Ibn Abjar al-Kinani
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | 'Abd al-Malik b. Sa'id b. Hayyan b. Abjar |
| Teknonym | Abu Bakr |
| Residence | Kufa |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Students | 'Abd al-Rahman ● Sufyan al-Thawri, Zuhayr b. Mu'awiya ● 'Ubayd Allah al-Ashja'i ● Sufyan b. 'Uyayna ● Sulayman b. Mihran al-A'mash |
Ibn Abjar al-Kinānī (Arabic: اِبْنِ اَبْجَرِ الکِناني), whose full name was ʿAbd al-Malik b. Saʿīd b. Ḥayyān b. Abjar (Arabic: عبدالملک بن سعید بن حیان بن ابجر), was a Shi'a physician and hadith transmitter of the early Islamic centuries. In Shi'a biographical evaluation books, he is mentioned as a trustworthy (Thiqah) narrator, and his name also appears among the narrators of Hadith in Sunni Rijal sources.[1] He emerged from the Abjar family, who were famous for medicine, and simultaneously played a role in the transmission of Hadith.
Biography
'Abd al-Malik b. Sa'id b. Hayyan b. Abjar, known as Ibn Abjar al-Kinani and surnamed Abu Bakr, was from Kufa.[2] Shi'a Rijal sources mention the Abjar family as a well-known family in Kufa, whose members were hereditarily engaged in medicine, while some of them were also counted among the narrators of Hadith.[3]
There is no clear report regarding the exact date of his birth and death. According to Ibn Hajar, 'Abd al-Malik was alive in 161/777–8.[4] In contrast, al-Najashi reported that he lived until around 240/854–5.[5] This chronological discrepancy has led researchers to suggest the possibility that more than one person named 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Abjar has been reported in historical sources.
Medical Practice
Historical and biographical sources have praised Ibn Abjar and his family for their skill in medicine. Ibn Qutayba has mentioned his medical knowledge.[6] Also, al-Ijli stated that Ibn Abjar did not receive payment for treating patients and that his medical practice had a moral and humanitarian aspect.[7]
Teachers (Mashayikh)
In Sunni Rijal sources, individuals such as Sha'bi, 'Ikrima, Talha b. Musarrif, and Wasil b. Ahdab are mentioned as Ibn Abjar's teachers in Hadith.[8] In Shi'a sources, there is no independent report of his teachers, but his reliability in narrating Hadith has been emphasized.[9]
Students
Among those who narrated from Ibn Abjar are his son 'Abd al-Rahman, Sufyan al-Thawri, Zuhayr b. Mu'awiya, 'Ubayd Allah al-Ashja'i, Sufyan b. 'Uyayna, and Sulayman b. Mihran al-A'mash.[10] This list indicates his position in the Hadith transmission network in the early Islamic centuries.
Teaching and Relation to the School of Alexandria
In his book, Ibn Abi Usaybi'a considered 'Abd al-Malik b. Abjar to be one of the professors of the Alexandria School and listed him among the physicians who were active in the scientific atmosphere of that region after the conquest of Egypt.[11] However, this report faces serious chronological issues, and many researchers consider it the result of confusing individuals with the same name.
Disagreements
Ibn Abi Usaybi'a did not mention the date of his conversion to Islam, but Wustenfeld[12] considered it to be around 70/689 and regarded Abd al-Aziz b. Marwan, the governor of Egypt, as his encourager in accepting Islam.
Ibn Abi Usaybi'a also named al-A'mash and Sufyan as those who narrated some sayings related to health preservation methods from Ibn Abjar. He also referred to the transfer of the medical school from Alexandria to Antioch, which occurred during the caliphate of Umar b. Abd al-Aziz (99–101/717–720).[13]
The narration of Sulayman b. Mihran al-A'mash, Sufyan b. Uyayna, and Sufyan al-Thawri from Ibn Abjar appears in some Sunni Rijal books. However, Ibn Abi Usaybi'a's statement is certainly incorrect considering the long time interval between the conquest of Egypt and the era of the mentioned narrators. Assuming that 'Abd al-Malik was at least 30 years old when he was a medical instructor at the fall of Alexandria, and considering Ibn Hajar's statement that he was alive in 161/777–8, he must have lived for more than 120 years.
Thus, there is an age difference of about 80 years between the teacher of the School of Alexandria and 'Abd al-Malik b. Abjar in Sunni sources, and the person of the same name in Shi'a sources.
Sezgin's View
To resolve part of this difficulty (it seems he did not consult Shi'a sources), Sezgin considered the physician of the School of Alexandria to be Abjar and the narrator 'Abd al-Malik to be his son. He suggested that Ibn Abi Usaybi'a confused the father and the son, and that a person named Abjar may have taught at the School of Alexandria.[14] However, in all Rijal books, 'Abd al-Malik's ancestors are introduced with Arabic names, and the teaching of an Arab individual in the School of Alexandria during the Byzantine era does not seem acceptable.[15]
On the other hand, in the First Century AH, a Christian scholar named Adfar, who also had knowledge of alchemy, was famous in Alexandria. According to Leclerc, Adfar is the same person whom Ibn Abi Usaybi'a called Ibn Abjar.[16]
Two Narrators Named Abd al-Malik the Physician
Nevertheless, the existence of a family named Abjar in Kufa, from the clients of Kinana, Bani Ijl, or Bani Hamdan, is undeniable. The traditional engagement of members of this family in medicine is also mentioned in some sources.
Thus, in all likelihood, there were two narrators named ʿAbd al-Malik, both of whom were probably physicians. One appears to have died in the 2nd century /eighth century, while the other died in the 3ed century /ninth century. Consequently, the possibility of confusion or error in the recording of their fathers’ names in Shi'a and Sunni sources cannot be ruled out.[17]
Notes
- ↑ Najāshī, *Rijāl al-Najāshī*, p. 217; ʿAsqalānī, *Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb*, vol. 6, pp. 394–395.
- ↑ Bukhārī, Al-Tārīkh al-kabīr, vol. 3(1), p. 416.
- ↑ Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 217.
- ↑ Asqalānī, Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb, vol. 6, p. 395.
- ↑ Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 217.
- ↑ Ibn Qutayba, Al-Maʿārif, p. 66.
- ↑ Ijli, Tārīkh al-thiqāt, pp. 307–308.
- ↑ Rāzī, Al-Jarḥ wa l-taʿdīl, vol. 2, pp. 351–352.
- ↑ Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 217.
- ↑ Asqalānī, Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb, vol. 6, pp. 394–395.
- ↑ Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, Uyun al-anba, vol. 1, p. 116.
- ↑ Wustenfeld, p. 7.
- ↑ Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, Uyun al-anba, vol. 1, p. 116.
- ↑ Sezgin, GAS, vol. 3, pp. 205–206.
- ↑ Meyerhof, Min al-Iskandariyya ila Baghdad, p. 66.
- ↑ Leclerc, Histoire de la médecine arabe, pp. 62–64.
- ↑ Mawlawī, Ibn Abjar al-Kinānī, in Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i Islāmī, vol. 2, pp. 622–623.
References
- ʿAsqalānī, Ibn Ḥajar al-. Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb. Hyderabad, 1326/1908.
- Bukhārī, Ismāʿīl b. Ibrāhīm al-. Al-Tārīkh al-kabīr. Hyderabad, 1377/1958.
- Busawī, Yaʿqūb b. Sufyān. Al-Maʿrifa wa l-tārīkh. Editor: Akram Ḍiyāʾ al-ʿUmarī. Baghdad, 1394/1981.
- Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Rāzī. Al-Jarḥ wa l-taʿdīl. Hyderabad, 1372/1953.
- Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa, Aḥmad b. Qāsim. ʿUyūn al-anbāʾ fī ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ. Editor: Max Müller. Cairo, Būlāq, 1299/1882.
- Ibn Manjūya, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Rijāl Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Editor: ʿAbd Allāh al-Laythī. Beirut, 1407/1987.
- Ibn Qutayba, ʿAbd Allāh b. Muslim. Al-Maʿārif. Editor: Tharwat ʿUkāsha. Cairo, 1960.
- Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Saʿd. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Editor: Iḥsān ʿAbbās. Beirut, Dār Ṣādir, n.d.
- ʿIjlī, Aḥmad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Tārīkh al-thiqāt. Editor: ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Qalʿajī. Beirut, 1984.
- Leclerc, Lucien. Histoire de la médecine arabe. New York, 1971.
- Mawlawī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. "Ibn Abjar al-Kinānī". In Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i Islāmī. Tehran, Markaz-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Buzurg-i Islāmī, 1370 Sh.
- Meyerhof, Max. "Min al-Iskandariyya ilā Baghdād". In Al-Turāth al-Yūnānī fī l-ḥaḍāra al-Islāmiyya. Translated by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī. Beirut, 1980.
- Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Rijāl al-Najāshī. Qom, 1407/1987.
- Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums (GAS). Vol. III.
- Wustenfeld, Ferdinand. Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte und Naturforscher. New York, 1978.