Abu Zakariyya al-Warjlani
Abu Zakariyya al-Warjlani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Warglan (in modern-day Algeria) |
| Died | 1078 or after 1081
|
| Notable work | Kitab Siyar al-Aimmah wa Akhbaruhum |
| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Yahya يحيى |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | Abu Zakariyya أبو زكريا |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | al-Warjlani الوارجلاني |
Abu Zakariyya al-Warjlani (Arabic: أبو زكرياء الوارجلاني) was an Ibadi scholar, he is mostly known for his book of biographies Kitab Siyar al-Aimmah wa Akhbaruhum.
Life
Historical sources provide little information about the life of Abu Zakariyya al-Warjlani; most available details come from Ahmad al-Darjini’s account and scattered references in al-Warjlani’s own writings.[1] Sources report his full name as Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Abi Bakr ibn Said al-Yahrasni al-Warjlani. His nisba, al-Yahrasni (or al-Yarasni), connects him to the Berber tribe of Banu Yahrasn, whose territory historically extended from the Djerba in present-day Tunisia to the Nafusa Mountains in Libya and the Djerid region of Tunisia.[2] He was likely born in Warglan, in what is now Algeria, suggesting that his family may have settled there following an earlier migration.[3]
Abu Zakariyya al-Warjlani earned his livelihood through farming and was not settled in Warglan, but he occasionally returned to maintain ties with his community.[3]
Works
His principal work is Kitab Siyar al-Aimmah wa Akhbaruhum, a text that focuses on the biographies of Maghrebi scholars, with particular attention to the history of the Rustumid dynasty and those who succeeded them in guiding the Ibadi community.[4] The text also provides insights into the early phase of the Fatimid dynasty.[5] This chronicle served as a key reference for later Ibadi historians such as al-Darjini and al-Shammakhi, who relied heavily on its material. It is regarded as the earliest surviving Ibadi document concerning the history of the Ibadis in North Africa.[5]Awad Khleifat suggests that Abu Zakariyya may exhibit a bias toward certain ethnic groups, particularly the Persians, to whom the Rustamid family traces its origins.
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Larbi 1982, p. 24.
- ^ Al-Zarwil 2017, p. 262-263.
- ^ a b Al-Zarwil 2017, p. 263.
- ^ Abu al-Qasim 2015, p. 373.
- ^ a b E. B 1984.
Bibliography
- الزرويل [Al-Zarwil], صالح [Salah] (2017). "الكتابة التاريخية عند أبي زكرياء يحيى الوارجلاني (ت474ه/1081م)" [Historical Writing of Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Warjlani (d. 474 AH / 1081 CE)]. مجلة المعارف للبحوث والدراسات التاريخية [Majallat al-Ma'arif lil-Buhuth wa al-Dirasat al-Tarikhiyya] (in Arabic). 3 (4): 260–283.
- أبو القاسم [Abu al-Qasim], سعد الله [Sa'd Allah] (2015). تاريخ الجزائر الثقافي، من الفتح الإسلامي إلى نهاية القرن التاسع الهجري [The cultural history of Algeria, from the Islamic conquest to the end of the ninth century AH] (in Arabic). Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Algiers (Algeria): عالم المعرفة [Aalam al-Ma'rifah.] pp. 373–376. ISBN 978-9947-912-70-6.
- العربي [Larbi], إسماعيل [Ismail] (1982). "من هو أبو زكرياء؟ [Who is Abu Zakariyya?]". كتاب سير الأئمة و أخبارئهم المعروف بتاريخ أبي زكرياء [Kitab Siyar al-Aimmah wa Akhbaruhum al-Ma'ruf bi-Tarikh Abi Zakariya]. By الورجلاني [Al-Warjlani], أبو زكرياء [Abu Zakariyya] (in Arabic) (2nd ed.). Beirut (Lebanon): دار الغرب الإسلامي [Dar al-Gharb al-Islami].
- E. B (1984). "Abū Zakarīyā al-Wargalani". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (1): 103. ISSN 1015-7344.