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| By McComas Taylor, pg. 3</ref> | By McComas Taylor, pg. 3</ref> | ||
| ==Biography== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | Ibn al-Muqaffa, though a resident of ], was originally from the town of Jur (or Gur) in the ]ian province of ]. His father had been a state official in charge of taxes under the ], and after being accused and convicted of embezzling some of the money entrusted to him, was punished by the ruler by having his hand crushed, hence the name ''Muqaffa'' (shrivelled hand). Ibn al-Muqaffa was murdered around 756 by the order of the second ] caliph Abu Ja`far ] reportedly for heresy, in particular for attempting to import ] ideas into ].<ref> ] refers to disarticulation Rouzbeh's limbs and their immolation in an oven (]) by Sufyan ibn Muawiyah, governor of ], by the order of Caliph ].</ref> There is evidence, though, that his murder may have been prompted by the caliph's resentment at the terms and language that Ibn al-Muqaffa had used in drawing up a guarantee of safe passage for the caliph's rebellious uncle, Abdullah b. Ali; the caliph found that document profoundly disrespectful to himself, and it is believed Ibn al-Muqaffa paid with his life for the affront to al-Mansur.<ref>Said Amir Arjomand, "`Abd Allah Ibn al-Muqaffa` and the `Abbasid Revolution," ''Iranian Studies,'' 27:33 (vol. 27, nos. 1-4, 1994).</ref> | ||
| ==Literary career== | |||
| Ibn al-Muqaffa, though a resident of ], was originally from the town of Jur (or Gur) in the ]ian province of ]. His father had been a state official in charge of taxes under the ], and after being accused and convicted of embezzling some of the money entrusted to him, was punished by the ruler by having his hand crushed, hence the name ''Muqaffa'' (shrivelled hand). | |||
| ⚫ | Ibn al-Muqaffa's translation of the '']'' from ] "is considered the first masterpiece of ]."<ref name="mitejmes" /><!-- In the ''The Golden Age of Persia'', ] ascribes significant Arabic literary developments to al-Muqaffa --> "Ibn al-Muqaffa' was a pioneer in the introduction of literary prose narrative to ]. He paved the way for later innovators such as ] and ], who brought literary fiction to Arabic literature by adapting traditionally accepted modes of oral narrative transmission into literary prose."<ref>{{citation|last=Wacks|first=David A.|journal=Journal of Arabic Literature|volume=34|issue=1-2|year=<!-- April-->2003|pages=178–189}}</ref> Ibn al-Muqaffa was also an accomplished scholar of ], and was the author of several moral fables. | ||
| ==Legacy and commemoration== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The Bosnian poet ] wrote a play about al-Muqaffa. The world premiere was performed in 1994 during the civil war in Bosnia-Hercegovina by the Bosnian actors ] and Selma Alispahić from the National Theatre of Sarajevo under the direction of ] in a production of the Austrian theatre ARBOS in Vienna<ref>Dževad Karahasan "Al-Mukaffa" ARBOS-Wieser-Edition, Klagenfurt-Salzburg 1994, ISBN 3 85129 141 7.</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | The Bosnian poet ] wrote a play about al-Muqaffa |
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| Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa should not be confused with ], an ]ian ]ic historian. | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 22 June 2010
| Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa | |
|---|---|
| Died | AH 139 (756/757) Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Occupation(s) | Author and translator |
Abū-Muhammad Abd-Allāh Rūzbeh ibn Dādūya/Dādōē (Template:Lang-fa) , mostly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (Arabic: ابن المقفع - Persian: ابن مقفع) or Rūzbeh pūr-e Dādūya (Template:Lang-fa), was an 8-century (d. c. 756) Persian thinker and a Zoroastrian convert to Islam.
Biography
Ibn al-Muqaffa, though a resident of Basra, was originally from the town of Jur (or Gur) in the Iranian province of Fars. His father had been a state official in charge of taxes under the Umayyads, and after being accused and convicted of embezzling some of the money entrusted to him, was punished by the ruler by having his hand crushed, hence the name Muqaffa (shrivelled hand). Ibn al-Muqaffa was murdered around 756 by the order of the second Abbasid caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur reportedly for heresy, in particular for attempting to import Zoroastrian ideas into Islam. There is evidence, though, that his murder may have been prompted by the caliph's resentment at the terms and language that Ibn al-Muqaffa had used in drawing up a guarantee of safe passage for the caliph's rebellious uncle, Abdullah b. Ali; the caliph found that document profoundly disrespectful to himself, and it is believed Ibn al-Muqaffa paid with his life for the affront to al-Mansur.
Literary career
Ibn al-Muqaffa's translation of the Kalīla wa Dimna from Middle Persian "is considered the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose." "Ibn al-Muqaffa' was a pioneer in the introduction of literary prose narrative to Arabic literature. He paved the way for later innovators such as al-Hamadani and al-Saraqusti, who brought literary fiction to Arabic literature by adapting traditionally accepted modes of oral narrative transmission into literary prose." Ibn al-Muqaffa was also an accomplished scholar of Middle Persian, and was the author of several moral fables.
Legacy and commemoration
The Bosnian poet Dzevad Karahasan wrote a play about al-Muqaffa. The world premiere was performed in 1994 during the civil war in Bosnia-Hercegovina by the Bosnian actors Zijah Sokolović and Selma Alispahić from the National Theatre of Sarajevo under the direction of Herbert Gantschacher in a production of the Austrian theatre ARBOS in Vienna
See also
References
- ^ Lane, Andrew J. (2003), Review: Gregor Schoeler's Écrire et transmettre dans les débuts de l’islam, Cambridge: mit.edu
- The Fall of the Idigo Jackal By McComas Taylor, pg. 3
- Al-Madaini refers to disarticulation Rouzbeh's limbs and their immolation in an oven (tanour) by Sufyan ibn Muawiyah, governor of Basra, by the order of Caliph Al-Mansur.
- Said Amir Arjomand, "`Abd Allah Ibn al-Muqaffa` and the `Abbasid Revolution," Iranian Studies, 27:33 (vol. 27, nos. 1-4, 1994).
- Wacks, David A. (2003), Journal of Arabic Literature, 34 (1–2): 178–189
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Dževad Karahasan "Al-Mukaffa" ARBOS-Wieser-Edition, Klagenfurt-Salzburg 1994, ISBN 3 85129 141 7.
- Browne, E. G. (1998), Literary History of Persia, ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
- Rypka, Jan (1968), History of Iranian Literature, Reidel, ISBN 90-277-0143-1
- Frye, Richard Nelson (2000), Golden Age of Persia, ISBN 1-84212-011-5