Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (21/308)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

under Abū Marwān ibn Ḥazbūl (1). Thereafter he applied himself to the sciences of the ancients, with all their benefits and pitfalls, until he became proverbial in that regard.

Al-Abbār (2) said: “Al-Andalus has never produced anyone who equalled him in perfection, knowledge, and virtue. He was humble, gentle-spirited, and it is reported of him that from the moment he attained understanding he missed study on only two nights: the night his father died and the night of his wedding. The pages he blackened with what he authored and annotated came to about ten thousand folios (3). He was drawn to the disciplines of the philosophers and rose to pre-eminence in them. People would consult his opinions in medicine just as readily as they sought his fatwas in jurisprudence, while he possessed an abundant command of Arabic. It is also said that he had memorised the collected poetry of Abū Tammām and of al-Mutanabbī (4).”

Among his writings are: Bidāyat al-Mujtahid on fiqh, al-Kulliyāt on medicine, Mukhtaṣar al-Mustafā on uṣūl, and a work on Arabic (5).

He held the judgeship of Córdoba, and his conduct in office won praise.

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa states in Taʾrīkh al-Ḥukamāʾ (6): “He was peerless in jurisprudence and dialectical debate, excelled in medicine, and there was a bond of friendship between him and Abū Marwān ibn Zuhr.”

It is further said that he dressed plainly yet possessed a resolute spirit. He studied medicine for a period under Abū Jaʿfar ibn Hārūn. When al-Manṣūr, the ruler of the Maghrib, was in Córdoba, he summoned Ibn Rushd, honoured him greatly, but later took offence at him—namely, on account of philosophy.

His other works include a Commentary on Ibn Sīnā’s Urjūzah on medicine, al-Muqaddimāt on fiqh, and the book al-Ḥayawān.

(1) This is the form recorded in the original manuscript and its checked copy; Ibn al-Abbar’s Takmila gives it as “Jariul.” (2) Takmila, vol. 2, p. 554. (3) Takmila (Ibn al-Abbar): “and that he blackened page after page with what he composed, noted, authored, refined, and abridged.” (4) Takmila: “He had memorised the poetry of Habib and al-Mutanabbi, frequently citing them in his assemblies in the finest manner.” (5) Ibn al-Abbar also says: “and his book on Arabic which he entitled al-Daruri, among other works.” (6) Uyoon al-anba fi tabaqat al-atibba, vol. 2, p. 75 ff.

عَنْ أَبِي مَرْوَانَ بن حَزْبُول (١) ، ثُمَّ أَقْبَل عَلَى علُوْم الأَوَائِل وَبلاَيَاهُم، حَتَّى صَارَ يُضْرَبُ بِهِ المَثَلُ فِي ذَلِكَ. قَالَ الأَبَّار (٢) : لَمْ يَنشَأْ بِالأَنْدَلُسِ مِثْله كَمَالاً وَعلماً وَفضلاً، وَكَانَ مُتَوَاضِعاً، مُنْخَفض الجنَاح، يُقَالُ عَنْهُ: إِنَّهُ مَا ترك الاشتغَال مُذْ عَقَلَ سِوَى لَيْلَتَيْنِ: لَيْلَة مَوْت أَبِيْهِ، وَليلَة عرْسه، وَإِنَّهُ سوّد فِي مَا أَلّف وَقيّد (٣) نَحْواً مِنْ عَشْرَة آلاَف وَرقَة، وَمَال إِلَى علُوْم الحكمَاء، فَكَانَتْ لَهُ فِيْهَا الإِمَامَة، وَكَانَ يُفزَع إِلَى فُتْيَاهُ فِي الطِّبّ، كَمَا يُفزَع إِلَى فُتيَاهُ فِي الفِقْه، مَعَ وَفور العَرَبِيَّة، وَقِيْلَ: كَانَ يَحفظ (دِيْوَان أَبِي تَمَّام) ، وَ (المتنبِي (٤)) . وَلَهُ مِنَ التَّصَانِيْف: (بدَايَة المُجْتَهِد) فِي الفِقْه، وَ (الكُليَّات) فِي الطِّبّ، وَ (مُخْتَصَر المُسْتصفَى) فِي الأُصُوْل، وَمُؤلَّف فِي العَرَبِيَّة (٥) . وَوَلِيَ قَضَاءَ قُرْطُبَة، فَحُمِدَت سيرَته. قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي أُصِيْبعَة فِي (تَارِيخ الحكمَاء (٦)) : كَانَ أَوحد فِي الفِقْه وَالخلاَف، وَبَرَعَ فِي الطِّبّ، وَكَانَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ أَبِي مَرْوَانَ بن زهر مَوَدَّة. وَقِيْلَ: كَانَ رَثَّ البِزَّة، قوِيّ النَّفْس، لاَزم فِي الطِّبّ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ بنَ هَارُوْنَ مُدَّة، وَلَمَّا كَانَ المَنْصُوْرُ صَاحِب المَغْرِب بقُرْطُبَة، اسْتدعَى ابْن رُشْدٍ، وَاحْتَرَمه كَثِيْراً، ثُمَّ نَقَمَ عَلَيْهِ بَعْدُ -يَعْنِي: لأَجْل الفَلْسَفَة-. وَلَهُ (شرح أُرْجُوزَة ابْنِ سِيْنَا) فِي الطِّبّ، وَ (المُقَدِّمَات) فِي الفِقْه، كِتَاب (الحيوَان) ،

(١) هكذا هي مقيدة في الأصل ومضبوطه، وفي التكملة لابن الابار: جريول. (٢) (التكملة) ٢ / ٥٥٤. (٣) في (التكملة) لابن الابار: (وانه سود في ما صنف وقيد وألف وهذب واختصر) (٤) في (التكملة) : (كان يحفظ شعري حبيب والمتنبي ويكثر التمثل بهما في مجلسه ويورد ذلك أحسن إيراد) . (٥) قال ابن الابار: (وكتابه في العربية الذي وسمه بالضروري، وغير ذلك) (٦) (عيون الانباء في طبقات الاطباء) : ٢ / ٧٥ فما بعد.