Saheb Ibn Abbad

Abul Qasem Ismail Ibn Hasan Abbad, known as “Saheb Ibn Abbad”, vizier and man of letters of the Buyid period; 938-995. Of Persian origin, he was an arabophile and wrote on dogmatic theology, history, grammar lexicography, literary criticism and composed poetry and belles-letters. He learnt Hadith from his father and after his death continued learning other sciences and the Quran under his mother. He then went to Isfahan and studied in the presence of great masters Ahmad Ibn Fars Razi and Abdullah Ibn Fars. Saheb Ibn Abbad was the vizier of ####Buyid dynasty for 18 years, he appreciated scholars and respected jurists and traditionists very much. He had a great library in Rey, in which there were over 100000 books, it is said that none of the kings and viziers had such a library. Saheb Ibn Abbad had a high intelligence, wrote nice poems and had clear eloquence proses. The court of Buyids was always full of literary men and poets. All his contemporary scholars praised him: Abdul Rahman Tha’alebi (theologian from Algiers; 1386-1468) wrote about him: “I do not know how to exprres his highg scientific, his glory and his good characteristics”. Yaqut Hemavi: five hundred poets praised him in their poems. Sheikh Sduq (outstanding Shi’I jurist and traditionist) knew him as a great scholar who loved the Fourteen Innocent Ones (the twelve Shia Imams, the Prophet and his daughter). Although Shaeb Ibn Abbad was a Shi’i vizier scholar, but appointed a Sunni judge (Abdul Jabbar Mu’tazeli) as the Supreme Judge of Iran, because at that time the majority of Iranians were Sunni. Depite being praised as a great scholar by many, had enemies; Abu Hayyan Tawhidi (man of letters and philosopher; 913-1021) who was his most famous enemy, wrote a book on reproaching Saheb Ibn Abbad and Ibn Amid (vizier of the early Buyids and man of letters of Qom; d. 970). In this book Saheb Ibn Abbad was derided and described as a proud person. Saheb Ibn Abbad wrote over 30 prominent books. The following are his important ones which were written especially on literary sciences:
1- On some of the principles of Mu’tazilis
2- Imamate (on Imam Ali’s superiority in Imamate and caliphate over others)
3- The names of Allah
4- Knowledge
5- Zaydiyyah (a groupe of Shia, which is distinguished by the recognition of Zayd Ibn Ali Zayn al-Abedin as Imam)
6- Diwan (his collected poems)
7- Convincing (on prosody and the rules of poetry)
8- Al-kafi (on the literary treatises and the techniques of writing)
9- Evidences
10- The lights
11- Biograohy
12- The medicine book
13- Treatise on the biography of ”Abdul Azim Hasani” (the great-great-grandson of the second Imam, Imam Hasan)
14- Treatise on Guidance and Deviation, etc.

Saheb Ibn Abbad died in 1005 at the age of 58 and was buried in Isfahan.

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