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Abu al-Abbas Ahmad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Sa'id bin Harith bin Asim al-Lakhmi al-Qurtubi, better known as Ibn Maḍāʾ (; 1116–1196) was an Andalusian Muslim
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
from Córdoba in Islamic Spain.
Kees Versteegh Cornelis Henricus Maria "Kees" Versteegh (; born 1947) is a Dutch academic linguist. He served as a professor of Islamic studies and the Arabic language at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands until April 2011. Versteegh graduated fro ...
, ''The Arabic Linguistic Tradition'', pg. 142. Part of Landmarks in Linguistic Thought series, vol. 3.
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
:
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, 1997.
Ibn Mada was notable for having challenged the traditional formation of Arabic grammar and of the common understanding of linguistic governance among Arab grammarians, performing an overhaul first suggested by
Al-Jahiz Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Basri (; ), commonly known as al-Jahiz (), was an Arab polymath and author of works of literature (including theory and criticism), theology, zoology, philosophy, grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, philology, lin ...
200 years prior. He is considered the first
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
in history to address the subject of dependency in the
grammatical In linguistics, grammaticality is determined by the conformity to language usage as derived by the grammar of a particular speech variety. The notion of grammaticality rose alongside the theory of generative grammar, the goal of which is to formu ...
sense in which it is understood today, and was instrumental during the Almohad reforms as chief judge of the
Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). Th ...
.


Biography


Education

Ibn Mada's exact date of birth is a matter of dispute, having been listed as both 1116 and 1119Granja, F. de la
Ibn Maḍāʾ
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 ...
, Second Edition. Brill Online, 2012. Reference. 23 December 2012
Kojiro Nakamura was a Japanese scholar of Islam. He was professor emeritus of Islamic studies at both Tokyo University and Oberlin University. Tokyo University's Department of Islamic Studies was the first such department in Japan, established in 1982 with Nak ...
, "Ibn Mada's Criticism of Arab Grammarians." ''Orient'', v. 10, pgs. 89-113. 1974
according to the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
. His family was famous within their local community.Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. III, H-IRAM, pg. 747 Eds.
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
,
Charles Pellat Charles Pellat (28 September 1914, in Souk Ahras – 28 October 1992, in Bourg-la-Reine) was a French Algerian academic, historian, translator, and scholar of Oriental studies, specialized in Arab studies and Islamic studies. He was an editor of ...
and
Joseph Schacht Joseph Franz Schacht (, 15 March 1902 – 1 August 1969) was a British-German professor of Arabic and Islam at Columbia University in New York. He was the leading Western scholar in the areas of Islamic law and hadith studies, whose ''Origins of M ...
. Assist. J. Burton-Page, C. Dumont and V.L. Menage. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1971. Photomechanical print.
Ibn Mada was not known to have traveled outside of Cordoba prior to his academic study. He grew up in a family of noble origin, and as a youth he seemed to concern himself only with pursuing his education. In addition to religion, he was also well-versed in
geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
and
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
. He moved from Cordoba to
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
where he studied Arabic
grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
and
syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...
from the works of
Sibawayh Sibawayh ( (also pronounced in many modern dialects) ; ' ; ), whose full name is Abu Bishr Amr ibn Uthman ibn Qanbar al-Basri (, '), was a Persian leading grammarian of Basra and author of the Third book on Arabic grammar. His famous unname ...
. Later, he left the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
for
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...
in North Africa in order to study
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
and
prophetic In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divin ...
tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
with Muslim academic
Qadi Ayyad Abū al-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn ʿAmr ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ al-Yaḥṣubī al-Sabtī (Camilo Gómez-Rivas, Islamic Legal Thought: A Compendium of Muslim Jurists, ...
. Ibn Mada was most affected by his linguistic study, excelling so far as to develop his own independent opinions in regard to disputes among grammarians.


Career

Ibn Mada initially served as a judge in Fes in present-day
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and later at
Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...
in present-day Algeria. It was during his initial judgeship that he was a teacher of fellow Andalusian theologian and litterateur,
Ibn Dihya al-Kalby Umar bin al-Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin al-Jamil bin Farah bin Khalaf bin Qumis bin Mazlal bin Malal bin Badr bin Dihyah bin Farwah, better known as Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi () was a Moorish scholar of both the Arabic language and Islamic studies. ...
. Later on,
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...
chose him to serve as the
chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...
for the caliphate. He served in Fes,
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
and
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, outliving Abu Yaqub to serve under the caliph's son Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur and remaining as the empire's chief judge for the remainder of his life. Katip Çelebi, ''Kashf az-zunun'', vol. 3, pg. 355. Ed.
Gustav Leberecht Flügel Gustav Leberecht Flügel (February 18, 1802 – July 5, 1870) was a German orientalist. Life After attending high school in his native city Flügel studied theology and philosophy in Leipzig. He soon discovered his passion for oriental langua ...
.
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
: 1835-1858.
During the Almohad reforms, he assisted the Almohad authorities in banning any and all religious books written by non-Zahirites during the reign of
Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...
, and oversaw the outright burning of such books under Yusuf's son Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur. Ibn Maḍāʾs adherence to Zahirism has been described by Dutch
arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...
Kees Versteegh Cornelis Henricus Maria "Kees" Versteegh (; born 1947) is a Dutch academic linguist. He served as a professor of Islamic studies and the Arabic language at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands until April 2011. Versteegh graduated fro ...
as "fanatical." He died in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
the
Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the Ramad ...
month of Jumada al-awwal during the Hijri year of 592, corresponding to 1196 in the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
,"The Emergency of Modern Standard Arabic,"
by Kees Versteegh. Taken from ''The Arabic Language'' by permission of the
Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
. 1997.
just as he was approaching eighty years of age.


Theological position

The brilliant polymath Ibn Mada' was a proponent of the
Ash'ari Ash'arism (; ) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (''mujaddid''), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on ...
doctrine that opposed philosophy in general and
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
in particular, contending that reason should only be used to counter classical influences that were infiltrating into Islamic intellectual life. The Ash'ari adherents believed that the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and
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 ...
represented the infallible, accurate word of truth.


Views

Ibn Mada rose to fame as one of the first to launch attack on
Arabic grammar Arabic grammar () is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic languages, Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with the Semitic languages#Grammar, grammar of other Semitic languages. Classical Arabic and Modern St ...
theory and called for its reformation. Although he was concerned with attacking all major schools of Arabic grammar, he was focused on the grammar of the
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
s of
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 ...
, as it was the most popular school around him. His attack on eastern Arabic grammar was violent yet reasoned and eloquent, defending his view that grammar as it was understood in that region was complicated, casuistic, obscure and artificial; Ibn Mada instead called for building simple and clear grammar based on true facts of the language. Among his ideas which were considered revolutionary both during his life and with renewed interest in his work during the 1950s was the abolition of
governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...
and linguistic
analogy Analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things (or two groups of things) because of a third element that they are considered to share. In logic, it is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as oppose ...
. Ibn Mada felt that scholarly work on the Arabic language was intentionally convoluted and inaccessible to both non-native speakers and laymen
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, and that an overall simplification of language and grammar would enhance overall comprehension of Arabic. Ibn Mada held great respect for the language as the native speakers understood it, and while he emphasized a simplification of grammar he did not advocate a complete overhaul of the entire language. His
Zahiri The Zahiri school or Zahirism is a school of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was named after Dawud al-Zahiri and flourished in Spain during the Caliphate of Córdoba under the leadership of Ibn Hazm. It was also followed by the majo ...
te views in Muslim jurisprudence influenced his views in linguistics. He explicitly denied the ability of human beings to willfully choose what they say and how they say it, since
speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...
– like all other things – is predetermined by
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Because Arabic grammarians during Ibn Mada's time often linked the spoken language to grammatical
causes Causes, or causality, is the relationship between one event and another. It may also refer to: * Causes (band), an indie band based in the Netherlands * Causes (company) Causes is a for-profit civic-technology app and website that enables users ...
, they earned both his linguistic and theological ire. In his view, the Zahirite denial of legal causality in regard to
Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...
carried over into a denial of linguistic causality in regard to Arabic grammar.Michael G. Carter, ''Andalusian Grammarians'', pg. 34. Ibn Mada's reaction toward Arabic grammar and grammarians wasn't without provocation. Both earlier Zahirite jurists such as
Ibn Hazm Ibn Hazm (; November 994 – 15 August 1064) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, traditionist, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Córdoban Caliphate, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpre ...
and al-Ballūṭī and some
Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...
tes sparred with
Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
te jurists who sought to justify practices such as
Istihsan ' (Arabic: ) is an Arabic term for juristic discretion. In its literal sense it means "to consider something good". Muslim scholars may use it to express their preference for particular judgements in Islamic law over other possibilities. It is o ...
, on the basis of grammatical and linguistic arguments. Thus suspicion and antagonism toward grammarians in the east, where the Hanafite rite predominated, had already been started before Ibn Mada began his whole-scale vehemence.


Legacy


Influence

Ibn Mada's mastery of the Arabic language and its subfields was so great that, at the time, he was said to have been isolated from the general body of scholarship in terms of sheer knowledge. His refutation was written toward the end of his life and demonstrated his clarity of thought and independent judgment, causing his student
Ibn Dihya al-Kalby Umar bin al-Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin al-Jamil bin Farah bin Khalaf bin Qumis bin Mazlal bin Malal bin Badr bin Dihyah bin Farwah, better known as Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi () was a Moorish scholar of both the Arabic language and Islamic studies. ...
to brand him as the leader of all grammarians. His critical views of Arabic grammar as it was taught in the eastern
Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
found an audience with other linguistic and religious scholars of the western half,
Abu Hayyan Al Gharnati Abū Ḥayyān Athīr ad-Dīn al-Gharnāṭī (, November 1256 – July 1344 CE / 654 - 745 AH), whose full name is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf bin ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ibn Hayyān (), better known as Abū Ḥayyān al-Gharnati (, was an Andalusian Sunni ...
being one example. Gharnati also criticized so-called "eastern grammarians" and, after his treatise on the non-existence of grammatic causality, cited Ibn Mada as his inspiration.Michael G. Carter, ''Andalusian Grammarians'', pg. 39. Although Ibn Dihya, Abu Hayyan and Ibn Mada shared their Zahirite and Andalusian backgrounds, not all of Ibn Mada's intellectual descendants shared these traits. Thus, while Ibn Mada opened the discussion regarding the competence of grammarians, suspicion surrounding them and the religious implications of their work continued even after his death. In the mid-20th century, the rediscovery of Ibn Mada's ''Refutation'' by Egyptian linguist Shawqi Daif caused minor shockwaves. Convinced that Ibn Mada's abolition of linguistic analogy and governance were the solutions to the failure of Arabic language education, Daif used this foundation for his later advocacy of modernizing language arts education in the Middle East. So strong was Ibn Mada's refutation of grammarians that
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
Laudian Professor of Arabic Geert Jan van Gelder referred to Ibn Mada as the
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...
of the
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
. Geert Jan van Gelder, "Against the Arabic Grammarians: Some Poems." Taken from in the Shadow of Arabic: The Centrality of Language to Arab Culture, pg. 249. Ed. Bilal Orfali. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2011. Print.


Works

* () * () * ()


See also

* List of Ash'aris


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Mada Al-Qurtubi 1116 births 1196 deaths 12th-century Arab people 12th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Arab grammarians Medieval grammarians of Arabic Zahiris Asharis 12th-century jurists Scholars from al-Andalus Scholars from the Almohad Caliphate