A Reconsideration of al-Q al-Nu'mn's "Madhhab" Author(s): Ismail K.

Poonawala Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 37, No. 3 (1974), pp. 572-579 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/613800 . Accessed: 30/09/2013 09:26
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press and School of Oriental and African Studies are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RECONSIDERATION OF AL-QADI AL-NU'MAN'S MADHHAB

By
ISMAIL K. POONAWALA

It has been generally accepted by modern scholars that al-Q&dial-Nu'man was in the beginning either a Maliki or a Hanafi and that he subsequently became an Imami and finally adopted the Isma'ili faith. The Imami savants, from al-Q&diNfir Allah Shiishtari to Agha Buzurg-i Tihrani, maintain that al-Qadi al-Nu'man was one of their co-religionists. Isma'ilis, on the other hand, regard him as one of the pillars of their da'wa. In the light of recently discovered sources and of the consequent revaluation and reinterpretation of earlier works, a re-examination of the question of al-Nu'man's madhhab becomes al-Q.di The article do to attempts necessary. present precisely that, and show how and when the theory of al-Qadi al-Nu'man's conversion originated. First, we shall examine the Imami sources.1 It is reported by the authors of Mustadrak al-wasd'il 2 and Fawt'id al-Ridawiya 3 that Muhammad b. 'All al-Karajaki (d. 449/1057),4 a pupil of Abfi Ja'far al-TfisI and al-Sayyid alMurtada, made compendiums of al-Q&di al-Nu'man's Da'd'im al-Isldm and Sharh al-akhbdr. This report indicates how early some works of al-Qadi alNu'man were known among certain Imami groups. Both the aforementioned works and al-Mandqibwa 'l-mathalib,which became popular among the Imamis, have all the essential Shi'ite features. Moreover, these works of al-Qadi al-Nu'man and those of his two contemporaries, al-Kulayni (d. 329/941) and Ibn Babawayhi (d. 381/991-2), are among the early Shi'ite contributions to fiqh and mandqib. Hence it is not surprising that those works of al-Qadi al-Nu'man were accepted by some Imami circles. However, the early Imami bio-bibliographers, such as al-Najashi (d. 450/1058) 5 and al-Tfisi (d. 460/1067),6 do not mention al-Qadi al-Nu'man. Perhaps, either they were not acquainted with the works of al-Qadi al-Nu'man, or the latter had not yet acquired an Imami stamp. Ibn Shahrashiib (d. 588/1192) was probably the first Imami author to include al-Q&dial-Nu'man in his bibliography.7 He mentions with appreciation some works of al-Q&di al-Nu'man, such as Sharh al-akhbdr8 and al-Mandqibwa 'l-mathalib,but, at the same time, asserts that the author is not an Imami. This assertion supports the
1 For the detailed description of the sources, cf. I. K. Poonawala, ' Al-QAdi al-Nu'min's works and the sources', BSOAS, xxxvI, 1, 1973, 109-15. 2 Mirz Husayn al-Nuiri, Mustadrak al-wasa'il, Tehran, 1318-21/1900-3, IIi, 319. 3 'Abbis Qummi, Fawd'id al-Ridawiya, Tehran, 1327/1948-9, II, 572. 4 He is said to have spent several years in Cairo during the second decade of the fifth/eleventh century, cf. Muhammad al-Baqir al-Khwinsdri, Rawddt al-janndt, Tehran, 1367/1948, 552-3. 5 Ahmad b. 'Ali al-Najdshi, Kitdb al-rijSl, Tehran, n.d. 6 AbTiJa'far Muhammad al-Tfisi, Rijdl al- TIsF, Najaf, 1961 ; idem, al-Fihrist, ed. Muhammad Sddiq, Najaf, 1960. 7 Ibn Shahrdshilb, Ma'Slim al-'ulamd', ed. 'Abbis Iqb&l, Tehran, 1353/1934, 113. 8 Ibn Shahrdshiib states that Sharh al-akhbdrdeals with the fa4d'il of the Imims until Ja'far al-Sadiq. Thus, it seems that the later parts of the book (parts xiv-xvI, cf. Ismi'il b. 'Abd

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RECONSIDERATION OF AL-QADI)AL-NU'MAN'S MADHHAB

573

assumption that some Imdmi circles did consider al-Q&dial-Nu'mdn to be an Imami. The Isma'ili movement, from its beginning, seems to have drawn a certain number of Imamis into its fold. Some of the outstanding Isma'll d&'is, for example Munsfir al-Yaman,9 'Ali b. al-Fadl,10 Abfi 'Abdallah al-Shi'i,11 and HIasan-iSabbh,12 were first Imamis; subsequently they were converted and recruited by the Isma'ili da'wa., With the decline of the Bfiyids in Baghdad and their ensuing fall, Fatimid Cairo proved to be a refuge for Shi'ites; and many Imdmis were attracted to this new centre. The existence of a large number of Imamis in the Fatimid capital is attested to by the proclamation of the Imami faith as the official creed of the Fatimid empire by Abfi 'Ali Ahmad (nicknamed Kutayfat) b. Afdal, the grandson of Badr al-Jamali, in the year 524/1129-30, and the appointment of an Imami qd~4 along with three others.13 It is not improbable, therefore, that such a group of Imdmis might have been instrumental in introducing al-Qadi al-Nu'man's works to the Imami circles and also in giving him an Imami character. For the period under discussion no Imami source is known that specifically asserts that al-Nu'man was an Imami. However, the situation changes al-Q.di in the later dramatically period, as most of the Imami divines now unequivocally vouch for al-Q&di al-Nu'man's being a strict Imami. Al-Qadi Nfir Allah Shfishtari (d. 1019/1610) was probably the first Imami divine to state that alQadi al-Nu'man was at first a Maliki and then became an Imam.l14 The source
al-Majdii', Fihrist, ed. A. Munzavi, Tehran, 1966, 69-72) dealing with Ismi'il b. Ja'far al-Rasfil and his son Mulhammad,the hidden Imams,the good tidings about the appearance of al-Mahdi, etc., were probably removed from it. The copy of this book in the possession of Mirza Husayn al-Niiri (Mustadrak al-wasi'il, III, 321) and now deposited in the central library, University of Tehran (A. Munzavi and M. T. Ddnish-pazhtih (comp.), Fihrist-i kitabkhana-i markazi-i v, 1365-74) also does not contain the Dinishgdh-i Tihrin, Tehran, 1330/1951-2-1340/1961-2, later parts. 9Al-Qddi al-Nu'min, al-da'wa, ed. Wadid al-Qddi, Beirut, 1970, 33; H. F. Hamdini, Iftith. 30. al-Sulayhfyiin, Cairo, 1955, 10 Muhammad b. Milik al-Hammddi, Kashf asrdr al-BSitiniya, ed. 'Izzat al-'Attir, Cairo, 1939, 21; al-BahA' al-Janadi, al-Sultk in H. C. Kay (ed. and tr.), Yaman, its early mediaeval history, London, 1892, Arabic, 139. 11Ibn Khaldfin, Tdrikh Ibn Khaldfn, Beirut, 1956-9, Iv, 65; Hasan Ibrdhim asan, Tdrikh al-dawla al-Fctimiya, Cairo, 1958, 47. H. 12 'Ati Malik al-Juwayni, Tdrikh-i Jahangush&,ed. Mirz& Muhammad Qazvini (Gibb Memorial Series, xvi, 1-3), Leiden, 1912-37, III, 188; IHamdAllh Mustawfi, Tdrikh-i Guzida, ed. 'Abd alNavd'i, Tehran, 1339/1960-1, 518. 13 He himself was an and remained in power for a little over one year and with his .IIFusayn Imgmi assassination on 16 Muharram 526/1131 the Imgmi faith was reversed. Ibn Muyassar, Akhbdr Misr, ed. Henri Masse, Cairo, 1919, 74-5; Ibn Khallikin, Wafayit al-a'yin, ed. M. Muhy al-Din, Cairo, 1948, IT, 400-1; al-Maqrizi, al-Khitat, Baghdid, 1970 (offset print of B5il1q edition),

II, 17.

Ibn Taghribirdi, on the contrary, states that Abfi 'Ali Ahmad was a Sunnite; however, he believed in the doctrine of al-Imdm al-muntagar, cf. al-Nujiim al-zdhira, Cairo, 1929-56, v, 239. Cf. also S. M. Stern, 'The succession to the Fatimid Imam al-Amir', Oriens, Iv, 2, 1951, 193255; Jamil al-Din al-Shayyil, Majmi'at al-watha'iq al-Fdtimiya, Cairo, 1958, 89-92; 'Abd alMun'im Mijid, Zuhfr khildfat al-Fdtimfyin, Cairo, 1968, 426-7. 14Shiishtari, Majalis al-mu'minin, Tehran, 1375-6/1956-7, I, 538-9.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

574

ISMAIL K. POONAWALA

of his information, as stated by him, is Ibn Khallikdn's (d. 681/1282) Wafaydt al-a'ydn. In his assumption Shfishtari was followed by Mirz&Muhammad alAstardbadi (d. 1029/1619)15 and Muhammad b. al-HIasanal-Hurr al-'Amili (d. 1104/1692).16 Muhammad al-Bdqir al-Majlisi (d. 1111/1699) used both Da'd'im al-Isldm and al-Manaqibwa 'l-mathalibas sources for his magnumopus, Bih~r al-anwar.17 Refuting the claim that Da'a'im al-Isldm was written by al-Shaykh al-Sadflq, he states: 'Al-QAdi al-Nu'man was at first a Maliki, then he was led to the right path and became an Imdmi. Most of the traditions reported by him in Da'd'im al-Isldm are in conformity with the ones found in our celebrated books. He did not, however, report from any Imim later than because of his fear of the Ism'lili caliphs. He thus reported the al-.Sdiq truth by practising taqiya '.s1 Al-Sarawi,19 on the other hand, expresses a different opinion. He states: 'Al-QAdi al-Nu'mdn wrote commendable works on the Imdmate and fadJ'il of the Imdms; however, he was not an Imami. It is also true that most of the traditions reportedin Da'a'im al-Isldm are in accordancewith the ones found in the celebrated books of our savants, yet in some cases, such as the mut'a marriage, he did contravene the legal views held by our jurists. It was for these reasons that the author of Wasa'il al-Shi'a excluded Da'd'im al-Isldm from his list of authoritative works '.20 Muhammad al-Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulfim al-Tabdtaba'i, generally known as Sayyid al-td'ifa (d. 1212/1797),21 is in accord with al-Majlisi, while Muhammad 22 al-BAqiral-Khwansari(d. 1313/1895) agrees with Ibn Shahrashiib in denying that al-QAdi al-Nu'man was an Imdmi. Conversely, Mirza HIusayn al-Ninri (d. 1330/1912), a contemporary of al-Khwdnsrli, vehemently maintains that alQadi al-Nu'mdn was an Imam.I23 Enumerating both Da'd'im al-Isldm and as sources for his voluminous work Mustadrakal-wasd'il, al-Ninri Sharh al-akhbdr devotes 10 pages to an interesting polemic as to whether al-QAdi al-Nu'mdn was an Imami or an Isma'ili. In order to support his contention that the latter
16 Al-Hurr al-'Amili, Amal al-dmil, ed. Ahmad al-Husayni, Baghdid, 1385/1956, II, 335. 17 AI-Majlisi, Bi4cr al-anwdr, Tehran, 1376/1956-7, I, 20. 18 ibid., I, 38-9.

15Al-Astardbddi, Manhaj al-nuwqdl, Tehran, 1307/1890, 512.

19Unfortunately, al-Niri does not give his full name, hence I am unable to identify him. He might be the same as Sulaymin b. 'Abdallih al-Buhrini al-Sarawi (d. 1121/1709), listed by alKhwInsiri, op. cit., 303-5. 20 Al-Nuiri, op. cit., III, 314. 21 Al-Tabdtabi'i, Rijjl al-Sayyid Babr al-'Ulfim, ed. Muhammad and IHusayn Bahr al-'Ultim, Najaf, 1385-6/1965-7, Iv, 5-14. Hasan b. 'Ali Yazdi (d. 1297/1880) quotes both al-Majlisi and Ibn Shahrdshfib regarding al-Qdi al-Nu'mdn's madhhab, cf. Hiddyat al-asmi' ft bayn ikutub al-'ulamd', ed. Dinish-pazhfih in Bulletin de la BibliothuqueCentrale de l'Universit' de Tehran, vi, 1348/1969-70, 15. cit., III, 291, 313-22. In his NasIm-i bahdr! dar a4hwl-i Haklm-i Nizdrf, Mashhad, 1344/1965, 7-8, Murtadi Mujtahidzida agrees with al-Nilri that al-Qldi al-Nu'mAn was an Imimi.
22 A-1.Khwinsgri, 23 Al-Nuiri, op.

op. cit., 727-8.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RECONSIDERATION OF AL-QAPIAL-NU'MAN'S MADHHAB

575

was an Imami, he presents various arguments. First, he cites all earlier Imdmi authors who made use of al-Nu'min's works, the implication being that al-Q!i those authors considered him an Imami. Next, he enumerates the authorities who pronounced al-Qadi al-Nu'man an Imami. Then he gives a summary of the Isma'ili/Batini doctrines taken from anti-Isma'ill sources. It is followed by lengthy quotations from Da'a'im al-Islsm regarding the position of the Imams. [The tone of the Da'&'im, being a Zhiri work, is moderate.] Al-Nfri thus deduces that al-Qadi al-Nu'man had nothing in common with the Batiniya, who held extremist doctrines about the Imams. Al-Qadi al-Nu'man's silence about the names of the hidden Imams (in the Da'd'im), after Ja'far al-Sadiq, is taken as another example to prove that he was not an Isma'ill. Finally, the arguments of al-Sarawi are refuted one by one at great length.24 'Abbas Qummi, writing in the year 1332/1913, considers al-Qadi al-Nu'man an eminent Imami pundit.25 Yet Agha Buzurg-i Tihrani, another modern Imami scholar, who is acquainted with the writings of W. Ivanow and Muhammad Kamil Husayn, not only maintains that al-Nu'man was an al-Qdi to but a further state: Imami, goes step ' It is true that al-Q&li al-Nu'man, because of his fear of the Isma'ili caliphs whom he served, did not narrate traditions explicitly from any Imam later than Ja'far However, he did it implicitly with indirect allusionsal-.Sdiq. the kunya Abfi implied Imam al-Rida while the kunya Abit Ja'far al-Jawd 'l-.IHasan Imam implied '.26 Finally, al-Qadi al-Nu'man is included by Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin (d. 1952) in his A'ydn al-Shi'a.27 The foregoing survey clearly indicates that the assumption that al-Qh1d al-Nu'min was an Imami, held by most of the later Imami savants, was based on Ibn Khallikan's statement. Let us, then, turn to the theory of al-Q&di al-Nu'man's conversion stated by Ibn Khallikdn himself. According to him, al-Qadi al-Nu'min was at first a Maliki and then became an ' Imami ' and wrote several works for the Fatimids.28 Unfortunately, A. A. A. Fyzee erroneously takes the above statement to imply that al-Qadi al-Nu'man, after having embraced the Imami faith, was converted to the Isma'ili faith.29 Hence all modern scholars of Isma'ilism, such as W. Ivanow,30 Muhammad Kamil Husayn,32 and R. Strothmann,32have been misled by Fyzee. The question now
24 The importance of this discussion seems to have escaped A. A. A. Fyzee, cf. ' Qddi anNu'min : the Fatimid jurist and author ', JRAS, 1934, pt. 1, 5. 25 Qummi, op. cit., 11, 693-4. 28 Agh! Buzurg, al-Dharf'a ild al-Shf'a, Najaf and Tehran, 1355-90/1936-70, I, 60. tas.nif 27 Al-Amin, A'yin al-Shi'a, Beirut, 1960-, L, 13-15. 28Ibn Khallikin, op. cit., v, 48; cf. also C. H. Becker, Beitriige zur Geschichte unter kAgyptens dem Islam, Strassburg, 1902, 11. 29 Fyzee, op. cit., 8. 30 W. Ivanow, A guide to Ismaili literature, London, 1933, 37; idem, Ismaili literature, Tehran, 1963, 32. 31M. Kimil Husayn, Fi adab Misr al-Feltimiya, Cairo, 1950, 43; al-Q&di al-Nu'mdn, Kitlb al-himma, ed. M. Kimil I.Iusayn, Cairo, n.d., 6. 32 R. Strothmann,' Recht der Ismailiten ', Der Islam, xxxT, 2-3, 1954, 131.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

576

ISMAIL K. POONAWALA

arises: from what sources did Ibn Khallikin derive his information ? In all probability, neither from Ibn Zfillq (d. 387/997) nor al-Musabbihi(d. 420/1029). Perhaps the statement about al-Qadi al-Nu'man's conversion arose as a result of misapprehension over the identity of the person who was converted. It was al-Qadi al-Nu'mdn's father, as we shall see later, who was converted from the Maliki school to the Isma'ill faith. The error, therefore, might have originated either with Ibn Khallikan or from the source of his information. Before we proceed further, the term ' Imami ' itself as used by Ibn Khallikan needs some clarification. Both the Imami authors, Sa'd b. 'Abdallhh al-Ash'ari (d. 301/913) 33and Hasan b. Mfisaal-Nawbakhti (d. c. 310/922),34 use this term for the Twelvers. The eleventh Imam, al-'Askari, died in 260/874, I.Iasan without leaving any male offspring. His followers split into 14 or 15 groups differing widely about the latter's succession. The Twelvers, maintaining the Imamate of al-'Askari's hidden son, formed a group from among those groups. In the course of time other groups disappeared and the Twelvers became the dominant force.35 Thus it seems that by the end of the third century of the Hijra the term' Imami ' had acquired a special connotation and was used by the Twelvers for themselves, replacing the earlier appellation 'al-Qat'iya' 36 by which they bad been known since the death of Imam Mfisa al-Kazim. This usage, however, seems to have been limited to Imami writers themselves for a long time. The account of both Abfi THItim al-Razi (d. 322/934) 37 and al-Q&dialNu'man 38 about the various groups after the death of HIasanal-'Askari is the same as that given in the two above-mentioned Imami sources. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the term 'Imami ' is not used for any of those groups, rather the cognomen ' al-Qat'iya ' is used. Let us now turn to the Sunnite sources and their usage of the term ' Immi'. Abfi 'l-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324/935) defines the Imamiya as those who assert, on the strength of nass, the Imamate of 'Ali after the death of the Prophet. Hence he uses the term Imamiya to signify various sub-sects of the Shi'ites, except al-Ghaliya and al-Zaydiya.39 He has therefore classified 24 sub-sects of the Shi'ites, including the Twelvers (for whom the appellation al-Qat'iya is
33 Al-Ash'ari, Kitab al-rmaqldt wa 'l-firaq, ed. M. Javid Mashkfir, Tehran, 1963, 102-6. 34 AI-Nawbakhti, al-ShV'a,ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1931, 90-3.
35

Firaq 'Abdallih Fayyid, Thrikh al-Imdmlya, Baghdad, 1970, 73-85. 36 This appellation was used in contradistinction to al-Wlqifa who denied the death of Mfiss maintaining that he was raised to the Heavens and would reappear as al-Q&'im. al-K.zim, on the other hand, asserted the death of Mfis& Al-Qat'iya, al-Kilim, maintaining the Imdmate of his son 'Ali 37 AI-RMzi, al-Rid.. Kitdb al-zina, MS, Hamdani collection, 374. Two parts of it are edited by H. F. Hamdini, Cairo, 1956-8. Abfi Hdtim states that most of the groups of al-Qat'iya described by him have already vanished except two; one, maintaining the Imdmate of al-'Askari's hidden son; the other, maintaining the Imdmate of Ja'far, al-'Askari's brother. 38 Al-Q&dial-Nu'mdn, Sharh al-akhbdr,MS, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, xIv, 17-22. 39 Al-Ash'ari, Kitdb maqdlt al-Islmiyin, ed. H. Ritter, second ed., Wiesbaden, 1963, 16-17.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RECONSIDERATION OF AL-QAp) AL-NU'MAN'S MADHHAB

577

used) and the Isma'ilis, under the common term Imamiya.40 The use of the term Imami in this loose sense continued for a long time among Sunnite heresiographers,such as al-Malati (d. 377/987),41 al-Baghdadi (d. 429/1037),42 Ibn Hazm (d. 456/1064),43 al-Isfara'ini (d. 471/1078),44 and al-Shahrastani (d. 548/1153).45 It is therefore very likely that Ibn Khallikan, who is closer to the Sunnite tradition of the usage of the term Imamiya, employs it in the same loose sense.46 This assumption is also supported by the use of another term, as we shall see, for an Isma'ili convert in North Africa. Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 874/1469), on the other hand, states that al-Qadi alNu'man was at first a Hanafi and later became an Isma'ili (Batini).47 Hady Roger Idris, a modern scholar, concurs with Ibn Taghribirdi.48 The Isma'lli sources are totally silent in this respect. They regard al-Qadi al-Nu'man as one who derived his knowledge from the fountain-head of the Imams and was therefore one of the pillars of their da'wa. Hence the question of his conversion was irrelevant to them. Al-Qadi al-Nu'man served the Fdtimid dynasty for almost 50 years, from 313/925, when he entered the service of al-Mahdi, until his death in 363/974. Although the date of his birth is not known, it would be safe to assume that he was in his twenties when he entered the service of the first Fatimid caliph alMahdi. This places the date of his birth somewhere between 283/896 and 293/905, which coincides with the gaining of momentum of the mission of d6'i Abfi 'Abdallah al-Shi'i in North Africa. Sham'fin Lokhandwala, in his unpublished thesis, rejects Ibn Khallikan's statement about al-Qadi al-Nu'man's conversion. He argues that al-Qadi al-Nu'man's monumental work Kitab al-Tdshwas begun in the days of al-Mahdi and this undertaking, at an early age, required firm and devout attachment to the new cause.49 The chronology of al-Qadi al-Nu'man's work supports the
40 ibid., 17-30. Abfi 'l-Qhsim 'Abd al-WAhid b. Ahmad al-Kirmini, who lived during the first half of the sixth/twelfth century, uses the term Imdmiya in the same way as al-Ash'ari does and for the Twelvers he uses the appellation al-Qat'iya, cf. M. T. DMnish-pazhfih,'Guft&r-iAb'i al-WJhid b. Ahmad KirmanE dar bdra-i haftdd-u-sih guriih', Bulletin de la Faculti des 'l-Qd&im Lettres(Mashhad), xvI, 1, 1343/1964-5, 35-6. 41 Abfi 'l-Husayn Mubammad al-Malati, Kitab al-tanbFh wa 'l-radd, ed. Sven Dedering, Istanbul, 1936, 14-27. 42 'Abd al-QAhiral-Baghdadi, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, ed. M. Muhiy al-Din, Cairo, n.d., 21, 23. Al-Qat'iya and al-Ithni-'ashariya are mentioned as distinct groups. 43 Ibn Hazm, Kitdb al-fasi ft 'l-milal, Cairo, 1317-21/1899-1903-4, Iv, 181. " Abfi Muzaffar al-Isfard'ini, al-Tab.sr ff 'l-din, ed. M. ZAhid al-Kawthari, Cairo, 1940, 16, 20-4. He uses the appellation al-Qat'iya and states that they are also called al-Ithni-'ashariya. 4 Al-Shahrastini, al-Milal wa 'l-nihal, ed. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Wakil, Cairo, 1968, I, 162-5, 167-73. He prefers the term al-Ithni-'ashariya to al-Qat'iya. He is generally regarded as an Ash'ari; however, he was an Ismd'ili and held the rank of d&'ial-du'dt in the da'wa hierarchy. A detailed description of the sources and his works which bear an Ismi'ili imprint has been given in my forthcoming book, History of Ismd'flf literature. 46 Ibn Khaldfin sometimes uses the term Imnmi in its loose sense, cf. Ibn Khaldfin, op. cit., Iv, 58. 47 Ibn Taghribirdi, op. cit., Iv, 106-7.
48

H. R. Idris, La Berbirie orientale sou8 les ZFrfdes, Paris, 1962, 67, 559, 699, 734. law (Oxford D.Phil. thesis, 1951), 22. 49 S. Lokhandwala, The origins of Ismnd'lU

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

578

K. POONAWALA ISMAIL

contention of Lokhandwala.5so Al- Urjiazaal-mukhtara,a polemical work on the thorny question of the Imamate composed during the reign of the second Fatimid caliph al-Q&'im,undeniably shows the author's devout commitment to the Isma'ili cause.51 Moreover, in the introduction of another work entitled Kitdb al-himma, he states that one of his teachers had given him a short treatise to read which he assumed was written by a non-Isma'ili. However, he was told by his teacher that he was wrong in his assumption and that the author was indeed an Isma'Ili (min ahl al-walaya).52 This narrative implies that he received Isma'ili training at an early age. Let us now turn to the North African milieu during the second half of the third century of the Hijra where al-Q&dial-Nu'man was born and brought up. Prior to the advent of dd'i Abil 'Abdallah al-Shi'i in the year 280/893, the Isma'ili da'wa had sent two dc'is, Abii Sufyin and al-IHulwani; and through their efforts the inhabitants of several towns, such as Marmajanna and Urbus (in the vicinity of Qayrawan), accepted Shi'ism.53 With the coming of Abti 'Abdallah al-Shi'i a new phase of the Isma'ili da'wa was initiated. After the conversion of a Berber tribe, Kutama, which championed the Fatimid cause, the mission of Abni'Abdallah gained momentum and in a few years succeeded in overthrowing the Aghlabids and in founding the Fatimid dynasty.54 It is not unlikely, therefore, that this new movement attracted and won over some local support even before the fall of the Aghlabid capital Qayrawin in 296/908. That there was a large Shi'I population in Qayrawan and its environs during the fourth and the fifth centuries of the Hijra is borne out by their persecution and massacre during the governorshipof al-Mu'izz b. Bidis, who renounced Fatimid suzerainty and patronized the Maliki school.55 According to Ibn Khallikan, al-Q&dial-Nu'man's father was a learned man who died at the advanced age of 104 and was buried in Qayrawan.56 In his Tabaqdt 'ulam&'Ifriqiya, Muhlammadb. al-HIrith al-Khushani al-Qayrawani (d. c. 371/981), a contemporary of al-Qadi al-Nu'man, lists Muhammad b. among the learned men of Qayrawanwho adopted Shi'ism (the Isma'ili .Hayyan
50 In his al-Qalida al-muntakhaba (MS collection of Qurbin H.Iusayn F. Poonawala), 3-4, composed during the reign of the second Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im, al-Qadi al-Nu'man refers to his It was regarded as one of the highly treasured books by the third earlier work Kitdb al-d.h4.cf. Sirat UstddhJawdhar, ed. M. KAmil .;Iusaynand M. 'Abd al-HAdi, Fdtimid caliph al-Mansfir, Cairo, 1954, 53. al-Nu'mdn, al-Urjfiza al-mukhtara, ed. I. K. Poonawala, Montreal, 1970. 552 Al-Q.di Kitdb al-himma, 33. 53A-Maqrizi, Itti'dz al-Aunafd', ed. Jamal al-Din al-Shayydl, Cairo, 1967, 41. Al-Qdi al-Nu'mdn states in Iftith4 al-da'wa, 54-8, that both the aforementioned dd'fs were sent in 145/762 by Im&mJa'far al-SQdiq; see also Ibn Khaldfin, op. cit., Iv, 65. 5 Iftit(h al-da'wa, 59 ff.; al-hunaf&',55 ff. 55 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kmil ft Itti'dz. ed. C. J. Tornberg, Beirut, 1965-7, ix, 294-5; Ibn al'l-tA1rikh, 'Idh~ri, al-Baydn al-mughrib fF akhbdr al-Maghrib, ed. R. Dozy, Leyde, 1848-51, I, 279-90; Ilasan A. Mahmfid, ' Mihnat al-Shi'a bi Ifrfqiya ft 'l-qarn al-khamis al-Hijri ', Bull. Fac. Arts, Fouad I Univ. (Cairo), xii, 1, 1950, 93-9; H. R. Idris, ' Une des phases de la lutte du milikisme contre le 'i'isme sous les Zirides ', Cahiers de Tunisie, Iv, 16, 1956, 508-17. 56 Ibn Khallikin, op. cit., v, 48.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RECONSIDERATION OF AL-QAPI AL-NU'MAN'S MADHHAB

579

faith).57 He adds that Ibn Hayyan was an aged man, originally from Silsa, of Maliki persuasion and a follower of Ibn Sahntin.58 Later he embraced the Isma'Ili faith, but practised taqiya. It is also reported that he was in charge of leading the Friday prayer. The Arabic word used by al-Khushani for conversion to Shi'I Isma'ili faith is tasharraqa. In his Iftitdh al-da'uwa, al-Qadi al-Nu'man explains that when the mission of Abil 'Abdallah (who was from Kfifa) met with success, he was known as al-Mashriqi' one who came from the East ', and those who accepted his mission were known as al-Mashariqa.59Tasharraqais the fifth form, meaning 'to become an Ism'ili '. With the lapse of time the terms alMashriqi and al-Mashariqa were replaced by al-Shi'I and al-Shi'a; the verbal form remained in use, however. It is worth noting that the appellations 'Isma'ili' and ' Fatimi' are not used even for the Fhtimid caliphs; instead 'al-Shi'i ' is used.60 Al-Khushani was born in Qayrawan, where he received his early education. In 311/923-4 or 312/924-5, while still young, he left North Africa and went to Spain, where he compiled his Tabaqat 'ulama' Ifriqgya.61 His description of Muhammad b. Hayyan fits well with that of al-Qadi al-Nu'man's father given by Ibn Khallikan. Therefore it seems logical to infer that both the persons are identical. However, there is one minor difficulty: Ibn Khallikan and the Isma'ili sources give the name as Ibn Hayyfin. One can argue that it is not improbable that al-Khushani, writing in Spain, might have remembered the name incorrectly as Ibn instead of Ibn H.Jayyfin.62 It might also be an .Hayyan, This error error. orthographical appears in many Imami sources where it is written as 3 >-.63 If we assume to be an error for Hayyfin, we can with the above-mentioned Muhammad b. identify al-Q&dial-Nu'man's father.Hayyan It that the latter was converted to the Isma'ili faith several implies IH.ayyan. years before 311/923-4. Further, the report that he used to practise taqiya does not make much sense after the establishment of Fatimid rule. It thereforeimplies that his conversion took place before 297/909. This, in turn, implies that al-Q&di al-Nu'man, born between 283/896 and 293/905, was brought up as an Isma'ili. In conclusion, it should be stated that until more evidence comes to light the foregoing interpretation should remain, at best, tentative.
57Al-Khushani, Tabaqst 'ulamd' Ifriq4ya, ed. M. Ben Cheneb (with Tabaqdtof Abfi 'l-'Arab), Paris, 1915-20, I, 223. It is hereafter cited as Ben Cheneb. of Qayrawdn by Mubammad 58Sabnfin was a famous Miliki jurist and was appointed the b. Aghlab, cf. IftitO al-da'wa, 82-3; Ben Cheneb, I, 101-4, 129-32. qdi. 59Iftitah al-da'wa, 76, 93; cf. also Ibn al-'Idhdri, op. cit., I, 150, 175, 189-90; Ibn al-Athir, op. cit., Ix, 295; Ibn Khaldidn, op. cit., Iv, 67; R. Dozy, Supplement aux dictionnaires arabes, Leyde, 1881, I, 751. 60 Abfi 'Ubayd al-Bakri, Kitab al-mughribft dhikr bildd Ifriqiya wa 'l-Maghrib, ed. and tr. de Slane, repr., Paris, 1965, Arabic 2, 27, 46, 78; Ibn al-'Idhdri, op. cit., I, 154, 164, 170, 172, 181, 184, 187, 195, 205, 231, 285.
61 62

Ben Cheneb, ii, xviii.

cf. W. Madelung's review of H. Idris's La Berbirie orientale in JAOS, LXXXIV, 4, 1964, 424-5. 63 AI-Astarib~di, op. cit., 512; al-Iurr al-'Amili, op. cit., II, 335; al-Khwansari, op. cit., 727; al-Niri, op. cit., III, 313; Qummi, op. cit., In. 572.

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:26:15 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions