Ibn Yunus al-Misri
- Died
- 347 AH
- Born in
- Fustat
Ibn Yunus al-Misri (281–347 AH / 894–958 CE) was an Egyptian hadith master and historian, best known for his biographical histories Tarikh al-Misriyyin (The History of the Egyptians) and Tarikh al-Ghuraba' (The History of Foreign Visitors) .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Abu Sa'id Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la ibn Maysara al-Sadafi al-Misri . He was born in Fustat, Egypt, in 281 AH (894/895 CE) into an eminent scholarly family . His paternal grandfather was the prominent Egyptian traditionist Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la, and his father, Ahmad ibn Yunus (b. 240 AH, d. 302 AH), was also a hadith transmitter . A variant report recorded in biographical sources mistakenly gives his own birth year as 240 AH, conflating it with that of his father .
Education and Scholarship
Ibn Yunus studied hadith and related disciplines entirely within Egypt, without traveling abroad for study . He studied under a wide circle of notable scholars, including his father Ahmad, Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi, Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i, Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Qudayd, Asim ibn Razih al-Khawlani, and Abd al-Karim ibn Ibrahim al-Muradi .
A number of scholars transmitted from him, including his son Abu al-Hasan Ali, the Isfahani hadith master Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Manda, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn al-Nahhas .
His scholarly activity was defined by his extensive documentation of Egyptian biographical history. He composed two dedicated biographical dictionaries: Tarikh al-Misriyyin, which recorded indigenous and resident scholars and figures of Egypt, and Tarikh al-Ghuraba', which chronicled visitors, travelers, and officials who entered Egypt from other lands . A third title, Kitab al-'Aqid fi Tarikh al-Sa'id, was also attributed to him, though its attribution is considered uncertain due to the absence of preserved citations in later sources .
Standing
Ibn Yunus was recognized as a trustworthy hadith master and an authoritative biographical critic (basir bi-l-rijal) . Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani described him as a reliable and prolific hadith scholar whose historical works were thoroughly executed and universally relied upon by later generations . Later historians and biographical compilers frequently deferred to his evaluations on Egyptian transmitters and chronology over those of others, and Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi abridged his biographical history .
Death
According to his son Ali, Ibn Yunus died in Jumada al-Akhirah 347 AH (958 CE) . Another transmission recorded by al-Sam'ani places his death on Monday, 26 Jumada al-Akhirah 349 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Tarikh Ibn Yunus al-Misri (The History of Ibn Yunus the Egyptian) is a biographical dictionary documenting notable figures connected to Egypt from the Islamic conquest to the fourth century AH. The work is organized into two distinct parts: Tarikh al-Misriyyin, which focuses on native and resident Egyptians, and a companion volume, Tarikh al-Ghuraba', which chronicles visitors, scholars, and officials who traveled to Egypt from other regions.