Ibn Abd Rabbih facts for kids
Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih (whose full name was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd Rabbih) was an important Arab writer and poet. He lived from 860 to 940 AD. He is most famous for writing a big book called Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd, which means The Unique Necklace.
About Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih
Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was born in a city called Cordova. This city is in modern-day Spain. His family were once freed slaves of Hisham I. Hisham I was an early ruler of the Umayyad kingdom in Spain.
Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was known for being very smart and good with words. We don't know many details about his daily life. He learned from scholars who had traveled to the East to gain knowledge. These teachers included Baqī b. Makhlad and Muḥammad b. Waḍḍāḥ. Another teacher, Muḥammad b. ʻAbd al-Salām al-Khushanī, brought many stories and poems from the Islamic East to Spain.
Even though his teachers traveled a lot, Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih himself never left Spain. He studied to become a religious scholar. However, he became more famous as a writer and poet. He worked as a poet for the rulers of the Umayyad court. He started working for Emir ʻAbdallāh in 888 AD. He reached the peak of his career under ʻAbd al-Raḥmān III. ʻAbd al-Raḥmān III was a powerful ruler from 912 to 961 AD.
His Writings
Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was a friend to many Umayyad princes. He worked as an official panegyrist (someone who writes praises) at the Umayyad court. Sadly, we don't have a full collection of all his poems today. However, many of his poems can be found in other old books.
His most famous work is a large collection of writings called al-ʿIqd al-Farīd. This title means The Unique Necklace. The book is divided into 25 different parts. The 13th part is called the "middle jewel" of the necklace. The other parts are named after different kinds of jewels.
The Unique Necklace is an adab book. Adab refers to a type of literature that includes stories, poems, and wise sayings. It's like a collection of interesting and useful knowledge. His book is similar to other famous adab books from his time. He borrowed many ideas and stories from earlier writers.
Even though Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih lived his whole life in Spain, most of the material in his book comes from the Eastern Islamic world. He didn't include many writings from other Spanish scholars. He did include his own long poem, the Urjuza. This poem has 445 lines. In it, he tells about the battles and victories of Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir. He also included poems praising the Umayyad rulers of Spain.
Translations
- Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, The Unique Necklace: Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd, translated by Issa J. Boullata, Great Books of Islamic Civilization, 3 volumes (Reading: Garnet, 2007-2011)
See also
In Spanish: Ibn Abd Rabbihi para niños
