Ibn al-Dahhan

Abu Shuja' Ibn al-Dahhan (d. 590 AH / 1194 CE; also reported as 592 AH / 1196 CE) was a Baghdadi scholar of jurisprudence, arithmetic, inheritance law, and grammar, best known for his comparative legal treatise Taqwim al-Nazar al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1.

Lineage and early life

He was Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Shu'ayb ibn Baraka al-Baghdadi, with the kunya Abu Shuja', commonly known as Ibn al-Dahhan and titled Fakhr al-Din, though it was also reported that he held the honorific Burhan al-Din al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He was the brother of Mahmud ibn Ali al-Muqaffa al-Kabir. Ibn al-Dahhan was born and raised in Baghdad, where he received his early education Shadharat min Kutub Mafqu…. In hadith, he transmitted a small amount on the authority of Abu al-Waqt Abd al-Awwal al-Muqaffa al-Kabir.

Travels and career

Ibn al-Dahhan moved to Mosul, where he associated with its vizier, Jamal al-Din al-Isfahani Shadharat min Kutub Mafqu…. He later entered the service of Sultan Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub), who appointed him over the administrative bureau (diwan) of Mayyafariqin Shadharat min Kutub Mafqu…+1. A strained relationship with the city’s governor prompted him to leave for Damascus Shadharat min Kutub Mafqu…+1.

In 586 AH, he traveled to Cairo and stayed as a guest of Chief Judge Sadr al-Din Abd al-Malik ibn Darbas, who accommodated him south of Al-Azhar Mosque al-Muqaffa al-Kabir. While in Cairo, Ali ibn Jalal al-Dawla ibn al-Duri attended his circle and studied inheritance law (fara'id) under him al-Muqaffa al-Kabir. Because his fortunes did not advance significantly in Egypt, he returned to Damascus, made it his permanent residence, taught there, and composed panegyrics for its rulers and prominent figures, including the grammarian Taj al-Din al-Kindi al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1.

Scholarly standing

Biographers characterized Ibn al-Dahhan as broadly learned in legal disciplines, mathematics, astronomy, and Arabic philology al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He was noted for his skill in astronomical tables (zij) and arithmetic, and he was recognized as the first scholar to arrange inheritance apportionments in tabular form shaped like a pulpit (minbar) Shadharat min Kutub Mafqu…+1. It was remarked of him that "his pen was more eloquent than his tongue" al-Tarikh al-Mutabar fi A…. In comparative jurisprudence, his major contribution was Taqwim al-Nazar, which surveyed disputed issues across the legal schools and concluded with a chronological table of deaths of prominent Companions, Imams, and jurists al-Alam lil-Zirikli. He also compiled a large sixteen-volume dictionary of obscure hadith terminology titled Gharib al-Hadith, and authored a chronicle of historical events al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Physically, he was described as an elderly man of plain features and slender face, with a long, thin beard and a pale, yellowish complexion Wafayat al-Ayan+1.

Death

Ibn al-Dahhan performed the pilgrimage and resided in Mecca in 589 AH al-Muqaffa al-Kabir. While returning toward Iraq, he died at al-Hilla al-Sayfiyya (al-Mazyadiyya) in Safar 590 AH (with other sources placing his death in 592 AH) al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. According to one account, his camel stumbled at al-Hilla and his face struck the woodwork of the litter (mahmal), killing him instantly Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Another report relates that an argument with a camel driver caused him extreme distress, after which he suffered severe dysentery and hemorrhage that led to his death al-Muqaffa al-Kabir.