Ibn al-Amin

Ibn al-Amin (489–544 AH / 1096–1149 CE) was an Andalusian hadith scholar and historian from Cordoba, best known for al-Istidrak ala al-Isti'ab, a biographical supplement to Ibn Abd al-Barr’s encyclopedia of the Companions of the Prophet al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab+1.

Lineage and Family

His full name was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yahya ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'id, commonly known as Ibn al-Amin al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab. Although he lived in Cordoba, his family originally hailed from Toledo al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab+1. He was born in 489 AH / 1096 CE al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab+1.

His family was engaged in scholarship: his father, Yahya (d. 521 AH), studied under scholars of Cordoba such as Abu al-Walid al-Utbi and showed a strong interest in Arabic philology and hadith commentary al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab. His uncle, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (d. 539 AH), was prominent in the fields of inheritance law (fara'id), arithmetic, and land surveying al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab.

Education and Scholarly Activity

Ibn al-Amin received his training from prominent Andalusian authorities of his time al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab. Among his teachers were Abu Muhammad ibn Attab, Abu al-Walid ibn Tarif, Abu al-Qasim ibn Sawwab, the Maliki jurist Abu al-Walid Ibn Rushd (al-Jadd), Abu al-Hasan ibn Mughith, and the judge Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, and he received written certification (ijaza) from Abu Ali al-Sadafi al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab. In Cordoba, he served as the prayer leader for obligatory prayers at the Ubayd Allah ibn Adham Mosque al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab.

Among those who transmitted from him were his close companion Ibn Bashkuwal—with whom he maintained a mutual exchange of transmissions (mudabbaj)—and Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Rida al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab+1.

Ibn al-Amin's primary scholarly contribution was al-Istidrak ala al-Isti'ab (also known as al-I'lam bi al-khibrah wa-l-a'lam min ashab al-Nabi), which contained 782 biographical notices supplementing names and details omitted in Ibn Abd al-Barr's al-Isti'ab al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Ibn Bashkuwal transmitted the work from him and added substantial further supplements of his own al-Istiab fi Marifat al-A….

Ordeal and Death

During the political upheaval in Cordoba following the revolt of Abu Ja'far Ibn Hamdin, the Masmuda (Almohad) forces entered the city and sought to execute him al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. While fleeing his pursuers, Ibn al-Amin leaped from a roof expecting to land safely in a lower courtyard, but instead plummeted into a well al-Istidrak ala al-Istiab. Surviving the fall, he managed to escape the city and took refuge in Niebla in western al-Andalus, where he lived until his death in 544 AH / 1149 CE al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.