Jamal al-Din al-Qifti
- Died
- 646 AH
- Born in
- Qift
Jamal al-Din al-Qifti (568–646 AH / 1172–1248 CE) was an Egyptian-born administrator, historian, and biographer who served as vizier in Aleppo, widely known for his biographical dictionaries Inbah al-Ruwat ala Anbah al-Nuhat and Ikhbar al-Ulama bi-Akhbar al-Hukama.
Origin and Early Life
He was Abu al-Hasan Jamal al-Din Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Musa ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Shaybani al-Qifti, tracing his lineage to the Arab tribe of Bakr ibn Wa'il. He was also referred to by the titles al-Qadi al-Akram and al-Wazir al-Akram. Born in Qift in Upper Egypt in 568 AH / 1172 CE (with another report placing his birth in 560 AH), he belonged to a family of administrative scribes; his father was the scribe al-Qadi al-Ashraf Yusuf, and his brother was al-Mu'ayyad al-Qifti. His mother was a Bedouin Arab woman of Quda'a whose mother was an Abyssinian concubine. His father relocated with him as a young child to Cairo, where he received his early education and studied various disciplines.
Career and Administrative Service
Al-Qifti later moved to Syria and settled in Aleppo, where he associated with the emir al-Maymun al-Qasri and frequented gatherings of local scholars, benefiting from their debates and lectures. Following the emir's death, he withdrew to his home until he was compelled into administrative service in the chancery (diwan) under the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Zahir, assuming the post reluctantly; he also served as a judge in the city. Upon the death of al-Malik al-Zahir, al-Qifti again retired from public life until al-Malik al-Aziz appointed him vizier in 633 AH.
Scholarly Pursuits and Standing
Al-Qifti was recognized for broad learning across Arabic grammar, lexicography, jurisprudence, hadith, Quranic sciences, legal theory, logic, astronomy, geometry, history, and biographical criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil). He was a passionate bibliophile who devoted his life and wealth to collecting books from distant lands, ultimately amassing a library valued at fifty thousand dinars; he never married and did not own a private residence, living solely for his collection.
Among his most prominent contributions to biographical literature are Inbah al-ruwat 'ala anbah al-nuhat, an extensive reference work documenting the biographies and lineages of Arabic grammarians, and Ikhbar al-'ulama' bi-akhbar al-hukama', an alphabetically arranged biographical source on ancient and Islamic philosophers, physicians, and astronomers. He also compiled al-Muhammadun min al-Shuara, an onomastic dictionary recording poets bearing the name Muhammad.
Scholars and contemporaries praised his learning and character. Al-Hafiz Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Baghdadi described him as generous, widely knowledgeable across diverse disciplines, and possessing noble character. The biographer Yaqut al-Hamawi maintained close ties with him, praised his stature, and recited poetry directly to him during his stay in Aleppo.
Death
Al-Qifti died in Aleppo in Ramadan 646 AH / December 1248 CE and was buried outside the city at the Shrine of Abraham (Maqam Ibrahim). Prior to his death, he bequeathed his entire library collection to al-Nasir, the Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Muhammadun min al-Shu‘ara’ (The Poets Named Muhammad), also known as al-Muhammadun min al-Shu‘ara’ wa-Ash‘aruhum, is an onomastic biographical dictionary and anthology. The work compiles biographical profiles and poetic selections for Arabic poets sharing the given name Muhammad.
Ikhbar al-Ulama bi-Akhbar al-Hukama (Informing Scholars of the Accounts of the Wise), also widely known as Ta'rikh al-Hukama, is a biographical dictionary of philosophers, physicians, astronomers, and scientists.
Inbah al-Ruwat ala Anbah al-Nuhat (Notifying the Transmitters Concerning the Accounts of the Grammarians) is a biographical dictionary of Arabic grammarians and lexicologists.