'Ali b. Muhammad al-'Alawi al-'Umari
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Epithet | Ibn al-Sufi |
| Religious Affiliation | Imamiyya |
| Birth | c. 390/999-1000 |
| Death | c. 460/1067-8 |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Works | al-Majdi fi ansab al-Talibiyyin |
Najm al-Dīn Abu l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Abu l-Ghanāʾim al-ʿAlawī al-ʿUmarī (Arabic: أبوالحَسَن نَجم الدّين عَلي بن أبي الغَنائِم محمد عاش حَوالي), known as Ibn Sūfī (Arabic: اِبنُ الصّوفيّ) (b. circa 390/999-1000 - d. circa 460/1067-8) is a Shi'a genealogist and the author of al-Majdi fi ansab al-Talibiyyin.
Birth and Lineage
Ibn Sufi was born and raised in Basra. His grandfather was 'Umar al-Atraf, known as Ibn Taghlibiya,[1] the son of Imam Ali (a); thus he was called al-'Umari and al-'Alawi.[2] His father, Abu l-Ghana'im Muhammad, known as Ibn Mahlabiyya,[3] was considered as an authority in genealogy at his time.[4] In fact, the ancestors of Ibn Sufi were genealogist as well. His sixth ancestor, Muhammad al-Sufi, from whose name the Kuniya of Ibn Sufi is taken, was a genealogist and was killed by the order of Harun al-Rashid.[5].[6] Ibn Sufi[7] has mentioned that he is Twelver Shi'a in the description of the lineage of Zayd b. Ali. According to Ibn Taqtaqi in al-Asili, Ibn Sufi passed away in Mosul.[8]
Education
As Ibn Sufi himself has reported,[9] he started to learn various subjects especially genealogy under great teachers as a child.[10] Ibn Tawus has introduced him as the top genealogist of his time.[11] Ibn 'Inaba said[12] that he was an authority in this field. Ibn Sufi was also a poet, Litterateur[13] and jurist.[14]
Teachers
About twenty of his teachers are mentioned in different sources. In his book al-Majdi, he has mentioned some of them, including: his father, Abu l-Ghana'im, Abu l-Hasan Muhammad, known as 'Ubaydli, Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn b. Muhammad b. Tabataba al-'Alawi, Abu Ali b. Shahab al-'Ukbari, Abu 'Abd Allah Hamawayh, Abu Ali Qattan al-Maqri, Ibn Katila al-Husayni and Ibn Khida' al-Misri.[15]
Meeting with al-Sayyid al-Murtada
Ibn Sufi and al-Sayyid al-Murtada were contemporaries. They met each other in 425/1033-4 in Baghdad.[16] According to Sayyid Ali Khan al-Madani,[17] Ibn Sufi benefited from al-Sayyid al-Murtada and has narrated Hadith from him and his brother, al-Sharif al-Radi; however, Ibn Sufi did not mention that.
Scholarly Travels
In 423/1031-2, Ibn Sufi emigrated from Basra to Mosul and got married there. He has traveled to many regions and cities, such as: Ramla, Nasibayn, Syria, Mayafarifin, Egypt, Oman, Kufa and 'Ukbara.[18]
Works
Al-Majdi fi ansab al-Talibiyyin
In 443/1051-2, Ibn Sufi traveled to Egypt and presented some of his works to Majd al-Dawla Abu l-Hasan Ahmad, Naqib al-Nuqaba' of Talibiyyin during Fatimid reign.[19] Abu Talib Muhammad, the son of Majd al-Dawla asked Ibn Sufi[20] to write a small book about the lineage of Talibiyyin.[21] In recognition of Majd al-Dawla's kindness, Ibn Sufi named his book al-Majdi.[22] Ibn Tabataba,[23] Ibn Sufi's contemporary writer, is the first person who has mentioned this book and it shows that al-Majdi was famous and reliable even during the lifetime of its author. Al-Majdi is about the lineage of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Shi'a Imams to Imam al-Jawad (a), their children and descendants. Ibn Sufi[24] has mentioned the faith and the different opinions of various genealogists in the book.
Glosses and Publication
This book is one of the earliest and authentic books in genealogy.[25] Some great scholars such as Ibn Tawus al-Hilli has written glosses on it.[26] In 1409/1988-9 and by the effort of Ahmad Mahdavi Damghani, al-Majdi was published in Qom.
Attributed Works
- Al-Rasa'il fi 'ilm al-Ansab.[27]
- Al-Shafi fi 'ilm al-Ansab: according to Ibn Taqtaqi this book had two parts: first about the lineage of Abbasid dynasty and second about the lineage of the descendant of Imam Ali (a);[28] however, the book is not available.
- Al-'Uyun fi 'ilm al-Ansab.[29]
- Al-Mabsut fi l-Ansab:[30] according to Ibn Taqtaqi, al-Mabsut was a comprehensive book in several volumes. He has seen the manuscript of the book written by Ibn Sufi himself and has quoted form it.[31]
- Al-Mashjar fi 'ilm al-Ansab:[32] Afandi[33] recorded the title of the book as al-Mashjarat and Aqa Buzurg[34] has mentioned Tashjir and Mashjar al-nasab and said that Tashjir or Mashjar is probably the same Ansab al-Talibiyyin or al-Majdi.[35]36 However, as Ibn 'Inaba[36] has counted al-Mashjar and al-Majdi as separated independent works, this supposition seems to be incorrect.
Notes
- ↑ Marwazī, al-Fakhrī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 173.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Maʿālim al-ʿulamā, p. 68.
- ↑ Marwazī, al-Fakhrī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 174-175.
- ↑ Madanī al-Shīrāzī, al-Darajāt al-rafīʿa fī ṭabaqāt al-Shīʿa, p. 485.
- ↑ Marʿashī Najafī, Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 8.
- ↑ Marwazī, al-Fakhrī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 175.
- ↑ Ibn Sūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 157.
- ↑ Marʿashī Najafī, Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 9.
- ↑ Ibn Sūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 291.
- ↑ Ibn Sūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 291.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Rīyāḍ al-ʿulamā, vol. 4, p. 234.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib fi ansāb Āl Abī Ṭālib, p. 368.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Shajarat al-mubāraka, p. 190.
- ↑ Kamūna, Munyat al-rāghibīn fī ṭabaqāt al-nasābīn, p. 255.
- ↑ Ibn Sūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, in different pages.
- ↑ Ibn Ṣūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 125.
- ↑ Madanī al-Shīrāzī, al-Darajāt al-rafīʿa fī ṭabaqāt al-Shīʿa, p. 485.
- ↑ Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 35.
- ↑ Ibn Ṣūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 4.
- ↑ Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 36.
- ↑ Ibn Ṣūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 5.
- ↑ Ibn Ṣūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 5.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭabāṭabā, Muntaqalāt al-ṭālibīyya, p. 317.
- ↑ Ibn Ṣūfī, al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn, p. 5.
- ↑ Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 33; Afandī Iṣfahānī, Rīyāḍ al-ʿulamā, vol. 4, p. 232; Qummī, al-Kunā wa l-alqāb, vol. 1, p. 337.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Rīyāḍ al-ʿulamā, vol. 4, p. 232.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Maʿālim al-ʿulamā, p. 68.
- ↑ Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 32-33; Ibn Ṭāwūs, Faraj al-mahmūm, p. 125.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Maʿālim al-ʿulamā, p. 68.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib, p. 368; Ibn Ṭāwūs, Faraj al-mahmūm, p. 125.
- ↑ Muqaddima bar al-Majdī, p. 32.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib, p. 368.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Rīyāḍ al-ʿulamā, vol. 4, p. 233.
- ↑ Āgā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 4, p. 183.
- ↑ Āgā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 2, p. 381.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib, p. 368.
References
- Āgā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-shīʿa. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Afandī Iṣfahānī, ʿAbd Allāh. Rīyāḍ al-ʿulamā. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī. Qom: 1401 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Al-Shajarat al-mubāraka fī ansāb al-ṭālibīya. Edited by Mahdī Rajāʾī. Qom: 1409 AH.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Maʿālim al-ʿulamā. Najaf: 1380 AH/1960.
- Ibn Sūfī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Al-Majdī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn. Edited by Mahdawī Dāmghānī. Qom: 1409 AH.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Faraj al-mahmūm fī tārīkh al-ʿulamā al-nujūm. Qom: 1363 Sh.
- Ibn Ṭabāṭabā, Ibrāhīm b. Nāṣir. Muntaqalāt al-ṭālibīyya. Edited by Muḥammad Mahdī Khursān. Najaf: 1388 AH-1968.
- Ibn ʿAnba, Aḥmad. ʿUmdat al-ṭālib fi ansāb Āl Abī Ṭālib. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥasan Āl-i al-Ṭāliqānī. Najaf: 1380 AH.
- Kamūna, ʿAbd al-Razzāq. Munyat al-rāghibīn fī ṭabaqāt al-nasābīn. Najaf: 1392 AH.
- Madanī al-Shīrāzī, al-Sayyid ʿAlī Khān al-. Al-Darajāt al-rafīʿa fī ṭabaqāt al-Shīʿa. [n.p]. 1381 AH.
- Marwazī, Ismāʿīl al-. Al-Fakhrī fī ansāb al-ṭālibīn. Edited by Mahdī Rajāʾī. Qom: 1409 AH.
- Marʿashī Najafī, Sayyid Shihāb al-Dīn. Muqaddima bar al-Majdī. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Mahdawī Dāmaghānī, Aḥmad. Muqaddima bar al-Majdī. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Al-Kunā wa l-alqāb. Najaf: 1389 Sh.