Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Qasī (died 1151) was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, a rebel leader against the

Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that s ...

Al-Garb Al-Andalus Gharb al-Andalus ( ar, غرب الأندلس, trans. ''gharb al-ʼandalus''; "west of al-Andalus"), or just al-Gharb ( ar, الغرب, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern mode ...

and governor of

Silves Silves may refer to : Europe * Silves, Portugal, municipality and former bishopric in Algarve, southern Portugal ** Silves (parish), a civil parish in the municipality of Silves ** Castle of Silves, a medieval castle in civil parish of Silves ...

for the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fo ...

. The main sources for his life are Ibn al-Abbār, Ibn al-Khaṭīb and ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Marrakūshī. The last is the source for his biography in the biographical dictionary of

al-Ṣafadī Khalīl ibn Aybak al-Ṣafadī, or Salah al-Dīn al-Ṣafadī; full name - Salah al-Dīn Abū al-Ṣafa Khalīl ibn Aybak ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Albakī al-Ṣafari al-Damascī Shafi'i. (1296 – 1363); he was a Turkic Mamluk author and historian. ...

.Goodrich, 16–27. He was of native Iberian stock, ''rūmī al-aṣl'' in the words of Ibn al-Abbār. He was born at

, but the date of his birth is unknown. His name sustains the possibility that he was a descendant of the

Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi ( ar, بني قسي or بنو قسي, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier ter ...

, that had once staged a rebellion against the

Emirate of Cordoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

.William Elliot:
The Career of In Qasi as Religious Teacher and Political Revolutionary in 12th Century Islamic Spain
', University of Edinburgh, 1979 p.39 According to Ibn al-Abbār, he was a minor government official at Silves, while Ibn al-Khaṭīb describes him as a spendthrift. He eventually sold all his goods, gave the money to the poor and became a '' murīd''. He studied under Khalaf Allāh al-Andalusī and Ibn Khalīl in Niebla, although he may also have met Ibn al-ʿArīf in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

. His main influences were the '' Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' (Ibn al-Abbār) and the works of al-Ghazālī (Ibn al-Khaṭīb).

Notes

References

*Viguera, María Jesús; ''Los reinos de Taifas''. 2007. RBA Coleccionables. *J. Dreher, ed. and tr., ''Ibn Qasi, Abu l-Qasim Ahmad b. al-Husayn: Kitab Khal al-Na'Layn wa-Iqtibas al-Anwar min Mawdi al-Qadamayn'' (''Das Imamat des islamischen Mystikers, Abulqasim Ahmad Ibn al-Husain Ibn Qasi: Eine Sudie zum Selbstverständnis des Autors des Buch vom Ausziehen der beiden Sandalen'') Bonn, 1985 *J. Dreher, "L'Imamat d'Ibn Qasi à Mertola (Automne 1144-été 1145); Légitimité d'Une Domination Soufie?", MIDEO 18 (1988), pp. 195–210 *D. R. Goodrich, dissertation, ''A Sufi Revolt in Portugal: Ibn Qasi and his Kitab khal'al-na'layn'', Columbia University, PH D. 1978 *Nagendra Kr Singh, ''International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties, p. 3

(retrieved 1-12-2010) *William Elliot,
The Career of In Qasi as Religious Teacher and Political Revolutionary in 12th Century Islamic Spain
', thesis submitted to University of Edinburgh, 1979. Year of birth unknown 1151 deaths 12th century in Portugal Sufis of Al-Andalus Gharb Al-Andalus 12th-century Al-Andalus writers People from Silves, Portugal Self-declared mahdi Governors of the Almohad Caliphate Muwallads {{Islam-bio-stub

See also

Notes

References