Ibn Nubata
- Died
- 768 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ibn Nubata (686–768 AH / 1287–1366 CE) was an Egyptian poet, epistolographer, and chancery scribe of the Mamluk period, widely celebrated as the foremost poet of his era and best known for his poetry collection Diwan Ibn Nubata al-Misri.
Lineage and early life
His full name was Jamal al-Din Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan ibn Salih ibn Ali ibn Yahya ibn Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khatib Abi Yahya Abd al-Rahim ibn Nubata al-Judhami al-Fariqi al-Misri. He was also known by the kunyas Abu al-Fada'il and Abu al-Fath. His family traced its ancestry back to Mayyafariqin in Diyar Bakr and was descended from the renowned 4th-century preacher al-Khatib Ibn Nubata. He was born in Cairo in the Zuqaq al-Qanadil quarter in Rabi' al-Awwal 686 AH (1287 CE), though another report dates his birth to Rabi' al-Awwal 676 AH (1277 CE).
Education and hadith transmission
Born into a family active in religious scholarship, Ibn Nubata's father and grandfather were hadith scholars who introduced him early to scholarly circles in Cairo. In his childhood, his father brought him to the hadith scholar Ghazi al-Halawi, from whom he heard portions of the Ghaylaniyyat, and he studied prophetic biography (al-Sira) under Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Abarquhi. He also heard hadith from Baha' al-Din Ibn al-Nahhas, Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Dumayri, al-Taqi Ubayd, and his grandfather Sharaf al-Din ibn Nubata, and received general authorizations (ijazas) from prominent authorities including al-Fakhr Ibn al-Bukhari, al-Izz al-Harrani, and Zaynab bint Makki.
Travels and administrative career
In approximately 715 or 716 AH, Ibn Nubata relocated to the Levant (al-Sham), settling in Damascus while frequently traveling between Aleppo and Hama. In Hama, he forged close ties with its Ayyubid ruler, al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad Abu al-Fida', dedicating many of his finest panegyrics to him. During his stay in Syria, he held the post of superintendent over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem during Christian pilgrimage seasons, journeying there to oversee administrative arrangements before returning. In Rabi' al-Awwal 761 AH (1359 CE), Sultan al-Nasir Hasan summoned him back to Egypt, appointing him as his confidential secretary (sahib sirr) in Cairo.
Scholarly standing and reception
Ibn Nubata was acclaimed as the foremost literary figure of his generation, admired for his refined style, elaborate wordplay (tawriya), and prose modeled after the chancery style of al-Qadi al-Fadil. Prominent contemporaries heard and transmitted his verse; Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi and al-Qasim ibn Muhammad al-Birzali both recorded their study under him and praised his poetic craft. Taj al-Din al-Subki attended his recitations, hearing from him his prophetic panegyric composed on the meter of Banat Su'ad alongside an urjuza praising Chief Judge Taqi al-Din al-Subki. The literary scholar Ibn Hijja al-Hamawi lauded him as the crowning jewel of his age and frequently cited his verse. In prose and scholarship, his output included Sarh al-Uyun, an extensive commentary on the famous epistle of Ibn Zaydun enriched with historical and literary biographies, as well as the biographical work Saj' al-Mutawwaq.
Death
Ibn Nubata died in the month of Safar 768 AH (October 1366 CE) at al-Bimaristan al-Mansuri in Cairo. He was buried outside Bab al-Nasr in the Sufi cemetery (Turbat al-Sufiyya).
Answer updated
List of Works
This work is a major collection of poetry from the Mamluk era, bringing together a broad array of classical poetic forms and themes. It comprises long odes as well as shorter verses encompassing panegyrics, elegiac verse, love lyrics, bacchic poetry, and nature descriptions.