Abu al-Arab

• Died — c. 945 • Era — Islamic Golden Age, Fatimid era • Main Interests — History, hadith, poetry • Name — Abu al-Arab • Native Name — أبو العرب • Place of death — Kairouan • Birthplace — Kairouan, Fatimid Caliphate • Born — 9th-century

Abu al-Arab's year of birth is unknown, though he most probably was born between 864 and 873 in the city of Kayrawan, the cultural center of Ifriqiya (corresponds to modern-day Tunisia), which at the time was under the control of the Fatimid Caliphate. He belonged to a noble Arab family of governors. His great-grandfather held the governorship of Tunis and he also successfully managed to seize control of Kayrawan in the year 799. Abu al-Arab studied under a number of scholars who themselves learned from the renowned Kayrawani jurist Sahnun (d. 854/55), and he wrote a detailed account of Sahnun's life. Sequentially, Abu al-Arab devoted his time to teaching in Kayrawan, his most notable student was Ibn Abi Zayd al-Kayrawani (d. 996). Abu al-Arab participated in Abu Yazid's revolt against the Fatimids, eventually he was imprisoned. A few years later, he died in 945. Abu al-Arab relied also on the work of Issa ibn Abi al-Mouhajir for his writings about Ifriqiya.

According to al-Zirkili, Abu al-Arab works consist of 3,000 books which are mostly lost. • Tabaqat 'Ulama Ifriqiya (طبقات علماء إفريقية; Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya) • 'Ibad Ifriqiya (عباد إفريقية; People of Ifriqiya) • Kitab al-Tarikh (كتاب التاريخ; Book of History) in seventeen volumes. • Manaqib Bani Tamim (مناقب بني تميم; Merits of Bani Tamim) • Al-Mihan (المحن; Adversities) • Fada'il Malik (فضائل مالك; Merits of Malik) • Manaqib Sahnun (مناقب سحنون; Merits of Sahnun) • Mawt al-'Ulama (موت العلماء; Death of Scholars) in two volumes.