Majd Al-Dīn Al-Fīrūzābādī (1329–1415) Islamic History and Civilization Studies and Texts
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Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī (1329–1415) Islamic History and Civilization studies and texts Editorial Board Hinrich Biesterfeldt Sebastian Günther Wadad Kadi volume 121 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ihc Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī (1329–1415) A Polymath on the Eve of the Early Modern Period By Vivian Strotmann leiden | boston Cover illustration: Manuscript signature: Ms. Or fol. 913, f. 1r. STAATSBIBLIOTHEK ZU BERLIN – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung. Zugl.: Bochum, Univ., Diss., 2013. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strotmann, Vivian. Majd al-Din al-Firuzabadi (1329-1415) : a polymath on the eve of the early modern period / by Vivian Strotmann. pages cm. – (Islamic history and civilization ; v. 121) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-30539-7 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-30540-3 (e-book) 1. Firuzabadi, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, 1329-1414 or 1415. 2. Muslim scholars–Biography. 3. Firuzabadi, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, 1329-1414 or 1415. Qamus al-muhit 4. Lexicographers–Islamic Empire–Biography. I. Title. BP80.F58S76 2016 297.2092–dc23 2015030750 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0929-2403 isbn 978-90-04-30539-7 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-30540-3 (e-book) Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. 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Contents Acknowledgements vii Table of Transliteration viii Abbreviations ix List of Illustrations x 1 Introduction 1 2 Reports on a Scholar’s Life—Approaching the Sources 4 3 A Life’s Journey 10 3.1 Childhood and Youth (729/1329–745/1344): Kārizīn and Shīrāz 10 3.2 Travel and Teaching (745/1344–750/1350): From Wāsiṭ to Baghdad 19 3.3 Coming of Age (750/1350–759/1357(8)): The Damascene Decade 30 3.4 Further Travels and The Qāmūs (760/1358(9)–794/1392): Based in Mecca 44 3.4.1 The Celebrated Qāmūs 66 3.4.2 Dating and Versions of the Qāmūs al-muḥīṭ 72 3.4.3 Editorial Decisions 79 3.4.4 The Floods vs. the Crown of Language 82 3.5 En Route to Yemen (794/1392–796/1393(4)): Baghdad, Shīrāz, Hurmuz 88 3.6 Years of Allegiance (796/1393(4)–817/1415): Between Yemen and Mecca 100 3.6.1 Educational Power: Two madāris 124 3.6.2 Political Involvement: Declaring a khalīfa 129 3.6.3 Religious Dispute: Defending Ibn al-ʿArabī 143 4 A lughawī and More 166 4.1 Matters of Reputation 166 4.2 Oeuvre 171 4.2.1 Accepted Works 171 4.2.2 Disputed and Doubtful Ascriptions 238 4.3 Overview of Works 244 5 A Man on the Eve of the Early Modern Period 250 6 Summary 259 vi contents Appendix 1. A Manuscript Source: al-Nuʿmānī’s Kitāb al-rawḍ al-ʿāṭir 261 Appendix 2. Photos Ibn Ayyūb al-Nuʿmānī’s tarjama of al-Fīrūzābādī, fols. 217v–219v 262 Bibliography 267 Index 290 Acknowledgements Many people have, in their own ways and by their own means, contributed greatly to the making of this thesis. Here’s to you! My greatest thanks go to my family, who always had faith in me and sup- ported me in whatever I did. Without you I would not be where I am now. A forming influence came from the staff of the Seminar für Orientalistik und Islamwissenschaften of Ruhr-Universität Bochum, especially from my two supervisors. Prof. Dr. Stefan Reichmuth and Prof. em. Dr. Gerhard Endress laid the foundations for my fascination with the history of sciences, especially lexicography. They taught me throughout my university career and their advice has always guided me. I would also like to extend my thanks to the many people who have sup- ported my work on a practical level: the Faculty of Philology, whose scholar- ship was a great help to me; the Research School of Ruhr-Universität Bochum, who provided me with valuable skills and the company of fellow scholars; the daad, Sabri Saleem of ycmes and Muḥammad Ali Gafer who together made our 2009 study excursion to Yemen a unique experience. Practical support was also kindly provided regarding technical computer matters by Philip Halbach of Ruhr-Universtät Bochum and Prof. van Raan of Leiden University. I would also like to express my warm thanks to Christoph Kraume for his help with Wüstenfeld’s Latin. An invaluable experience was given to me by the Forum Transregionale Studien of the Freie Universität Berlin in co-operation with the American University in Cairo, whose International Winter School 2010 pro- vided me with valuable experiences and the acquaintance of exceptionally friendly fellow researchers. I am also grateful to Elizabeth Gow of the John Rylands Library in Manchester, Elizabeth Omidvaran of the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Prof. Muzaffar Alam of Chicago University, Dr. Helga Rebhan of Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, Prof. Claude Gilliot of Université Aix- en-Provence, Prof. Thomas Bauer of Münster University, Prof. Stefan Heineman of Hamburg University, Prof. Beatrice Manz of Harvard University, as well as Dr. Christoph Rauch and his colleagues in the manuscript department of Staats- bibliothek zu Berlin for their provision of material and advice. The same is true for Anna Kienetz and Jutta Braatz of Witten city library, who ordered a great amount of material for me from libraries all over the country. I would never want to miss my friends at university, especially Yasemin Gökpinar and the seminar’s secretaries, Angelika Wabnitz and Marianne Rüters, as well as the librarian of our seminar, Petra Jülich, who warmly welcomed me into their midst. You made the university my second home. Table of Transliteration Letter Transliteration ʾ ء ā ا b ب t ت th ث j ج ḥ ح kh خ d د dh ذ r ر z ز s س sh ش ṣ ص ḍ ض ṭ ط ẓ ظ ʿ ع gh غ f ف q ق k ك l ل m م n ن h ﻩ ū / w و ā ى ī / y ي a / at ة Abbreviations Brockelmann: gal g – Brockelmann, C., Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur: Zweite den Supplementbän- den angepasste Auflage, 2 vols., Leiden 1943 and 1949. Brockelmann: gal s – Brockelmann, C., Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur: Erster Supplementband, Lei- den 1937. – Brockelmann, C., Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur: Zweiter Supplementband, Lei- den 1938. – Brockelmann, C., Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur: Dritter Supplementband, Lei- den 1942. ei2 – The Encyclopaedia of Islam: New Edition. Multiple editors, multiple publishers, Vol. i (1960) – Vol. xi (2002), Supplement (2004) and Index (2009). Fischer: gap – Fischer, W., Grundriß der Arabischen Philologie, iii: Supplement, Wiesbaden 1992. Sezgin: gas – Sezgin, F., Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums, 15 vols., Leiden 1967–1984 and Frankfurt a. M. 1995–2010. taq. terminus ante quem tpq. terminus post quem List of Illustrations Tables 1 Further Teachers 98 2 Further Pupils 126 Graphs 1 Stations of al-Fīrūzābādī’s Life 165 2 Works according to Subject 245 3 Works according to Consensus 247 Photos 1 al-Fīrūzābādī’s Grave in Zabīd 63 2 al-Ashraf Ismāʿīl’s Tomb in Taʿizz 114 3 Ismāʿīl al-Jabartī’s Tomb in Zabīd 144 4 The al-ʿAshāʾir Mosque in Zabīd 162 5–9 Ibn Ayyūb al-Nuʿmānī’s tarjama of al-Fīrūzābādī (manuscript signature: “Wetzstein 289, fols. 217v–219v”, property of STAATSBIBLIOTHEK ZU BERLIN—Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung. Reproduced with permission from Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) 262 chapter 1 Introduction Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī’s name can be found in a wide range of writings con- nected to Arabic lexicography, especially through his epithet ‘Ṣāḥib al-Qāmūs’ (‘author of the Qāmūs’). These frequent references, as well as a number of entries in Arabic tarājim (biographies)1 and European encyclopedias, convey an impression of clarity and familiarity regarding him as both a man and a scholar. While this impression is not entirely false, it is nonetheless mislead- ing in its absoluteness. Sources on al-Fīrūzābādī provide information on his name, the central stages of his travels, the names of his acquaintances, and the constituents of his oeuvre. However, one central issue has remained largely ignored, one that has far-reaching implications for the picture of al-Fīrūzābādī’s vita, works, position and impetus: the information provided by the sources is far from uniform. An extract of undisputed findings derived from these sources therefore only amounts to the following: He was al-Fīrūzābādī, Ṣāḥib al-Qāmūs, born near Shīrāz. He excelled in a number of sciences and his skills multiplied until his virtues were apparent and the number of people who learned from him grew. He entered many countries and learned from their scholars. He authored many writings and won the grace of many rulers. He won the office of qāḍī and died around his 90th year. source: own synopsis As things stand, what is currently available to scholarship is a grid of dates and names.