Abstract In an anecdote preserved in al-Tanūkhī’s Nishwār al-muḥāḍara , the Abbasid wazir Ibn al-Furāt (d. 312/924) asked a jewelry merchant named Ibn al-Jaṣṣāṣ (d. 315/927) for advice regarding wealth management. This Ibn al-Jaṣṣāṣ had become the richest man in Baghdad at the end of the third/ninth century, and his wealth would remain legendary for centuries. This article will pose several questions regarding the famous jewelry merchant: how was his career, and acquisition of wealth, reflective of the realities of the Abbasid economy of his era? What were his various methods of managing this wealth? Why did this particular man become a legend, such that later historians and biographers were fascinated by his riches, and his personality? This article will argue that the life story of Ibn al-Jaṣṣāṣ — and his depiction as a historical character by later authors — came to symbolize the vicissitudes of the Abbasid Empire just as it began its final collapse.
Abstract This paper investigates the generic narrative representation of ruling power in al-Tanūkhī’s (d. 384/993) al-Faraj baʿda l-shidda (Relief after Hardship). It presents functions as well as lexical and narrative motifs often associated with caliphs in the compilation and shows how additional meaning is constructed through subtle variation on those motifs. The generic caliph of the Faraj emerges as a symbol of ruling and potentially coercive power, a perpetual source of trials and deliverance, whose summons are feared and whose wrath and punishment subjects seek to deflect. His power is represented above all through interactions with individuals who displease or appease him; in this respect, it appears analogous to that of other powerful figures, such as kings, governors, administrators, or even violent criminals.
In this article, I examine Nāfiʿ, the mawlā of Ibn ʿUmar, and his role in early ḥadīth transmission and jurisprudence. I highlight several aspects of Nāfiʿ’s activity as a traditionist that have previously evaded scholarly attention, focusing on his perception by early-Abbasid ḥadīth transmitters and critics, as well as his network of informants from the first two generations of Muslims. Given the many contradictions in his biography and the reported death dates of his informants, Nāfiʿ’s image appears to split into two chronologically distinct figures. A prosopographical analysis aligns with Schacht’s observation that Nāfiʿ is historically vague, while also providing possible explanations for this vagueness. The article further shows that Mālik b. Anas played a major role in elevating Nāfiʿ’s status, though Juynboll’s claim that Mālik fabricated most of his Nāfiʿ isnād s as a shortcut to Ibn ʿUmar requires further testing through corpus analysis.
Abstract This article examines the centuries-long process through which a number of Hanafi fatwas issued in third/ninth- or fourth/tenth-century Balkh, concerning the long-term tenancy of waqf properties, were integrated into positive law. One aim here is to demonstrate the contribution of the Central-Asian Hanafi tradition — represented by these local fatwas — to the formation of Hanafi legal doctrine. Another aim is to highlight the role played by the compilers of these fatwas in shaping that doctrine. The study argues that the process of assembling and editing the fatwas involved interventions that affected their legal content: in some cases the compilers added details, while in others they modified existing ones. The material incorporated into the standard law books therefore did not simply reproduce legal solutions that had emerged from practice, but rather reflected a combination of those solutions and the modifications introduced by later compilers, both of which contributed to the formulation of doctrine.
The interactions between the Buyid rulers and the Abbasid caliphs reach a significant point when ʿAḍud al-Dawla meets Caliph al-Tāʾiʿ in a formal and grand ceremony that took place on 9 Jumādā I 367/28 December 977. This event, meticulously organized after ʿAḍud al-Dawla’s capture of Baghdad, is marked by the caliph bestowing royal insignia and symbols of sovereignty upon him. This article demonstrates that, contrary to the assumptions of some early historians and modern scholars, the meeting took place only once, and reports of a ceremony in 369/979–80 are mistaken. Establishing the number and timing of these encounters is crucial, as they shape our understanding of when and how ʿAḍud al-Dawla consolidated his authority and negotiated legitimacy with the caliph. At the same time, the events following 367/977 are highly significant for understanding the evolving dynamics of their relationship. We highlight the importance of these events and show how the differing narratives of historians, particularly Miskawayh and Ibn al-Jawzī, have produced two contrasting interpretations of their relationship.
