Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (18/46)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

His father had been the secretary of Caliph al-Qādir. Abu Ṭālib himself served as vizier for al-Qāʾim while the latter was still crown-prince, then became vizier to al-Qādir after Ibn Ḥājib al-Nuʿmān, and later returned to the vizierate under al-Qāʾim for a little over a decade.

He was an eloquent letter-writer, accomplished in many fields. He authored a book on land tax (kharāj) and transmitted the collected poems (Dīwān) of al-Buḥturī through the chain: al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Khāliʿ → Abū Sahl al-Qaṭṭān → Abū al-Ghawth ibn al-Buḥturī. He likewise related the poetry of Abū Naṣr ibn Nubāta (1).

Among those who narrated from him were Abū al-Jawāʾiz Hibat Allah ibn Ḥamzah and others.

He was born in 370 AH and died in Muḥarram of 448 AH (2).

He is the author of the saying:

“The scribes are seven:

The Complete (al-kāmil): the one who composes, dictates, and writes.
The Disarmed (al-aʿzal): he who composes but has no handwriting to show (3).
The Obscure (al-mubham): a man with fine penmanship but no power of composition.
The Note-writer (al-ruqāʿī): one who excels in a short memorandum yet cannot sustain a lengthy piece (4).
The Unsteady (al-mukhabbal): endowed with memory and transmission, yet devoid of expressive style—fit only to be a convivial companion (5).
The Mixer (al-mukhalit): he who produces pearls together with dung (6),"

(1) Abu Nasr ʿAbd al-ʿAziz b. ʿUmar b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Nabata al-Tamimi al-Saʿdi, one of the celebrated Baghdadi poets, died in 405/1014-15. His biography has already been given in volume 17, no. 139. (2) I.e. “and four hundred” (400). (3) That is, the person who composes and dictates prose pieces but does not himself write them in an elegant hand, as stated in al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat. (4) Al-Safadi adds: “and he varied his themes.” (5) In al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat: “If he is intelligent, he is fit to be a boon-companion of kings.” (6) According to al-Safadi: he is the one who, in his compositions, sets a *durra* (pearl) beside a *baʿra* (dung pellet), pairing them together and thereby dulling the splendour of what he writes.

كَانَ أَبُوْهُ كَاتِبَ القَادِر. وَوزرَ هَذَا لِلقَائِمِ أَيَّامَ وِلاَيَةِ عَهْده، ثُمَّ وَزر لِلقَادِر بَعْد ابْنِ حَاجِب النُّعْمَان، ثُمَّ وَزر لِلقَائِمِ بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً. وَكَانَ بَلِيْغاً مُتَرَسِّلاً، صَاحِبَ فُنُوْن، صَنّف كِتَاباً فِي الخَرَاج، وَرَوَى (ديوَان) البُحْتُرِيّ، عَنِ الحُسَيْن بن مُحَمَّدٍ الخَالع، عَنْ أَبِي سَهْلٍ القَطَّان، عَنْ أَبِي الْغَوْث بن البُحْتُرِيّ. وَرَوَى عَنْ: أَبِي نَصْرٍ بن نُبَاتَة (١) شِعره. رَوَى عَنْهُ: أَبُو الجَوَائِز هِبَةُ اللهِ بنُ حَمْزَةَ، وَغَيْرهُ. وُلِدَ: سَنَةَ سَبْعِيْنَ وَثَلاَثِ مائَة. وَمَاتَ: فِي المُحَرَّمِ سَنَةَ ثَمَانٍ وَأَرْبَعِيْنَ (٢) . وَهُوَ القَائِلُ: الكُتَّابُ سَبْعَةٌ: الكَامِلُ الَّذِي يُنشِئُ وَيُمْلِي وَيَكْتُب، وَالأَعزل: وَهُوَ المُنشِئُ وَلاَ خطَّ لَهُ (٣) ، وَالثَّالِث: المُبْهَمُ: وَهُوَ صَاحِبُ الخَطِّ وَلاَ إِنشَاءَ لَهُ، الرَّابِع: الرُّقَاعِي: وَهُوَ مَنْ يُجِيْد رُقْعَةً وَلاَ خَطَّ لَهُ فِي طول نَفَسٍ (٤) ، الخَامِس: المُخَبَّل: وَهُوَ ذُو الحِفْظ وَالرِّوَايَة، وَلاَ عبَارَة لَهُ، فِيجِيْءُ مِنْهُ نَديم (٥) ، السَّادِس: المُخَلِّط؛ وَهُوَ الآتِي بِدُرِّهِ مَعَ بَعْرِهِ (٦) ،

(١) هو أبو نصر عبد العزيز بن عمر بن محمد بن أحمد بن نباتة التميمي السعدي أحد شعراء العصر ببغداد، المتوفى سنة (٤٠٥) هـ. وقد تقدمت ترجمته في الجزء السابع عشر برقم (١٣٩) . (٢) أي وأربع مئة. (٣) أي الذي ينشئ ويملي، ولا يكتب خطا رائقا، كما في " الوافي بالوفيات ". (٤) زاد الصفدي: وتنوع معان. (٥) في " الوافي ": فإذا كان عاقلا صلح أن يكون نديما للملوك. (٦) عند الصفدي: هو الذي يأتي فيما ينشئه بدرة وبعرة يقرن بينهما، فيذهب رونق ما ينشئه.