and he excelled in jurisprudence and in the subtleties of legal questions. Those who transmitted from him include Muhammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Lubabah, Saʿid ibn ʿUthman al-Aʿnaqi, Muhammad ibn Futays, and others. He died in Córdoba in Jumada al-Ula, 259 AH.

134 – Yaʿqub ibn Ishaq ibn al-Sabbah al-Kindi al-Ashʿathi *

The philosopher and bibliophile, a descendant of al-Ashʿath ibn Qays, chief of the Arabs.

He was a leading authority on the wisdom of the ancients, Greek logic, astronomy, astrology, medicine, and the like. No one could match his stature in that now-abandoned science, and his reach was even longer in geometry and music. He was known as “the Philosopher of the Arabs.” Suspicions surrounded his creed; he was stingy and devoid of gentlemanly conduct. Yet he possessed fine poetic composition, eloquence, and a circle of students. He once resolved to produce something akin to the Quran, but after a few days he admitted his incapacity.

ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Yahya ibn Khakan said, “I saw him in a dream and asked, ‘What has Allah done with you?’ He replied, ‘As soon as He saw me He said, ﴿Proceed to that which you used to deny﴾ (Q 77:29).’”

Abu Dawud transmitted reports from his father.