Ibn Abi Awn

Ibn Abi Awn (d. 322 AH / 934 CE) was an Abbasid secretary and man of letters in Baghdad, best known as the author of the thematic poetic compendium Kitab al-Tashbihat ("The Book of Similes") Wafayat al-Ayan+1.

Identity and Career

He was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Awn ibn Hilal Abi al-Najm al-Katib, also identified in some records as Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Hilal al-Anbari Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. Active in Baghdad during the late 3rd and early 4th centuries AH, he was recognized among the leading state secretaries (kuttab) and cultivated a reputation for refined prose and literary scholarship Wafayat al-Ayan+1. His literary output included the thematic compilation Kitab al-Tashbihat, which classified poetic similes into subject-based chapters, as well as the collection of witty retorts titled al-Ajwiba al-Muskita ("The Silencing Answers") and the geographical treatise Kitab al-Nawahi al-Tashbihat li-Ibn Abi A…+1.

Association with al-Shalmaghani and Trial

Ibn Abi Awn became a devoted adherent and confidant of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shalmaghani (known as Ibn Abi al-Azaqir), accepting his esoteric claims of divine incarnation (hulul) and reincarnation Mujam al-Udaba = Irshad a…+1. When the vizier Ibn Muqla arrested al-Shalmaghani in Shawwal 322 AH, searches of his residence uncovered letters from followers—including Ibn Abi Awn—addressing him in divine terms al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh+1.

Ibn Abi Awn and a fellow follower, Ibn Abdus, were summoned before the Abbasid caliph al-Radi and ordered to renounce al-Shalmaghani and slap him al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh+1. While Ibn Abdus complied, Ibn Abi Awn's hand trembled; he instead kissed al-Shalmaghani's head and beard, addressing him as his lord, master, and provider al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh+1. Al-Shalmaghani denied claiming divinity and disclaimed responsibility for Ibn Abi Awn's proclamation, while Ibn Abdus maintained that al-Shalmaghani had only claimed to be the gate (bab) to the Hidden Imam rather than a deity al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh+1.

Standing and Death

Following repeated examinations before assemblies of jurists and judges, a formal ruling was issued sanctioning the execution of al-Shalmaghani and his unrepentant followers al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh+1. Later biographers remembered Ibn Abi Awn as an accomplished writer of elegant works whose intellect had been fatally misguided by his devotion to al-Shalmaghani al-Fihrist+1. Ibn Abi Awn was subjected to severe flogging, beheaded, crucified, and his body was burned alongside al-Shalmaghani on Tuesday, 1 Dhu al-Qa'da 322 AH (November 934 CE) Wafayat al-Ayan+1.