Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Sayf al-Qurashi (; 752/753–843), commonly known by his al-Mada'ini (), was a scholar of
Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
descent who wrote in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and was active under the early
Abbasids in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
in the first half of the 9th century. A scholar of many interests, he wrote over 200 works, but is best known as a
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
.
Life
Little is known about al-Mada'ini's life. The second edition of the ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...
'' notes that according to his own account, he was born in 752. However the third edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' notes that according to other sources (citing
al-Marzubani), he was born in 752/753, which can be treated as "his approximate year of birth". Al-Mada'ini and his family were of
Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
descent, and, according to sources attributed to him, he knew
Persian. He was most likely born in
Basra
Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
, and for most of his life remained in various cities in Iraq.
Al-Mada'ini and his family were clients (''
mawlas'') of
Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura al-Qurashi (died 670/1), a
companion of Muhammad and a commander of the early Muslim armies who battled in the regions of
Sijistan,
Khurasan,
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
, and
Zabulistan. In 770 he was in Basra, but later went to
al-Mada'in and
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, where he spent most of his life. The origin of his ''
'', "al-Mada'ini", by which he is known, is unclear: it may derive from his stay in al-Mada'in, or have pre-dated it. Due to associations with Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura, he was given the second of "al-Qurashi".
Al-Mada'ini may also have spent time in
Kufa
Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000.
Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
, since he recounts many Kufans among his sources. In Baghdad, he was a pupil of the
Mu'tazili scholar Mu'ammar ibn Abbad al-Sulami (died 830), and came under the patronage of the musician
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Mawsili (died 850), with whom he also formed a close and lasting friendship—it is said that he died in al-Mawsili's house. The sources differ on the date of his death, variously giving the years 830, 839, 840 and 843. However, as al-Mada'ini's work encompassed the reign of
al-Mu'tasim (), and as he is recorded as being over 90 years old at his death, 843 is the most probable date.
Work
Al-Mada'ini was "a highly productive scholar with many-sided interests", producing over 200 works over his career, including such diverse fields like
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, Arabic literature and poetry. Most of his writings however focus on historical subjects, dealing with the history of the Islamic world from the pre-Islamic times to his own day. His historical works likewise encompassed diverse aspects, such as the genealogy of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and the
Quraysh, geographical studies, the lives of poets and singers, alongside more conventional history of the life of Muhammad, the
Muslim conquests, and the
Rashidun,
Umayyad and
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
caliphs. Among Muslim scholars, al-Mada'ini was especially prized as a reliable source on the transmission (''akhbar'') of the ''
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
'', particularly from the eastern parts of the Islamic world,
Khurasan and
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
As a historian, al-Mada'ini's method was that of a collector, rather than commentator, of history; indeed his historical work method resembles the method of a ''hadith'' scholar (''
muhaddith''). From his sources he chose the parts that he deemed suitable and composed his work, often providing a reference to the chain of transmission (''isnad'') of the account from the eyewitness to al-Mada'ini's source. Unlike other historians, al-Mada'ini contented himself with merely reproducing the accounts of events, and never added any commentary of his own. Al-Mada'ini had access and recourse to a broader group of sources than his predecessors and contemporaries, but the core group of scholars on whose work he chiefly relied is limited. His own work was later transmitted by another generation of historians, including men like Ahmad ibn al-Harith al-Kharraz al-Kufi, who reportedly heard the recitation of all of al-Mada'ini's works, his pupil Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Abi Khaythama, al-Harith ibn Abi Usama,
al-Baladhuri,
Umar ibn Shabba,
Khalifa ibn Khayyat and
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Mawsili. The passages taken from al-Mada'ini over the same subject often differ from each other; aside from alterations by later authors or copyists, these discrepancies are attributable to having been drawn from works written at different times in al-Mada'ini's life and with different focus, from monographs to compendia.
References
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madaini
750s births
843 deaths
9th-century Iranian historians
People from Basra