Ibn al-Nadim

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Ibn an-Nadīm
Born~320 H (~932 CE)
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Died~385 H (~995 CE)[1]
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Notable workKitāb al-Fihrist
EraMedieval period
(Later Abbasid era)
SchoolAristotelianism[1]
Main interests
History, Arabic literature
Personal
Religion
Mu'tazila[1]
OccupationBibliographer, Historian

Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq an-Nadīm (

biographer[2] of Baghdad who compiled the encyclopedia Kitāb al-Fihrist
(The Book Catalogue).

Biography

Much known of an-Nadim is deduced from his epithets. 'an-Nadim' (النَّدِيم), 'the Court Companion' and 'al-Warrāq (الْوَرَّاق) 'the copyist of manuscripts'. Probably born in Baghdad ca. 320/932 he died there on Wednesday, 20th of Shaʿban A.H. 385. He was a Persian or perhaps an Arab.[3][4] From age six, he may have attended a

Greek science.[5]
An inscription, in an early copy of al-Fihrist, probably by the historian al-Maqrizi, relates that an-Nadim was a pupil of the jurist Abu Sa'id al-Sirafi (d.978/9), the poet Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, and the historian Abu Abdullah al-Marzubani and others. Al-Maqrizi's phrase 'but no one quoted him', would imply an-Nadim himself did not teach.[6] While attending lectures of some of the leading scholars of the tenth century, he served an apprenticeship in his father's profession, the book trade. His father, a bookdealer and owner of a prosperous bookstore, commissioned an-Nadim to buy manuscripts from dealers. an-Nadim, with the other calligrapher scribes employed, would then copy these for the customers. The bookshop, customarily on an upper floor, would have been a popular hangout for intellectuals.[7]

He probably visited the intellectual centers at

Basra and Kufa in search of scholarly material. He may have visited Aleppo, a center of literature and culture under the rule of Sayf al-Dawla. In a library in Mosul he found a fragment of a book by Euclid and works of poetry. an-Nadim may have served as 'Court Companion' to Nasir al-Dawla, a Hamdanid ruler of Mosul who promoted learning.[8] His family were highly educated and he, or his ancestor, may have been a 'member of the Round Table of the prince'. The Buyid caliph 'Adud al-Dawla (r. 356–367 H), was the great friend of arts and sciences, loved poets and scholars, gave them salaries, and founded a significant library.[9] More probably service at the court of Mu'izz al-Dawla, and later his son Izz al-Dawlah's, in Baghdad, earned him the title. He mentions meeting someone in Dar al-Rum in 988, about the period of the book's compilation.[10] However, it is probable that, here, 'Dar al-Rum' refers to the Greek Orthodox sector of Baghdad rather than Constantinople.[11]

Others among his wide circle of elites were

Ibn Abi Usaibia (d. 1273), mentions an-Nadim thirteen times and calls him a writer, or perhaps a government secretary.[12] an-Nadim's kunya
'Abu al-Faraj' indicates he was married with at least one son.

In 987, Ibn an-Nadim began compiling al-Fihrist (The Catalogue), as a useful reference index for customers and traders of books. Over a long period he noted thousands of authors, their biographical data, and works, gathered from his regular visits to private book collectors and libraries across the region - including Mosul and Damascus - and through active participation in the lively literary scene of Baghdad in the period.

Religion

Ishaq an-Nadim's broad discussions of religions and religious sects in his writings and the subtleties of his descriptions and terminologies raised questions as to his own religious beliefs and affiliations. It seems

Isma'ili, rests on his meeting with an Isma'ili leader.[7]

Al-Fihrist

Main article: Al-Fihrist
One page from the manuscript of al-Fihrist

The Kitāb al-Fihrist (

Arabic: كتاب الفهرست) is a compendium of the knowledge and literature of tenth-century Islam referencing approx. 10,000 books and 2,000 authors.[14] This crucial source of medieval Arabic-Islamic literature, informed by various ancient Hellenic and Roman civilizations, preserves from his own hand the names of authors, books and accounts otherwise entirely lost. Al-Fihrist is evidence of an-Nadim's thirst for knowledge among the exciting sophisticated milieu of Baghdad's intellectual elite. As a record of civilisation transmitted through Muslim culture to the West world, it provides unique classical material and links to other civilisations.[15]

See also

  • Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid

Notes

  1. ^ Ḥashawīyya means those who believe Allah can be confined to physical dimensions.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fück, J.W. 'Ibn Al-Nadīm'. In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, P.J. Bearman (Volumes X, XI, XII), Th. Bianquis (Volumes X, XI, XII), et al. Accessed December 23, 2020. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3317.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org.
  3. ^ Nicholson, p. 362.
  4. ^ Gray, p. 24.
  5. ^ Dodge, p. xvii.
  6. ^ Dodge, p. xxvi.
  7. ^ a b Dodge, p. xviii.
  8. ^ Dodge, p. xx.
  9. ^ Fück, p. 117.
  10. ^ Dodge, p. xxi.
  11. ^ Nallino.
  12. ^ Usaybi'ah, Part I, p. 57
  13. ^ Hajar, Lisān al-Mīzān, pt.5, p. 72
  14. ^ The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 2, Numero 2, p. 782
  15. ^ Dodge, p. i.

Sources

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