al-Sila fi Tarikh Aimmat al-Andalus li-Ibn Bashkuwal
- Author died
- 578 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
Kitab al-Sila (Arabic: كتاب الصلة), known fully as al-Sila fi Tarikh A'immat al-Andalus (The Link in the History of the Imams of al-Andalus), is a biographical dictionary by the Andalusi scholar Ibn Bashkuwal (d. 578 AH / 1182 CE) that records the lives of Andalusi scholars, jurists, hadith transmitters, and men of letters . The book was composed as a continuation (dhayl) to the earlier biographical work Tarikh 'Ulama' al-Andalus (History of the Scholars of al-Andalus) by Ibn al-Faradi (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
In his introduction, Ibn Bashkuwal explains that he undertook the compilation in response to requests from Andalusi scholars who asked him to append a sequel to Ibn al-Faradi's biographical work, beginning from where Ibn al-Faradi left off and extending down to his own time . According to a note copied by his student Ibn Dihya from Ibn Bashkuwal's own handwriting, the author completed al-Sila in Cordoba in Jumada al-Ula 534 AH / 1140 CE .
Structure and Method
Ibn Bashkuwal organized the biographies alphabetically by proper name following the layout of Ibn al-Faradi's book, creating dedicated chapters for each name (such as Ismail, Ishaq, Asad, through to the end of the alphabet) . For each subject, he typically recorded the full name, lineage, kunya, teachers, pupils, travel history (such as journeys to the East), residences, judicial appointments (qada'), consultative fatwa duties, character descriptions, and birth and death dates . In addition to jurists and hadith scholars, Ibn Bashkuwal devoted attention to Andalusi poets and literati, frequently quoting selections of their verse . The work contains between 1,440 and over 1,500 biographies focusing predominantly on Andalusi figures, especially those from Cordoba .
Influence and Continuations
Kitab al-Sila became a standard reference for later biographers and traditionists; the Hanafi scholar Ibn Qutlubugha, for example, cited it over 440 times in his biographical work al-Thiqat mimman lam yaqa' fi al-Kutub al-Sitta . Because of its prominence, multiple scholars wrote sequels and supplements (dhayl) to it:
- al-Takmila li-Kitab al-Sila (The Supplement to the Book of al-Sila) and Mushkil al-Sila by Ibn al-Abbar (d. 658 AH / 1260 CE) .
- Dhayl al-Sila by Ibn Fartun al-Sulami (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE), which has not survived .
- Silat al-Sila (also referred to as Dhayl al-Sila) by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Zubayr al-Gharnati (d. 708 AH / 1308 CE) .
- al-Dhayl wa-l-Takmila li-Kitabay al-Mawsul wa-l-Sila by Ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Marrakushi (d. 703 AH / 1303 CE), which supplemented both Ibn al-Faradi's and Ibn Bashkuwal's dictionaries .
Publication History
The text was first edited by the Spanish Arabist Francisco Codera y Zaidín and published in two volumes in Madrid (1883) as part of the Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana collection, containing 1,440 entries across 650 pages excluding indices . It was later edited in two volumes by 'Izzat al-'Attar al-Husayni and published in Cairo in 1955 .
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