After him, his paternal grandmother Arjawān (1) the Armenian passed away. She had lived to see her own son as caliph, her grandson, and even her great-grandson—a distinction granted to no one but her.
237 – Abū al-Qāsim al-Anṣārī, Salmān ibn Nāṣir ibn ‘Imrān
Leader of the theologians and “Sword of Dialectics,” Salmān ibn Nāṣir ibn ‘Imrān al-Naysābūrī was a Sufi, a Shāfi‘ī jurist, and a direct pupil of Imām al-Ḥaramayn. He narrated from Fadl Allāh al-Mīhanī and ‘Abd al-Ghāfir al-Fārisī. Brilliant of mind, he enjoyed wide renown and was noted for his learning, asceticism, and devotion. Among his works is a commentary on al-Irshād (2) and other writings. He died in 511 AH.
238 – The ruler of Ifrīqiya, Abū Ṭāhir Yaḥyā ibn Tamīm ibn al-Mu‘izz al-Ḥimyarī **
King Abū Ṭāhir Yaḥyā, son of King Tamīm ibn al-Mu‘izz ibn Bādīs al-Ḥimyarī.
(1) Al-Muntazam, 9/200, records that Arjawan—also called Qurrat al-Ayn—the concubine of al-Dhakira and mother of the caliph al-Muqtadi bi-Amr Allah, was an Armenian slave girl renowned for piety and charity. She performed the pilgrimage three times, lived through the caliphate of her son al-Muqtadi and of her grandson al-Mustarshid, and even saw a child born to al-Mustarshid.
(*) Principal sources: al-Siyāq, fol. 72; Ibn ʿAsakir, Taʾrikh Dimashq, 7:221/2–222/1 and 12:179; Ibn Khaldun, 6:106; Ibn al-ʿImad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, 4:26; for the year 512 AH see also: al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat, miscellany 13:107; al-Yafiʿi, Mirʾat al-Janan, 3:203; al-Subki, Tabaqat, 7:96–99; al-Isnawi, Tabaqat, 1:64–65; al-Suyuti, Tabaqat al-Mufassirin, 13; al-Dawudi, Tabaqat al-Mufassirin, 1:193–194; Ibn Hidaya Allah, Tabaqat, 73; Haji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun, 1:68 and 2:1212; Shadharat al-Dhahab, 4:34; Ibn ʿAsakir, Tahdhib, 6:213–214.
(2) The full title is al-Irshad ila Qawatiʿ al-Adilla fi Usul al-Iʿtiqad (The Guide to the Decisive Proofs in the Fundamentals of Creed), by his teacher Abu al-Maʿali al-Juwayni, Imam al-Haramayn (d. 478 AH); see biographical notice no. 240 above, section 18.
(* *) Further references: Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, 10:512–513; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Aʿyan, 6:211–219; Ibn Idhari, al-Bayan al-Mughrib, 1:304; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, 4:195/1–2; al-Dhahabi, al-ʿIbar, 4:19; (continued)