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, r ...
, 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 tha ...
in
Al-Garb Al-Andalus 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 ...
. 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.
[Goodrich, 16–27.]
He was of native Iberian stock, ''rūmī al-aṣl'' in the words of Ibn al-Abbār. He was born at
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
* ...
, 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 te ...
, that had once staged a rebellion against the
Emirate of Cordoba.
[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 g ...
. 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).
[
]
See also
* Muridun
*Ibn Arabi
Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , ' Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influen ...
* Ibn Masarra
* Ibn Barrajan
* Ibn al-Arif
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