al-Takmila li-Kitab al-Sila
- Author died
- 658 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al Fikr for Printing
al-Takmila li-Kitab al-Sila (The Supplement to the Book of the Continuation) is a biographical dictionary by the Andalusian scholar, traditionist, and statesman Ibn al-Abbar (d. 658 AH / 1260 CE), dedicated to the scholars, traditionists, jurists, and literary figures of al-Andalus .
Background and Composition
Ibn al-Abbar undertook the compilation of the work upon the encouragement of his primary master, the leading hadith scholar of eastern al-Andalus, Abu al-Rabi' ibn Salim, with whom he had studied for more than twenty years . The book was conceived as a supplement (takmila) to Kitab al-Sila by Ibn Bashkuwal (d. 578 AH / 1182 CE), which itself continued the earlier biographical work of Ibn al-Faradi (d. 403 AH / 1012 CE) . It aimed both to supply biographical entries for Andalusian figures who had been omitted from earlier compilations and to record the biographies of subsequent generations down to the author's own time in the seventh century AH .
The composition took place across various stages and places in the author's life . Ibn al-Abbar completed an initial draft in al-Andalus around the beginning of Muharram 631 AH (1233 CE), while another note mentions completion in 636 AH . Following his emigration to North Africa, he continued updating, expanding, and revising the work while residing in Béjaïa and Tunis, with textual evidence indicating additions inserted as late as late 655 AH, roughly two years prior to his death .
Structure and Methodology
The work is organized alphabetically according to the Western Arabic (Maghrebi) abjad sequence, diverging from the arrangement used by Ibn al-Faradi and Ibn Bashkuwal . In this ordering, the sequence matches the Eastern alphabetical order up to the letter Zāy, after which the letters follow the sequence: Ṭāʾ, Ẓāʾ, Kāf, Lām, Mīm, Nūn, Ṣād, Ḍād, ʿAyn, Ghayn, Fāʾ, Qāf, Sīn, Shīn, Hāʾ, Wāw, and Yāʾ . The author originally arranged the text across three volumes .
Within each biographical entry, Ibn al-Abbar generally adheres to a standardized framework: he provides the subject's full name, kunya, lineage, and geographic nisba, noting the person's place of origin and places of residence, followed by their teachers and the works studied under them, their students and transmitters, and ending with the date and location of death, as well as the date of birth when known . The work devotes particular attention to scholars and historical events connected with eastern al-Andalus (Sharq al-Andalus), the author's native region .
Continuations, Abridgments, and Editions
The tradition of supplementing Ibn Bashkuwal's Sila alongside Ibn al-Abbar's work was carried forward by several later Maghrebi and Andalusian scholars:
- Ibn Fartun (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE) compiled al-Dhayl 'ala Sila Ibn Bashkuwal .
- Ibn al-Zubayr (d. 708 AH / 1308 CE) authored Silat al-Sila .
- Ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Marrakushi (d. 703 AH / 1303 CE) compiled al-Dhayl wa-l-Takmila li-Kitabay al-Mawsul wa-l-Sila .
- Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib concluded the lineage of continuations with 'A'id al-Sila .
The Syrian historian Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH / 1348 CE) abridged Ibn al-Abbar's work into a single volume under the title al-Mustamlah min Kitab al-Takmila, adding several dozen entries of his own .
The text was printed in parts across several modern editions:
- Francisco Codera published the major portion (from the letter Ḥāʾ to the end) in Madrid in two volumes between 1886 and 1889 as part of the Biblioteca Arábigo-Hispana .
- Mohamed Bencheneb and Alfred Bel edited and published the remaining initial section in Algiers (1919–1920) .
- 'Izzat al-'Attar al-Husayni published a partial edition in Cairo in two volumes (1955–1956), which was left incomplete following his death during printing .
- A four-volume critical edition was edited by 'Abd al-Salam al-Harras and published in Beirut in 1995 .
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