Abu al-Arab | |
|---|---|
| أبو العرب | |
| Born | 9th-century |
| Died | c. 945 |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age,Fatimid era |
| Main interests | History,hadith,poetry |
Muḥammad ibn Tamīm ibn Tamām al-Tamīmī (Arabic:محمد بن تميم بن تمام التميمي; died 945) more commonly known asAbu al-Arab (أبو العرب;lit. 'Father of the Arabs') was a 10th-centuryArabMuslim historian, poet, traditionist andfaqih of theMaliki school.[1] His most celebrated work isTabaqat 'Ulama Ifriqiya (lit. 'Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya') which include numerous scholars of his time.
Abu al-Arab year of birth is unknown, though he most probably was born between 864 and 873 in the city ofKayrawan, the cultural center ofIfriqiya (corresponds to modern-dayTunisia), at the time was under the control of theFatimid Caliphate. He belonged to a noble Arab family of governors. His great-grandfather held the governorship ofTunis and he also successfully managed to seize control of Kayrawan in the year 799.[1] Abu al-Arab studied under a number of scholars who were themselves took knowledge from the renowned Kayrawani juristSahnun (d. 854/55), and he wrote a detailed account of Sahnun's life.[2] Sequentially, Abu al-Arab devoted his time to teaching in Kayrawan, his most notable student wasIbn Abi Zayd al-Kayrawani (d. 996).[1] Abu al-Arab participated in Abu Yazid's revolt against the Fatimids, eventually he was imprisoned. Few years later, he died in 945.[1]
Abu al-Arab relied also on the work ofIssa ibn Abi al-Mouhajir for his writings aboutIfriqiya[3]..
According toal-Zirkili, Abu al-Arab works consist of 3,000 books which are mostly lost.[4]
