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 in

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-Abbār (), he was Hāfiẓ Abū Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abū Bakr al-Qudā'ī al-Balansī () (1199–1260) a secretary to Hafsid dynasty princes, well-known poet, diplomat, jurist and hadith scholar from al ...

, 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. His main influences were the ''

Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity The ''Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' ( ar, رسائل إخوان الصفا) also variously known as the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity'', ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' and ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal ...

'' (Ibn al-Abbār) and the works of

al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

(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 from al-Andalus Gharb Al-Andalus 12th-century writers from al-Andalus People from Silves, Portugal Self-declared mahdi Governors of the Almohad Caliphate Muwallads {{Islam-bio-stub

See also

Notes

References