ibn-al-najjār- a neglected arabic historian

Ibn-al-Najjār: A Neglected Arabic HistorianAuthor(s): Caesar E. FarahReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1964), pp. 220-230Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/596555 .

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220 FISCHEL: William Popper (1874-1963) and His Contribution to Islamic Scholarship

demonstrated in his teaching, his research, and in the performance of those manifold administrative assignments, and in his relationship to his students, associates, and colleagues.

At the funeral ceremony in Berkeley on June 6, 1963, the image of William Popper was portrayed by applying to him the words of a great Jewish

sage, Shammai, in the "Sayings of the Fathers," which reflects most aptly Popper's personality. "Shammai said:-Make thy Torah a fixed duty. Say little and do much; and receive every man with a cheerful expression of face." Popper was indeed a true son of his people, a worthy descen- dant of an Isaiah, a Hillel, and a Shammai!

IBN-AL-NAJJAR: A NEGLECTED ARABIC HISTORIAN

CAESAR E. FARAH

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

1. Prologue IN THE COURSE of the seventh century of the

Hijrah, an extensive biographical compilation of the leading notables of Baghdad, many of whom lived to witness its destruction by the Mongol hordes of Hllalgu, was executed by a scholar who earned the high esteem of contemporaries and successors alike. This monumental work, reportedly of three hundred parts compressed into thirty volumes, was but one of at least twenty-one major works on history and literature which he authored during a lifetime devoted to scholarship and teaching. He dwelt in obscurity while associates and disciples of lesser competence gained recognition, owing largely to the fact that their works survived as a testimony to their scholarly endeavors while his were mostly lost; at least so it seems for the present. When it is considered that such historians of renown as Ydq-dt al-Hamawi, ibn-Khallikan, ibn-al-Jawzi, and ibn-al-Athir were among his contemporaries, and when it is further understood that most of these have acknowledged their frequent dependence on him for information, it becomes all the more tempting to cast some light on him and on his works.

This author is known to us as Muhibbulldh abu- Abdulldh Muhammad al-Hasan MahmMd Hibatulldh ibn-Mahisin al-Baghdadi, called ibn- al-Najjar. From the brief biographical sketches'

we have of him, he appears to have been the leading Shdfii muhaddith of his age and, in the eyes of associates, the leading authority on biographical history as well. Indeed, existing first-hand accounts 2 of ibn-al-Najjdr refer to his erudition and

1 Brief biographical sketches of ibn-al-Najjar are to be found in Taj-al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqdt al-Shdftiyah al-ku bra (Cairo, n. d.), p. 41; Shams-al-Din abu-'Abdul- lah al-Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-Huff a, Vol. IV (Ujayda- rabad, 1334 A. H.), pp. 212-14; abu-al-Falah ibn-al-'Imad al-Hanbali, Shadhardt al-dhahab ft akhbar man dhahab, Vol. II (Cairo, 1951 A. H.), p. 226; Kamal-al-Din abu-al-

Fadl 'Abd-al-Razzaq ibn-al-Fuwati al-Baghdadi, al-EUawd- dith al-jdmi'ah wa-'l-tajarib al-nafi'ah ft al-mi'ah al-sabi'ah (Baghdad, 1351 A. H./1922), p. 205; Muhammad ibn- Shakir ibn-Ahmad al-Kutubi, Fawdt al-Wafaydt, Vol. II (Cairo, 1951), p. 522; Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, Supplementband I (Leiden, 1937), p. 360 (henceforth GAL and GAL S); F. Wiistenfeld, Die Geschichtschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (Got- tingen, 1882), No. 327, pp. 122-23; Clement Huart, His- toire de la litt6rature arabe (Paris, 1901), p. 229; J. von Hammer-Purgstall, Literaturgeschichte der Araber bis zum Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts der Hidschret, Vol. VII (Vienna, 1856), p. 357.

2 There is an account by his contemporary and associate Yaqfut al-Rfimi in his Kitab irshad al-arib ila ma'rifat al-adib, ed. D. S. Margoliouth (Cairo, 1925), pp. 103-104; also by another contemporary, al-Dubaythi al- Wasiti in his unpublished and missing al-Mudhayyal 'ala ta'rikh Baghdad lil-Khatib, executed in three volumes according to ibn-Khallikan, Wafayat al-a'ydn, Vol. VI (Cairo, 1949), No. 633, pp. 28-29. There is reference to al-Mudhayyal also in IHAjji Khalfah's Kashf al-zunuin 'an al-asdmi wa-'l-funun, ed. & tr. Gustav Flilgel, 7 vols. (Leipzig and London, 1835-58), No. 2179. A fragment of this valuable work is preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris: manuscrits arabes, No. 745. Al- Dubaythi's biography of ibn-al-Najjar, however, is available in the introductory material of Ahmad ibn-Aybak ibn-al-Dimyati's manuscript al-Mustaffdd min Dhayl ta'rikh Baghdad (li-ibn-al-Najjar), fol. 4a, preserved in Dar al-Kutub (Cairo) and listed in Fihrist al-kutub al-'arabiyah fi-'l-maktabah al-K hudaywiyah, Vol. V Cairo, 1308 A.H.), p. 150.

The principal biographical reference to ibn-al-Najjar, upon which all subsequent accounts depend, is by his disciple abu-Talib 'Ali ibn-Anjab al-Baghdadi al-Sallami



FARAI: Ibn-al-Najjar: A Neglected Arabic Historian 221

scholarship in superlative terms. A large number of disciples and followers, reportedly numbering three thousand shaykhs and four hundred women,3 attest to the high esteem in which he was held. To them he was the undisputed authority on hadith, isndd and usal, the basic tools of a budding 'lim. Ydq{Yt al-Hamawi, the noted compiler of geographi- cal and biographical lexica, was a close friend of ibn-al-Najjar; Ydqat openly acknowledges in his works having derived from ibn-al-Najjdr much primary material for the principal works attributed to him.4 In a biographical entry, Yaq-at describes him as "cultured, a connoisseur of history and polite literature, an excellent discourser and lecturer, who is also capable of composing fine poetry."

2. Life

Ibn-al-Najjdr was born in Baghdad on the 23rd of dhu-'l-Qa'dah in the year 578 of the Hijrah.6 His known biographers have very little to divulge concerning his parentage and early life. In a surviving portion of his main work a biographical entry for a consanguineous brother,7 a cloth- merchant by profession, was located by this ob-

server. His biographers make no mention of him or any other member of his family.

According to al-Dhahabi,8 a Shdfi'i historian in the tradition of ibn-al-Najjdr, the master at the age of ten was well ahead of his colleagues in the study of the fundamentals of the faith, with an unusual grasp of hadith. Among his principal informants, during the early years he spent studying in his home city of Baghdad, were the noted historian ibn-al-Jawzi,9 ibn-Kulayb, ibn-al-Ma-tus, and a group of savants known as "the companions of ibn-al-Hasin." 10 At the age of fifteen he began his protracted journey in quest of further knowledge in the field of hadith and biographical literature, after apparently exhausting local sources.1" For the next twenty-seven 12 years he sought information from the sources, coming in personal contact with the leading muhaddithiin of his time. We have no record of how long he stayed in each place, but we do know the chief localities he visited and the main informants consulted.

He started off with what was to be mainly a pilgrimage to the holy cities of the Hijaz, but lingered on long enough in Mecca and Medina to write a history of each city.13 From there he jour- neyed to Damascus where he heard hadith from abu-Yaman al-Kindi and ibn-al-Khuzistani; then to Aleppo where he acquired more hadith, this time from al-Hllshimi, and back to Baghdad where he spent an undetermined interlude prior to resuming his journey. His next stop was Isbahdn (sic); the principal informants here were al-Ikhshid, the companions of Ismdll ibn-al-Fadl, and Zdhir al-Sakh5i.14 From Isbahan he went to NIsdp lr

known as ibn-al-SR'i whose famous work on biography, also lost, was executed as a dhayl to his master's. See 'Abbas al-Azzawi, al-Ta'rif bi-'T-mu'arrikhin, Vol. I: Fi 'ahd al-Mughuil wa-'t-Turkumdn (601 A.H. / A.D.

1204-941/ 1534) (Baghdad, 1367 A. H./1957), p. 94. Ibn-al-SATi's other important work, Kitdb jami' al-mu- khta~sar ft 'unwdn al-tawdrikh wa-'uyiin al-siyar, executed as a dhayl to ibn-al-Athir's al-Kamil ft-'T-ta'rikh, and which HIajji Khalfah (Kashf, No. 9733) mentions as bringing events up to the year 656 A. H., contains also reference to ibn-al-Najjar. See GAL, S, I, p. 590.

3Dhahabi, Tadhkirat, p. 213; Kutubi, Fawat, p. 264; Yaiquit, Irshad, p. 103.

4 According to Wiistenfeld, Geschichtschreiber (p. 122): "Ja'cu't war mit ihm befreundet, erhielt von ihm mundliche Mittheilungen und durfte seine Reisenotizen benutzen." But the testimony of ibn-al-Najjar himself in a number of biographical entries clearly intimates that the exchange of information worked both ways; this is borne out by Kamal al-Sha'ari al-Mawsili in his "'Uquad al-Jaman " which alludes to ibn-al-Najjar's utilization of data gathered by Yaiiqt in his travels. See Khallikan, Wafaydt, V (Cairo, 1951), No. 761, p. 188.

5 Irshad, pp. 103-104. ,'February, A.D. 1183. "He gives the full name of his brother as 'Ali

ibn-Mahmfid ibn-al-Hasan ibn-Hibatullah ibn-Mahasin ibn-Hibatullah al-Najjar abu-al-H~asan al-Bazzaz. Paris. Ms. ar. 2131, fol. 36r.

8Abu-'Ali Muhammad ibn-Ahmad ibn-'Uthman ibn- Qaymaz Shams-al-Din al-Dhahabi al-Turkumani al-Fariqi al-Shafi'i was born and reared in Damascus, studying with a leading disciple of ibn-al-NajjAr; his dates are given as 673/1274 to 748/1348. GAL, II, p. 46 (57); Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 410, p. 173.

9Abu-al-Faraj 'Abd-al-Rah1man ibn-'Ali ibn-Muhammad JamRl-al-Din al-Taymi ibn-al-Jawzi al-Bakri (508 or 510 to 597 A. H.) His forefathers came from al-Jawz near Aleppo; he himself, however, was born and raised in Baghdad. In his studies there he excelled in the science of Traditions. Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 287, p. 103.

10 Ydqfit, Irshad, p. 103; Kutubi, Fawat, p. 264; Dimyati, Mustafad, fol. 4a.

1'I:Jmad, Shadharat, p. 226. 12 Twenty-eight years according to Fuwati, lawddith,

p. 205. 13 His history of Medina has survived both in an origi-

nal and also in a recension, but not his history of Mecca. 14 The only reference to him here is in the Mustafad



222 FARAII: Ibn-al-Najjar: A Neglected Arabic Historian

where he lingered on for a while. Those from whom he acquired information in this city, al-Mu'ayyad al-Tfisi and Zaynab al-Sa'diyah, enjoyed considerable fame in the Shdfi-i world as ranking muhaddithun; indeed ibn-Khallikan, the author of the celebrated dictionary on the obitu- aries of the notables, lVafayat al-atyan, was equally dependent on them, as he was on ibn-al-Najjar, for much of his information.15 The next stretch of the journey took him to ilerat where he lis- tened 16 to abu-Rfih; to Merv, home of another leading Shafiti muhaddith, abu-al-Muzaffar ibn-al- Sam'ani, whose father had authored an extensive addendum to the history of Baghdad, executed allegedly in four hundred parts and fifteen volumes.17 This monumental work exercised a telling influence in ibn-al-Najjdr's decision to pen an addendum of his own, on the same subject, bringing up to date individuals and events associated with Baghdad.

After spending some time in Khordsan 18 he went to Hamadhdn and Damaghan. Working his way westward, he ended his extensive travels in Egypt where he resided for a number of years, particularly in Alexandria. There he heard hadith from the associates of al-Hdfiz Ahmad al-Salafi.19

He returned home to Baghdad and took up permanent residence there ca. 620 A. H.20 He

settled in the Zafarlyah quarter of the city with only three hundred dinars in his possession, a good portion of which he expended on the purchase of a female slave. Very shortly thereafter al-Mustansi- riyah 21 formally opened its doors and ibn-al-Najj'ar was appointed head of the school; he filled also the position of lecturer in the science of hadith. With his financial position verging on bankruptcy, ibn- al-Najjar accepted the appointment, and remained with it until his death on the 5th of Sha-bdn, 643 A.IH. (December 27, A.D. 1245).

S. Scholarship As head and principal lecturer at the Mustansi-

riyah ibn-al-Najjdr soon developed an enviable reputation for his vast erudition in hadith, the one religious science which gave biographical history its greatest boost and range of development. In this capacity he acquired a vast following and numerous disciples who subsequently developed reputations for scholarship in their own rights, often acknowledging the role of the master in shap- ing their views and providing the mold for their independent scholarship. From the testimony of such disciples and admiring associates, ibn-al-Naj- jar came to be regarded as one of the most reliable authorities 22 to grace the annals of historical literature in Islam. The testimony of those in a position to know brings out the fact that his prolific writings in no way compromised his meticulous scholarship. Most authorities agree that ibn-al-Najjdr wrote no less than twenty-one major

(fol. 3b) which relies on al-Dubaythi's biographical history.

16 Indeed very early in his youth Zaynab had a mold- ing effect on his development; it appears that he started his formal education with her; she in turn had been a student of the renowned scholar of exegetic literature, Mah mfid al-Zamakhshari. See Kutubi, Fawat, I, No. 70; Wfistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 358, p. 140.

16 Ar. sama'a in its theological connotation, which refers to the oral process whereby 4adith is acquired and retained.

17 Entitled Dhayl ta'rikh Baghdad lil-Khatib. Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179; Wfistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 254-2: Fortsetzung der Geschichte von Bagdad des Abu Bekr al-Chatib; Henry Lee, Oriental Manuscripts Purchased in Turkey (London, 1840), No. 86 (Auszug. Lugd. 869). See GAL, S, I (p. 565) which erroneously gives the entry as "Leid. 1023 " for the same.

8 Mentioned only in Yaqfit's Irshad, VII, p. 103. 19In the Tadhkirat (p. 212), al-Dhahabi refers to him

as "ibn-al-Mufaddal." There are discrepancies in the biographical accounts of ibn-al-Najjdr's informants and the localities where he encountered them. The order herein followed is faithful to the testimony of ibn-al-Sai as preserved in al-Dhahabi's Tadhkirat even though we have a more exhaustive list of informants in ibn-al- Dimyati's Mustafad (fols. 3b-4a).

20 Fuwati, Hawadith (p. 205) gives 624 A. H. for the date.

21 The school was dedicated by the Caliph al-Mustansir, after whom it was named, as an establishment for the study and teaching of fiqh according to the rites of the four major juridical schools: Miliki, Shafi'i, Hanafi and Ilanbali. The dedication took place in A. D. 1234 according to the historian-geographer abu-al-Fida' (1273-1332), Mukhtasar ta'rikh al-bashar (Istanbuil, 1286 A. H.), Vol. III, p. 179. According to a description of the Mustansi- riyah by ibn-Buttfitah, Rihaah, ed. C. Defremery and B. R. Sanguinetti (Paris, 1853-58), Vol. II, pp. 108-109, the school was part of a complex, elaborately structured and nearly self-sufficient in the essential services, with kitchens, baths, a hospital and a library. Consult Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 7th ed. (London, 1960), p. 411.

22 According to the narrative preserved by his biographers: "He was critical, dependable . . . , knowl- edgeable, learned in history and literary studies; he possessed fine diction and the ability to communicate . .. " YAqfit, Irshdd, p. 103: echoed by Kutubi, Fawat, p. 264. In the Mustafdd (fol. 4a), al-DimyAti describes him as "an attentive hafi [memorizer of the Qur'dn], dependable, energetic in the search of hadith ...



FARAH: Ibn-al-Najja-r: A Neglected Arabic Historian 223

works 23 in history and literature, with considerable orientation towards sunan (traditions) and ahklcm (principles of law).24 His remarkable genius for retention and accuracy was in evidence during his teens when, according to ibn-Qadi Shuhbah,25 he mastered the seven reading versions of Islam's most sacred text, the Qur'an, as an understudy of Abu- Ahmad ibn-Sakinah.26

Known sources so far consulted yield a rather suggestive index to the variety and range of his authorship. The following is a list of titles of works known to be ibn-al-Najjdr's: 27

1. Ta'rilch li-Madinat al-Salam wa-alchbar fuda- Ilyaha (sic) al-atlam wa-man waradaha min 'ulamT' al-anjm 28 (A history of the City of Peace, i.e. Baghdad, and news of its chief men of virtue as well as of the ulema who have come to it).

2. Al-Qamar al-murnir fi-'l-Musnad al-kabir (Casting light on the great Musnad).29 In it the author mentions every companion of Muhammad; he also lists the hadith, i.e. of the Prophet, attributed to him.

3. Kanz al-imam fi matrifat al-siyar wa-'l-ahkcdm (The treasure of the imam in the knowledge of biographies and principles of law). 30

4. Al-Mulchtalaf wa-'l-mu'talaf (That which differs and that which conforms); executed apparently as an addendum to ibn-Makiila's 31 con-

tinuation 32 of al-Khatib al-Baghdddi's celebrated work on the Traditionists entitled Kitlab al-mush- tabah al-jadid, al-tabi' lil-Mulchtalaf.33

5. Al-Muttafaq wa-'l-muftaraq (Conformities and discrepancies); this appears to be a treatise tracing the genealogies of famous muhaddithfin and their places of origin.

6. Jannat al-nazirin fi matrifat al-t1bitin (A paradise for the seekers of knowledge concerning the Successors, i. e. of the Companions of the Prophet).

7. Al-'Iqd al-fa'iq fi tuyftn alchbar al-dunya wa-mahisin ta'rlch al-chala'iq (The superb neck- lace on the essence of reports about the world and the beauties of the history of creation).34

8. Al-Durrah al-thaminah fi alchbdr al-Madinah (The precious jewel pertaining to the reports of Medina). This is the title by which his surviving history of the Prophet's city is known.

9. Nuzhat 35 al-wara fi akchbdr Umm al-qura (The pleasure of man in the knowledge of events concerning the mother of towns, i. e. Mecca). This

31Known by the full name of al-Amir abu-Nasr 'Ali 23 Yaqfit, Irshdd, p. 104; Kutubi, Fawat, p. 264. 24 Subki, Tabaqat, p. 41. 25 (779-850/51 A. H.), chief qddi of Damascus, author

of a significant biographical dictionary, Tabaqit al- Shaf'iyah, which brought the list up to 840 A. H.

Wllstenfeld, Geschicht., No. 486. 2 'Imad, Shadhardt, p. 226. 27 The two main sources wherein a full list is at-

tempted are Ydqfit's Irshdd (p. 104) and Kutubi's Fawat (p. 264). In the translation of the titles there is no conscious attempt to be literal as the author's utilization of rhyme does not enable us to convey the exact meaning in English, or to perceive the nature and extent of the contents; hence I have resorted to a less literal translation where desirable.

28 This is the full title appearing on the fly leaf of the surviving manuscript. Bodleian Ms. Ar. d. 233. The work is more commonly known as "Dhayl ta'rikh Baghdad." GAL, I, p. 360, No. 3.

29 The reference is to the celebrated work on early traditions of Anas ibn-Malik (d. A. D. 709-711) as preserved by ibn-HIanbal. Hitti, Arabs, p. 236 and n. 1. The Musnad was not the most reliable, which suggests that ibn-al-Najjar may have executed this work to cast further light on it.

30 Listed in the Fawat but not in the Irshad.

ibn-Hibatullah ibn-'Ali ibn-MAkfila al-'Ijli. He came from a small town not far from Isfahan where he was born in 412 A. H. His father abu-'l-Qasim had served as vizier to the caliph, al-Q&'im. Abu-Nasr studied in Baghdad with abu-'Abdullfah al--Husayn ibn-'Ali Q4di (sic), traveling extensively through Iraq, Syria and Khorasan and acquiring the expert's knowledge of the Traditionists and genealogists. The caliph bestowed upon him the title "amir." He was killed between 475 and 487 A. H. by his Turkish slave. Wfistenfeld, Ge- schicht., p. 72; Khallikan, Wafaydt, No. 450.

32 Done in four volumes under the heading of al-KEmil (the complete), it narrates events from 2 Safar 464 A. H. to 3 Sha'bdn 467 A. H. with such fullness and meticulous attention to detail that the author earned for himself the title "al-Khatib al-thdni" (the second Khatib). Khalfah, Kashf, Nos. 1115 & 11633. There is a listing of this work in Bibliotheca Arab. Hisp. Escurialensis, ed. M. Casiri (Madrid, 1760-70), Vol. II, No. 1642.

Il A significant work which appears to combine two previous titles on the congruities and incongruities in the names of the Traditionists handed down from earlier authorities on the subject, namely abu-al-Hasan al-Ddra- qutni (d. 385 A. H.) and 'Abd-al-Ghani ibn-Sa'id (d. 409 A. H.). Khallikdn, Wafayat, Nos. 412 and 450; Dhahabi, Tadhkirat, Vols. XIII, No. 34 and XIV, No. 45.

34 There are various versions of the title; for additional information consult Butrus al-Bustani, Dd'irat al-ma'drif, Vol. I (Beirut, 1876), p. 719; cf. Khalfah, Kashf, Nos. 8198, 8453, 11493.

35 Brockelmann erroneously associates the " Nuzhah" part of the title with Medina, listing this work as " al-Nuzhah al-thaminah fi akhbdr al-Madinah." GAL, I, p. 360.



224 FARAH: Ibn-al-Najj'ar: A Neglected Arabic Historian

was his history of Mecca which he executed while still in his teens, about the same time he wrote the history of Medina, during his pilgrimage to the

aijdz. 10. Al-Kamill fi matrifat al-rij]l (Complete

knowledge of the men, i. e. Companions of Muham- mad). Like his history of Baghdad, this work also survived in part.

11. Mutjam al-shuy'flkh (A compendium of the shaykhs). In it ibn-al-Najjdr kept a record of his followers, students and disciples, i. e. the three thousand men and four hundred women whom he taught hadith, and many of whom served also as preceptors for him.

12. Mandqib al-imdm al-Shafti (The Panegyrics of the Imam al-Shfiti). From the testimony of HIhjji Khalfah, this work apparently was laid out in substantial detail.36

13. Nuzhat al-wara fi akhbctr al-qura (The pleasure of man in knowledge of the towns).37

14. Rawdat al-auliyd' fi masjid 11iyJ' (The meadow of saints in the temple of Elijah).38

15. Al-Zahr fi mahasin shutarj,' al-tasr (The buds, on the beauties of the poets of the age). A selective anthology of the popular poetry of his times.

16. Nuzhat al-taraf fi akchbdr ahl al-zarf (The pleasure of the common man in the knowledge of the men of wit).

17. Al-Azhdlr fi anwa' al-ashtar (The buds, on the types of poetry).

18. Salwat al-waahid (Comfort for the lonely).39 19. ie hbar al-mushtiq ila alehbar al-'ushshdq

(Informing him who burns with desire for knowledge of those in love).40

20. Al-Shaft /i-'I-tibb (That which cures in medicine) .41

21. Kitab al-mustadrak 'ala ta'rikh al-Khatib (The book of corrections on the "History" [of Baghdad] of al-Khatib),42 reportedly composed in ten volumes and often confused with ibn-al-Najjdr's Dhayl (No. 1, above).43

In addition to these we have mention by the same informants of a collection by ibn-al-Najjdr on what appears to be, from the information available, a treatise on propriety and manners of speech.44 There is also by him a treatise that seems to relate to the subject of equity.45 What at first may be confused for an independent work under the heading of Ghurar al-fara'id (The choice of precious pearls) appears to be the same as what Kutubi and Ydqiit have termed Ghurar al-fawdd 46 (The choice of what benefits). There is still room for considerable doubt because our source for Ghurar al-far&'id is ibn-al-Sdti, who gives an independent listing also for Manctqib al-Shjf/ii, ibn-al- Najjdr's important book of emendations on the masterwork of al-Shdfii, founder of the school of jurisprudence bearing his name.

"The title as entered by Kutubi in his Fawdt (p. 264): Ghurar al-fawi'id: hdftl ft sitt mujalladat manaqib al-Shafl'i (Choices of benefits: encompassing, in six volumes, the panegyrics of al-Shafi'i). Kashf, No. 13014.

87 Not listed by Kutubi. The title suggests that this work may have been executed as some sort of a trave- logue, perhaps a description of the places he visited on his journeys. On the other hand it may be identical with the work on Mecca with the word "umm " inad- vertently left out.

38 It is difficult to determine whether this work contains an allegorical or actual study of what the title indicates. HIdjji Khalfah, a reliable guide to the works of ibn-al-Najjar, has no entry for it.

89 There is no hint as to what it is that provides comfort " or " consolation " for the lonely; given the

author's theological proclivities, one would assume it relates to religion.

40 This could be interpreted as a treatise on love, traditional lovers, or those on the verge thereof. Owing to the absence of an explanatory remark or hint, it is difficult to tell whether by "'ushshdq " is meant the ro- mantic or Sfif variety of " lovers."

41 If interpreted in some historical context, this could be a particularly valuable work. There is nothing to indicate from what is known of the author's background or training that he had made any formal study of medicine.

42Abu-Bakr Ahmad ibn-'Ali, known as al-Khatlb (d. 463 A. H.); cf. note 32.

43 YAqflt, an intimate associate of ibn-al-Najjar, makes no reference to this work; consequently Kutubi, who appears to have depended largely on Ydqfit for much of his biographical data in the Fawat, also makes no mention of the same. But ibn-al-Sd'i, one of ibn-al-Najjdr's authoritative disciples, enters a specific reference to al-Mustadrak, as echoed by ibn-Qadi Shuhbah in his Tabaqdt al-Shdfl'iyah (Gotha, 1763) and preserved in Wfistenfeld's Geschicht., No. 327 as Emendationes et additamenta. There is an identical entry by Brockel- mann, GAL, S, I, p. 563; but in analyzing the manuscripts he lists under the title, it appears that he confused this work with the Dhayl.

44 Partially entitled Nahwa nishwcr al-muh&darah lil-Tanfkhi.

46 Entitled Kitab 'iddltiyah; cf. Ydqfit, Irshdd (p. 104) and Kutubi, Fawdt (p. 264).

4" Fawd'id is preferable.



FARAH: Ibn-al-Najjdr: A Neglected Arabic Historian 225

While the full range of ibn-al-Najjdr's contribution to religious science in classical Islam may not be fully revealed, even under exhaustive investigation; and while his influence on important contemporaries and successors may be weaned from their known works by extensive scholarship, pre- liminary efforts expended in this direction promise to cast substantial light on the legacy he left be- hind. Strong traces of his influence on the works of associates and disciples, to the extent the debt has been acknowledged by them, can be detected even where there was substantial integration, as in the case of al-Dhahabi's emendations on ibn-al- Najjar's al-Kamal fi ma'rifat al-rijal. Yet, on the other hand, it may well be that to the extent the integration has been more fully accomplished, his scholarship will live on in works by others who denied him recognition or, in certain instances, under assumed titles that may not be attributed to his authorship.

4. Surviving Works

It would be presumptuous at this time to ven- ture an educated opinion concerning the fate of those works not listed in Brockelmann's Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, the comprehensive index to existing Arabic works.47 Upon his death in A. D.

1245 all of his works, we are informed, were set up as waqf (mortmain) in the renowned Nizamiyah of Baghdad.4S Although the Mongols led by Hulgu captured and sacked the city thirteen years later, destroying much of its cultural centers, the Nizp- mlyah itself according to a reliable source was spared,49 and presumably its contents were too. Moreover, in the intervening years between ibn-al- Najjar's death and the destruction of the city, his disciples and other Shdfi'i scholars had ample opportunity to avail themselves of his writings.

From a cautious investigation into the fate of his works, there is reliable evidence to suggest that a good portion of his writings pertaining to hadith literature have been either integrated with the

works of his successors or modified to an extent that we are unable to make a clear distinction between what is ibn-al-Najjdr's and what is not. This is particularly true of his Kitab al-kamal fi matrifat al-riyjal (10), the biographical study of the Companions of the Prophet that has survived in a recension. Ibn-al-Najjar's al-Durrah al- thaminah fi akchbr al-Madinah (8) seems to have come down to us in some semblance of an original format. But of his monumental work, the Ta'rikh li-Madinat al-Saldm (1), only fragments are presently available. We shall treat these three works in some further detail.

5. The Kamal

Kitab al-kamdl fi ma-rifat al-rijal deals with the obscure companions of Muhammad. To begin with, this important work of ibn-al-Najjdr quite likely is not the only one of its type because a contemporary, Taqi-al-Din al-Jama'ili,50 composed what appears to be a very similar work bearing almost an identical title.5' Discussion of the rela- tion of the one to the other may remain largely fruitless owing to the unavailability of these works in their original form. Both were concerned with the biography of those Traditionists who had been overlooked by earlier compilers, and with revision and emendation as well. The relevance of this subject matter to the fundamentals of Islamic the- ology and jurisprudence was the major inducement for a chain of addenda, as a significant vehicle for providing direct continuity for narratives deemed essential to the clarification of hadith literature.52 We are content to relate that the Kamdl of ibn-al- Najjar itself experienced such a treatment in a revision of it first begun by a noted Shafii writer, Jamal-al-Din al-Mizzi,53 who flourished shortly

47 This reference work is not free from error, as we have endeavored to show where the need called for it. Brockelmann did not have full access to all known depositories of Arabic manuscripts. There is also a distinct possibility that some of the works listed are either misplaced or they lack full identification and accurate categorization.

48 For sources consult Dhahabi, Tadhkirat, p. 213; 'Imdd, Shadhardt, p. 226.

4 iHitti, Arabs, p. 411.

50 V' 11 name: Taqi-al-Din 'Abd-al-Ghani ibn-al-Wahid ibn-Surfir al-Jamdi'ili al-Maqdisi (541/1146-600/1203); though a Hanbali from the town of JamR'il in Palestine, he spent the last five years of his life in Egypt where, it is possible, he crossed paths with ibn-al-Najjar. GAL, I, pp. 356-57.

51 Kitdb al-kamil ft ma'rifat (asmd') al-rijla ("The book: The complete in the knowledge [of the names] of the men [i. e. the Companions of Muhammad] ").

52 The addendum (dhayl) method of historical writing in Islamic historiography was much applied in various fields of history writing, particularly in local histories and biographical compilations.

6 Al-Mizzi was born in Aleppo in 654 A. H. but reared in Mizzah, a town not far from Damascus, where he took to the study of the Iadith; at the age of twenty he embarked upon an extensive journey in search of addi-



226 FARAH: Ibn-al-Najjar: A Neglected Arabic Historian

after the death of ibn-al-Najjar. This first of a series of revisions, entitled

Tahdhib al-kamal fi acsmX' al-rij aJ,54 was in turn subjected to additional emendation and enlargement by tAld'-al-Din Mughulta'i ibn-Qilij,55 and the resultant work was known subsequently as Kitab al-tahdhib.56 An abridgement of the same was made by abu-tAbdulldh Muhammad al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1347) under the title of Kitab al-tahdhib fi mukhtasar tahdhib al-kamdl.57 This significant biographical work deals with the Traditionists utilized by ibn-Ishdq,58 the first and most authoritative biographer of the Prophet Muhammad, and encompasses important muhaddithfin overlooked in the six canonical books on the subject of Prophetic

hadith, particularly in those of al-BukhAri (d. 870 A. D.) 59 and Muslim ibn-al-Hajjaj (d. 875),6O or not in agreement with them, hence the title al-Kamal fi matrifat al-rijdl (Complete knowledge of the men [Companions]) .6" An attempt to adum- brate this significant work is August Fischer's " Neue Ausziige aus ad-Dhahabi und Ibn an-Naggar," 62 in which thirty-five new biographies are added to those already known.

A new treatment of al-Dhahabi's recension was rendered by the celebrated ibn-Hajar al-'Asqaldni,63 another Shdfii scholar of hadith literature who followed in the footsteps of ibn-al-Najjdr. The treatment was entitled Tahdhib al-tahdhib ("Correct- ing the Correction ") .64 In addition to the recension, there were a number of extracts of ibn-al- Najjar's significant work, namely Ikmdl tahdhib al-kamdl of ibn-al-Mulaqqim (d. 804/1401 ) ,65 al-Ahadith al-'-iwl min tahdhib al-kamdl 66 of al-Jawhari (d. 809/1406), and Khuldsat al- tahdhTb fi asmd&' al-rijal 67 of Ahmad ibn-tAbdullah al-Khazraji (d. 923/1517).68

7. Madinah

As concerns ibn-al-Najjar's al-Durrah al-thaminah fi akhbar al-Madinah, we are fortunate to possess a copy of this work intact.69 GAL, more-

tional knowledge on the subject and on the Traditionists (Muhaddithfin). Upon his return he settled in Damas- cus and accepted the first appointment made at the Ashrafiyah for the lectureship in hadith. He remained at this post for the next twenty-three years, until his death in 742 A. H. (1341). See Wtistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 406, p. 170; GAL, II, No. 64 (75), 2.

64 The work survives in a number of manuscripts listed by GAL, II (p. 64) and S, I (pp. 605-07) as follows: Faiz 1427 (autogr.), 1426, 1429, LAlell, 429, No. 745/8, FAtih 4304, Hamid. 226, Kiipr. 272/4, Kairo I, 71, Medina, ZDMG 90, 116, Mesh. X, 215/9, Asaf. I, 779, 780, Bank. XII, 699, letzteres Qilij 'A.P. 190/I, Faig 1478/9 (Autogr.), Berl. 9930/1, Paris 2089/91, Bodl. I, 754, II 594, Br. Mus. 1635 Suppl. 637, Or. St. Browne 144, 54, Kairo I, 233. In addition to this work, WUstenfeld, Geschicht. (p. 170) lists only one more (citing Khalfah, Kashf, No. 876): Indices ad sex' libros traditionum (An index of the six books of the Traditions).

" Two versions of the name are given for the same biographical information; GAL, II (p. 48 [60] gives it as: Nasir-al-Din abu-'Ali Mughaltay ibn-Qilij ibn-'Ali 'A1a'-al-Din al-Bakghari al-Hikri al-Hanafi, while Ge- schicht. lists it as: Abu-'Abdulldh MuglatAy ibn-Qilij ibn-'Abdullah 'AlTM-al-Din al-Bakghari al-Hikri al-Hanafi (No. 420, p. 177); of Turkish origin, he was born in 689 A. 1./1291; soon became an expert on the Tradi- tionists and genealogies, and in 734 A. n.-following the death of ibn-Sayyid-al-Nds-he was appointed the lecturer on hadith at the ZAhiriyah in Cairo, where he died 762/1361.

56 It appears to take into account the authoritative basis of the six canonical works on Hadith; more im- mediately it is a continuation of al-Jamd'ili's Kamal.

67 Originally a large work of thirteen volumes, it survives in a mere fragment-GAL, I (p. 360) lists a single part: Berlin 9930/1, Paris 2089-91, Bodl. I 754, II 594, Br. Mus. 1635, Kairo I 233. Cf. Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 410-12, p. 174.

8 He died in Baghdad (ca. 767 A. D.) and his important biography did not survive in full, only in the recension of ibn-HishAm (d. ca. 833 A. D.) in Egypt. Hitti, Arabs, p. 112.

Entitled al-Jlmi' al-Sahih, 8 vols. (BulAq, 1296 A. H.). 8I Also called al-Sahih, almost identical with Bukhari's

except for the isndds. Hitti, Arabs, p. 395. 81 Consult introductory remarks of August Fischer,

Biographien von Gewdhrsmdnnern des Ibn Ishaq, haupt- schlich aus ad-Dahabi (Halle a. S. 1889), p. vii.

82 In Zeitschrift der Morganldndische Gesellschaft, Vol. XLIV (1890), pp. 401 seq.

63 To him is attributed also the Taqrib al-tahdhib (Approximating the " Corrections " [al-Mizzi's]) ; existing manuscripts of this work: Berlin 994/5, Jeni 837/8, Cairo I 232, cf. Berlin 9337/8. GAL, I, p. 360. For a biographical note on al-'Asqalani see Wilstenfeld, Geschicht., No. 487, pp. 214-16.

64 Vfistenfeld, Geschicht., p. 216 -10; Khalfah, Kashf (No. 10860), first listed this work; but there is also a published version of it by a Delhi press, 1891.

65A copy of this work in Dar al-Kutub, Cairo, Fihrist, I No. 227.

68 Literally: "The reliable hadiths of (the book) Cor- rection of (the book) The complete."

67 "C The last word on the 'Correction of the Correc- tion' of the names of the men [Companions]."

68 A copy is listed as extant; Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, Fihrist, I, No. 239.

69 GAL, I (p. 360) indiscriminately makes the following entries as representing copies of this work: Gotha 1713, Paris 1630, Lee 112, and Bodleian I, 769, 852; upon




over, refers to the existence of an autographed copy of the same in the Lee collection; 70 but the where- abouts of this copy is not presently known.

This remarkable history, which the author completed at the age of fifteen or sixteen,7 gives an incisive look into the history of the city and the important people associated with it from the days of the Prophet Muh1 ammad until the times of ibn-al-Najjdr. A considerable portion is devoted also to the study of Medina's hallowed monu- ments.72

Other manuscripts presumed to be copies of al-Durrah appear to yield only recensions intro- duced thereto by later historians. Yet the fact that such a work could be subjected to a number of recensions attests to the high esteem with which these authors held al-Durrah. To contemporaries and successors, this constituted another tribute to ibn-al-Najjdr's scholarship. The earliest of these recensions was by Zayn-al-Din al-Mardghi, done in 766 A. H. while al-Mardghi was serving as q&di in Medina.73 The recension was entitled Tahqiq al-nusrah fi talkhis maalim ddr al-hijrah,74 and was really more in the nature of an enlargement of al-Durrah. Al-Maraghi had studied in Cairo before taking up his post in Medina.75 Actually al-M1araghi's recension was based not on the origi-

nal, but on an addendum 76 to the Durrah made by al-HIfiz Jamal-al-Din Muhammad ibn-Ahmad al-Matari 77 (d. 741 A. .H.) who originally had hailed from al-Yaman (Yemen). Indeed, al-Ma- tari's son tAfif-al-Din (d. 765 A. H.) who had resided in Medina also added his comments to the manuscript in the form of another dhayl. It is on this version of the Durrah that al-Mardghi based his treatment of Medina's history, adding what his predecessors had omitted and bringing it up to date without compromising the substance as it reached him.78

8. Baghdad

But of the major works by ibn-al-Najjdr that have survived in full or in part, his Ta'rlkh li-Madinat al-Sa7im, known more popularly as Dhayl ta'rikh Baghdad, is of particular value for the lacuna it fills in our knowledge of the city during the crucial decades preceding the end of the tAbbdsid hegemony. The work treats in considerable detail the biographies of the notables residing in or associated with Baghdad, mostly of the sixth and seventh centuries of the hijrah. The testimony of most authorities, coupled with an examination of the surviving portions of this valuable work, suggests that it was indeed executed in thirty volumes.79 Biographies are listed alphabetically in

scrutiny, only what reads "Gotha 1713" is the manuscript, although the fly sheet bears not "Gotha 1713" but the inscriptions: " No. 359 Cat. arab. Kahira (Cairo) 1808, No. 1290 u. J. Leetzen." There is reference to the original in Fihrist Dar al-Kutub, Vol. V (Cairo, 1308 A. H.), p. 132, but it is not possible to ascer- tain therefrom whether this listing is independent of the Gotha manuscript.

70 Entry 112 in H. Lee, Oriental Manuscripts purchased in Turkey (London, 1840).

71 Wfistenfeld, Geschicht., p. 123; cf. GAL, I, p. 360. 72 The Gotha ms. on perusal shows the work is divided

into four parts, a prolegomena and a conclusion with a critique on the virtues of Medina, its inhabitants, the central mosque, preludes to the Hijrah, Muhammad's work there, his death, and important people visiting the city in subsequent years.

73 What GAL, I (p. 360) lists as Bod. I, 769 and 852 when examined revealed the codes " Bod. Ms. Marsh 415 and Bod. Marsh 527 "; the former consists of 184 folios, the latter of only 48; and both refer to al-MarAghi's Nusrah.

'7 Revised Bodleian listings should read: Marsh 415, 527.

75Only a brief biographical note appears on him in the Royal Asiatic Society, 1938, p. 368, cited in GAL, II, p. 172, No. 4; see also Wilstenfeld, Geschicht., p. 202, No. 463.

76 The basic source of reference is Khalfah, Kashf, Nos. 2197, 2302, 2713.

77 Only the name, obituary, and a list of works attributed to him are given by WUstenfeld, Geschicht., No. 405, p. 169.

78 Borne out in the introductory remarks of al-Mardghi in the Bodl. Marsh 527 ms., fol. 2b.

79 Reliable testimony to that effect is given by Khal- fah, Kashf, No. 2179, wherein while acknowledging the number at thirty (affirming the statements of Kutubi, Fawat, p. 264, and Subki, Tabaqat, p. 41) he arouses doubt as to whether all volumes pertain to the same title. A number of sources (Dhahabi, Tadhkirat, p. 212; 'ImAd, Shadharft, p. 226) say in sixteen volumes. It is quite likely that those who claim it was done in thirty volumes included his Mustadrak, as they do not give a separate listing for it; still the total by this reckoning would come to twenty-six volumes. The only way to try to explain the discrepancy is to lend some credence to the statement of Fuwati in his Hawadith (p. 205) that ibn- al-Najjar's " collections " which evidently " exceeded forty books" may have had certain volumes confused with the Dhayl, though Fuwati himself adheres to the number sixteen. In such an eventuality, the Dhayl may consist of the Dhayl proper, a portion of the Mustadrak and perhaps three or four of ibn-al-Najjdr's other works dealing with biography.



228 FARAH: Ibn-al-Najjar: A Neglected Arabic Historian

conformity with the tabaqat (classification) method then prevailing, each entry beginning with the ism.

Until the present the biographers of ibn-al- Najjar had led us to believe that only volume ten of this monumental history had survived.80 This is the testimony of HIjji Khalfah in his Kashf (p. 120) as echoed by subsequent writers. On examin- ing this volume which lists over four hundred biographical entries starting with 'Abd-al-Mughith ibn-Zuhayr (d. 583 A. H.) and ending with 'Ali ibn-al-Husayn, we find that it coincides with volume twenty of the original. Presumably the change in numbering can be attributed to a differ- ent arrangement by a later copyist who most likely reduced the original number of thirty to sixteen. An analysis of the contents of manuscripts 81 preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris) but attributed hitherto to al-Khatib al-Baghdddi,82 yields a portion of volume twenty-one, and apparently all of volumes twenty-two and twenty-three 83

of the original, which embrace biographical listings from 'Ali ibn-uiuhammad to al-Fadl ibn-Mu- hammad. Additional more recent discoveries in the Robert Garrett collection of Arabic manuscripts of Princeton University 84 yield three parts starting with the biography of Nasr ibn-Yahya al-Kirmani and terminating abruptly with that of llibatulldh ibn-al-Husayn . . . al-Asturlabi known as " Bad!" al-Zaman." The listings cover the alpha- betical letters "hha'," "waw " and " ya'," which indicates that these portions fall into the last one or two volumes of the original, coinciding with volume sixteen of the condensed copy.

Muhammad ibn-Ahmad Taqi-al-DIn al-Fasi (d. 832 A. H.), celebrated historian of the holy sites 85

(T.ijaz), selected two hundred and one biographies of ibn-al-Najjdr's Dhayl, and the ensuing compendium was called al-Muntaichab al-mukhtdr,86 which survived and has been published.87

There is in addition an abridgement of this work by ibn-al-Dimydti 88 (d. 749 A. H.) entitled al- Mustafad min dhayl ta'3rikh Baghdad89 (That which is learned from the " Addendum to the history of Baghdad").90 Upon a careful examination of the contents of this manuscript and its compari- son with the surviving parts of ibn-al-Najjdr's Dhayl we find that it cannot serve as an adequate index to the range and magnitude of the work it purportedly abridges.

As the term " dhayl " implies, this magnum opus of ibn-al-Najjdr was one in a series of continuations. The first known work on the history of Baghdad was by Almad ibn-Thhir al-Baghdddi9l (d. 280 A. H.) entitled Ta'rilh Baghdad.92 Two

80 Damascus, Zdhiriyah, History 42, and a more re- cently executed copy of this manuscript preserved in the Bodleian collection as Ms. Arab d. 233.

81 Arab 2128-2131. 82 The error was perpetrated by the Baron de Slane,

Catalogue des manuscrits arabes de la Bibliotheque nationale, nos. 2128-2131; accordingly, the title page of ms. 2131 carried the inscription (translated from the Arabic): "another volume of the 'History' of al-Khatib al-Baglidadi." The mistaken identity was first dis- covered by emile Amar, who explains his findings in " Sur une identification de deux manuscrits arabes de la Bibliotheque nationale," Journal Asiatique, xe se. Vol. XI (1908), pp. 237-42; according to the statements con- tained in fols. 65a and 145 the contents of the manuscript seem to embrace part of volume XXI, and what appears to be all of volumes XXII and XXIII of the original. Cf. GAL, S, I, p. 563.

83 Amar's finding is sustained by an examination of Ms. 2131, fols. 65a and 145.

84 Yahfida purchase, No. 3518.

85 Khalfah, Iashf, No. 7606; 'Azzawi, Ta'rif, I, p. 201. 86 Known as " al-Mukhtdr al-mudhayyal 'ala ta'rzkh

ibn-al-Najjfr." GAL, I, p. 360 (443). 87 Edition 'Abbds al-'Azzdwi (Iraqi lawyer-historian).

Baghdad: Ahdli press, 1357 A. H. (1938). 88 Full name: abu-'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn-Aybak ibn-'Ab-

dullah al-Husayni, known as ibn-al-Dimyati; as the name suggests, the family hailed from Damietta in Egypt where he was born in 700 A. H. Interested in the study of Hadith, he came to Damascus and studied with al-Mizzi among others in 740 A.H.; he returned thence to Egypt where he died. For a biographical note see abu-al-Mahasin Muhammad ibn-'Ali al-Husayni al-Di- mashqi (d. 765 A. H.), Dhayl Tadhkirat al-huffdz lil- Dhahabi, No. 7, p. 54; also Jalal-al-Din al-Suyfiti, Dhayl Tadhkirat al-huffaz (Damascus, 1347 A.H./1929 A. D.),

p. 355. 89 The only known manuscript of this work is pre-

served in Dar al-Kutub of Cairo; see Fihrist, Vol. V, p. 150. GAL, I, p. 360-3.

90 The ms. consists of eighty-four folios of average size with a total listing of one hundred and seventy-two biographies abridged, as compared to the unabridged volume ten of the Dhayl's biographical entries exceeding four hundred, in one volume alone; moreover, there is considerable doubt concerning the authenticity of the Mustafdd's claim of being an abridgement of the Dhayl.

91 Known as abu-al-Fadl Ahmad ibn-abi-Tdhir Tayffir, from a princely family of Khorascin, but born in Baghdad in 204 A. H. during the caliphate of al-Ma'miin, son of Hdrfin al-Rashid, where he lived and wrote about forty- eight works, of which only his history of Baghdad appears to have survived. Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 78, p. 27.

92 The only reference-apparently first listed in al- Fihrist of al-Nadim-is by Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179.




centuries later, abu-Bakr al-Khatib al-Baghdadi 93 (d. 463 A. H.) wrote a similar book under the same title, Ta'rikh Baghdad,94 reportedly in fourteen volumes. Al-Khatib's work subsequently became the target of numerous dhayls, and the stylistic pattern he set therein was faithfully pursued by his successors with its heavy emphasis on the isndd, the method utilized by the muhaddithun; not the least among them was ibn-al-Najjar.

The first of the addenda to al-Khatib's history was written by abu-Saed 'Abd-al-Karim ibn-al- Sam'ani (d. 562 A. H.) 95 in fifteen volumes under the heading of Dhayl ta'rlkh Baghdad lil-Khatib.96 Of this work there is an abridgment by abu-al-Fadl Muhammad al-Ansdri al-Khazraji 97 under the title Muckhtasar ta'rlch Baghdad lil-Sam'dni.98 Abu- cAbdulldh Muhammad ibn-al-Dubaythi al-Wasiti (d. 637 A. H.) 99 continued the work in three vol-

umes as al-Mudhayyal gala ta'r1ich Baghdad lil- KhatTb, bringing al-Samcani's work up to date and adding what events he had overlooked.100

Ibn-al-Najjdr was a contemporary and sometime associate of al-Dubaythi. While the purpose of his writing a dhayl was to update the celebrated work of al-Khatib, in the orientation of his selections he undoubtedly was attempting to update also al- Sam'ani's work and to avoid duplicating his biographical entries, to the same extent that al- Dubaythi sought in turn to avoid duplicating ibn-al-Najjar's biographical listings.

9. Continuations of the Dhayl

The first in the series of continuations was executed by a well-known student of ibn-al-Najjdr, Tdj-al-Din 'Ali ibn-Anjab al-Salldmi,101 who is better known to us as ibn-al-Sadi (d. 674/1274). Ibn-al-Sdei studied history and hadith with ibn-al- Najjar excelling in both areas first as a student and later as a scholar whose erudition and versa- tility earned for him a high position among the ranking ulema of his age. The Caliph al-Mustansir appointed ibn-al-S5Ji librarian of the Nizamlyah where his writings, as numerous as his mentor's, were also housed. His important dhayl on ibn-al- Najjdr's work is missing, hence the exact title has not been ascertained.

'Abd-al-Razzdq ibn-Ahmad al-Shaybani, better known to historians as ibn-al-Fuwati (d. 723 A. H.),

historian, philosopher and a scholar of hadith, a student of both ibn-al-Sdi and the eminent philosopher-astronomer Nasir-al-IDin al-Tfisi (d. 672 A. H.), in turn continued ibn-al-Sdei's dhayl on ibn-al-Najjdr's, reportedly in eighty volumes,102 with full coverage of events from 656 A. H. until his death. Ibn-al-Fuwati was put in charge of the

"'Born Jumada II 392 A. H. in Darzijan on the west bank of the Tigris; like his father he served as khatib (whence the title "al-Khatib"). He began his studies in earnest at the age of eleven, and after considerable traveling he returned to Baghdad and became the most renowned scholar of hadith and history of his age, serving as the khatib of Baghdad. Khallikdn, Wafaydt, No. 33; Dhahabi, fIuffad, XIV, No. 14; Ydqfit, Irshdd, II, p. 567.

94 First edited by the established muhaddith abu-al- Yumn Masfid ibn-Muhammad al-Bukhari (d. 461 A. H.) under the title " Jadmi ta'rikh Baghdad " (All encompassing history of Baghdad). Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179. Published in Cairo from the Kbprdlii ms. 1022/6 in 1349 A. l. (1931).

96 Stemmed from the tribe of Sam'an and the banu- Tamim, from a learned family settled in Merv where his father and grandfather, beside himself and his son, were held in high esteem. He was born in 506 A. H., and re- ceived his early training from his illustrious father, before embarking upon an extensive journey from the Uijdz to Khorasdn and gathering such a wealth of information as to earn him a berth among the superior writers of his day; indeed his reputation attracted ibn-al-Najjdr to his son for information. Abu-al-Fida', Mukhtasar ta'rikh al-bashar, Vol. III (Istanbuil, 1286 A. H.), p. 605; also Khallikan, Wafaydt, No. 406.

96 Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179; Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 2, p. 88; GAL, S, I, p. 565.

T Not much is known of his life other than the fact he had served as qadi in Egypt, where he died in 711 A. H. Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 384, p. 154.

98 There is a copy extant; see E. II. Palmer, Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Turkish Mss. in the library of Trinity College (Cambridge, 1870), p. 152.

" A well known scholar of Traditions and historian; his ancestors came from Kanja in the province of Arran near Dubaytha (or DAbitha; cf. Yaqfit, Irshad, II, p. 547) a spot near Wasit in Iraq where abu-al-Fadl was born in 558 A. iT.; he had thorough training in hadith

and a respectable following of disciples who became famous in their own right. Khallikdn, Wafayat, No. 633.

100 Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179 (preserved in British Museum: Add. 2524); a second edition (ten years later), Paris 2133; also Cambridge 169 (extract by al-Dhahabi [GAL, II, 46], Cairo, Fihrist, V, 145 and 335 (new ed.) GAL, I, pp. 402-03. Wtistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 323 -1, p. 120.

101 Not to be confused with Abu-al-Ma'dli ibn-Rdfi' al-Salami. Some of the important works of al-Salami that have been published and preserved: Jami' al-Mu- khtasar, Vol. IX, ed. Taymfir Basha (1934), Manaqib al-KhulafV' al-'Abbisiyin (Bulaq, 1309 A. H.) Fuwati (student of ibn-al-Sa'i), Ijawadith, p. 386.

102 'Imdd, Shadhardt, VI, p. 60; Dhlahabi, Tadhkirat, XXI, No. 4.



230 FARAH: Ibn-al-Najjdr: A Neglected Arabic Historian

bureau for the official recording of events by the then wdli of Baghdad, 'Ata' Malik al-Juwayni (d. 1283). He was thus in the enviable position to gather material for his monumental work, Dhayl ta'rikh ibn-al-Saci and his other valuable writings on history.'03

The final chapter in the continuation of ibn-al- Najjdr's famous work was written by Muhammad ibn-Rdfi' Taqi-al-Dln al-Salami al-Samidi (d. 774/ 1372) 104 under the heading al-Mukhtdr al-mudhayyal bihi 'ala ta'rikh ibn-al-Najjar,105 in which

the author completed the chain of listings of the men and women of Baghdad who ranked high among contemporaries for their knowledge, achieve- ments or status.

10. Summary

This brief sketch of his life and works, as weaned from scattered sources, serves to highlight ibn-al- Najjar's importance to our understanding of medi- eval Islamic historiography. Much of our knowledge of the author, however, is wrapped in the obscurity of scattered primary sources which allude only tangentially to him. Often the little we know is compounded by mistaken identities and attribu- tions. What has been assembled here will, it is hoped, place in better perspective from the point of view of history and scholarship not only the position of ibn-al-Najjdr as a historian of merit, but that of his renowned contemporaries, associates and disciples, whose dependence on him, sometimes ex- plicit but often implicit in their acknowledgements and writings, provided the incentive for this investigation.

108 A principal source for our knowledge of the Mongol and Jalayirid periods. His Hawddith, cited above, is a comprehensive dictionary of the important men of the seventh century, Hijrah; in addition he penned a compendium of secular poets of the same century, a sort of dictionary of names and cognates, and a lexicon of his five hundred disciples. Wtistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 387, p. 155.

104 Born, 704 A. H., in Cairo; through the encourage- ment of his father he studied with the best, accompany- ing him to Damascus in 713 A. H.; returning to Cairo he studied Hadith with Qutb-al-Din al-Halabi and ibn- Sayyid-al-Nas. Another journey to Damascus brought him in contact with al-Birzali, al-Mizzi and al-Dhahabi with whom he studied. Dhahabi, Tadhkirat, XXII, No. 10.

105 Khalfah, Kashf, No. 2179; GAL, II, p. 33 (42 ); Wiistenfeld, Geschicht., No. 433 -2, p. 183.

THE JEWS IN PAGAN ARMENIA

JACOB NEUSNER

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

THIS PAPER CONSTITUTES an elaboration of the comments on the Jews in Armenia made by my teacher, Professor Salo W. Baron, and is dedicated to him as a token of respect and gratitude.1 The topic is treated as follows: I. Jews in Pagan Armenia; II. Armenian Judaism; and III. Tradi- tions on Armenia's Part in Israelite History.

I. JEWS IN PAGAN ARMENIA

The only certainty is that there were Jews in Armenia 2 before the coming of St. Gregor Lusa-

voric. Both Jewish and Armenian sources attest to this fact.

We shall consider below (Part III) Armenian legends on the Jewish origins of certain noble Armenian families. Here we shall limit our examination to demographical information. 'See Salo W. Baron, Social and Religious History of

the Jews (Philadelphia, 1952), II, pp. 404-5, ns. 36-7; I, 169, 283, 372, and II, 165, 204. Professor Baron originally suggested to me further research into Jewish history in Babylonia-Mesopotamia under Iranian rule. I am grateful also to Professor A. K. Sanjian of Harvard University for instruction in Armenian history and classical Armenian, and to Professor Richard N. Frye, Mr. Gregor Maksudian, and Professor Sanjian, for reading and commenting on this paper.

2 On Jews in Kurdistan, see especially Abraham Ben- Yaakov, Jewish Communities of Kurdistan (Jerusalem, 1961, in Hebrew), pp. 9-11, and Obermeyer, Die Land- schaft Babylonien (Frankfurt, 1929), p. 132; S. Rapo- port, Kerem Iemed VI, 172; on Abraham in Kurdistan, Bab. Talmud Bava Batra 91a; see also Hullin 54b, Mena- hoth 29a, Pesahim 7a. On Jews in Iberia, see Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews (Philadelphia, 1946), VI, 447, n. 52.



ibn-al-najjār- a neglected arabic historian

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