Ibn Khallikan
| Shams al-Dīn Abū Al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Khallikān | |
|---|---|
| Title | Chief Judge |
| Born | September 22, 1211 in Irbil (now Iraq) |
| Died | October 30, 1282 (aged 71) in Damascus (now Syria) |
| Region | Middle East |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[1] |
| Notable work(s) | Deaths of Eminent Men and History of the Sons of the Epoch |
Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm Abu ’l-ʿAbbās S̲h̲ams al-Dīn al-Barmakī al-Irbilī al-S̲h̲āfiʿī[2] (Arabic: احمد ابن محمد ابن ابراهيم ابوالعباس شمس الدين البرمكي الاربيلي الشافعي) (September 22, 1211 – October 30, 1282) was a 13th Century Shafi'i Islamic scholar. He was described as "a pious man, virtuous, and learned; amiable in temper, in conversation serious and instructive. His exterior was highly prepossessing, his countenance handsome and his manners engaging."[3]
Biography
Ibn Khallikan was born in Arbil, Iraq on September 22, 1211, to a respectable family that claimed descent from Barmakids.[2] He studied there and in Aleppo and Damascus.[4] He also studied jurisprudence at Mosul and then settled in Cairo.[5] He gained prominence as a jurist, theologian and grammarian.[5] Ibn Khallikan married in the year 1252.[5]
He was an assistant to the chief judge in Egypt until 1261 when he assumed the position of chief judge in Damascus.[4] Ibn Khallikan was removed from this position in 1271, returned to Egypt and taught there until being reinstated as judge in Damascus in the year 1278.[4] He retired from this position in 1281[5] and died in Damascus on October 30, 1282.[4]
Works
Ibn Khallikan's most renowned work is the biographical dictionary entitled Wafayāt al-aʿyān wa-anbāʾ abnāʾ az-zamān (Deaths of Eminent Men and History of the Sons of the Epoch).[4] He began compiling this work in 1256 and continued until 1274, referencing the works of earlier scholars.[4] Deaths of Eminent Men does not include biographies of individuals already sufficiently covered, such as the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and the caliphs.[4] This work has been translated into English by William McGuckin de Slane, (1801–1878), and is over 2,700 pages long.[5] The British scholar Reynold A. Nicholson called it the "best general biography ever written".[3]
References
- ↑ Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1971]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume III (H-Iram). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 832. ISBN 9004081186.
- 1 2 J.W., Fück,. "IBN K̲H̲ALLIKĀN". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_sim_3248. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- 1 2 Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p.139. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810861615.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Ibn Khallikān". 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ibn Khallikan". Humanistic Texts.org. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
Bibliography
- Ibn Khallikān (1843) Ibn Khallikan's Biographical dictionary, M. de Slane trans. Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, 1843. Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 & Vol. 4