Ibn Khallikan
Muslim historian (1211–1282)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān[a][3] (Arabic: أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedia of Muslim scholars and important men in Muslim history, Deaths of Eminent Men and the Sons of the Epoch (Arabic: وفيات الأعيان وأنباء أبناء الزمان, romanized: wafayāt al-ʾaʿyān wa-ʾanbāʾ ʾabnāʾ al-zamān).[4] Due to this achievement, he is regarded as the most eminent writer of biographies in Islamic history.[5]
Shams al-Dīn Abū Al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Khallikān | |
|---|---|
ابن خلكان | |
| Title | Chief Judge |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 22 September 1211 |
| Died | 30 October 1282 (aged 71) |
| Region | Middle East |
| Notable work(s) | Deaths of Eminent Men and History of the Sons of the Epoch |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[1] |
| Creed | Ash'ari[2] |
Life
Ibn Khallikān was born in Erbil on 22 September 1211 (11 Rabīʿ al-Thānī 608 AH). He was an Arabic biographer[6] from an Arab family[7] that claimed descent from the Barmakids.[8] However, Ibn Khallikān's family has also been described to be of Kurdish origin, specifically from the Kurdish Zarzārī tribe,[9] as the family name ("Ibn Khallikān") originated from a village near Erbil and was formed "according to the Kurdish manner" (ʿalā ṭarīq al-nisba al-kurdiyya).[10]
His primary studies took him from Erbil, to Aleppo and to Damascus,[11] before he took up jurisprudence in Mosul and then in Cairo, where he settled.[12] He gained prominence as a jurist, theologian and grammarian.[12] An early biographer described him as "a pious man, virtuous, and learned; amiable in temper, in conversation serious and instructive. His exterior was highly prepossessing, his countenance handsome and his manners engaging."[13]
He married in 1252[12] and was assistant to the chief judge in Egypt until 1261, when he assumed the position of chief judge in Damascus.[11] He lost this position in 1271 and returned to Egypt, where he taught until being reinstated as judge in Damascus in 1278.[11] He retired in 1281[12] and died in Damascus on 30 October 1282 (Saturday, 26th of Rajab 681).[11]