Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman

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This article is about 10th-century Isma'ili missionary. For 8th-century Abbasid prince and Governor of Mosul, see Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur.

Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (

Fatimid caliphs in Ifriqiya, where he remained until his death. He composed poems in praise of the Fatimids' victory over the uprising of Abu Yazid
, a biography of his father, and authored or compiled a number of important theological treatises.

Life

Ja'far was the son of the

Abdallah al-Mahdi, the leader of the Isma'ili movement,[3] and declared himself the mahdī.[4] Ibn Hawshab refused to join him in his rebellion, and Ibn al-Fadl besieged his erstwhile colleague at the fortress of Jabal Maswar. After eight months of siege, in April 912, Ibn Hawshab sought terms, and handed over Ja'far as a hostage. Ja'far was returned after a year with a golden necklace as a gift.[5][6]

After Ibn Hawshab, his sons quarrelled among themselves. Embroiled in a conflict with his brother Abu'l-Hasan, Ja'far eventually left Yemen and made for the Fatimid court in

al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (r. 946–953).[1] Under Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975) he mortgaged his house and almost lost it due to debts, but was saved by the Caliph's intervention.[1] He died at some unknown point in the early reign of al-Mu'izz.[1]

Writings

A quasi-hagiographic biography of his father is attributed to him,[1] although it may also have been an autobiography written by Ibn Hawshab himself.[7] It is now lost, but known through extensive quotations in later authors, and is, according to the historian Heinz Halm, "one of the most important sources for the history of the daʿwa".[7]

His theological works have survived in fuller form, as they were frequently copied and reused in later Isma'ili compendiums.

Book of the Sage and Disciple (Kitāb al-ʿĀlim wa’l-ghulām), which is also sometimes attributed to his father. It consists of a series of encounters between a novice and his spiritual guide (the dāʿī), who gradually reveals the hidden, esoteric knowledge (bāṭin) to his disciple.[1][8] According to the scholar Shafique Virani, this work "is considered Arabic literature’s most accomplished example of the full-scale narrated dramatic dialogue".[9]

He is also attributed with the Kitāb al-kashf, a compilation of six treatises on various issues, including

Islamic prophets.[1][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Haji 2008.
  2. ^ Madelung 1991, pp. 438–439.
  3. ^ Halm 1991, p. 178.
  4. ^ Daftary 2007, p. 122.
  5. ^ Madelung 1991, p. 439.
  6. ^ Halm 1991, p. 179.
  7. ^ a b Halm 1991, p. 38.
  8. ^ Daftary 2004, pp. 6, 17–18, 121–122.
  9. ^ Virani 2008.
  10. ^ Daftary 2004, pp. 6, 122.
  11. ^ Daftary 2004, p. 122.

Sources

  • ISBN 978-0-8577-1386-5
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2
    .
  • ISBN 978-3-406-35497-7
    .
  • Haji, Hamid (2008). "Jaʿfar B. Manșur-Al-Yaman". In
    ISBN 978-1-934283-08-0
    .
  • Madelung, Wilferd (1991). "Manṣūr al-Yaman". In
    ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3
    .
  • Virani, Shafique (2008). "The Book of the Master and the Disciple by Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman". In Daftary, Farhad; Hirji, Zulfikar (eds.). The Ismailis: An Illustrated History. London: Azimuth Editions, in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies. p. 69.
    ISBN 978-1-898592-26-6
    .
  • Ismail K. Poonawala, Biobibliography of Ismāʿīlī Literature, Malibu, 1977
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