'Awimmin al-qawim is included in its entirety in lib, r" AbBakr.

10 Al-Dhahab, after quoting Ibn al-'Arabs invective against Ibn azm, defendsthe latter by saying that the qhad got it all wrong, and that Ibn azms intel-ligence was far superior to his; see Siyarxviii, 188190; Chejne, Ibn Hazm 9f.

11 A systematic perusal of Ibn 'Askirs Ta"rkh Dimashqand Ta"rkh Baghddbyal-Khab al-Baghdd did not yield evidence of a significant hir presence inthese two major cities in the period under discussion. On the decline ofhirismin Baghdad, its city of origin, see Makdisi, Ibn 'Aql278281.

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closely, then, and to try and establish to what extent the sources

confirm that there was a significant hir presence (if not perhapsa clearly defined community) in post-caliphal al-Andalus, and to what

extent it was due to Ibn azms influence that the country wasteeming with them. In the following pages, I shall examine the

evidence from a number of biographical dictionaries, Andalusi and

other, which provide information on Andalusi hirs who wereactive in the Almoravid period and the period immediately preced-

ing it: that of the "ifa kingdoms.12 Who were these hirs of al-Andalus? What can be said about their geographical distribution?

What public positions, if any, did they hold? Who were their mas-ters and students? The fact that no abaqt al-hiriyya, convenientlylisting the representatives of the literalist school of law, has survived

renders it necessary to carry out a meticulous search in biographi-

cal dictionaries of various types and geographical range.13 Wherever

possible, the information provided by the biographical dictionaries is

supplemented with details encountered in sources of a different type.

In order to be included in the list of hirs presented here, an'lim had to be described in at least one source, biographical orother, as having been a hir, tended towards literalism, or adopteda literalist approach to the revealed sources of the law, Quran and

Sunna, even if other sources do not give any information about madh-

hab affiliation, or list the person in question as belonging to a different

school altogether. (An exception are the descendants of Ibn azm,not all of whom are explicitly listed as hirs, but whose literalismmay nevertheless be assumed, as will be argued.) Moreover, I have

chosen to include only those hirs who died at least twenty yearsafter the beginning of"ifa rule in al-Andalus, i.e., people who diedafter the year 1051 C.E. This leaves out scholars whose active lives

were spent largely in the caliphal period (9291031), although some

of these men will be encountered as teachers of the hirs discussedhere.14 Furthermore, I have excluded hirs who were active mainly

12 Afirst list of this kind, less comprehensive than the present one, was preparedby Asn Palacios; see hisAbenhzam Chapter XIX.

13 Ab Isq al-Shrzs abaqt al-fuqah" includes a section on hir scholars(pp. 148152), but this is limited to a very small number only, which moreoverdoes not include any Andalusis. I thank Professor Devin Stewart for referring meto this work. On Ab Isq, who was a friend ofal-umayd and a teacher ofAb l-asan al-'Abdar, to be discussed below, see Chaumont, al-rz.

14 See on these earlier hirs Adang, Beginnings.

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in the post-Almoravid period, i.e., from 1145, though we shall meet

some of them as students of our biographees.15 Apart from the descen-

dants of Ibn azm, who will be discussed as a separate group, thesecriteria yield a list of sixteen people, who will be presented in the

following pages. I have added lists of the biographees Andalusi (and

some North African) teachers, omitting the oriental ones, since I am

working on the assumption that their hir identity was shaped andcrystallized in al-Andalus. In order to establish to what extent the

scholars discussed here may themselves have contributed to the dis-

semination ofhirism in the Iberian peninsula, their Andalusi stu-

dents will be mentioned as well.16 A more in-depth analysis of theteacher-student networks is projected for a future publication. In

what follows, I shall provide composite accounts; only where the

sources contradict each other on important points will this be indi-

cated explicitly. Cross-references to the biographees, as well as to

some important common links, are printed in bold type. Since it will

be seen that Ibn azm, who may be considered the imm of Andalusihirism, is often a point of reference, I shall first give a brief sur-vey of his life as far as it is relevant to the present discussion,17 and

then present a prosopographical study of the hirs of the "ifaand Almoravid periods, including Ibn azms descendants.

Ibn azm

Ab Muammad 'Al ibn A mad ibn Sa'd Ibn azm was born inCordoba in the year 384/994 as the son of a courtier of the de facto

ruler, al-Manr ibn Ab 'mir, the powerful jib of the Umayyadcaliph Hishm II al-Mu"ayyad. His sheltered youth in his fatherspalace came to an abrupt end in 403/1013 with the conquest of

Cordoba by the Berbers, one of the ethnic groups that were vying

for power in al-Andalus after the demise of al-Manrs son, 'Abd

15 A number of hirs who spent part of their active lives in the Almoravidperiod, but died in the Almohad period, have been discussed earlier in my hirsof Almohad Times, and will not be presented here again.

16 Information on these teachers and students is given whenever I have been ableto trace them in the most commonly used biographical dictionaries.

17 Further biographical details may be encountered in Arnaldez, Ibn azm; AsnPalacios,Abenhzam; Chejne, Ibn Hazm; Garca Gmez, El collar(introductory essay);Adang, From Mlikism; Kaddouri, Identificacin, and now Ljamai, Ibn azm.

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al-Ramn Sanchuelo.18 For Ibn azm, a period of wanderingsnow began, during which he took up the cause of the Umayyad

house as a propagandist and soldier, a course of action which landed

him in prison more than once. In between these apparently short

prison terms, he not only wrote his famous awq al-amma, but alsostudied law, first following the dominant Mlik school but soonswitching to the Shfi'one. Ultimately, however, he chose the hir,or literalist, madhhab, which had but few adherents in al-Andalus.

Although it has been suggested that there were no hir teachersin the peninsula before Ibn azm, and that he therefore had to

learn his hirism from books,19 we know that in fact the schoolwas well established in al-Andalus as early as the 4th/10th century,

and that Ibn azm had at least one hir teacher, Ibn Muflit.20

Ibn azm apparently raised his own sons into hirism, and attemptedto spread the madhhab further, beyond his own family circle, with

varying degrees of success. In Cordoba, he taught in the Great

Mosque, alongside Ibn Muflit, and managed to draw a sizeable crowd

of people. However, they were apparently too successful for the

Mliks comfort: both were expelled from the mosque and forbid-den to teach their deviant views. Ibn Muflit took this ostracism very

hard, and died in solitude not long after the expulsion.21 Ibn azm,

on the other hand, sought refuge in Majorca, where he stayed forten years (430440/10381048).22 He was given free rein to teach

his doctrines by the islands governor, Ibn Rashq, and gathered agroup of students. One of them was Ab l-asan 'Al ibn Murajj.His knowledge and understanding were such that he is said to have

surpassed Ibn azm himself. Ibn al-Abbr, our source for this infor-mation, does not actually mention that Ibn Murajj was a hir,

18 See n. 5.19 See Melchert, The formation 186, 189f.20 Adang, Beginnings. It should be added that Ibn azm was personally acquainted

with two of the sons of the hir qMundhir ibn Sa'd of Cordoba (d. 355/966),viz. al-akam (d. ca. 420/1029) and Sa'd (d. 403/1013), whom he met when hehimself was still quite young and well before he formally turned to hirism. Whetherhe was at all influenced by them cannot be established. See on Mundhir ibn Sa'dand his sons Pellat, (al-)Munir, and De Felipe, Identidad y onomstica200220, withfull bibliographical references.

21 See Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 137139.22 On the Majorcan period, see Asn Palacios, Abenhzam, Chapter XV.

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which is why I refrain from giving him a separate entry.23 Several

others are specifically identified in the sources as literalists, and will

therefore be discussed in this study. After some years Ibn azm wasforced, or felt compelled, to return to the mainland, allegedly after

being defeated in a public dispute with the formidable Mlik scholarAb l-Wald al-Bj, who had recently returned from his rila, equippedwith a knowledge oful al-fiqhthat more than matched Ibn azms.24

After spending several years in Almeria, where he was joined by his

disciple al-umayd (see below), Ibn azm arrived in Seville. Thelocal ruler at that time, al-Mu'taid bi-llh 'Abbd ibn Muammad

al-'Abbd,25 had his books torn up and burned. According to AsnPalacios, the motive for the destruction of Ibn Hazms works was a

political, rather than a religious one.26 In hisNaqal-'Ars, Ibn azmhad implicitly accused al-Mu'taid of extreme cruelty: he had killedhis brother, an uncle, a nephew, and his own son Ism'l.27 Moreover,Ibn azm had the audacity to expose as fraudulent the rulers claimsthat he received his brief from the Umayyad caliph Hishm II: thecaliph had in fact been dead for decades, but was being resur-

rected whenever a ruler needed legitimacy.28 Faced with al-Mu'taidshostility, Ibn azm decided to withdraw to his familys estate, nearNiebla, where in spite of warnings, he continued to receive his most

loyal students, among them the elder Ibn al-'Arab

29and appar-ently al-umayd.30 These men, as well as Ibn azms sons and

grandsons, would be instrumental in spreading his teachings during

the last years of his life and after his death, which occurred in

456/1064. Ibn azm left an enormous oeuvre, which according tohis son Ab Rfi' was made up of some 400 works, totalling closeto 80,000 pages.31

23 On Ibn Murajj, see Ibn al-Abbr, Apndice 198, n. 2279; Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 290; Urvoy, Vie intellectuelle 102, 104f., 117f.

24 See on this man and his polemic against Ibn azm: Q 'Iy, Tartb iiiiv,702708; Dunlop, al-B; Turki, Polmique; Urvoy, Vie intellectuelle 100102.

25 Ruled 433/10412461/10689. See on him al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 256257,n. 129, and Dozy, Scriptorum arabum loci,passim.

26 Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 230ff.27 Naqal-'Ars f tawrkh al-khulaf" 90, 92, 89.28 On the lives and deaths of Hishm II, see al-Dhahab, Siyarviii, 244253, n.

55; xviii, 257; xix, 60; Wasserstein, Rise and Fall 66f., 7072, 118120, 156f.; id.,Caliphate in the West192f.

29 See Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 295f.30 Huici Miranda, al-umayd 573.31 See ' id al-Andalus, abaqt 183. On Ab l-Qsim 'id ibn A mad

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Ibn azms descendants

Ab Rfi' al-Fal was not Ibn azms only son, but he was the old-est and, according to the later hir Ibn Khall,32 the ablest one.33

According to Ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Marrkush, he was a hirfaqh.This was obviously due to the fact that he had been taught by his

father. The latter had instructed his sons to complete his Kitb al-Muall (the most important extant work ofhir fiqh) in case heshould die before finishing the work himself, and when this did

indeed happen, the sons decided among themselves that Ab Rfi'

would do the job. It is unlikely that Ibn azm would have entrustedthe task of completing his work to his sons if he had not relied on

their ability, and willingness, to represent his hirviews faithfully.34

It is for this reason that I assume that all of Ibn azms sons werehirs, even though Ab Rfi' is the only one who is explicitlymentioned as such. An additional reason for this assumption is the

fact that one of Ibn azms grandsons is described as a hir,which suggests that literalism was transmitted within the family.

Apart from his father, Ab Rfi' studied under the famous faqhAb 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Barr35 and Ab l-'Abbs al-'Udhr al-Dal",36

both of whom were in close contact with Ibn azm sr. In addition

(d. Shawwl 462/July-August 1070), a onetime student ofIbn azm who becameq of Toledo, see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila, 370, n. 545; Asn Palacios, Abenhzam284f.; Martinez-Gros, 'id al-Andalusi. On the basis of Ab Rfi's description,'id compared the size of Ibn azms output with that of al-abar, the famoushistorian and exegete. Unfortunately, only a small number of his works have comedown to us. For a list, see Chejne, Ibn Hazm 301313.

32 See al-Kattn, awla kitbayn.33 On Ab Rfi', see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila 678, n. 1004; al-Marrkush, Dhayl

v.2, 540, n. 1059; Ibn Khallikn, Wafaytiii, 329; Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 241243;Pellat, Ibn azm, patronymic.

34 Nevertheless, the above-mentioned Ibn Khall, himself the author of an abridg-ment of theMuall, accuses Ab Rfi' of having done a bad job; see al-Kattn,awla kitbayn.

35 See on this leading MlikfaqhPellat, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr. It is said that headhered to the hir school for a considerable period of time at the beginning ofhis career; see al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 160. He also taught Ibn azms son AbUsma Ya'qb and al-umayd.

36 On this man from Almeria, whose full name is Ab l-'Abbs A mad ibn'Umar ibn Anas ibn Dilhth al-'Udhr al-Dal", and who died in 478/1085, seeal-umayd,Jadhwa, 213217, no. 237; Ibn Bashkuwl, ila115117, no. 141; al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 567f., no. 296. He transmitted from Ibn azm, and had anumber ofhir students in addition to Ibn azms son Ab Rfi', viz. the lat-ters brother Ab Usma, al-umayd, and Ibn Yarb' (see infra).

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to completing at least one of his fathers works, Ab Rfi' is knownto have composed a history of the 'Abbdid dynasty of Seville, enti-tledAl-Hdil ma'rifat al-nasab al-'Abbd, which has not come downto us.37 Unfortunately, it cannot be established at what point AbRfi' entered the service of the 'Abbdids, but he was apparentlyvery close to the royal family. A passage in Ibn Khallikn suggeststhat he was one of the viziers of al-Mu'tamid, the son and successorof the ruler who had ordered the burning of Ibn azms books. Ac-cording to this account, the king of Seville was angry with his uncle

Ab lib 'Abd al-Jabbr ibn Muammad ibn Ism"l ibn 'Abbd,

and wished to get rid of him since he was suspicious of him. Al-Mu'tamid summoned his viziers, and asked them who of them knewof any caliph or party-king who had killed an uncle who planned

to overthrow him. Ab Rfi' stepped forward and told him: Weonly know of someone who forgave his uncle after he revolted against

him, namely Ibrhm ibn al-Mahd, the uncle of the 'Abbsid al-Ma"mn.38 Thereupon al-Mu'tamid kissed him on the forehead andthanked him. He then invited his uncle and treated him graciously.

When in October 1086 the Almoravids crossed the Straits to come

to the aid of the panic-stricken party-kings, who had witnessed the

capture of Toledo by the Christians in the previous year, Ab Rfi'fought on the side of the 'Abbdids against the forces of Alfonso VIof Castile, at the battle of Zallqa (Sagrajas), which took place onFriday 12 Rajab 479/23 October 1086, and was killed in action.

In his lifetime, Ab Rfi' had been praised by the poet AbMuammad Jahwar ibn Ya y Ibn al-Fulw who, upon meetinghim for the first time at a majlis, spontaneously uttered the follow-

ing lines: I had seen Ibn azm without meeting him, but when Imet him, I didnt see him/for the radiance of his face prevents the

eyes of a man from beholding him.39 Ibn al-Fulw describes Ibnazms son as al-ra"sAb Rfi'. Although this may just be an expres-sion of admiration, it is not inconceivable that there is more to it,

and that it indicates that after his fathers death, his oldest son was

considered the leader of the hirs in al-Andalus. Similarly, Ibn

37 Referred to in Ibn al-Abbr, ulla ii, 34f.38 Interestingly enough, this incident is not mentioned in Ibn azm pres Naq

al-'Arswhere one would expect to find it.39 See al-umayd, Jadhwa291, n. 360; al-abb, Bughya 319, n. 626. The

same lines of poetry are quoted in al-Marrkush,Dhaylv.2, 540 (entry on Ab Rfi').

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azm himself had been referred to (by his cousin Ab l-Mughra)as ra"s midrsihim wa-kabr ahrsihim in an apparent reference to hisleadership of the hir madhhab.40

We know of one son of Ab Rfi' who was involved in scholar-ship: Ab l-'Abbs al-Fat ibn al-Fal, who transmitted from hisuncle Ab Sulaymn Mu'ab (see below).41 Ibn al-Abbr specificallymentions Ibn azms Kitb al-Mansikwhich, to the best of myknowledge, has not been preservedas a work that was transmitted

by al-Fat on his uncles authority, but there may have been addi-tional tracts by Ibn azm that were passed on to his grandson.42

Al-Fat was apparently not Ab Rfi's only son: we hear ofanother one, named 'Al. Or rather, we hear of this mans son, Ab'Umar Amad ibn 'Al ibn al-Fal, Ab Rfi' s grandson and Ibnazms great-grandson.43 Ab 'Umar transmitted from his father,'Al, who transmitted from his own father, Ab Rfi' who, as weknow, had been taught by Ibn azm himself. Unfortunately, oursource does not bother to inform us what works were thus being

transmitted within the family, but it stands to reason that the mate-

rial would include several works by Ibn azm, whether writingsof an explicitly hir legal character or other. Ab 'Umar Amadalso transmitted from Ab l-asan Shuray al-Ru'ayn, who pos-sessed an ijza from Ibn azm and had at least four additionalhir students.44

Ab 'Umar died in or around the year 543/1148. We do notknow the date of death of his father 'Al.

Ibn azms second son, Ab Sulaymn al-Mu'ab,45 who is saidto have shared with his ancestors their thirst for knowledge, studied

with his father, and in Rab' II 457/MarchApril 1065 briefly withAb Marwn al-ubn, who was murdered in his own home that

40 See Ibn Bassm,Dhakhra i.1, 163.41 See al-Marrkush,Dhaylv.2, 529, n. 1018.42 The full title of this work is Kitb Mansik al-ajj; see Asn Palacios,Abenhzam

262f.43 Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (BC) 66f., n. 151; al-Marrkush, Dhayl i.1, 314, n.

406; ibid. 302, n. 384.44 On Shuray as a transmitter of Ibn azms works, see Adang, hirs 420422.

Apart from Ibn azms descendant Amad ibn Muammad (see below), thehir students in question are Ibn Ab Marwn, 'Abd al-Ramn al-Umaw,Sa'd al-Su'd ibn 'Ufayr, and Ibn Baq, all of whom belong to the Almohadperiod. See on them Adang, hirs.

45 See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila i, 385, n. 1097; Asn Palacios, Abenhzam 243.

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same month.46 Another teacher was the philologist and lexicogra-

pher Ab l-asan ibn Sda (d. 458/1066),47 on whose authority hetransmitted al-Zubayds abridgement of al-Khall ibn A mads gram-matical tract Kitb al-'Ayn. Among the men who, in turn, transmittedfrom al-Mu'ab were his nephew Ab l-'Abbs al-Fat ibn al-Fal (see supra), the hirAb l-asan (b.) al-Khir,48 and a num-ber of others. A date of death for this son of Ibn azm is not given.He seems to have spent most of his life in Cordoba, alhough he

may have had to go to Murcia or to Denia to study with Ibn Sda.The third son, Ab Usma Ya'qb,49 was born in the year 440/

104849, either just before or shortly after Ibn azms departurefrom Majorca. His father was fifty-six years old at the time. Ibn

azm taught Ya'qb himself: he is mentioned as one of the peoplefrom whom he transmitted, along with Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, fromwhom he received an ijza, and Ab l-'Abbs al-'Udhr. Both thesemen had also taught Ya'qbs brother Ab Rfi'.

Ya'qb made the ajj to Mecca, being, as far as we know, theonly one in the family to do so, and died in Jumd I, 503/Novemberor December 1109, probably in al-Andalus. In his lifetime, he had

transmitted several of his fathers works, among them Naqal-'Ars,to AbJa'far A mad ibn 'Abd al-Ramn al-Birj.50

Ibn azm may have had several other children. Wefi

nd refer-ences to a grandson whose full name is Ab 'Umar A mad ibnSa'd ibn 'Al ibn Hazm,51 and to another descendant bearing a verysimilar name, viz. Ab 'Umar Amad ibn Muammad.52 Althoughthe biographical dictionaries present them as two separate individuals,

46 See Ibn Bassm,Dhakhra i.1, 535547; al-Maqqar,Naf ii, 968.47 See on him Talbi, Ibn Sda.48 See on him Adang, hirs 423f. (Ibn) al-Khir (d. 571/1175) had at least

one additional hir teacher, Ibn Ab Marwn (who taught the hir Mufarrijibn Sa'da, to be discussed below), and among his students was Ibn 'UfrofSeville, who is described as shadd al-ta'aub li-bn azm; see al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi,456, n. 1228.

49 See on him Ibn Bashkuwl, ila988, n. 1534; Asn Palacios,Abenhzam 243.50 See on al-Birj: Ibn al-Abbr,Mu'jam 2630, n. 18. This biography (p. 29)

contains a reference to one Ab Usma al-Fal ibn azm, who transmitted theworks of Ibn azm to al-Birj. However, this is apparently a conflation of thenames of two of Ibn azms sons: Ab Usma Ya'qb and Ab Rfi' al-Fal. Seealso Yqt,Mu'jam al-Buldn i, 447.

51 Ibn al-Abbr (BC), 63, n. 144; Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilav, 326, n. 17; al-Marrkush,Dhayl i.1, 121123, n. 167; al-afad,Wfv, 391, n. 2905.

52 Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilav, 345f., n. 67; al-Marrkush,Dhayli/1, 407f., n.598; al-Suy,Bughya i, 364f., n. 708.

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the details they provide about the lives of each of them are strik-

ingly similar on some points, obviously as a result of confusion

between the two men.

Of A mad ibn Sa'd it is said that he lived in Silves, in theAlgarve, and that he was a grandson of our Ibn azm,53 whichsuggests that the latter had a son called Sa'd. He is said to havebeen a faqh of his grandfathers hir madhhab, which he ener-getically defended in disputations. Moreover, he combined a solid

knowledge of grammar with poetical skills. He died in 540/1146,

after his possessions had been confiscated and he had been beaten

and imprisoned for his alleged role in a revolt against the ruler. Thecircumstances of this revolt are not specified.

A mad ibn Muammad, on the other hand, lived in Seville andis said to be descended from our Ibn azm through his mother,whereas his paternal ancestor was another Ibn azm, viz. al-Madhaj.If this information is correct, we have here the first indication that

Ibn azm had a daughter or granddaughter. Of course this possi-bility has always to be taken into account; mothers, sisters, wives,

daughters and other female relatives are simply seldom referred to

in Islamic biographical literature, and we generally hear only about

male ancestors, siblings and descendants. This usually renders it vir-

tually impossible to uncover family networks of scholars.

A mad ibn Muammad is described as shaddarakat al-bin. Hewas accused of plotting a revolt in favor of the Mahd. This maybe either a reference to the Almohad Mahd Ibn Tmart, or to theSufi rebel Ibn Qas, who was active in the Algarve but had sup-porters in other parts of al-Andalus as well.54 The combination of

Sufism or Binism with a hir approach to the law is an inter-esting one, though not as unusual as one might think, and we shall

come across additional cases in the course of this study. As a result

of his agitation, A mad ibn Muammad was beaten and impris-oned, and his possessions were confiscated. As was seen, similar

details are given about A mad ibn Sa'd, and it is not clear to which

53 According to Ibn Furtn he descended from Ab Muammad ibn azm onhis mothers and on his fathers side; see Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilav, 326. Al-Marrkush (Dhayl i.1, 121) shows that this is impossible if he is the grandson ofIbn azm, rather than a descendant further removed. In Ibn al-Zubayrs entry wefind A mad ibn Muammad referred to as the father of the above-mentionedA mad ibn Sa'd, which is equally problematic.

54 See Fierro, Opposition to Sufism 188f.

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of the two they really apply.55 A mad ibn Muammad is said tohave crossed the Straits into North Africa at the beginning of the

war between the Almoravids and the Almohads, and to have settled

down there. He served as a soldier and sometimes as a scribe. No

date or place of death are provided.

A mad ibn Muammad transmitted from the muaddithAb Bakribn A mad ibn hir, and from Shuray al-Ru'ayn, who was him-self in possession of an ijza from Ibn azm.56 He studied 'arabiyyawith Ab l-Qsim Ibn al-Rammk and was a gifted linguist.57

Among those who in turn transmitted from him, we encounter

the hirAb 'Amr Muammad ibn 'Al ibn 'Ufr,58 Ab l-MajdHudhayl, and two men who may have had literalist sympathies as

well, viz. Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn Jumhr59 and Ab l-asan'Al ibn 'Atq ibn 's ibn A mad al-Anr al-Khazraj of Cordoba,also known as Ibn Mu"min.60 Apart from A mad ibn Muammad,Ibn Mu"mins teachers included the hirs Ibn Ab Marwn, IbnBaq,61 and al-aw (see below). Moreover, one of his own students,Sa'd al-Su'd ibn al-'Ufayr, was to become a prominent hir.62

Among the teachers of Ibn Jumhr we find the hirs Mufarrij ibnSa'da (discussed below) and Ibn Ab Marwn, as well as Shurayal-Ru'ayn, who transmitted Ibn azms works. Although he is

nowhere listed as a literalist, these multiple links with hirs andother people close to Ibn azm make it likely that Ibn Jumhr him-self felt attracted to literalism. However, until further evidence can

be adduced that Ibn Jumhr was a literalist in the sense of the word

55 Fierro seems to regard them as one and the same person: the descendant ofIbn azm mentioned in her Religious dissension (p. 474) combines biographicaldetails of both A mads.

56 See n. 44. He had also taught Ibn azms great-grandson Amad ibn 'Al(see above).

57 One of the teachers of Ibn Ma" (d. 592/1196), whom I have described else-where as a semi-hir, see Adang, hirs 429432. On the term semi-hir,see n. 63 below.

58 See n. 48.59 See on this man, who died in Rab ' II 592/March 1196, Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat

al-ila iii, 124126, n. 208.60 Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila ii, 674f., n. 1878; al-Marrkush,Dhaylv/1, 256264,

n. 525; Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilaiv, 121f., n. 248; Makhlf, Shajarat al-nri, 161,n. 495. He also studied with al-aw (see below).

61 Ibn Ab Marwn and Ibn Baq belong to the Almohad period. See on themAdang, hirs 418422, 444448.

62 Adang, hirs 419.

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that I am using throughout this study, I prefer to consider him a

semi-hir63 at best. The same goes for Ibn Mu"min.A mad ibn Muammad, whom I assume to be a hir like the

rest of Ibn azms descendants despite his alleged Binism, wrotea number of works of which one deserves special mention, viz. al-

Zaw"igh wa-l-dawmigh, in which he systematically refutes Ab Bakribn al-'Arabs polemic against Ibn azm contained in his tract al-

Nawh 'an al-dawh.64

Although Ibn azms closest disciples were no doubt his own sons,they were by no means his only loyal followers; we have already

come across Ab Muammad ibn al-'Arab who studied almost hisentire oeuvre with him in Niebla, and they may have been joined

in their sessions by Ab 'Abdallh al-umayd, prior to his depar-ture for the Mashriq (see below). However, even before his return

to Niebla Ibn azm had managed to command the loyalty of anumber of students, among them our next biographee:

Ab l-Najh65

Ab l-Najh Slim ibn A mad ibn Fat was born in 397/1007 inCordoba. He studied adthwith a number of well-known mastersin his native city, and copied out most of the available collections

in their possession. He was especially attached to Ibn azm (wa-lazima Ab Muammad ibn azm fa-akthara 'anhu), and like the lattertended towards hirism: mla il l-qawl bi-l-hir; mla il l-hiriyyabi-adqat mutasha''ibihim fl-Andalus AbMuammad. . . Ibn azm. Thisdescription gives the impression that his choice ofhirism was madeunder the influence of his mentor, Ibn azm, with whom he musthave studied in the period when Ibn azm resided in the capital,for we have no indication that Ab l-Najh himself ever lived out-side of Cordoba. Whatever the case may be, Ab l-Najh copiedout a large number of Ibn azms writings, and at first became

famous among his contemporaries for that. After that, he applied

63 A variation on the term semi-anaf introduced by Nurit Tsafrir in herSemi-anaf.

64 See n. 9 above.65 Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila712, n. 2004; al-Marrkush,Dhayliv, 12, n. 3; Asn

Palacios,Abenhzam 289f.

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himself to the art of writing, and became known as the ablest copy-

ist of his time. Ab l-Najh died childless in Dh l-Qa'da 461/September 1069, five years after his master, and was buried in the

new cemetery facing Cordobas Bb al-Qanara. Prayer was saidover him by thefaqhAb 'Abd al-Ramn Mu'wiya al-'Uqayl,66

in the presence of a crowd of people who spoke highly of him. Al-

'Uqayl was ib al-alhin the Great Mosque of Cordoba, and onFridays sometimes delivered the khuba. This means that he was aman of no small importance, and the fact that it was he who officiated

at Ab l-Najhs funeral may give an indication of the hirs stand-

ing in the community.

Faraj ibn adda67

Faraj ibn adda (or udayda) was from Badajoz, in the south-westof Spain. He made a ri lawhich included the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Described as a hirfaqh, 'al madhhab Dwd al-Qiys,68 he waslearned in the readings of the Quran, and was apparently the lead-

ingmuqri" in Badajoz. We know nothing about his teachers or wherehe acquired his hirism.

Ibn al-Abbr informs us that at some point he had to leave Badajozafter a conflict with the local ruler, al-Muaffar Ab Bakr Muammadibn 'Abdallh ibn Maslama ibn al-Afas (regn. 437/1045460/1068).69

Unfortunately, we know nothing about the nature of this conflict

and whether it had anything to do with Ibn addas literalist lean-ings. In any case, he found refuge in Seville, which was then ruled

by al-Mu'taid. The latters mother had just witnessed the comple-tion, under the supervision of al-jj Fris ibn Qdim,70 of themosque named after her. Al-Mu'taid appointed the hir scholaras Quran reader to the mosque, with a salary and maintenance paid

66 See on him Ibn Bashkuwl, ila 886f., n. 1355; al-abb, Bughya, 612, n.1344.

67 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila674, n. 998; Ibn al-Abbr, Apndice, 2823, n. 2520;al-Marrkush,Dhaylv.2, 538f., n. 1053.

68 As was mentioned above (n. 8), the founder of the hir madhhab rejectedthe use of qiys. It is for this reason that he is often paradoxically referred to asDwd al-Qiys.

69 Al-afad, Wf iii, 323, n. 1381.70 See on him Ibn Bashkuwl, ila681, n. 1010.

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from a religious endowment (min al-a bs). Ibn adda continued tooccupy this position until his death on 13 Muarram 480/20 April1087. He was buried in Sevilles Rawat al-Wazr Ibn Zaydn thefollowing day.

Considering the fact that al-Mu'taid had earlier ordered the burn-ing of the works of Ibn azm, it is perhaps surprising that he appar-ently had no qualms about appointing a hir to a responsible postin a mosque directly associated with him. This tends to support Asn

Palacios assumption that the motives for burning Ibn azms workswere political. The impression that the 'Abbdid king and his son

and successor, al-Mu'tamid, had no issue with hirism as such, butsolely with the man who happened to be its most vocal exponent,

seems to be confirmed not only by the fact that Ibn azms sonAb Rfi' al-Fal, who was a literalist himself, was associated withthe royal family, but especially by the fact that one of the sons of

al-Mu'tamid himself, viz. al-R, was a hir.

Al-R ibn al-Mu'tamid71

Ab Khlid Yazd al-R was one of the sons of the last 'Abbdidruler of Seville, al-Mu'tamid. Although he had a keen interest inreligious learning, his father had other plans for him and first appointed

him governor over the district of Algeciras, and after the Almoravids

conquered the district, over Ronda. These two areas had briefly con-

stituted independent "ifa states, but had been annexed to the largerand more powerful kingdom of Seville between the years 446/105455

and 458/106566.72 Ibn al-Abbr mentions that al-R read theworks of Q Ab Bakr ibn al-ayyib, i.e., the Ash'ar theologianand Mlikjurist al-Bqilln, and was attached to the madhhab ofIbn azm al-hir. This is an interesting combination, for in hisKitb al-Fial Ibn azm singles al-Bqilln out for severe criticismas the personification of all that is reprehensible in Ash'ar kalm.73

71 Ibn al-Abbr, ullaii, 7175, n. 122; Dozy, Scriptorum arabum locii, 419422;ii, 7580. Ibn Bassm,Dhakhraii,1, 422424, 428; Ibn Sa'd, Kitb Ryt al-mubarrizn10, 131.

72 See Viguera, Los reinos de taifas117f., 119f.; Wasserstein, Rise and Fall83, 93.73 See Ibn azm, Kitb al-Fial iv, 204226passim. A later Andalusi scholar, al-

Labl (d. 691/1292), was to polemicize against Ibn azms strictures against Ash'arism

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We do not know who al-Rs preceptors in hirism were, but itis not unlikely that Ibn azms son, the courtier Ab Rfi', wasinvolved. In addition, Ibn azms student Ab Muammad ibnal-'Arab who, as we have seen, was also associated with the 'Abbdidcourt, may have provided the prince with copies of his masters

works. In any case, Seville had been a centre ofhir studies eversince a number of representatives of the school, who had arrived

from the Mashriq as merchants, had established themselves there in

the first decades of the 5th/11th century.74

While some of al-Rs poetry has survived through quotations

in Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Bassm, and Ibn al-Abbrs dictionary of poetry-writing princes and dignitaries (where the princes skills are praised),

he did not live long enough to make his mark in religious scholar-

ship: he was killed in 484/1091, at the time of the Almoravid con-

quest of Ronda, the city that had been placed under his reluctant

authority by his father, al-Mu'tamid.75

Al-umayd76

By the time the Almoravids conquered al-Andalus, another follower

of Ibn azm, al-umayd, had long been gone.The family of Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn Ab Nar Fut

ibn 'Abdallh al-Azdal-umaydwas from Raba al-Rufa, a sub-urb of Cordoba, but at some point they transferred to the isle of

Majorca, where our biographee was born before the year 420/1029.

It is said that he started attending the lectures of scholars as a child,

in the year 425/1033, sitting on the shoulders of older students. The

first master whose classes he thus followed was Ab l-Qsim Abaghibn Rshid ibn Abagh al-Lakhm (d. ca. 440/104849), afaqhandmuaddithwho had studied with the famous Mlik scholar Ibn Ab

in general and al-Bqilln in particular; see Fihrist al-Labl. I propose to discuss thistract elsewhere.

74 See Adang, Beginnings.75 Lagardre, Les Almoravides131f.76 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila818f., n. 1238; al-abb,Bughya161, n. 258; Ibn Khallikn,

Wafayt iv, 28284, n. 616; al-afad, Wf iv, 317318, n. 1863; al-Dhahab,Siyarxix, 12027, n. 63; id., Tadhkira iv, 121822, n. 1041; Ibn al-Athr, Kmilx, 254; al-Maqqar,Naf ii, 11215, n. 63; Ibn al-'Imd, Shadhart iii, 392; Pons,Ensayo 16467, n. 126; Asn Palacios, Abenhzam 29193; Huici Miranda, al-umayd; Rossell Bordoy, al-umayd, which has some inaccurate dates.

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Zayd al-Qayrawn, and who later on taught al-umayd some ofthe latters works when they met again in the ijz.77 At a moremature age, al-umayd transmitted from Ab Marwn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Sulaymn al-Khawln,78 Ab 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Barr,79

Ibn azms student Ab l-'Abbs al-'Udhr,80 and especially Ibnazm himself. He spent so much time with the latter that he becameknown for his friendship with the famous man. In 448/1056 he

undertook a journey to the East. According to Q 'Iy his depar-ture from Majorca had to do with Ibn azms fall from grace afterhis apparent defeat in the dispute with al-Bj, referred to above. In

fact, al-umayd seems to have joined his master in Almeria in theyear 441/1049, and may even have accompanied him to Seville and

afterwards to Niebla before finally leaving for the East. In the course

of his ri la, which took him to Ifrqiyy, Egypt, Syria and Iraq, al-umayd took the opportunity to perform the ajj. The biographi-cal dictionaries supply the names of the men (and one woman) with

whom he studied in Mecca, as well as those of the scholars whose

lectures he attended in Egypt and Syria. The most famous among

his teachers in Damascus was Ab Bakr ibn Thbit al-Khab, thehistorian of Baghdad,81 the city in which he ultimately settled down.82

He ended up living next door to another hir from Majorca: Ab'mir(to be discussed below), who arrived in 484/1091 and becamehis student.

We possess long lists of al-umayds teachers and informants inBaghdad. He had a special kind of relationship, one of equals, with

Ab Nar ibn Mkl,83 who belonged to a family that produced anumber of viziers and was himself the author of a quasi-biographi-

cal dictionary.84 Al-umaydmuch admired Ibn Mkls dictionary,

77 Al-umayd,Jadhwa269, n. 325.78 adthscholar, died around 440/10489; see al-umayd,Jadhwa450, n. 630;

Ibn Bashkuwl, ila527, n. 777; al-abb,Bughya493, n. 1069.79 See n. 35. He also taught Ibn azms sons Ab Usma and Ab Rfi'.80 See n. 36. Ibn azms son Ab Usma and Ibn Yarb' were also among

his students.81 See on him Sellheim, al-ab al-Badd; al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 27097,

n. 137.82 On the intellectual milieu of Baghdad at the time, see Makdisi, Ibn 'Aql, and

Ephrat,A Learned Society.83 Al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 56978, n. 298; Vadet, Ibn Mkl. Ibn Mkl him-

self is often called al-wazror al-amr, although he apparently never held a politicalposition.

84 See for this term al-Q, Biographical Dictionaries. The work, entitled Kitb

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and contributed material to it, while the latter studied and trans-

mitted the works of the Andalusi, whom he calls our friend al-

umayd (as we shall see, Ibn Mkl had warm relations alsowith a number of other Majorcans, among them the lapsed hiral-'Abdar and the fervent literalist Ab 'mir).

Among those who transmitted from al-umayd in Baghdad, wefind the Andalusis Ab 'Al al-usayn ibn Muammad al-adaf,85

who received his ijza, and Ab l-asan 'Abbd ibn Sarn.86

Although Ibn Bassm states that Ab Bakr ibn al-'Arab was amonghis students, this is clearly an error, for al-umayd had already

died by the time Ibn al-'Arab arrived in Iraq.87Al-umayddied in Baghdad in Dh l-ijja 488/December 1095.

Prayer was said over him by the Shfi' scholar al-Shsh, whom weshall encounter below as the one who inducted another Majorcan

literalist into the Shfi' madhhab.88 The fact that someone of suchimportance performed the funeral prayer shows that al-umaydwasa highly respected member of the scholarly community of Baghdad.

This may be due not only to the fact that he had followed an irre-

proachable lifestyle characterized by extreme modesty and devotion

to learning, but also to the fact that he had been very low-key about

his hirism, apparently out of fear of being marginalized.89 In thishe differed from his neighbor and student Ab 'mir who, as willbe seen, was much more vocal and controversial.90

Ikml fraf'al-irtiyb 'an al-mukhtalif wa-l-mu"talif min asm" al-rijl(or a variant of thistitle), deals with the correct vocalization of the names ofadth transmitters and isavailable in several editions.

85 See on this man, who died in 514/1120 and was also known as Ibn Sukarra,al-Dhahab, Siyarxix, 37678, n. 218; id., Tadhkiraiv, 125355, n. 1059; Fierro,al-adaf. Ibn al-AbbrsMu'jam is a biographical dictionary of al-adafs students.Relations between him and al-umayd seem to have soured at some point forreasons that remain unclear. He taught Ab Bakr al-Mayurq, Ibn hirandal-aw, and corresponded with Ibn Yarb'.

86 Would-be adthscholar, d. ca. 543/1148; see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila658f., n. 980.87 Ibn Bassm,Dhakhra i.1, 172; Drory, Ibn el-Arabi, 124, n. 66.88 Makdisi, Ibn 'Aql208210. Al-Dhahab, Siyarxix, 393f., n. 234. He wrote a

well-known work of ikhtilf al-fuqah" in which he includes the views of the hirschool, which was obviously still considered to be of importance despite its decline.

89 Goldziher, hirs158f.90 Their characters and temperaments were so totally different that one wonders

how they got on. It is to be regretted that al-umayds tract if al-jr; whichwas apparently an adab work about neighborly relations, has not survived; it mighthave allowed us a glimpse into the lives of these two Majorcan hirs in Baghdad.

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Al-umayd had requested to be interred near the famous Bishral-f (d. 227/841),91 at the cemetery of Bb arb, but his friendand protector, the vizier al-Muaffar ibn Ra"s al-Ru"as",92 who wasto see to this, had him buried in another cemetery instead, near the

grave of Ab Isq al-Shrz, who had been one of al-umaydsteachers.93 When al-umayd appeared in his dreams, scolding him,al-Muaffar made good on his promise and had him reburied. Thisevent took place some three years after his death, in 491/1097, but

it is said that when his grave was opened, his shroud was as new,

and the body fresh, exuding an odor of perfume. Al-umayds

choice of Bishr al-f as his neighbour in death may reflect certainSufi tendencies, although it is not by itself conclusive: burial plots

near the tomb of Bishr were very much in demand among Sufis

and non-mystics alike: the mourners at the funeral of al-Khab al-Baghdd found the spot intended for the recently deceased occu-pied by a Sufi, who had reserved it for himself. Only the intervention

of another mystic could persuade him to vacate the plot.94 But

although it is not clear whether Bishr was considered a mystic in

his own lifetime, rather than a mere zhid, he had come to beregarded in retrospect as a fully-fledged Sufi over the centuries fol-

lowing his death.95 In al-umayds days, he was already widelyregarded as a mystic, and the Andalusi scholar was no doubt aware

of this when he gave instructions that he was to be buried next to

him. Moreover, the fact that he wrote a book on the mystics of Iraq,

entitled Kitb taiyyat al-mushtq fdhikrfiyyat al-'Irq, seems to confirmthat al-umayd had mystical tendencies which went beyond zuhd,and it is more than likely that the stories about the miraculous preser-

vation of his body emanate from Sufi circles. His master Ibn azmwould almost certainly have disapproved of the path chosen by al-

umayd; it should be recalled that Ibn azm had attempted todevelop the hiriyya into a theological system, as well as a juridi-cal one, and that he rejected all speculation about the deity.96

91 See on him Meier, Bir al-f.92 See on him Ibn Kathr,Bidyaxii, 124, 156; Ibn al-Athr, Kmilviii, 430, 432;

ix, 17. His home was a meeting-place of scholars.93 See n. 13.94 The anecdote is given in Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt i, 93; al-Dhahab, Siyarxiii,

286f. Ibn al-'Imds Shadhart al-dhahab contains numerous references to scholars,many of them anbalfuqah", who were buried near the tomb of Bishr.

95 See Melchert, The transition; Gobillot, Zuhd 560.96 Goldziher, hirs 109156; Asn, Abenhzam, Chapter XII. On Ibn azms

criticism of Sufis, see Fierro, Opposition to Sufism 184f.

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Al-umayd had been a very productive scholar. Apart from theabove-mentioned tract, the sources list a number of works in the

fields of history, Prophetic Tradition, adab and morals with titles such

asJumal ta"rkh al-Islm; Jadhwat al-Muqtabis fta"rkh'ulam" al-Andalus;Kitb al-Tarassul; al-Jam'bayna l-a ayn; Kitb al-Amnal-diqa; Kitb

Adab al-adiq"; ifal-jr; al-Dhahab al-masbk fwa'al-mulk; Dhammal-namma, and others. None of these titles reveals anything aboutthe authors hir leanings. Al-umayds fame among modernscholars rests mainly on one work:Jadhwat al-Muqtabis, a biograph-

ical dictionary of the scholars of al-Andalus.97 He states that he wrote

it in Baghdad from memory, at the request of local scholars. Hisindebtedness to Ibn azm for biographical information and anec-dotes about the scholars of al-Andalus is apparent throughout the

work.98 In addition to the tracts mentioned above, al-umayd alsowrote poetry, in which he expressed his outlook on life. Zuhd is

praised as the greatest virtue; human company is to be shunned

unless one can actually learn something from ones interlocutor, and

the Quran, Tradition, and ijm'are all one needs. This latter state-ment reflects a hir point of view, at least if ijm' is interpretedas the consensus not of the entire Muslim community, nor even of

its religious scholars, but of the Companions of the Prophet.

Ab l-asan al-'Abdar99

Like Ab l-asan ibn Murajj and al-umayd, Ab l-asan 'Alibn Sa'd ibn 'Abd al-Ramn ibn Muriz ibn Ab 'Uthmn al-'Abdar was born in Majorca, where he came in contact with Ibnazm. This contact turned out to be mutually beneficial: the twomen exchanged knowledge, and al-'Abdar apparently adoptedhirism. At some point, however, he embarked on his ri lato theEast, which included the ajjto Mecca. Once in Baghdad, he decidedto abandon the madhhab of Ibn azm, and began to studyfiqhunder

97 This may be about to change: in recent years, several other works by al-umayd have been published that have not yet been fully analyzed and exploitedby scholars, viz. (1) Al-Tadhkira li-Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn AbNar al-umaydwa-Martib al-jaz" yawm al-qiyma: (2) Al-dhahab al-masbk fwa' al-mulk; and (3)

Al-Jam'bayna al-a ayn.98 See Ters, Enseanzas de Ibn azm.99 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila614, n. 913; al-Subk, abaqt al-Shfi'iyyav, 257f., n. 502.

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the Shfi' scholar Ab Isq al-Shrz,100 and thereafter with AbBakr al-Shsh, who had done the honors at the funeral of al-umayd. He wrote a commentary on the Shfi' madhhab, andstudied adthwith a number of important scholars, among them theqAb l-asan al-Mward, author of al-Akm al-sulniyya andother influential works. In addition, al-'Abdar was in contact withthe biographer Ibn Mkl, referred to earlier, who describes himas our friend thefaqhAb l-asan al-'Abdar and praises him asan excellent man of learning and adab. Moreover, he studied with

al-Khab al-Baghdd. This information was communicated to Ibn

Bashkuwl by the later qAb Bakr ibn al-'Arab, who spent muchtime in al-'Abdars company and studied with him.101 Ibn al-'Arabsdisapproval ofhirism, a madhhab with which he must already havebeen very familiar through his fathers education and perhaps through

discussions with scholars during his ri la,102 may have received an

added impulse under the influence of the lapsed literalist al-'Abdar.Ibn al-'Arab parted with him in 491/1097, and he died two yearslater, on Saturday 16 Jumd II, 493/28 April 1100.

Ibn Burrl103

Ab Bakr 'Abd al-Bq ibn Muammad ibn Sa'd ibn Abagh ibnBurrl (variant spellings are Biryl, Burriyl, and even Qurriyl) al-Anr of Guadalajara (Wd l-ajra) was born in 416/1025. Hewas known as afaqhand a specialist in adth. Ibn Bashkuwl, whoreceived information on Ibn Burrl from several of his teachers, men-tions his nobility and intelligence, as well as his skills as a fianda poet. Among the people he studied with, the sources mention Ibn

azm and Ab Muammad al-Qsim ibn al-Fat. It is worth dis-cussing this second teacher in some detail, since he may himself have

had hir leanings.104 His full name is al-Qsim ibn al-Fat ibn

100 See n. 13. He was a friend ofal-umayd.101 See Drory, Ibn el-Arabi75.102 We know of one hir whom he encountered on his journey, viz. Makk al-

Rumayl; see Drory, Ibn el-Arabi77.103 See Ibn Bashkuwl, ila561f., n. 831; al-abb,Bughya519, n. 1128; ilaf,

Akhbr53f.; Yqt,Mu'jam al-buldnv, 343 s.v. Wd l-ajra.104 This was first recognized by Goldziher: in the margin of his copy of Ibn

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Muammad ibn Ysuf, also known as Ibn al-Ruyl.105 While thisname indicates that his father or an earlier ancestor hailed from

Orihuela, he himself was from Guadalajara, where he died in 451/

1059, aged sixty-three. He is described as being learned in adthand qir"t, as well as all other branches of scholarship. He wrotemuch, including poetry, and kept aloof from the world. Although

Ibn Bashkuwl does not explicitly identify him as a hir, thedescription given of the mans attitude to the sources of the law gives

the impression that he was, indeed, a literalist: he did not approve

oftaqldbut freely expressed his own opinions (kna mukhtran);106 he

did not adopt anyones views but acted in accordance with the Quranand the Sunna, following the sound thr, and would not use anyof the hermeneutical methods used by the other schools.107

Other tutors of Ibn Burrl include Ab l-akam Mundhir ibnMundhir ibn 'Al al-ajr,108 also from Guadalajara, Ab l-WaldHishm ibn A mad al-Kinn,109 and the muqri" Ab 'Umar Amadibn Muammad al-alamank, who had also taught Ibn azm.110

Finally, mention must be made of Ibn azms student 'id ibnA mad,111 author of the well-known abaqt al-umam, a work IbnBurrl studied with him. Interestingly, 'id had also studied withIbn al-Ruyl.

Ibn Burrls own students included 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Im, AbBakr Ghlib ibn 'Aiyya,112 Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn 'Abd al-Ramn al-Fahm,113 Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn usayn al-Bakr

Bashkuwls ilawhich is kept in the Jewish National and University Library inJerusalem, he identifies him as a literalist.

105 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila688690, n. 1024; al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 11516, n. 56.106 I take this to mean that he felt free to give his own opinion, rooted in scrip-

ture, rather than repeating the views of an earlier authority ( taqld). Ikhtiyr in thissense should not be confused with ra"y (personal opinion), which often has no basisin scripture.

107 This is what I understand l yar l-akhdh 'al shay" min al-'ilm to mean.108 'lim, d. 423/1032; see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila900f., n. 1384.109 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila 938f., n. 1449; al-abb, Bughya, 653, n. 1430; al-

Dhahab, Siyarxix, 13446, n. 71.110 See on this man, who died in 429/1037, Fierro, El proceso contra Ab 'Umar.

Ibn Burrl is mentioned on p. 106, though without being identified as a hir.111 See n. 31.112 Faqhand adthscholar with ascetical tendencies (d. 518/1124); see al-abb,

Bughya577f., n. 1281.113 Linguist and specialist in kalm and ul al-fiqh, died in 530/1135 or 544/1149.

See al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 338f., n. 897; Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilav, 406, n. 206.

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al-ajr,114 Ab Marwn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Bnuh,115 and the hirsAb Bakr al-Mayurq, Ibn Marzq, and al-aw, to be dis-cussed below. The last two studied with him in Almeria, where he

had moved towards the end of his life. It was there also that he

taught the famous mystic, Ab l-'Abbs ibn al-'Arf (d. 536/1141).116

The latter was probably not interested in Ibn Burrls lessons onhirism, since he was vigorously opposed to the literalists in gen-eral, and to Ibn Burrls teacher Ibn azm in particular. He crit-icized hirism in his Mift al-Sa'da,117 and moreover coined theexpression The tongue of Ibn azm and the sword of al-ajjj are

twins (kna lisn Ibn azm wa-sayf al-ajjj shaqqayn).118 What, then,did Ibn al-'Arf hope to find in his encounters with Ibn Burrl?From a comment made by the biographer Ibn Masd it may beinferred that Ibn Burrl transmitted knowledge of a mysticalnatureto him, and that it was he who presented Ibn al-'Arf with his khirqa.In al-Andalus, this expression did not mean literally presenting the

aspiring mystic with the Sufis frock, but indicated the relationship

between master and disciple.119 After learning about al-umaydsmystical leanings, Ibn Burrls combination of literalism and Sufismneed no longer surprise us. Ibn Burrl died in Valencia at the begin-ning of Raman 502/April 1109.

Ibn Kawthar120

Apart from being a hirfaqh, Ab 'Amr Bakr ibn Khalaf ibnSa'd ibn 'Abd al-'Azz ibn Kawthar al-Ghfiqof Seville was a poetand an adb. The date of his birth is not known, but it must haveoccurred before 456/1064, since he received an ijzafrom Ibn azm

114 adthscholar, who died in or after 519/1125; cf. Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila(C),i, 422, n. 1199; al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 430, n. 1148.

115 Originally from Granada, he moved to Malaga, where he became q. Hedied in 549/1154. See Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ila iii, 237f., n. 402; Ibn al-Abbr,

Mu'jam 250f., n. 230; al-abb,Bughya ii, 489, n. 1063.116 See on him Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt i, 168170; Faure, Ibn al-'Arf.117 Ibn al-'Arf,Mift al-Sa'da124, 160, and Dandashs introduction, pp. 51, 54.118 Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt i, 169; Ibn al-'Imd, Shadhart iii, 300; Asn Palacios,

Abenhzam 192.119 Dandashs introduction toMift al-Sa'da46; Fierro, La religin 487, 497.120 Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (BC) 257, n. 577.

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to transmit his Kitb al-Muall.121 It should be pointed out, how-ever, that Ibn azm gave permission to transmit his works also toShuray al-Ru'ayn122 when the latter was a mere child. Ibn Kawthar,too, may have been very young, therefore, when he received his

ijza. We do not know who his teachers were, but we have alreadyseen that there were hirs in and around Seville with whom hecould have studied, such as Ibn azms son Ab Rfi' and Farajibn adda.

As a hir, Ibn Kawthar did not approve oftaqld, and he usedhis poetical skills to write a qada in which he propagated a liter-

alist reading of prophetic adthand criticized the following of per-sonal opinion and local custom. His son 'Abdallh ibn Bakr, whowas also a hir,123 transmitted this poem, and Ibn al-Abbr, ourmain informant, heard it from one of 'Abdallhs companions. Itwas still being recited in Seville, and especially in the mosque where

Ibn Kawthar worshipped, in the year 505/111112. Although Ibn

al-Abbr does not say so, the impression one gets is that the authorof the poem was already dead by then.

Ibn Marzq al-Ya ub124

Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn Marzq al-Yaub was born inZaragoza in the year 456/1064, the same year in which Ibn azmdied. Ibn Marzq was later to point out this coincidence. Beforeembarking on his ri la, he studied in al-Andalus with Ibn azmsstudent Ibn Burrl. We owe this information to the famous Shfi'adth scholar Ab hir al-Silaf of Alexandria (d. 576/1180),125

who had taught a large number of students from al-Andalus. Al-

Silaf had much contact with Ibn Marzq in Cairo, and later onalso in Alexandria. Since it appears that al-Silaf spent the periodbetween 515/1121 and 517/1123 in Cairo, and was back in Alexandria

by 518/1124, we can pin down Ibn Marzqs period of study with

the master fairly accurately. What impressed al-Silaf about Ibn

121 See al-Kattn, awla kitbayn 312.122 See n. 44 above.123 See on him Ibn al-Abbr, Takmilaii, 488, n. 1399; al-Marrkush,Dhayl iv,

18587, n. 344; Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ila iii, 113, n. 188, and my hirs 425f.124 Al-Silaf,Akhbr5153, n. 28; Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (C) 818, n. 1996.125 See Gilliot, Al-Silaf.

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Marzq, apart from his piety and his devotion to religious matters,were his unabated efforts in acquiring the books and ras"ilof Ibnazm. He explicitly mentions the fact that Ibn Marzq was an indi-rect disciplevia Ibn Burrlof Ibn azm. This obviously gavehim confidence in the reliability of Ibn Marzqs transcripts of Ibnazms works, for he himself copied a large number of them, thuspossibly contributing to the spread of Ibn azms oeuvre in Egyptand, through the mediation of his countless students from the Mashriq,

perhaps further east as well. From Ibn Marzq al-Silafalso received'id al-Andaluss abaqt al-umam, which Ibn Marzq himself had

studied under Ibn Burrl. At some point Ibn Marzq moved onto Damascus, and as far as al-Silaf knew, he died there, althoughhe did not know when.

Mufarrij ibn Sa'da126

Ab l-asan Mufarrij ibn Sa'da, also known as theghulm (or mawl)of Ibn 'Abdallh al-Birzl127 was a hir who acted as ib al-alhin the Sab" mosque of Seville. He is described as a muaddithwith a good memory, accurate, and with a good hand in writing.

He transmitted from Ab 'Umar Maymn ibn Ysn al-Lamtn,128

Ab l-Qsim al-Hawzan, Ab Mahd Nu'mn ibn 'Abdallh al-Nafz,129 Ab Muammad Jbir ibn Muammad al-aram,130 andAb l-Qsim A mad ibn Muammad ibn Manr, who acted asqin Seville.131 Moreover, he obtained an ijzafrom Ab Muammad

126 We owe most of our information on Ibn Sa'da to Ibn al-Abbr (Takmila i,398, n. 1146), who had it from the hir Ab l-'Abbs al-Nabt, also known asIbn al-Rmiyya (see Adang, hirs 453459). See also Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilaiii, 63, n. 69.

127 The reference is possibly to one of the "ifarulers of Carmona; see Idris, LesBirzalides; Viguera, Los Reinos de Taifas127129.

128 Scholar from Almeria who seems to have been related to the Almoravid lead-ership; see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (C) ii, 718f, n. 1823. He died in Dh l-Qa'da530/August-September 1135.

129 adthscholar from Seville, also known as Ibn Rad/Zayn; see Ibn al-Abbr,Takmila (C), ii, 752f., n. 1865.

130 adth scholar. See on him Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (C) i, 246, n. 649; al-afad, Wfxi, 33, n. 61.

131 Died in 520/1126. See on him al-Dhahab , Siyar xix, 518, n. 301; IbnBashkuwl, ila132f., n. 171; Avila, Los Ban Manr 29. The hir Ibn Baq(see n. 61), prayed over him at his funeral.

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'Abd al-Ramn ibn 'Attb.132 As far as we know, this list does notinclude any hirs. However, living in Seville Mufarrij ibn Sa'dawould have had ample opportunity to attend the lectures of hirteachers: we have seen that Ibn Kawthar, Ab Rfi' and Farajibn adda were active in that city.

Among the men who transmitted from Mufarrij ibn Sa'da, men-tion is made of Ab Bakr ibn 'Ubayd, Ibn Jumhr,133 and IbnAb Marwn,134 who studied with him in 534/113940, makingthis year a terminus post quem for Mufarrij ibn Sa'das death. Ibn AbMarwn, now, was a hir, and as was seen earlier, the same may

be true of Ibn Jumhr. The latters literalist sympathies seem to havebeen shared by another student of Mufarrij ibn Sa'da: Ab Bakral-Nayyr, who was a close colleague of the younger hir 'Alibn 'Abdallh ibn Ysuf ibn Khab and a teacher of Sa'd al-Su'd ibn 'Ufayr, another literalist. Since these men were activemainly in the Almohad period, they will not be discussed here. 135

AbBakr al-Mayurq136

Ab Bakr (also known as Ab 'Abdallh) Muammad ibn usayn

ibn A mad ibn Ya y ibn Bishr al-Anr al-Azd al-Mayurq al-Aamm is described as afaqhof the hir madhhab, knowledgeableabout adth and the names of its transmitters, precise in what hetransmitted, ascetic and pious. He was born in Majorca at an unknown

date, but at some point left the Balearics and moved to Granada.

He studied with al-umayds onetime student Ab 'Alal-adaf,137

132 Muaddith from Cordoba, d. 520/1126. See on him al-Dhahab, Siyar xix,514515, n. 297. The source expressly mentions that Mufarrij had actually metIbn 'Attb. This shows that it had become common practice to request and receiveijzas from masters one had not in fact studied with; cf. Vajda, Iza. Ibn 'Attbtaught the hir Ibn al-Shabq (see below).

133 See n. 59.134 See n. 61.135 See on them Adang, hirs 426428, 449f.136 Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila173f., n. 609; id., Mu'jam 139f., n. 123; al-Marrkush,

Dhaylvi, 169f., n. 452; Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ilav, 392f., n. 172; al-Maqqar,Naf ii, 155, n. 106; al-Silaf,Akhbr120f., n. 78; Asn Palacios, Abenhzam 302;Urvoy, Vie intellectuelle 107109, 118.

137 See n. 85. He taught Ibn hirand al-aw, and corresponded with IbnYarb' (see below).

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and received his ijza. Other teachers included Ab 'Alal-Ghassn138

and Ab Marwn al-Bj.139 Most interesting for our purpose, how-ever, is the fact that one of his teachers was Ibn Burrl, the hirmystic and student ofIbn azm.

In the year 517, in the months of Shawwl and Dh l-Qa'da(November 1123January 1124), we find al-Mayurq in Mecca. Eitheron his way to the ijz or on the way back, he studied with thefamous master al-Silaf, who had probably already made the acquain-tance of Ibn Marzq, and with a number of other teachers inAlexandria, such as the expatriate Andalusi, Ab Bakr al-ursh.140

After a longri la, Ab Bakr al-Mayurq came back to al-Andalus,where he wandered around, teaching and transmitting adths, andnever settling down properly. The sources mention the following stu-

dents: AbJa'far ibn 'Abdallh ibn al-Ghsil;141 AbJa'far A madibn 'Umar ibn Ma'qil;142 Ab l-asan 'Al ibn al-ak;143 Ab'Abdallh ibn A mad ibn al-aqr; Ab 'Abdallh ibn 'Abd al-Ramnal-Aslam; Ab 'Abdallh ibn 'Abd al-Ramn al-Numayr; Ab'Abdallh ibn 'Abd al-Ram ibn al-Faras and his son 'Abd al-Mun'im;144 Ab l-'Abbs ibn 'Abdallh ibn Ab Sib'; Ibn 'Abd al-Ramn ibn al-aqr; Ab Muammad hir ibn Amad ibn 'Aiyya;145

Ab Muammad 'Abd al-Mun'im ibn al-ak;146 Ab Bakr ibn

138 Ab 'Al usayn ibn Muammad al-Ghassn, muaddith from Cordoba,d. 498/1105; see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila23335, n. 333; Ibn al-Abbr,Mu'jam 7780,n. 67; al-abb,Bughya327, n. 645. He also taught Ibn Yarb', Ibn hirandal-aw (see below).

139 Q of Seville, d. in Rajab 532/March-April 1138; see Ibn Bashkuwl, ilaii, 533f., n. 782.

140 For a detailed account of the life and works of this important scholar, whodied in 520/1126, see the introductory study in Fierros translation of his Kitb al-awadith wa-l-bida'. Ab Bakr al-Mayurq is mentioned on pp. 101f. of this study asa student of al-ursh.

141 Muqri" from Granada, d. after 570/1174; see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (H) ii,44, n. 121.

142 Imm and khab at the mosque of Ubeda, d. after 514/1120; see Ibn al-Abbr,Takmila (H) ii, 52, n. 154.

143 Scholar from Granada, d. 552/1157; see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (H) iii, 195,n. 493.

144 The son, Ab Muammad, was an influential scholar from Granada. He alsotaught the hirs Ibn aw Allh, Ibn al-Rmiyya, and Ibn al-'Arab. Hehad studied with Shuray and with the hir Ibn Baq; see Adang, hirs 437,n. 98 for references.

145 See on this q, who died after 537/1142: Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila(H) i, 272,n. 941.

146 Q from Granada; see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (H) iii, 128, n. 312.

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Rizq,147 and Ab Muammad 'Abd al-aqq ibn al-Kharr. Thelatter had studied a number of works by Ibn azm which weretransmitted to him by Shuray. He also studied with the hirIbn Ab Marwn, and taught at least one other literalist, viz. Ibnaw Allh.148

Towards the end of his life, Ab Bakr al-Mayurq was summonedto the court of the Almoravid ruler 'Al ibn Ysuf ibn Tshfn inMarrakesh for questioning, together with the mystics Ab l-'Abbsibn al-'Arf and Ab l-akam ibn Barrajn.149 This fact suggests thatal-Mayurq himself was no mere ascetic, but had mystical tenden-

cies.150 Since we have already encountered two other hirs whoapparently combined a literalist approach to the law with a more

speculative attitude to theological questions, viz. al-umayd andIbn Burrl, this is not at all unlikely, especially since the latter wasal-Mayurqs own teacher. Ab Bakr was questioned and flogged atthe orders of the ruler, but unlike Ibn al-'Arf and Ibn Barrajn,who died in 536/1141 under suspicious circumstances, al-Mayurqmanaged to leave Marrakesh. According to Ibn al-Abbr, he escapedand went to Bougie, hriban min ib al-Maghrib, whereas al-Marrkushand Ibn al-Zubayr state that he was released from prison, and went

back briefly to al-Andalus. Although he initially intended to travel to

the East once again, he ended up staying in Bougie, where he con-tinued to transmit traditions. It was in this city that he was to die

in or after the year 537/1142, apparently not of natural causes: Ibn

al-Abbr states that al-Mayurqwas called to martyrdom (ustushhida).151

147 This scholar also taught the later hir Ibn al-Imm; see Adang, hirs 423.148 On Ibn al-Kharr, see Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ila115117, n. 9, and Adang,

hirs 419, 461f. On Ibn Ab Marwn and Shuray, see Adang, hirs 418422;on Ibn aw Allh, already referred to in n. 144, see Adang, hirs 433443.

149 Fierro, La religin 486489; and id., Opposition to Sufism 184188. See onIbn Barrajn Faure, Ibn Barran.

150 See Fierros (transl.) introductory study to al-ursh, Kitb al-awadith wa-l-bida'102. However, in later publications, Fierro states that al-Mayurq cannot belinked with Sufism; see La religin 497 n. 51, and Opposition to Sufism 184,n. 40. According to Urvoy (Vie intellectuelle 109), al-Mayurq was a precursor ofthe famous mystic Muy al-Dn ibn al-'Arab (not related to Ab Muammadand Ab Bakr), another man who combined an interest in hirism and adthwithspeculative mysticism. On Ibn al-'Arabs hirism, or affinity with it, see Adang,hirs 461464.

151 Ibn al-Abbr mentions that this occurred more than eighty years before hehimself was born. However, since Ibn al-Abbr (d. 658/1260) was born in595/119899, this is problematic. Al-Marrkush does not mention a violent death,but has tuwuffiya.

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Ibn al-Shabq152

Al-Mayurqwas not the only Andalusi hirsummoned to Marrakeshby the Almoravid ruler: this fate was shared by Ab 'AbdallhMuammad ibn Khalaf ibn A mad ibn 'Al ibn usayn al-Lakhm,also known as Ibn al-Shabq, who is described by al-Marrkushas a muaddithand afaqhof the hir madhhab.

He studied with Ab l-asan Shuray,153 Ab l-Abagh 's ibnAb l-Bar,154 Ab l-'Abbs ibn Mak l, AbJa'far ibn Muammadibn 'Abd al-'Azz, Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn 'Al al-Lakhm,

sibAb 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Barr,155 Ab Muammad ibn 'Attb,156Ab Ya y Muammad ibn 'Ubayd Allh ibn umdi,157 and Ab'Abdallh Muammad ibn Khalaf ibn A mad ibn Qsim al-Khawln.158 Although al-Marrkush gives him a separate entry inhis biographical dictionary, the latter may be the same person as

Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn Khalaf ibn Qsim al-Khawln ofSeville,159 a scholar who had studied with Ibn azm and IbnKhazraj who, as will be seen below, transmitted from a number of

oriental hirs. If this is correct, Ibn al-Shabqmay be regarded asan indirect student of Ibn azm, as well as of additional literalists.

His own students included Ab l-asan 'Al ibn Ms ibn al-

Niqrt;160

Ab l-asan ibn 'Abd al-Ram ibn Ya y al-Mamd,Ab 'Al usayn ibn 'Al ibn al-Qsim ibn 'Ashara al-Salw and hissons.

Al-Marrkush mentions that he has seen a Majm'f l-taawwufwhich Ibn al-Shabq is said to have written in prison in Marrakesh,

152 Al-al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 181f., n. 498.153 See n. 44.154 Scholar from Santarm, d. ca. 530/1135; see on him Ibn Bashkuwl, ila

638f., n. 954.155 The grandson of Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, who had taught Ibn azms sons al-Fal

and Ab Usma, as well as al-umayd; see n. 35. See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila(H) ii, 255, n. 739; al-Dhahab, Siyarxx, 92, n. 52. He acted as q in Aghmt,and died there in 532/1137.

156 See n. 132. Mufarrij ibn Sa'da had obtained his ijza.157 Specialist in 'arabiyya, descended from the party-kings of Almeria. Wandered

throughout the peninsula, but ended up in prison in Marrakesh. He died in 540/1145.See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila(H) ii, 22, n. 59; al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 335f., n. 883.

158 See al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 182, n. 499.159 See al-Marrkush,Dhaylvi, 188, n. 533.160 Muqri" from Jan, moved to Fez, where he became khab in the Qarawiyyn

mosque. Died after 593/1196. See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (H) iii, 219, n. 548.

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and to have finished on the last day of Raman 529/14 July 1135.The fact that he wrote a work on Sufism suggests that he, too, was

a mystic, and that the reason for his expulsion and detention was

not his hirism, but rather his mystical tendencies.The fact that so many mystics, hir and other, were summoned

to Marrakesh clearly shows that Sufism was perceived by the

Almoravids as a threat. At a time when the Almohads were increas-

ing their pressure on the power base of the Almoravids in North

Africa, the rulers could not tolerate anyone who offered a new type

of authority.161

Ibn hir162

The next man who adopted a literalist approach to the sources of

law (wa-yamlu ffiqhihi il l-hir; wa-yamlu fahmuhu [i.e., of adth]il l-hir) is Ab l-'Abbs A mad ibn hir ibn 'Al ibn 'Is ibn'Ubda al-Anr al-Khazraj,163 whose family hailed from ShrifatBalansiya, the area of Valencia where the notables lived. He himself

was born in nearby Denia on 17 Shawwl of the year 467/6 June1075, and he would spend most of his life there. In Denia he acted

as a member of the advisory council (shr) and as muft, apparentlyrefusing to accept the office of q. That the offices of judge andmushwarwere offered to him in the first place is perhaps somewhatsurprising, considering Ibn hirs hir sympathies. This eithermeans that despite their crackdown on certain mystics, the Almora-

vidswho are usually described as strict Mlikswere less obscurant-ist and intransigent than is often assumed,164 or that Ibn hir putaside his hirviews when issuing legal opinions and ruled accord-ing to Mlik law. If so, he was not the first literalist to do so: Mun-dhir ibn Sa'd, who acted as chiefqof Cordoba under the caliphs'Abd al-Ramn III al-Nir and al-akam II al-Mustanir, agreedto rule according to Mlik principles although he was a hir.165

161 Fierro, Opposition to Sufism 190, 206.162 Ibn Bashkuwl, ila130f., n. 168; Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila(BC) 5557, n. 127;

id., Mu'jam 1417, n. 12; Ibn Farn,Dbj45; Q 'Iy, Ghunya118, 43.163 Q 'Iy (Ghunya118) gives his name as A mad ibn hir ibn 'Al ibn

Shibrn ibn 'Al ibn 'Is al-Anr.164 See Fierro, La religin 437f., 459.165 See Adang, Beginnings, and n. 20 above.

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We know that Ibn hir was also active in Murcia and Almeria,though what position he held there is not known.

The names of several of Ibn hirs masters are known to us, aswell as the places where he studied with them. In his native Denia,

he followed the lectures of a muqri" called Ab Dwd, and in Murciahe sought out the famous teacher Ab 'Al al-adaf,166 in the year505/111112. For Almeria, we possess a relatively long list, which

features, among others, Ab 'Al al-Ghassn;167 Ab l-asan al-Shaf '; Ab 'Abdallh Muammad ibn al-Farr" al-Jayyn; AbMuammad (b.) al-'Assl, and Ab Muammad 'Abd al-Qdir ibn

Muammad ibn al-Khayy. In Orihuela he studied with Ab l-QsimKhalaf ibn Fatn and Ab l-Qsim Khalaf ibn Muammad al-Gharn.168

At some point, Ibn hir crossed the Straits to North Africa. Wefind him at the feet of Ab Marwn al-amdn in Qal'at ammd,and among the students of Ab Muammad al-muqri" in Bougie.Moreover, he studied with the jurisconsult Ab 'Abdallh al-Mzar,who is known among modern scholars especially for the fatw heissued concerning the status of the Muslims of Sicily after the Christian

(re)conquest.169 However, towards the end of his life he returned to

Denia, where in Jumd I, 531/JanuaryFebruary 1138 Ibn al-Abbrstudied with him. Other students included his own son, Ab 'AbdallhMuammad; Ab l-'Abbs (or Ab Muammad) al-Uqlsh;170 Ab'Abdallh al-Mikns; Ab l-'Abbs ibn AbQurra; Ab Muammad(or Ab 'Al) al-Rush;171 Ab l-Wald ibn al-Dabbgh,172 and thefamous q Ab l-Fal 'Iy, who attended his lectures in Ceuta.Ibn hir died on 7 Jumd I, 532/21 January 1138.

166 See n. 85. He had studied with al-umayd, taught Ab Bakr al-Mayurqand al-aw, and corresponded with Ibn Yarb'.

167 See n. 138. He also taught Ibn Yarb', Ab Bakr al-Mayurq and al-aw (see below).

168 See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila (H) i, 244, n. 837.169 On al-Mzar (d. 536/1141), see Pellat, al-Mzar. On his fatw, see Turki,

Consultation juridique.170 On this scholar from Denia, who had Sufi tendencies, see Ibn al-Abbr,

Takmila (H), i, 5658, n. 168. He died in Upper Egypt in 550 or 551/115556.171 See on him Ibn al-Abbr, Mu'jam 21722, n. 200; al-abb, Bughya452f.,

n. 946; al-Maqqar,Naf iv, 462; Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt iii, 106f., n. 352.172 adthscholar, khab and member of the shr in Murcia, later q in Denia,

d. 546/115152. See al-Dhahab, Siyarxx, 220f., n. 138. He also taught the hirIbn al-Imm; see n. 147.

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Ibn Yarb'173

Our following biographee, Ab Muammad 'Abdallh ibn A madibn Sa'd ibn Yarb' ibn Sulaymn, was born around the year444/1055 but it is unclear whether his family originated in Santarem,

or in Santamaria de Algarve, both in present-day Portugal. Whatever

the case may be, Ibn Yarb' chose not to remain in this area, if hehimself was born there at all; our sources place him in Seville and

Cordoba.

Among his masters, we encounter QAb 'Abdallh Muammad

ibn A mad ibn Manr; Ab l-Qsim tim ibn Muammad; AbMarwn ibn Sirj; Ab 'Al al-Ghassn;174 Ab Muammad'Abdallh ibn Khazraj (see below), and a number of others.

It was al-Ghassn, however, to whom he was especially attached.The admiration was mutual: al-Ghassnpraised Ibn Yarb's knowl-edge and acumen. Ibn Yarb' also wrote to another Ab 'Al: thefamous al-adaf,175 inquiring about the Sunan of al-Draqun andcorresponding with him about the Jmi' of al-Tirmidh, and hereceived an ijza from Ibn azms student Ab l-'Abbs A madal-'Udhr.176 Special mention must be made of Ab Muammadibn Khazraj (d. 478/1085),177 who had studied with several earlier

hirs who had arrived in al-Andalus from the East, viz. Ab'Abdallh Muammad ibn 'Abdallh ibn lib al-Bar (arrived in420/1029); Ab Slim Muammad ibn Sulaymn ibn Mamd al-Khawln (or perhaps al-arrn) (arr. 423/1031), and Ab SulaymnDwd ibn Ibrhm ibn Ysuf ibn Kathr al-Ifahn (d. after425/1034).178 Although Ibn Khazraj is usually listed as a Mlik, thisdoes not preclude his having transmitted works by hir authors.On the contrary, we know that he transmitted the, or some, writings

by the above-mentioned Ab Slim al-Khawln. Similarly, Shurayal-Ru'ayn, the bibliographer Ab Bakr ibn Khayr, and the faqh'Abd al-aqq al-Ishbl all transmitted works by Ibn azm despite

173 Ibn al-Abbr,Mu'jam, 206, n. 191; al-Dhahab, Siyarxix, 578, n. 331.174 See n. 138. He also taught Ab Bakr al-Mayurq, Ibn hirand al-aw.175 See n. 85. He had studied with al-umayd, and taught Ab Bakr al-

Mayurq, Ibn hirand al-aw.176 See n. 36. He also taught Ibn azms son Ab Usma and al-umayd.177 Al-Dhahab, Siyarxviii, 488f., n. 251. See Adang, Beginnings.178 See on them Adang, Beginnings.

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their association with the Mlik madhhab.179 Ibn Khazraj, then, maywell have been the source, or at least one of the sources, of Ibn

Yarb's information on hirism.Of all the works Ibn Yarb' must have studied, only one is explic-

itly mentioned: a al-Bukhr, which he read under the supervisionof Ibn Manr. Moreover, the titles of some of his own works revealacquaintance with Muslims a , as well as with MliksMuwaa"and a tract by al-Kalbdh. To these should be added the workshe studied through his correspondence with Ab 'Al al-adaf, aswell as the works which he was allowed by al-'Udhr to transmit,

and which may well have included certain works by Ibn azm.Ibn al-Abbr describes Ibn Yarb' as hiral-madhhab, though it

is unclear whence he obtained his literalist tendencies. Another ques-

tion is whether he himself transmitted hir teachings to his stu-dents, who included AbJa'far ibn Bdhish and the biographer IbnBashkuwl, who attended his majlisand obtained his ijza. The lat-ter, who taught a number of hirs himself, praises him in glow-ing terms as a specialist in adthand the various branches of thescience of tradition.180 Ibn Yarb's preoccupation with adthis alsoreflected in the titles of his books: al-Iqld fbayn al-asnd; Tj al-ilyawa-sirj al-bighya fma'rifat asnd al-Muwaa"; Kitb Lisn al-bayn 'amm

fKitb AbNar al-Kalbdhmin al-aghfl wa-l-nuqn; Kit b al-Minhjf rijl Muslim ibn ajjj. Unfortunately, none of these works seemsto have come down to us. Ibn Yarb' died on Saturday, 8 afar522/12 February 1128, and was buried at the Raba cemetery inCordoba. The name of the man who said the funeral prayer is given

as Q Muammad ibn Abagh. This is probably a reference toAb 'Abdallh Muammad ibn Abagh ibn Muammad, betterknown as Ibn al-Munif, who was chief judge (ql-jam'a) in Cor-doba and ib al-alhin the Great Mosque of that city. Once more,then, we have here an example of a hir who was paid the lastrespects by an eminent member of the Mlik religious establishment.

179 See Adang, hirs, 419, 420422, 461f. On Ibn Khayr, see Pellat, Ibn ayr.180 On Ibn Bashkuwl, who is the author ofKitb al-ila, one of our most impor-

tant sources, see Bencheneb, Ibn Bakuwl. His own hir students were Sa'dal-Su'd ibn 'Ufayr, Ibn aw Allh, and Ibn Baq. Ibn Di ya claimed tohave studied with him, and 'Al ibn Khab received his ijza. All these men belongto the Almohad period, and are discussed in my hirs.

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Ab Isq ibn al-Mlaq181

The family of the hirfaqhAb Isq Ibrhm ibn Muammadibn Ysuf al-Anr, known as Ibn al-Mlaq, apparently had its ori-gins in Malaga. However, Ab Isq, whose date of birth is unknown,chose Seville as his domicile, and acted as ib al-alhin that citysarb Ibn al-Akhar. A

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