Ibn al-Jawzi Sources Open this page in a new tab

Earthquake(s) Source(s)
1068 CE Quake(s) JW: Ibn al-Jawzi states that his source was a letter which described the earthquake from some merchants. His account is strikingly similar to that of fellow Baghdadi al-Banna who also got his information from his more expansive (and possibly misdated) account from some merchants. Makdisi (1956a) noted that al-Banna's diary was retrieved by Diya ad-Din al-Maqdisi, a hadith scholar who had studied under Ibn al-Jawzi shortly before Ibn al-Jawzi's death in 1201 indicating that he may have obtained it from Ibn al-Jawzi himself. This suggests that Ibn al-Jawzi may have used used al-Banna's diary as a source or used a letter which was a common source for Ibn al-Jawzi and al-Banna. Makdisi (1956a) suggests that Ibn al-Jawzi appears to have had access to parts of the diary that are now lost but not the extant fragment.
The many sources of Ibn al-Jawzi

V. The Authorities of the "Kitab al-muntazam"

The Kitab al-muntazam gives evidence of the many-sided erudition of Ibn al-Jauzi. In writing such an extensive work, he had to consult many authorities. But, unlike at-Tabari and Ibn al-Athir, Ibn al-Jauzi is not satisfied with giving the name of his authority ; in addition, he gives the complete isnad of the traditionists through whom his direct authority received his information. His elaborate and long isnads - being in the majority of the cases longer than the matn - are a peculiarity of Ibn al-Jauzi, the more so as at his time quoting of isndds in their whole length, as was customary at the time of at-Tabari, had been abandoned.1

Only Ibn al-Jauzi's main work of reference is an exception to this rule, that is ay-Tabari's work. Except in a few cases,2 he does not refer to the Ta'rikh ar-rusul wal-mulukt since its general use by all the later Arab historians was a well-known fact. But as soon as his narrative differs from that of av-TakarI, he never neglects to name the authority from whom he received an additional or a new tradition.

It may be seen from the Kitab al-muntazam that Ibn al Jauzi knew many prominent scholars of his city and read their works as well. The most remarkable of these Baghdad scholars was no doubt Abu Mansur 'Abdarrahman ibn Muhammad al-Qazzaz whom he may have well known personally and have read his books, none of which has been left to us. Excluding at-Tabari, it is he from whom Ibn al-Jauzi received most of his information on events of both general, political, and local character, and more especially for his biographical notices. There is hardly any page in the Kitab al-muntazam on which his name - quoted as either 'Abdarrahman ibn Muhammad or Abu Mansur al-Qazzaz - is not mentioned. The only reference to this scholar is to be found in the abstract entitled " Muntaqi al-'Ibar " of adh Dhahabi's chronicle made by Abu Bakr ibn Ahmad ibn Qadi Shuhba (died in a.h. 851),3 where he is said to have died in the year 535/1140-1, and to have been a disciple of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and an eminent traditionist.

Next to al-Qazzaz, the authority most frequently quoted by Ibn al-Jauzi is Abul-Fadl Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Hafiz as-Sallami, often called Muhaddith al-'Iraq, who according to adh-Dhahabl,4 died in 550/1155. His contemporary and Ibn al-Jauzi's third important authority was Abul-Qasim Isma'il ibn Ahmad ibn as-Samarqandi, who according to adh Dhahabi5 died in 536/1141-2, and is said to have been, together with al-Qazzaz, a disciple of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and equally an eminent traditionist.6

The master of these scholars, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Thabit, commonly called al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (died in 403/1071) is also referred to in several passages of the Kitab al-muntazam. We may assume that Ibn al-Jauzi, in writing his obituary notices, made wide use of his Tarikh Baghdad, a voluminous history of learned men,7 the more so as he readily accepted the ideas of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in ruthlessly purifying the hadiths.8

The other authorities quoted by Ibn al-Jauzi are as follows (the years in the narratives of which they are mentioned are put in brackets)9 : -
  • Ibrahim ibn Dinar al-Faqih (a.h. 381).
  • Ibrahim an-Nakha'i (a.h. 75). See Fihrist, vol. i, p. 183.
  • 'Abdalmalik ibn Qurayb al-Asma'i died in 216/831 (a.h. 131).
  • al-Arabi (a.h. 280).
  • Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babat (a.h. 75).
  • Muhammad ibn abi Tahir al-Bazzar (a.h. 99,151, 262, 279).
  • Abu Mansur al-Bazzaz (a.h. 158
  • Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya as-Suli, died in 335/946 (a.h. 132, 158, 256, 269, 286).
  • Abu 'Ali Muhassin ibn 'Ali at-Tanukhi, died in 384/994 (a.h. 391).
  • 'Amr ibn Bahr al-Laythi al-Jahiz, died in 255/869 (a.h. 158).
  • Jabala ibn Muhammad (a.h. 132).
  • Ibn Hajib (a.h. 370). He is probably Abul-Husayn 'Abdal 'aziz ibn Ibrahim ibn Hajib an-Nu'man, scribe at the time of Mu'izz addaula.
  • al-Hakim ibn 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad, died in 405/1014 : " Ta'rikh Nisabur " (a.h. 230).
  • Abul-Hasan al-Jarrahi (a.h. 260).
  • al-Hasan ibn Ja'far 'Ali (a.h. 132).
  • Abul-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Kaukabi (a.h. 382).
  • Abul-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn al-Ma'ali (a.h. 367, 422).
  • Abul-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abdalwahid al Hashimi (a.h. 132, 279).
  • Abul-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abdalwahhab ad-Dabbas (a.h. 93). See Fihrist, vol. i, p. 208.
  • Ibn Halaf (a.h. 151).
  • Muhammad ibn 'Abdalmalik al-Hamdanl, died in 521/1127 (a.h. 279, 381).
  • Khalid ibn 'Aylan (a.h. 132).
  • 'Ali ibn 'Umar ad-Daraqutni, died in 385/995 (a.h. 376).
  • Abu Bakr ibn abi Dunya, died in 281/894 (a.h. 105).
  • Zahir ibn Tahir ibn Muhammad, died in 533/1138 (a.h. 99, 230).
  • as-Sahhaq (a.h. 158).
  • Sa'id ibn 'Ali abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn Asad al-Katib al-Qari al-Bazzaz al-Baghdadi, died in 410/1019 (a.h. 408).
  • Abu Sa'id al-Himyari (a.h. 132).
  • Shahak (a.h. 86). See Fihrist, vol. ii, p. 168 ; Ibn Shahak as-Sindi.
  • 'Abdallah ibn Hasan (a.h. 132).
  • 'Abdalwahhab ibn al-Mubarak (a.h. 96, 99).
  • 'Abdalwahhab ibn Muhammad (a.h. 158)
  • 'Ali ibn 'Ubaydallah (a.h. 132). He is perhaps identical with 'All ibn 'Ubaydallah ibn Babawaih, author of a " Fihrist", see Br. Mus. Suppl., Nr. 635.
  • 'Umar ibn al-Hafiz (a.h. 101).
  • Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala (a.h. 158), the philologist of Basra, died probably in 159/776.10
  • Ibn abil-Fawaris (a.h. 376).
  • Abul-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habibal-Mawardi, died in 450/1058 (a.h. 238, 240, 242).
  • al-Mubarak ibn 'Ali as-Sayrafi (a.h. 100).
  • Mahfuz ibn Ahmad (a.h. 86).
  • Muhammad ibn 'Abdalbaqi abu Bakr al-Ansari, died in 535/1140 (a.h. 256, 271, 279, 322, 329, 334, 335). See Br. Mus. Suppl., No. 622 ; he is mentioned by Ibn Nuqta as having received traditions from al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Jauhari.
  • Muhammad ibn 'Abdalhaytham (a.h. 75).
  • al-Mada'ini Abul-Hasan 'All ibn Muhammad, died about 840/225 (a.h. 91).
  • Ibn al-Mu'tazz (a.h. 286, 289).
  • Hibatalldh ibn al-Hasan al-Lalaqa'I, died in 418/1027 (a.h. 125).
  • Hibatallah ibn 'Abdassalam al-Katib (a.h. 422).
  • Hilal ibn al-Muhassin as-Sabi, died in 448/1056 (a.h. 353, 413).
Footnotes

1 See Brockelmann, Das Verhaltnis, etc., p. 0.

2 See Br. M. Suppl., No. 460, fol. 986, I. 14 ; fol. 177, 1. 4.

3 Br. M. Or., No. 3006, fol. 276, margin.

4 Do., MS., fol. 287a; see also as-Sam'ani: Kitab ansab, ed. D. S. Margoliouth, London-Leyden, 1912, fol. 320a.

5 Do., MS., fol. 277a.

6 adh-Dhahabi in his Ta'rikh al-islam also mentions these three men as masters of Ibn al-Jauzi, see Br. M. Or., Nr. 52, fol. 119.

7 See Br. M. Or., Nr. 303, fol. 1166, 1. 24.

8 Especially in his Al-kifdya fi ma'rifat usul 'ilm ar-riwaya, see Goldziher, Muh. St., vol. ii, p. 183.

9 As I have not yet been able to inspect the MSS. of the Constantinople libraries, the above data refer only to the narratives contained in the MSS. of the European libraries (British Museum, Oxford, Gotha, Berlin). As reference-works, I have made use of Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, the Fihriat and Haji Khalfa, ed. Flugel.

10 This date of his death seems more probable than 154/770, which is generally accepted. See Ibn Khallikan, ed. de Slane, vol. ii, p. 402.