and also Muḥammad ibn Rāfiʿ (1), Hishām ibn ʿAmmār (2), Abū Turāb al-Nakhshabī (3), and Ibn al-Rāwandī (4) —the zindīq—Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq Abū al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Rāwandī, whose nisbah refers to a village in the region of Qāshān. He lived in Baghdad, where he composed books that propagated zandaqa (heresy). Although he was endowed with ability, he employed it in ways that harmed him in both this world and the Hereafter.
We have already given a lengthy biographical entry for him, following the account of Ibn al-Jawzī (5) [under the year 298 AH] (6); we mention him here only because the jurist Ibn Khallikān (7) states that he died in the present year. Ibn Khallikān was mistaken, and he offered no criticism of him whatsoever; rather, he praised him, saying:
“Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq al-Rāwandī, the renowned scholar, held a distinct position in kalām (speculative theology). He was among the eminent figures of his era and authored roughly one hundred and fourteen works, among them Disgrace of the Muʿtazilites, The Crown, The Emerald (8), The Cane (9), and others. He possessed many commendable qualities (10) and engaged in intellectual debates with a number of theologians, adopting unique views that specialists in kalām have cited from him in their books.
He died in 245 AH at Raḥbat Mālik ibn Ṭawq al-Taghlibī; others say he passed away in Baghdad, and his age was estimated
(1) Abu ʿAbd Allāh al-Qushayrī, their master al-Nisābūrī. A leading scholar of his era in Khurāsān, known for his integrity and travels. He was ascetic, devout, and righteous. Ibn Ṭāhir sent him five thousand dirhams, which he returned—so much so that, at the time, his family lacked bread. (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, vol. 12, p. 215; Al-ʿIbar, vol. 1, p. 445)
(2) Abū al-Walīd al-Sulmī, the preacher of Damascus, its Qurʾān reader, jurist, and hadith scholar. He studied the Qurʾān with Ayyūb ibn Tamīm and ʿIrāk, who in turn learned it from Yaḥyā al-Zhimārī, a disciple of Ibn ʿĀmir. He is reliable and truthful. (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, vol. 11, p. 420; Al-ʿIbar, vol. 1, p. 445; Ghāyat al-Nihāyah, vol. 2, p. 354)
(3) ʿAskar ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Nakhshabī, one of the senior sheikhs of the community. He accompanied Ḥātim al-Aṣamm and others. He wrote on religious sciences, then pursued deeper study and worship, lectured widely, and lived simply. He died in the desert—some say he was torn by wild beasts. (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, vol. 11, p. 545; Al-ʿIbar, vol. 1, p. 445)
(4) The author will provide his full biography under the year 298 AH; he is mentioned here only following Ibn Khallikān, who erroneously recorded his death in 245 AH, as noted by Ibn al-Athīr.
(5) Al-Muntaẓam, vol. 6, pp. 99–105.
(6) Supplement drawn from another edition.
(7) Wafayāt al-Aʿyān, vol. 1, p. 95.
(8) See also Wafayāt al-Aʿyān; Al-Muntaẓam; Hadiyyat al-ʿĀrifīn; and al-ʿAlām al-Zumurrud.
(9) In the B and Ẓā editions it reads al-naṣb; the correct title is Kitāb Qāḍīb al-Dhahab, as attested in the sources and in Wafayāt al-Aʿyān (vol. 1, p. 94) and its marginal note No. 1.
(10) In Wafayāt al-Aʿyān the work appears under the title Majālis wa Munāẓarāt.