Ibn Barrajān's Role in Andalusian Sufism

Al-Ghazl of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajn, Mahdism, and the
Emergence of Learned Sufism on the Iberian Peninsula

Jos Bellver
University of Barcelona
Although Ibn Barrajn (d. 536/1141) was one of the foremost Sufi masters in al-
Andalus, he remains a controversial figure. He is mainly known for an accurate
prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem on 583/1187, for his close rela-
tionship with the other leading Andalusian Sufi master of his time, Ibn al-Arf
(d. 536/1141), and for his obscure death. Ibn Barrajn is not mentioned in Ibn
Bashkuwls ilathe main source for study of the Andalusian ulema of this
timeand as a result has been taken to be an outsider among the Andalusian
ulema, one who threatened the theological and political establishment. However,
this image is distorted by the socio-political context of the time and by the pau-
city of our references. The aim of this article is to shed light on the figure of Ibn
Barrajn from a historical point of view so as to improve our understanding of the
role played by Sufism in Mahdist movements and in the political changes in the
Islamic West during the sixth/twelfth century.
introduction
While preparing the introduction to a paper on Ibn Barrajns prediction of the Muslim
capture of Jerusalem in which I intended to summarize the biography of this Andalusian Sufi
master from the Almoravid period, I could not help feeling that our historical view of him
as a rebellious Mahdist leader who challenged the political authority of the Almoravidswas
at odds with the quietist and pious Sufi that resonates in his works. The aim of this article is
thus to reconsider the historical data we have about Ibn Barrajn (d. 536/1141), one of the
foremost Sufis on the Iberian peninsula, whose volume and range of works ensured that he
was known in an day already as al-Ghazl of al-Andalus. Today, however, he remains a
little-known, controversial figure whose writings have yet to be studied in depth.
Ibn Barrajns life ran parallel to the Almoravid dominion over al-Andalus (10911145).
He is mainly known for an accurate prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem in
583/1187, for his close relationship with the other prominent Andalusian Sufi master of
his time, Ibn al-Arf (d. 536/1141), and for his obscure death after being summoned, along
with Ibn al-Arf, by the Almoravid sultan Al b. Ysuf b. Tshufn (d. 537/1143), shortly
before the revolt of the Murdn in the Algarve (539/1144) led by Ibn Qas (d. 546/1151)
and the ascent to power of the Almohads. Ibn Barrajn is referred to in a few sources as
imm and it has been alleged that in some 130 villages the Friday sermons were read in
Authors note: I am most thankful to Maribel Fierro and James W. Morris for reading a first draft of this paper
and making extremely valuable suggestions; the comments by the anonymous reviewers and the editor, to whom I
express my gratitude, were equally very helpful. I am also indebted to the Department of Theology at Boston Col-
lege where I wrote most of this paper during my Beatriu de Pins postdoctoral stay. This article has been prepared
as part of the research program La evolucin de la ciencia en la sociedad de al-Andalus desde la Alta Edad Media
al pre-Renacimiento y su repercusin en las culturas europeas y rabes (siglos XXV), sponsored by the Spanish
Ministry of Education and Science (FFI200800234/FILO) and FEDER.
Journal of the American Oriental Society 133.4 (2013) 659

660 Journal of the American Oriental Society 133.4 (2013)
his name rather than in that of the sultan. These textual references within the context of the
revolt of the Murdn shortly after his death, along with his having been summoned by the
sultan, his trial, imprisonment, and death, have sketched a picture of a political activist, a
self-proclaimed imm, and a rebellious Mahd who challenged the political and religious
authority of his time and was eventually executed for this insubordination.1
Ibn Barrajns summons and death took place against a background of political, eco-
nomic, and military crisis in al-Andalus caused by the Christian advance onto the peninsula
and accentuating the decline of the Almoravids during the first half of the sixth/twelfth
century. Due to Almoravid passivity in the face of the Christian threat, the Andalusian popu-
lation sought the leadership of members of the judiciary, the fuqah.
Since the fall of the Umayyads in 422/1031 and the political instability of the mulk
al-awif that followed, local power in Andalusian cities tended to concentrate around lin-
eages of important families whose members in many cases inherited posts in the judiciary.
These elites were mostly supported by the local population. At different times, and partic-
ularly during the crisis following the fall of the Almoravids (shortly after Ibn Barrajns
death), judges stepped into the power vacuum and ruled over local populations. Hence in
order to understand the events that surrounded Ibn Barrajns summons and imprisonment,
we should bear in mind that the power structure in al-Andalus was not only linked to the
Almoravid elite of governors and the military, but also to the power of the judiciary concen-
trated around local lineages with the endorsement of religious authority.
The aim of this article is to reconsider the historical data that we have about Ibn Barrajn
in order to debunk the currently accepted view of him as a scholar on the margins and a
rebellious political contender, since a careful reading of the sources shows this not to be
the case. I propose that the events surrounding Ibn Barrajn were a result of religious
not politicaltensions brought about by the emergence of a class of learned Sufis whose
increasing numbers of disciples were seen as a threat by the judiciary. With the spiritual and
religious authority he had acquired, Ibn Barrajn came to personify in the Islamic West of
his day an equivalent role to that of al-Ghazl in the Islamic East. These tensions resulted in
Ibn Barrajns being tried for and found guilty of bida; as a mubtadi he was omitted from
the most important biographical work of his day, Ibn Bashkuwls al-ila, which erroneously
fostered the impression that he was a minor scholar, leading to a mistaken reputation to this
very day.
ibn barrajn in historiographical sources

The treatment of Ibn Barrajn in historiographical sources has changed over time, which
has caused considerable confusion regarding his role in history. The source that is chron-
ologically closest to his lifetimethe biographical dictionary al-ila (the main source for
our knowledge of the Andalusian ulema of this period)is silent about him. Its author, Ibn
Bashkuwl (d. 578/1183), was in his late thirties at the time of Ibn Barrajns death and
although he wrote his biographical dictionary under both the Almoravids and the Almohads,
1. There are other cases of important Sufis being summoned for questioning by the political authority or accused
of seeking power. Ab Madyan (d. 594/1198), for instance, was summoned and died on his way to answer a number
of accusations, and Ab l-asan al-Shdhil (d. 656/1258) was accused of being a Fimid pretender. Nevertheless,
their reputations have not suffered in the same way as that of Ibn Barrajn. For Ab Madyan, see Vincent J. Cornell,
The Way of Ab Madyan: Doctrinal and Poetic Works of Ab Madyan Shuayb al-usayn al-Anr (Cambridge,
1996), 15. For Ab l-asan al-Shdhil, see Vincent J. Cornell, Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroc-
can Sufism (Austin, 1998), 149.
Bellver: Al-Ghazl of al-Andalus 661
he makes no reference to Ibn Barrajn. There is no evidence that Ibn Bashkuwl had a
negative view of Sufism as such; among many other indications of his (generally speaking)
favorable attitude, he included an entry on Ibn al-Arf praising his piety. Ibn Bashkuwls
silence regarding Ibn Barrajn has led some scholars to suggest that Ibn Barrajn was such a
minor scholar in al-Andalus that he did not deserve mention in the most complete biographi-
cal dictionary of his time.
In the seventh century a.h., the picture of Ibn Barrajn in historiographical sources begins
to change, once the prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem was fulfilled. During this
period Ibn Barrajns reputation and those of others who suffered under the Almoravids were
restored by the Almohads, who tended to support Sufis even though they did not entirely
trust them; and the sources of this period are generally sympathetic toward Ibn Barrajn
and Sufism. Even though these historiographical sources are among those closest to Ibn
Barrajns time, none describes him as an imm in a political sense or as a contender for
political authority, and none indicates a violent death or execution, although mention is made
that he was summoned, judged, and imprisoned on allegedly religious grounds. The reason
given for his having been summoned was the fuqahs growing envy of Ibn al-Arf. These
sources include biographical dictionaries by al-Tdil, Ibn al-Abbr, Ibn al-Zubayr, and Ibn
Abd al-Malik al-Marrkush. There are notices of Ibn Barrajn in other biographical diction-
aries of this period, but most rely on Ibn al-Abbr.
The first mention of Ibn Barrajn in a biographical dictionary in this period was by
Ysuf al-Tdil (d. 627 or 628/1229 or 1230) in al-Tashawwuf il rijl al-taawwuf writ-
ten ca. 617/1220,2 some eighty years after Ibn Barrajns death and some fifty years after
Ibn Bashkuwl completed al-ila in 564/1169. Al-Tashawwuf is a biographical dictionary
devoted to Maghribi Sufi masters of the fifth and sixth centuries a.h., and is thus sympathetic
to Sufism. Al-Tdil does not include an entry on Ibn Barrajn himself, but he mentions
Ibn Barrajns burial in the biographical notice of the Moroccan Sufi master Ibn irzihim
(d. 559/1164), who played an important role in the events subsequent to Ibn Barrajns death.
The first biographical notice completely devoted to Ibn Barrajn is found in Ibn al-Abbrs
(d. 658/1260) Takmila li-kitb al-ila, a work begun in 631/1233, one century after Ibn
Barrajns death.3 This is a classic biography in the Islamic tradition, with plain references to
teachers, students, and works. There is no reference to the events surrounding Ibn Barrajns
death or to any political interest of his. Later biographical dictionaries quote from this biog-
raphy extensively. Ibn al-Abbr supplies additional information about Ibn Barrajn in the
biographies of some of his students and disciples. In particular, Ibn al-Abbrs biography of
Ibn al-Arfin his dictionary of Ab Al al-adafs students4provides some explanation
regarding the summoning of Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf to Marrakesh.
This second period is completed with biographies by Ibn al-Zubayr (d. 708/1308)5 and
Ibn Abd al-Malik al-Marrkush (d. 703/1303), although the latter is only extant through
Ibn ajar al-Asqalns Lisn al-mzn.6 Ibn al-Zubayr is extremely sympathetic to Ibn
Barrajn. However, his biography is mostly drawn from reading Ibn Barrajns works and
provides little additional information. Ibn Abd al-Malik al-Marrkush provides an account
2. Ed. A. Toufic (Rabat, 1984), 156 (no. 41), 168170 (no. 51).
3. Ed. F. Codera (Madrid, 1887), 2: 559 (no. 1588), 645 (no. 1797). The work appeared under his fathers name,
Abd al-Ramn b. Ab Rijl Muammad b. Abd al-Ramn. Entry no. 1588 was taken from MS Escorial, while
no. 1797 was taken from MS Alger.
4. Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam f ab al-q al-imm Ab Al al-adaf, ed. F. Codera (Madrid, 1886), 19 (no. 14).
5. Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ila, ed. E. Lvi-Provenal (Rabat, 1938), 3133 (no. 45).
6. Ed. A. F. Ab Ghudda (Aleppo, 2002), 5: 17374 (no. 4761).
of Ibn Barrajns summons, trial, death, and burial, but no reference is made to his being a
contender for political authority.
The perception of Ibn Barrajn begins to change in the seventh century a.h., with Ibn
Taymiyyas (d. 728/1328) polemics against the wadat al-wujd strand of Sufism. Ibn Tay
miyya raised some concerns about Ibn Barrajn by linking him to supporters of the doctrine
in which God is both transcendent and immanent, such as Ab lib al-Makk (d. 386/996)
and the alleged Slimiyya. Even though Ibn Taymiyyas opinion of Ibn Barrajn was not
entirely negative, these concerns were later voiced by other scholars, such as al-Allma li
b. Mahd al-Maqbal (d. 1108/1696), and underlie the current negative view of Ibn Barrajn.
Ibn Taymiyyas student al-Dhahab (d. 748/1348) also belongs to this period: he states
that Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf were summoned and imprisoned because Al b. Ysuf
b. Tshufn feared that, like Ibn Tmart of the Almohads (d. 524/1130), they were rebelling
against him.7 To my knowledge this is the first statement to the effect that Ibn Barrajn was
imprisonednot only summonedfor political rather than religious reasons.
The last period begins in the tenth century a.h. with al-Sharn (d. 973/1565). Aiming
to extol the Sufis in opposition to the jurists, al-Sharn states that Ibn Barrajn was con-
sidered an imm by the people; arousing envy as a result, Ibn Barrajn was brought before
the sultan and killed.8 This statement is the basis of the later scholarly view of Ibn Barrajn.
The Spanish scholar Miguel Asn Palacios (d. 1944) understood al-Sharn as saying that
Ibn Barrajn was imm in 130 villages.9 Later, the Jesuit scholar Paul Nwyia (d. 1985)
reinforced this view of Ibn Barrajn as an imm seeking political powerin his edition of
the correspondence between Ibn al-Arf and Ibn Barrajn, he interpreted the expression my
imm addressed by Ibn al-Arf to Ibn Barrajn in the light of Asn Palacioss reading of
al-Sharn.10 This view has now been qualified by scholars such as Denis Gril, who believes
that Ibn Barrajns imamate should be understood only in a spiritual sense.11
Thus, the narrative we have of Ibn Barrajn is rather puzzling. He is regarded as a minor
scholar, yet during his lifetime he was known as al-Ghazl of al-Andalus; he is seen as a
rebellious Mahdist imm, yet his closest disciple who addressed him as imm is respectful
of established authority. A clarification of Ibn Barrajns place in history is much needed in
order to understand the role of Sufism in Mahdist movements at the end of the Almoravid
period, as well as to widen our knowledge of the development of intellectual Sufism in al-
Andalus up to Ibn al-Arab. In this regard it is important to ascertain whether Ibn Barrajn
was indeed a minor scholar and whether he sought political power and was executed as a
result. To address the first of these questions, I will examine the information in biographical
dictionaries in order to obtain a clearer image of him, and for the second I will try to estab-
lish a less contradictory narrative about his trial and death than the one we have at present.
7.Al-Dhahab, Siyar alm al-nubal (Beirut, 19841988), 20: 7274 (no. 44).
8. This is to my knowledge the first acknowledgment that Ibn Barrajn was executed, appearing some four
centuries after his death.
9. Miguel Asn Palacios, Tres estudios sobre pensamiento y mstica hispanomusulmanes (Madrid, 1995): 222
(originally published as El mstico Ab-l-Abbs ibn al-Arf de Almera y su Masin al-Malis, Boletn de la
Universidad de Madrid 3 [1931]: 44158).
10. Paul Nwyia, Note sur quelques fragments indits de la correspondance dIbn al-Arf avec Ibn Barrajn,
Hespris 43 (1956): 21721; idem, Rasil Ibn al-Arf il ab thawrat al-murdn f l-Andalus, al-Abth 27
(Beirut, 1979): 4356.
11. Denis Gril, La lecture suprieure du Coran, Arabica 47 (2000): 51022, esp. 511.
ibn barrajns biography

Ab l-akam Abd al-Salm b. Abd al-Ramn b. Ab Rijl Muammad b. Abd
al-Ramn al-Lakhm al-Ishbl,12 known as Ibn Barrajn and considered during his lifetime
to be al-Ghazl of al-Andalus,13 was one of the foremost Sufis of al-Andalus. According
to his nisba, he lived most of his life in Seville. The biographical dictionaries provide no date
of birth, but we can assume that he was born shortly before or around 450/1058 and therefore
lived until his mid-eighties. The presumed date of birth is based on the fact that the only
teacher of his of whom we have records, Ab Abd Allh b. Manr,14 with whom he studied
a al-Bukhr, died in Shawwl 469/May 1077.15 In addition, the biographical dictionar-
ies do not mention his longevity, which usually means that the person in question did not
reach ninety years of age. He was a contemporary of Ibn Manrs youngest students, such
as Ab Muammad Abd Allh b. Yarb (d. 522/1128),16 Ab Bakr Muammad al-mir
(d. 532/1138),17 Ab l-asan Ynus b. Mughth (d. 532/1138),18 and the very youngest,
Ab l-asan Shuray al-Ruayn (d. 539/1144).19 Indeed, Ibn Barrajns age is an important
factor for understanding the events that surrounded his death.
12. Additional notices on Ibn Barrajn can be found in Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt al-ayn, ed. I. Abbs (Beirut,
1986), 4: 230, 23637; 7: 340; 8: 71; al-Yfi, Mirt al-jann (Hyderabad, 1918), 3: 26768; al-afad, al-Wf
bi-l-wafayt (Beirut, 2000), 18: 260 (no. 6994); Ibn Shkir al-Kutub, Fawt al-wafayt (Blq, 1882), 1: 274;
al-Suy, Kitb abaqt al-mufassirn (Leiden, 1839), 20 (no. 58); al-Sharn, al-abaqt al-kubr (Cairo, 1315),
1: 15; al-Baghdd, Hadiyyat al-rifn, ed. R. Bilge and M. Kemal (Istanbul, 1951), 1: col. 570; Ibn Taghrbird,
al-Nujm al-zhira (Cairo, 19291956), 5: 270; Ibn al-Muwaqqit, al-Sada al-abadiyya (Fes, 1918), 1: 106; Ibn
al-Imd, Shadhart al-dhahab (Beirut, n.d.), 4: 113; al-Nir, al-Istiq li-akhbr duwal al-maghrib al-aq (Casa-
blanca, 19541956), 2: 6869, 184; al-Zirikl, al-Alm (Beirut, 2002), 4: 6; ajj Khalfa, Kashf al-unn (Leipzig,
18351858), 1: 257; 2: 344, 346; 4: 22, 24, 26; 5: 38; 7: 767, 107980; al-Dwd, abaqt al-mufassirn (Cairo,
1972), 1: 300 (no. 280); A. Faur, Ibn Barradjn, EI2, 3: 75455; U. R. Kala, Mujam al-muallifn (Beirut,
1993), 5: 226; Carl Brockelmann, GAL, 1: 434 (559), Supp. I, 775; I. Goldziher, Ibn Barran, Zeitschrift der
deutschen morgenlndischen Gesellschaft 68 (1914): 54446; Purificacin de la Torre, Ibn Barran, Dicciona-
rio de autores y obras andalusies (DAOA), 1: 57881 (no. 309). This Ibn Barrajn should not be confused with
his grandson of the same name (d. 627/1230) who excelled as a scholar of the Arabic language. See Ibn al-Abbr,
Takmila, 2: 646 (no. 1798); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 22: 334 (no. 205).
13. Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 20.
14. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, ed. I. al-Abyr (Beirut, 1989), 3: 8034 (no. 1208); al-abb, Bughyat al-multamis,
ed. I. al-Abyr (Beirut, 1989), 1: 75 (no. 28); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 18: 38990 (no. 190). Ibn Manr and Ibn azm
(d. 456/1064) were masters of Abd Allh b. al-Arab (d. 492/1099), father of the famous Mlik scholar Ab Bakr
b. al-Arab (d. 543/1148). In addition, Ab Bakr b. al-Arab co-taught some of Ibn Barrajns disciples.
15. assn al-Qr (Ibn Barrajn al-Andalus wa-juhdihi f tafsr al-f wa-ilm al-kalm, Majallat Jmiat
Dimashq li-l-ulm al-iqtidiyyat wa-l-qnniyya 23 [2007]: 363424) believes Ibn Barrajn to have been born
before or around 455/1063, that is, five years later. This would mean that Ibn Barrajn would have begun studying
a al-Bukhr around the age of ten, if we assume that his time of study with Ibn Manr was long enough to be
recalled by later biographers and there was a short period of inactivity before Ibn Manrs death, which I think is
late. At ten years of age Ibn Barrajn would probably have been studying the Quran and qira before progressing
to adth. In fact, the youngest disciple of Ibn Manr of whom we knowAb l-asan Shuray al-Ruaynwas
born in 451/1059.
16. Born 444/1052-3. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 2: 444 (no. 650). He was also one of Ibn Bashkuwls teachers.
17.Born 446/1054. For al-mir, who was a preacher in Silves and famous for his knowledge, see Ibn
Bashkuwl, al-ila, 3: 846 (no. 1289).
18. Born 447/1055. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 3: 98586 (no. 1530). He was also one of Ibn Bashkuwls teachers.
19. A leading traditionist, faqh of the Mlik school, and celebrated preacher of the great mosque of Seville.
Ibn azm gave him an ijza to transmit his works on hir fiqh. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 1: 36667 (no. 541).
Al-Ruayn was one of Ibn Bashkuwls teachers.
According to Ibn al-Abbr,20 Ibn Barrajns family was from Ifrqiya. His grandfather,
Ab Rijl Muammad b. Abd al-Ramn, moved to Seville during the reign of the second
Abbdid king Abbd al-Mutaid (r. 433461/10421069). Ibn Barrajn himself is described
as belonging to the people of Seville although his origins were in Ifrqiya (wa-aluhu min
Ifrqiya); this can mean that either he was born in Ifrqiya or that his family moved from there
shortly before his birth. Ibn Barrajns family may have emigrated to al-Andalus during a
time of hardship in Ifrqiya known as fitnat al-arab.21 In 440/1048, al-Muizz Ibn Bds, the
Zrid ruler and vassal to the Fimids, gave up the alliance with the Fimids and recognized
the Abbsids, thus establishing Sunni Islam as the official variant in the region. In response,
the Fimids supported the invasion of Ifrqiya by Arab tribes four years later, which devas-
tated the regions agriculture and culminated with the destruction of Kairouan in 449/1057.
Ibn Barrajn preferred to live apart from people and fame,22 and chose to reside out-
side Seville. According to Ibn al-Abbrs entry on Ibn Barrajns student Ibn al-Mlaq
(d. 574/1178-9),23 Ibn Barrajn livedat least during the last part of his life when Ibn
al-Mlaq visited himin a village (qarya) in the district (iqlm) of al-Sharaf (Aljarafe), 24
to the west of Seville in the direction of ilya25 (present-day Tejada) in the district of
al-Baal. This description corresponds to the modern-day village of Albaida de Aljarafe or
Olivares, west of Seville.
Ibn al-Abbr describes Ibn Barrajn as knowing the Quranic readings and adth, thor-
oughly versed in the science of theology (kalm) and Sufism, practicing (maa) asceticism,
and striving in worship. According to Ibn al-Zubayr, he was one of the most excellent
men of the Maghrib, imm in the science of theology (kalm), in the Arabic language and
literature, knower (rif) of the Quranic esoteric commentary (tawl) as well as the exo-
teric (tafsr), an excellent, skilled, and penetrating grammarian, imm in whatever he men-
tioned without peer. He also had knowledge of arithmetic and geometry, and so forth. From
any science, he chose a selection and freely applied it to Sufism and esoteric science (ilm
al-bin).26
Ibn Barrajn has three extant works:
1. Tafsr Ibn Barrajn, which is known and usually catalogued as Kitb al-Irshd or
al-Irshd f tafsr al-Qurn.27 Ibn Barrajns famous prediction of the capture of Jerusalem
20. Takmila, 2: 559 (no. 1588).

21. Similar emigrations are reported during this period, although mainly to the Almeria area, because of the
fitnat al-arab. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 1: 214 (no. 302); 3: 871 (no. 1332). See also Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 2: 589
(no. 876) and 3: 871 (no. 1331).
22. Ibn al-Zubayr, ilat al-ila, 33 (no. 45).
23. Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 486 (no. 1394); assn al-Qr, Ibn Barrajn al-Andalus, 366.
24. For the location of the district of Aljarafe, see Jacinto Bosch Vil, La Sevilla islmica 7121248 (Seville,
1984), 33339.
25. A village midway between Seville and Niebla, twenty miles from both. Al-imyar, ifat jazrat al-Andalus
(Beirut, 1988), 12829 (no. 121). Al-Yqt (Mujam al-buldn [Beirut, 1977], 4: 39) identifies it as a district of
cija in Cordoba, which seems mistaken. A number of Ibn Barrajns disciples were from Niebla, while others like
Ibn al-Kharr sought refuge in Niebla when civil strife broke out between the Murdn and the fuqah in 540/1145.
27. A critical edition of this tafsr is currently being prepared by Yousef Casewit. Denis Grils study of this com-
mentary (supra, n. 11) presents a general account of Ibn Barrajn and his works and analyzes Ibn Barrajns spiritual
hermeneutics as revealed in his commentary to al-Ftia and to the first verses of al-Baqara. Elsewhere, Gril com-
pares the hermeneutics of Ibn al-Arab and Ibn Barrajn within the tradition of Sahl al-Tustar and Ibn Masarra. See
D. Gril, Linterprtation par transposition symbolique (itibr), selon Ibn Barrajn et Ibn Arab, in Symbolisme et
hermneutique dans la pense dIbn Arab, ed. B. Aladdin (Damascus, 2007), 14761. assn al-Qr (supra, n. 15)
by Muslims in 583/1187 is found in the commentary to the beginning of al-Rm.28 Because

of this prediction, his tafsr came to be considered as being based mainly upon the science
of letters (ilm al-urf) or astrology (tanjm) and he himself therefore as a hermetic bin.
2. A second Quranic commentary, al-ikma, which is frequently confused with the
previous tafsr.29 In the commentary of the initial verses of al-Rm, Ibn Barrajn states that
he has treated their content previously, which may mean that al-ikma was written after
the aforementioned tafsr. Muy l-Dn b. al-Arab refers to this commentary;30 however, on
at least one occasion he refers to al-ikma when in fact he means Tafsr Ibn Barrajn,31
so he may be confusing the two.
3. Shar asm Allh al-usn, in which Ibn Barrajn cites his Kitb al-Irshd at least
three times.32
There are references to other works ascribed to Ibn Barrajn. Carl Brockelmann reports a
Tanbh al-afhm il tadabbur al-kitb wa-l-taarruf al l-yt wa-l-naba al-am,33 which
is another version of Tafsr Ibn Barrajn,34 and Ibn al-Zubayr mentions a Kitb al-Irshd
in which Ibn Barrajn tries to demonstrate the concurrence between Quranic verses and
Prophetic traditions drawn from Muslim.35 This latter work as described does not appear to
have survived.
As noted above, Ibn Barrajn cites a Kitb al-Irshd in his Shar asm Allh al-usn.
Since he states in his introduction to Tafsr Ibn Barrajn that it was composed after his
commentary on the names of God,36 Kitb al-Irshd and the Tafsr seem indeed to be differ-
ent works. This is corroborated by a marginal annotation in a copy of the Tafsr noting the
order of composition of his works: Kitb al-Irshd is first, followed by Shar Asm Allh
al-usn, followed by the Tafsr.37 al-ikma may thus be his last work, as a follow-up
to his first tafsr.
Finally, in addition to these works there is a reference to a work entitled Ayn al-yaqn.
The reference is found in al-Alam al-shmikh f thr al-aqq al l-b wa-l-mashikh
by the Yemeni scholar li b. Mahd al-Maqbal,38 who reprints a fatwa by Ibn Khaldn
(d. 808/1406) in which this work by Ibn Barrajn, among others, is condemned to fire. This
describes the Tafsrs methodology as based on a close reading of the Quran and adth. He aims to correct the gen-
eral view of Ibn Barrajn as a bin Sufi and to place him inside the boundaries of the mainstream Islamic tradition.
28. See Jos Bellver, Ibn Barran and Ibn Arab on the Prediction of the Capture of Jerusalem in 583/1187
by Saladin, Arabica 61 (2013), forthcoming.
29. For a preliminary description of this tafsr, see Amina Gonzlez-Costa, Un ejemplo de hermenutica
suf del Corn en al-Andalus: El comentario cornico al-ikma de Ibn Barran (m. 536/1141) de Sevilla,
in Historia del Sufismo en al-Andalus, ed. A. Gonzlez-Costa and G. Lpez-Anguita (Cordoba, 2009), 4165.
Gonzlez-Costa is currently preparing an edition.
30. Ibid., 5556.
31. Ibn al-Arab, Mawqi al-nujm (Sidon, 2004), 132, where he traces the prediction of the conquest of Jeru-
salem to al-ikma. Ibn al-Arab wrote Mawqi al-nujm in 595/1199, five years after his first sojourn with
Abd al-Azz al-Mahdaw, with whom he studied Ibn Barrajns tafsr. This may mean that Ibn Barrajns first and
major commentary catalogued as al-Irshd was known under the name of al-ikma, as otherwise Ibn al-Arab
would not have mistaken it. This may help explain why al-ikma seems more widespread than the number of
extant mss. would suggest.
32. Ibn Barrajn, Shar Asm Allh al-usn, ed. Purificacin de la Torre (Madrid, 2000).
33. MS Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek BSB-Hss Cod. Arab. 83. Only the second volume of a two-volume set is
extant, now published, ed. Muammad al-Adln (Casablanca, 2011).
34. Gril made this point in his study (supra, n. 11), 512.
35.Ibid.
36.Ibid.
37. Ibid., 51314. The copy is MS Carullah 51 M.
38. Ed. Cairo, 1328h, 500.
same fatwa without mention of Ibn Barrajns Ayn al-yaqn, however, is also found in earlier
authors such as Burhn al-Dn Ibrhm al-Biq (d. 885/1480).39 Hence, this reference may
be a later addition by al-Maqbal himself or by a copyist after Ibn Khaldn. Be that as it may,
since the other works mentioned in the fatwa are among the most important written by their
authors,40 Ayn al-yaqn may refer, if not a misattribution,41 to one of the most important
works by Ibn Barrajn.
ibn barrajn, an outsider?

The fact that Ibn Bashkuwl did not include Ibn Barrajn in his biographical dictionary
or even mention himhas fostered the impression among scholars and researchers that Ibn
Barrajn did not belong among the religious scholars of his time, or even that he was a par-
venu in the Andalusian tradition of religious scholars because of his North African origins,42
in short, that he was an isolated and minor figure. Ibn Barrajn did choose to live a discreet
life, keeping his distance from the pageantry of the class of religious scholars of his time and
shunning celebrity and fame, but does this quiet lifestyle equate with not taking part in the
system of transmission of religious knowledge of his time?
Ibn Bashkuwls biographical dictionary, al-ila, is the main source for our knowledge of
the ulema of his time and was extensively quoted by later biographical dictionaries; thus we
know this period mainly through Ibn Bashkuwls eyes. The fact that he omits Ibn Barrajn
can be seen either as the consequence of the latters outsider status or as a deliberate attempt
to ignore him. Let us consider the possibility that he was an isolated and minor figure.
We have very little information on Ibn Barrajns life, but we can posit from the wide
range of sciences in which he was skilled that he must have studied with a considerable num-
ber of teachers, probably in different Andalusian cities.43 Only one of his teachers is known
to us, however: Ibn Manr, mentioned above, who belonged to the important Ban Manr
family of scholars and qs initially based in Seville.44 On a rila to the East he studied
with the Mlik Ashar scholar Ab Dharr al-Haraw (d. 430/1038).45 Being an Ashar,
Ab Dharr al-Haraw probably supported what may have appeared to religious scholars in
al-Andalus as rationalist positions.46 Through Ibn Manr, Ibn Barrajn may have known of
views based on the science of ul al-dn, which were innovative in the very conservative
milieu of Andalusian fuqah.47
39.Al-Biq, Mara al-taawwuf wa-huwa kitbn: Tanbh al-ghab il takfr Ibn Arab wa-tadhr al-ibd
min ahli l-ind bi-bidati l-ittid, ed. A. R. al-Wakl (Cairo, 1953), 167. Although al-Biq makes no reference to
Ayn al-yaqn by Ibn Barrajn, the editor supplies it by citing al-Maqbal.
40. Viz., Ibn al-Arabs al-Futt al-makkiyya, Ibn Sabns Budd al-rif, and Ibn Qass Khal al-nalayn.
41. A disciple of both Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf, Al b. Khalaf b. Ghlib (d. 568/1173), wrote a Kitb
al-yaqn. Al-Marrkush, al-Dhayl wa-l-takmila li-kitbay al-Mawl wa-l-ila, ed. I. Abbs (Beirut, 1965), 5: 210.
42. Cf. D. Urvoy, Le monde des ulmas andalous du V/XIe au VII/XIIIe sicle (Geneva, 1978), 55; M. Fierro,
Opposition to Sufism in al-Andalus, Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and
Polemics, ed. F. de Jong and B. Radtke (Leiden, 1999), 187.
43. Cf. P. de la Torres introduction to her edition of Shar Asm Allh al-usn, 34 (supra, n. 32). For the dif-
ferent fields of study that could be pursued at that time in Seville, see D. Urvoy, Le monde des ulmas andalous, 55.
44. For the Ban Manr family, see Mara Luisa vila, Los Ban Manr al-Qays, in Familias andaluses:
Estudios onomstico-biogrficos de al-Andalus, ed. M. Marn and J. Zann (Madrid, 1992), 5: 2337.
45. Jonathan Brown, The Canonization of al-Bukhr and Muslim (Leiden, 2007), 121.
46. Ibid., 143.
47. Ibn Barrajn was proficient in kalm and had knowledge of arithmetic and geometry. This background is
unusual for a religious scholar of that time in al-Andalus, to which Ibn Barrajn added a hermeneutic approach.
Even though Ibn Manr had few students, those he had were the most important scholars
and religious authorities of his time in Seville and Cordoba.48 In addition, he was important
enough to attract students from Cordoba in a period in which Seville was not yet an impor-
tant scholarly center. Three of Ibn Manrs youngest studentsYnus b. Mughth, Abd
Allh b. Yarb, and Shuray al-Ruaynshared a similar pattern in terms of their teachers.
On the basis of this pattern, Ibn Barrajns possible teachers were the renowned traditionists
Ab Al al-Ghassn al-Jayyn (d. 498/1105)49 and Abd al-Malik b. Sirj (d. 489/1096),50
both from Cordoba, and Abd Allh b. Khazraj al-Lakhm (d. 478/1086)51 from Seville,
since he was proficient in the disciplines they taught. It is less likely that the traditionist Ab
l-Qsim tim b. Muammad (d. 469/1077)52 from Cordoba was. Obviously Ibn Barrajns
three co-students had many more teachers, but no more coincidences are reported.
As for those who influenced him on the Sufi path, we find similarities with Ibn Masarra
(d. 319/931)53for instance, the equivalent concept of symbolic transposition (itibr),
which plays a key role in their hermeneutics54so his influence can be presumed. Ibn
al-Arab usually cites Ibn Masarra together with Sahl al-Tustar (d. 283/896)55 when discuss-
ing the concept of al-aqq al-makhlq bihi al-khalq, which was first used by Ibn Barrajn
and which, according to Ibn al-Arab, mirrors Sahl al-Tustars concept of adl (justice).56
48. D. Urvoy, Le monde des ulmas andalous, 17277. In addition to Ab l-asan Shuray and Ab l-asan
Ibn Mughth, the main authority of this period was Ab Bakr b. al-Arab, who was a disciple of Ab Abd Allh
b. Manr through his father.
49.Ibn Bashkuwl describes him as the principal transmitter of adth of his time in Cordoba (ras
al-muaddithn f Quruba) and as being well versed in Arabic language and poetry. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 1: 233
35 (no. 333); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 14851 (no. 77).
50. He is described as the imm of Arabic languagemainly lexicographyand literature in al-Andalus, hav-
ing no rival. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 2: 53032 (no. 780); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 13334 (no. 70). Al-Ghassn
and Ibn Sirj were the teachers of Ynus b. Mughth and Abd Allh b. Yarb. They also gave written permission
(ijzt) to Shuray al-Ruayn to transmit their works.
51. He was the teacher of Shuray al-Ruayn and Abd Allh b. Yarb, and excelled in the knowledge of
adth, history, and Mlik fiqh. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 2: 433 (no. 631); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 18: 48889 (no. 251).
52. The teacher of Ibn Mughth and Ibn Yarb, but since he died in the same year as Ibn Manr, Ibn Barrajn
was probably too young to attend his classes in Cordoba. Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 1: 25355 (no. 358); al-Dhahab,
Siyar, 18: 33667 (no. 157).
53. For Ibn Masarra, see Miguel Asn Palacios, Ibn Masarra y su escuela: Orgenes de la filosofa hispano
musulmana (Madrid, 1914); Claude Addas, Andalus Mysticism and the Rise of Ibn Arab, in The Legacy of
Muslim Spain, ed. S. K. Jayyusi (Leiden, 1992), 91319; Emilio Tornero, Noticia sobre la publicacin de obras
inditas de Ibn Masarra, al-Qanara 14 (1993): 4764; L. E. Goodman, Ibn Masarrah, in History of Islamic Phi-
losophy, ed. S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (London, 1996), 27793; Sarah Stroumsa, Ibn Masarra and the Beginnings
of Mystical Thought in al-Andalus, in Mystical Approaches to God, ed. P. Schfer (Oldenburg, 2006), 97112.
54. For the itibr tradition in al-Andalus ranging from Ibn Masarra to Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arab, see Denis
Gril, Linterprtation par transposition symbolique, 14761. Gril shows the continuity between Ibn Masarras and
Ibn Barrajns hermeneutics.
55.In Kitb Khaw al-urf Ibn Masarra cites Sahl al-Tustars Rislat al-urf. For the former work, see
Muammad Kaml Ibrhm Jafar, Min qay l-fikr al-islm: Dirsa wa-nu (Cairo, 1978), 31144; Pilar Gar-
rido, Edicin crtica del K. jaw al-urf de Ibn Masarra, al-Andalus-Magreb: Estudios rabes e islmicos 14
(2007): 5189. For Sahl al-Tustars Rislat al-urf, see Muammad Kaml Ibrhm Jafar, Min al-turth al-f
li-Sahl b. Abd Allh al-Tustar (Cairo, 1974), 1: 36675; Pilar Garrido Clemente, El Tratado de las letras (Rislat
al-urf) del suf Sahl al-Tustar, Anuario de estudios filolgicos 29 (2006): 87100, esp. 89, where she posits
that Ibn Masarra was inspired by Sahl al-Tustar. Later Muslim authors also acknowledged the relationship between
the two. See al-Qurub, al-Asn f shar Asm Allh al-usn (Beirut, 2008), 83, where the two works on urf
are quoted together. For Ibn Masarras Rislat al-itibr, see Muammad Kaml Ibrhm Jafar, Min qay al-fikr
al-islm, 34660; J. Kenny, Ibn-Masarra: His Risla al-itibr, Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies 34
(2002): 126.
56. Ibn al-Arab, al-Futt al-makkiyya (Cairo, 1329/1911), 2: 60, 104; 3: 77.
In fact, if we disregard the category of traditionists, Sahl al-Tustar is one of only two later
authorities who are quoted by name in Ibn Barrajns Shar Asm Allh al-usnthe
other being Rbia al-Adawiyya (d. 185/801).57 In addition, the anbal Ibn Taymiyya
emphasizes Ab lib al-Makks (d. 386/996) influence upon Ibn Barrajn, although this
may only be based on his personal impression obtained by reading their works.58 Ab lib
al-Makk was a disciple of the Sufi traditionist Ab Sad b. al-Arb (d. 341/952-3), who
played an important role in the development of Sufism in al-Andalus.59 In short, in spite of
the paucity of references, the later authors seem to have considered Ibn Barrajn as being
indirectly related in different ways to Sahl al-Tustar and his followers.
Ibn Barrajn was both a Sufi master and a teacher of religious sciences. Although bio-
graphical dictionaries, and particularly Ibn al-Abbrs Takmila, mention some of his students,
it cannot be determined whether they were also his disciples, of whom we know mainly
from the reports of the events surrounding his death and from Ibn al-Arfs correspondence.
According to Ibn al-Zubayr, his students were among the most exalted and noble people of
his time.60 Some of his students were particularly important as, for instance, the renowned
traditionist and Sufi of the sixth/twelfth century Abd al-aqq al-Azd al-Ishbl, known as
Ibn al-Kharr (d. 581/1185).61 The prominence of teachers of other students, such as the
traditionist and historian Ab l-Qsim al-Qanar (d. 561/1166) from Silves62 and the Mlik
faqh Ab Abd Allh Muammad b. Khall al-Qays (d. 570/1174) from Niebla,63 testifies
to Ibn Barrajns being among the main teachers of his time. Ibn Khall al-Qays is described
as long-lived (muammar, i.e., probably at least ninety). Since he was Ibn Barrajns stu-
dent and transmitted his works, it is likely that this is the Ibn Khall from Niebla whom Ibn
al-Arab refers to as one of the greatest masters in the Maghrib and the master of Ibn Qas,
under whose guidance Ibn Qas obtained his unveilings (kashf).64 In addition to these stu-
dents, the wealthy faqh and preacher Abd Allh b. al-Mlaq (d. 574/1178-9) from Malaga
is also known to us as Ibn Barrajns student.65
57. Ibn Barrajn, Shar Asm Allh al-usn, 267.

58. Ibn Taymiyya, Majmat al-fatw, ed. A. al-Bz and . al-Jazzr (al-Manra, 1997), 2: 182; 5: 81, 142,
289.
59. See Manuela Marn, Ab Sad ibn al-Arb et le dveloppement du fisme dans al-Andalus, Revue du
monde musulman et la Mditerrane 6364 (1992): 2838.
61. Ibn al-Kharr was one of the youngest of Ibn Barrajns students. He wrote compendiums on adth and
ascetic literature. During Ibn Qass rebellion, he moved to Niebla and to Bejaya where he had a close relationship
with the Sufi master Ab Madyan. Ibn al-Kharr was one of Muy l-Dn Ibn al-Arabs teachers, although prob-
ably only through correspondence. Hence he became an important link between Ibn Barrajn and both Ab Madyan
and Ibn al-Arab. For Ibn al-Kharr, see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 64748 (no. 1805); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 21: 198
(no. 99). For his relationship with Ab Madyan, see al-Ghubrn, Unwn al-dirya (Algiers, 1970), 73 (no. 5); Ibn
Qunfudh al-Qusann, Uns al-faqr wa-izz al-aqr, ed. M. El Fasi and A. Faure (Rabat, 1965), 3435.
62. He was also a student of al-mir and Ibn Mughth; and while in Seville a student of the q Ab Bakr b.
al-Arab and Ibn Bashkuwl alongside Ibn Barrajn. Hence Ibn Bashkuwl ought to have known Ibn Barrajn. See
Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 1: 216 (no. 734); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 455 (no. 291).
63. Ibn Khall had important teachers, such as Ab Al al-Ghassn (d. 498/1105), q Ab Bakr b. al-Arab,
Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 520/1126), and Ab Al al-adaf (d. 514/1120). For Ibn Khall, see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila,
1: 233 (no. 764); al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 517 (no. 330).
64. This information was reported to Ibn al-Arab (al-Futt al-makiyya, 1: 136) in Tunis by Ibn Qass son.
Ibn Khall lived in Fes and died in Marrakesh.
65. For whom, see Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 486 (no. 1394); al-Dhahab, Tarkh al-islm (Beirut, 1987), 40:
150 (no. 119); al-Zirikl, al-Alm, 4: 123.
Ibn Barrajn was the Sufi master of probably the two foremost mystics of their time in
al-Andalus:66 Ab l-Abbs Amad b. al-Arf67 and Ab l-asan Al b. Khalaf b. Ghlib
(d. 568/1173).68
Ibn al-Arf (d. 536/1141), who was born in Ceuta though his family moved to Almeria
where he lived most of his life, is well known for his Masin al-majlis69 in which he
described the stations on the spiritual path, recasting and expanding al-Anrs Manzil
al-sayrn.70 Although Asn Palacios considered Ibn al-Arf to be Ibn Barrajns Sufi mas-
ter, Paul Nwyia inverted this relationship in his edition of letters from Ibn al-Arf to Ibn
Barrajn since Ibn al-Arf addressed Ibn Barrajn with shaykh (my master) and imm
(my imam).71 It can be argued that the use of such terms is merely a sign of respect and
does not imply a masterdisciple relationship, in which case Ibn al-Arf might be expected
to address other people in the correspondence collected by his disciple Ab Bakr Atq b.
Mumin (d. 548/1156) in similar terms, but this is not so. In fact, the way in which Ibn
al-Arf addresses Ibn Barrajn is exceptional, and he takes great care with the terms he uses
as signs of respect in every situation. Moreover, Ibn Mumin has arranged Ibn al-Arfs cor-
respondence according to a clear pattern of closeness and importance, beginning with his
letters to Ibn Barrajnthe only one he addresses as his shaykh and immfollowed by
his close friend, disciple, or even co-disciple Ab l-asan Al b. Khalaf b. Ghlib, his other
disciples or co-disciples, and ending with people with whom he has no particular spiritual
ties, such as Ibn Qas and Ibn Mundhir. The last set of letters is addressed to Ibn Mumin, his
disciple; as a sign of humility from the editor it diverges from the aforementioned pattern.
The pattern evinces the spiritual link between Ibn al-Arf and Ibn Barrajn, whose relation-
ship is also clear from Ibn al-Abbrs Mujam, which underlines Ibn Barrajns preeminence
(shuff) over Ibn al-Arf.72
Ibn al-Arf belonged to a class of learned Sufis73 who were proficient traditionists, among
whom his master, Ibn Barrajn, also belonged. He was raised in a context that was fully
acquainted with al-Ghazls views.74 Ibn al-Arf studied with al-adaf and, according to
66. He was also the master of, inter alia, Abd al-Ghafr al-Sakn (d. after 540/1145) from Niebla. See Ibn al-
Zubayr, ilat al-ila, 33 (no. 45) and 3738 (no. 52); M. Fierro, Opposition to Sufism, 190.
67. Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 1822 (no. 14); Ibn Bashkuwl, ila, 1: 13637 (no. 176); al-Tdil, Tashawwuf,
11823 (no. 18); Abbs b. Ibrhm, al-Ilm bi-man alla marrkush wa-aghmt min al-alm (Rabat, 1974),
1: 524; al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 11114 (no. 68); Abd al-Wahhb b. Manr, Alm al-maghrib (Rabat, 1983), 3:
231ff. See also J. Lirola, Ibn al-Arf, Diccionario de autores y obras andalusies, 1: 46976 (no. 245).
68.Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 672 (no. 1870); al-Marrkush, al-Dhayl wa-l-takmila, 5: 20812, no. 415;
al-Tdil, Tashawwuf, 228 (no. 81).
69. Ed. Asn Palacios (Paris, 1933).
70. See Bruno Halff, Le Masin al-maalis dIbn al-Arf et loeuvre du soufi anbalite al-Anr, Revue des
etudes islamiques 39 (1971): 32135.
71. Paul Nwyia, Rasil Ibn al-Arf, 4356. For the collection of Ibn al-Arfs correspondence by his disciple
Ibn Mumin, compiled from MS Rabat Hassania 1562, see Ibn al-Arf, Mift al-sadat wa-taqq arq al-sada,
ed. I. A. L. Dandash (Beirut, 1993).
72. Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 19 (no. 14).
73. According to al-Dhahab, he wore the khirqa and entered the Sufi path with Ab Bakr b. Buryl (d. 502/1108),
the last disciple of al-alamank (d. 429/1037).
74. In addition to the Sevillian Ab Bakr b. al-Arab and his father Abd Allh b. al-Arab, the two other
Andalusian students of al-Ghazl either came from or settled in Almeria. The Sufi and Quran reciter Ab l-Qsim
Abd al-Ramn al-Balaw (d. 545/1150-1), born near Guadix, studied with al-Ghazl and received permission from
him to transmit his works. After his rila, he settled in Almeria and was appointed leader of the prayer and preacher
at the great mosque. This important position shows the wide acceptance of al-Ghazls writings and of Sufism in
general in Almeria at that time. In turn, Ab Abd Allh Muammad al-Khuln of Almeria, known as al-Balagh
(d. 515/1121), also undertook a rila and studied with al-Ghazl. Both students of al-Ghazl must have been in
Ibn Bashkuwl, with a group of his own teachers, which probably includes some or all of
Ibn Manrs students, to which group Ab Bakr b. al-Arab may be added. Ibn Bashkuwl
spoke highly of his piety and asceticism and indicated that they had exchanged written per-
missions to transmit their works, which included his ila, on Ibn al-Arfs initiative. Ibn
al-Arf became famous and was an influential figure who attracted a large number of dis-
ciples in the Sufi path from all over al-Andalus.
Ibn Barrajns other disciple, Ab l-asan b. Khalaf b. Ghlib from Silves, was also one
of Ibn al-Arfs most beloved disciples in the Sufi path, although they were almost the same
age. He was a Sufi and a traditionist who spent some time with Ibn Barrajn before moving
to northern Morocco. In Fez he was the teacher of Ab Madyan, to whom he transmitted
the Sunan of al-Tirmidh;75 he finally settled in Ketama, the present-day Ksar el Kebir, in
northern Morocco. Ibn Ghlib probably played an important role in the transmission of Ibn
Barrajns works to Ab Madyan and his school in addition to Ibn al-Kharr, who was a
student of both Ibn Ghlib and Ibn Barrajn. It is said that Ibn Ghlib reached the degree of
watad in the spiritual Sufi hierarchy.76
In addition to his direct disciples, Ibn Barrajn, along with Ibn al-Arf, had a wide spiri-
tual authority over the Sufi circles of northern Morocco, enjoying high respect and esteem.
This is shown in episodes reported in the biographies of two of Ab Madyans masters.77
In short, Ibn Barrajn was an important figure for a number of reasons: the depth and
thorough scholarship of his works; the high esteem in which his only known teacher was
held; his companions, who were among the most learned men in Cordoba and Seville; and
his students and disciples, who were among the most famous adth scholars and Sufis of
their time. Even though his absence in Ibn Bashkuwls biographical dictionary may suggest
that he was not well known, he was by no means a minor figure in the scholarly circles of his
time, especially in light of his being considered al-Ghazl of al-Andalus.
ibn barrajn, a political activist?

Some authors have regarded Ibn Barrajn as a political activist,78 a valuable member
of the revolt of the Murdn79 and Mahdist rebellious movements. As noted above, he was
said to have been imm in 130 villages and it was because of this that he was summoned by
the sultan in Marrakesh and executed for his rebellious activities.80 However, some scholars
have doubted any involvement in politics on his part.81
As for the evidence in favor of his being a political activist, there is his summons in
536/1141 from the Almoravid sultan Al b. Ysuf b. Tshufn in Marrakesh, along with Ibn
close touch with the q of Almeria, Ab l-asan al-Barj (d. 509/1115), who in turn is well known for being the
first q in al-Andalus to oppose the burning of al-Ghazls writings ordered in 503/1109 by Ab Abd Allh b.
amdn, q of Cordoba (d. 508/1114). In addition, al-Barj was one of Ibn al-Arfs teachers. For al-Balaw, see
Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 56263 (no. 1597). For al-Balagh, see Ibn Bashkuwl, ila, 3: 83435 (no. 1270). For
al-Barj, see M. Fierro, Opposition to Sufism, 186.
75. Ibn Qunfudh al-Qusann, Uns al-faqr, 14, 26; Cornell, The Way of Ab Madyan, 56.
76. On the night of Ibn Ghlibs death, his disciple Abd al-Jall b. Ms saw written in the sky that a support
(watad, pl. awtd; lit. tent peg) had disappeared. See al-Marrkush, al-Dhayl wa-l-takmila, 5: 211.
77. These were the malmat Sufis Ab Abd Allh al-Daqqq (fl. first half of sixth century/twelfth century)
and Ab l-asan Al Ibn irzihim. For these episodes, see al-Tdil, Tashawwuf, 156 (no. 41) and 16870 (no. 51).
78. See, for instance, Cornell, Realm of the Saint, 20.
79. Vincent Lagardre, La tarqa et la rvolte des Murdn en 539 H/1144 en Andalus, Revue de lOccident
musulman et de la Mditerrane 35 (1983): 15770.
80.Cornell, Realm of the Saint, 2526 and n. 96.
81. Cf. Gril, La lecture suprieure du Coran, 511.
al-Arf and Ab Bakr al-Mayrq, and his death shortly afterwards, raising the possibility
that he was executed. Second, Ibn Barrajns imprisonment and death took place in a context
of social turmoil; indeed, Ibn Qass revolt against the Almoravid ruling power broke out in
the Algarve shortly after Ibn Barrajns death. Ibn Qas considered himself a Sufi and met
Ibn al-Arf, and can therefore be linked, indirectly at least, to Ibn Barrajn. This allows for
the possibility that Ibn Barrajn was a Sufi activist and an inspirer of the revolts that broke
out after his death. Finally, some later sources, such as al-Sharn, present him as an imm
with considerable authority. In addition, Ibn al-Arf addresses Ibn Barrajn as his imm,
which some authors have interpreted as an indication of political authority.82
Was it likely that he was involved in Mahdist movements or had any doctrine regarding
the coming of the Mahd? The correspondence between Ibn al-Arf and Ibn Qas makes
clear that Ibn Qas was not a disciple of Ibn al-Arf, and it has been shown that Ibn Qass
views were already established before the beginning of their correspondence.83 In addition,
the style of their correspondence does not resemble that between a master and a disciple, so
no mastery of Ibn al-Arf over Ibn Qas can be presumed.84 There is also a letter from Ibn
al-Arf to Ibn MundhirIbn Qass disciple and lieutenant in the revolt of the Murdnin
which Ibn al-Arf strongly discourages any attempt at rebellion against the established rul-
ing power while awaiting the advent of a Mahd.85 In general, then, Ibn al-Arf seems to
have exerted little if any influence over Ibn Qas, and is most unlikely to have inspired or
participated in the revolt of the Murdn. In view of his spiritual links with Ibn al-Arf, Ibn
Barrajns position regarding the revolt of the Murdn was probably the same as that of his
disciple.
As for whether Ibn Barrajn had any doctrine regarding the coming of the Mahd,86 there
is an illuminating allusion to the Mahd in his famous prediction of the capture of Jerusalem
by Muslims, found in Tafsr Ibn Barrajn.87 Ibn Barrajn devises a process of alternate
victories of Muslims and Christians (rm) over the centuries in order to gain control of the
region of Jerusalem. This process will come to an end with the final victory of the Muslims
over the Christians, which victory will be led by the Mahd, to whom he also refers as the
Just Imam (al-imm al-adl). The coming of the Mahd must thus fulfill certain cyclical
conditions that were to be met in 583/1187, sixty-one years after Ibn Barrajn wrote his
prediction in 522/1128. This does not mean that Ibn Barrajn openly stated that the Mahd
will appear in 583/1187, but he considered it to be perfectly probable. Thus, though Ibn
Barrajn had Mahdist doctrines, he expected the Mahd not in his own time but some sixty
years later. Moreover, his Mahdism, at least as it appears in this text, was focused on the
Christian advance on Jerusalem and might have been motivated by the ongoing pressure
82.Cornell, Realm of the Saint, 20.

83. Addas, Andalus Mysticism, 923.
84. David Goodrich also does not find any influence of Ibn al-Arfs Masin al-majlis on Ibn Qass Khal
al-nalayn. He also underlines that Ibn al-Arab does not refer to Ibn Qas being influenced by Ibn Barrajn or Ibn
al-Arf, bearing in mind that he knew in depth their works. See David R. Goodrich, A Sufi Revolt in Portugal: Ibn
Qas and His Kitb Khal al-Nalayn (Arabic Text) (Ph.D. diss., Columbia Univ., 1978), 17.
85. Addas, Andalus Mysticism, 923; Paul Nwyia, Rasil Ibn al-Arf, 4356.
86. I do not aim to explore this topic exhaustively since two of his major works remain unedited. For an account
of Messianic movements in al-Andalus, see Maribel Fierro, Doctrinas y movimientos de tipo mesinico en al-
Andalus, in Milenarismos y milenaristas en la Europa medieval: IX Semana de Estudios Medievales, Njera,
1998, ed. J. Ignacio de la Iglesia Duarte (Logroo, 1999), 15976. For the Mahdist movements in the Maghrib, see
Garcia-Arenal, La conjonction; eadem, Messianism and Puritanical Reform: Mahdis of the Muslim West, tr. M.
Beagles (Leiden, 2006).
87. MS Reisulkuttab 31, f. 96b; MS ehid Ali Paa 73, f. 321b.
from Christians on the Iberian peninsula rather than on reform of the Islamic community. He
would have dismissed contemporary Mahdist movements, such as those of Ibn Qas and the
Almohads, as idle.
Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that the famous discussion between Ibn al-Arab
and his master Ab l-Abbs al-Uryab about the identity of the person whose appearance
was foretold by the Prophet (i.e., the Mahd), which led to Ibn al-Arabs first encounter with
Khir must have taken place shortly before 583/1187.88 Ibn al-Arab was around twenty
years old when he met Ab l-Abbsthat is, ca. 580/1185and he states that this discus-
sion took place at the beginning of their relationship.89 This confirms the concerns that arose
shortly before the year 583/1187, and hence is clearly linked with Ibn Barrajns prediction
of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and the possible appearance of the Mahd in that year.90
A second point is the description of Ibn Barrajn as an imm. This term is extensively used
in contemporary texts, such as Ibn Bashkuwls al-ila, to refer to the most learned person
in a particular science, the man whom others should follow. In the textual sources in which
Ibn Barrajn is addressed as imm there are two contexts that allow for a political meaning:
when Ibn al-Arf addresses him with this term in a personal letter and when al-Sharn notes
that he was followed as imm. Let us consider both.
According to some, Ibn al-Arf addressed Ibn Barrajn by letter as the Supreme Guide of
those who lead souls to the ways of salvation [and] the imm who possesses the benediction
of Muammad as his legitimate representative.91 However, this address is Nwyias inter-
pretation and should not be quoted as Ibn al-Arfs words.92 Nwyia based his interpretation
on one of Ibn al-Arfs letters to Ibn Barrajn that he found in a manuscript belonging to Si
Ben Souda. This same letter is included in Ibn al-Arfs Mift al-sada.93
The gist and intention of this letter is fully spiritual, since it deals with the perplexity
caused in Ibn al-Arf by souls inebriated by the love of the world, overcome by passions, and
with hardened hearts blind to the contemplation of the hereafter; the expressions that have
given rise to a political interpretation are peripheral to the gist of the letter and are placed
in the complimentary sections. Therefore, a worldly political interpretation of the ways in
which Ibn alArf addresses Ibn Barrajn in the complimentary sections seems to clash with
the otherworldly spiritual topic of the letter.
Nwyias understanding of Ibn Barrajn as supreme guide in a political sense is mainly
based on the word imm and the expression mutaqaddim taslman appearing in the com-
plimentary sections of this letter. As to this latter expression, Nwyia renders it (or a similar
one, since there may be differences between the manuscripts) as le Guide qui je tmoigne
soumission de foi, while I translate it as the one preceding me in surrender. There is room
for different interpretations of the expression mutaqaddim taslman, but Nwyias seems to
me unlikely. Be that as it may, iffollowing Nwyiathis expression means that Ibn al-Arf
asserts his surrender to Ibn Barrajn, in the context of Sufism this is more likely to be an
88. Al-Futt al-makiyya, 1: 186.

89. For this event, see Claude Addas, Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn Arab, tr. P. Kingsley (Cam-
bridge, 1993), 6264.
90. There was a major eruption of Mahdism in the Islamic West after 583/1187. See Garcia-Arenal, La con-
jonction, 237.
91. Nwyia, Note sur quelques fragments indits, 220; Cornell, Realm of the Saint, 20.
92. This quotation erroneously ascribed to Ibn al-Arf has shaped the perception later scholars have of Ibn
Barrajn. See, e.g., Ken Garden, Al-Ghazls Contested Revival: Iy ulm al-dn and Its Critics in Khorasan and
the Maghrib (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Chicago, 2005), 21920.
93. A translation is appended to this article.
expression of Ibn al-Arfs fully spiritual allegiance (baya) to Ibn Barrajn without any
need to look for political connotations.
Nwyias interpretation of this letter is deeply rooted in his preconception of what the
term imm meant to Ibn al-Arf. Although Nwyia reverses Asn Palacioss vision of the
relationship between Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf, he is still deeply influenced by Asns
interpretation of al-Sharns reference.94 Thus the key point is to ascertain how Ibn al-Arf
understood the term imm.
I believe the idea that Ibn al-Arf understood imm in a political sense can be dismissed,
as this would contradict his general approach to political authority. In addition to his explicit
disapproval of rebellion against the established ruling power, his position towards the ruling
authority, which he considers appointed by God, is one of respect, as evidenced in Mift
al-sada.95
If we rule out a political interpretation for Ibn al-Arfs use of the term imm when he
addresses Ibn Barrajn, how then does he use it? In one of his letters he lists the causes for
committing reproachable errors regarding the law and sciences. One of these causes is arbi-
trariness (istibdd), which he understands as reliance on oneself before attaining the degree
of imamate (darajat al-imma) in knowledge (ilm) or practice (amal); the imm is thus
one who has attained sufficient competence to be able to rely on his own judgment.96 Since
what defines an imm is his competence to rely on his own judgment, nothing prevents the
existence of multiple imms at any particular time and place. In another letter Ibn al-Arf
equates the imamate (imma) to teaching (talm).97 In his interpretation of the final part of
Q 3:79Be ye faithful servants of the Lord by virtue of your constant teaching (tuallimna)
of the Scripture and of your constant study thereof (Pickthall)he notes that tuallimna
can also be read as form I (talamna) you know, and points out that both teaching and
knowing have precedence over studying from books alone, as studying comes after teaching
(and knowing) in this verse. He then equates teaching to the imamate and contrasts the duo of
sage (lim) and immi.e., the one who teachesto those who learn only from books. The
reference to Ibn Barrajn as Ibn al-Arfs imm might therefore be understood in this sense,
of one who has attained sufficient competence in matters dealing with knowledge or reli-
gious and spiritual practice so as to be able to teach and interpret the sources of the tradition
based on his sound judgment and knowledge. In support of this, there is to my knowledge
no reference in Ibn al-Arfs works to the use of the term imm in a political sense or even
as a spiritual guide in the sense understood in Shiism. In fact, when Ibn al-Arf refers to a
political contender, he uses the term mahd, as in his letter to Ibn Mundhir.
Ibn Barrajn is also addressed as imm in al-Sharns al-abaqt al-kubr, and this time
it may involve a political sense. Al-abaqt al-kubr is a late source with a distinct hagio-
graphical and apologetic purpose, a defense of the great figures in Sufism against the ulema.
From a historical point of view, al-Sharns work is barely reliable. When al-Sharn enu-
merates jurists attacks on Sufis in his introduction, he links Ibn Barrajn with Ibn Qas and
states that both were recognized as imms. The text is as follows:
94. See n. 9, supra.

95. Ibn al-Arf, Mift al-sada, 3335, where Dandash lists the few instances of Ibn al-Arfs attitude toward
political authority, e.g., The worst kinds of censure (inkr) are two: [First,] censure of the sultan, since he is the
Proof (ujja) of God [on earth] [and the] second [worst] censure is of those in a lower rank criticizing those above
them in knowledge or [spiritual] state (l). Ibid., 170.
96. Ibid., 90. See also p. 92, for the same concept.
97. Ibid., 13435.
They [who deny the exalted spiritual rank of the saints (awliy)] killed Imm Ab l-Qsim b.
Qas, Ibn Barrajn, al-Khawl,98 and al-Marjn99 for being considered imms by the people and
being imitated to the point that envy of them grew. So they bore witness that they were infidels,
although they did not kill them. Instead they acted against them with a stratagem (la) by telling
the sultan that in some 130 villages (bild) the sermons of the Friday prayers were performed
in Ibn Barrajns name. So he was sent [to the sultan] to be killed; and his entire group was
killed.100
The abaqt al-kubr does not actually suggest that Ibn Barrajn was recognized as imm
in 130 villages; the assertion that the Friday sermons were performed in his name in some
130 villages was a machination or a trick (la) of the jurists, and should not be taken as
a representation of the truth. Moreover, it is difficult to believe that the sultan would have
been unaware of the fact that so many villages were not performing the Friday prayers in his
name; this would have been considered a revolt, and it would have been recorded in detail
in later sources. In addition, there are some striking historical inaccuracies: for instance, Ibn
Qas was not executed by the ruling power but by his followers. Overall, the general impres-
sion is that al-Sharn is confusing the summons of Ibn Barrajn to Marrakesh with the
revolt of the Murdn led by Ibn Qas in an account of the events aimed to extol the Sufis.
In any case, al-Sharns text does not provide grounds for the claim that Ibn Barrajn was
recognized as an imm in 130 villages.
Ibn Barrajn was indeed held in high esteem in Sufi circles, as was Ibn al-Arf, as we have
seen from the anecdotes of Ab Madyans masters. However, other than al-Sharn, none of
the textual sources alludes to Ibn Barrajn having a large or growing number of followers,
unlike Ibn al-Arf,101 although the relationship between the two is well established. This
may suggest that Ibn al-Arf played a more public role as spiritual master and counselor
than Ibn Barrajn, who remained in a more closed inner circle, which would square with
Ibn al-Zubayrs reference to Ibn Barrajns reserved character. In short, there is not enough
textual basis to assert that Ibn Barrajn was widely regarded and followed as an imm, even
in the spiritual sense, or that he led a wide socio-political movement despite his fame in Sufi
circles. Nevertheless, he exerted an important spiritual authority over a number of people,
such as Ibn al-Arf, who in turn exerted spiritual authority over an increasing number of
followers.
The final reason for concluding that Ibn Barrajn was not a political activist is his age. He
was in his mid-eighties when he was summoned to the sultan, which makes him an unlikely
active rebel or contender for any kind of political authority.
ibn barrajns death

At the end of 535 or the beginning of 536/1141, the Almoravid sultan Al b. Ysuf
b. Tshufn summoned Ibn Barrajn from Seville, Ibn al-Arf from Almeria, and Ab Bakr
98. Probably the Shfi jurist and Sufi Ab Abd Allh al-Khawl (d. 545/1150-1), who had a great many com-
panions. See al-Subk, abaqt al-shfiiyya al-kubr (Cairo, 1964), 6: 15960 (no. 674); Ibn al-Athr, al-Kmil f
l-tarkh (Beirut, 2003), 9: 368.
99.The renowned Tunisian Sufi master Ab Muammad Abd al-Marjn (d. 699/1299), for whom see
al-Sharn, al-abaqt al-kubr, 1: 172; al-Dhahab, Tarkh al-islm, 52: 46566 (no. 760); al-afad, al-Wf
bi-l-wafayt, 17: 320 (no. 6465).
100.Al-Sharn, al-abaqt al-kubr, 1: 15.
101. Ibn al-Arfs growing following is well attested in contemporary sources such as Ibn Bashkuwls al-ila.
See Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 19 (no. 14); Ibn Bashkuwl, ila, 1: 137; al-Tdil, Tashawwuf, 118.
al-Mayrq from Granada102 to his presence in Marrakesh. According to al-Tdil, the q

Ibn Aswad (d. 536/1142)103 in Almeria discredited Ibn al-Arf before the sultan and made
him so fearful of Ibn al-Arf that he summoned him with Ibn Barrajn and al-Mayrq. 104
Al-Tdil notes that Ibn Aswad ordered Ibn al-Arf to be placed in fetters during the sea
crossing to Ceuta. There a messenger from the sultan gave him a safe-conduct, freed him,
and escorted him to Marrakesh, where the sultan honored him and allowed him to go back
to Almeria. He died on his way home, some say from illness, while othersaccording to
al-Tdil, but dismissed by Ibn al-Abbrsay he was poisoned by Ibn Aswad. In addition,
al-Tdil states that when the sultan heard that Ibn al-Arf had been poisoned by Ibn Aswad,
he ordered that Ibn Aswad be poisoned in return. Whatever the case, Ibn Aswad died the
same year.
There are also two different versions regarding al-Mayrq. According to Ibn al-Abbr,
when he was about to be summoned to Marrakesh, he escaped to Bejaya;105 according to Ibn
al-Khab, he was summoned to Marrakesh where he was questioned and condemned to be
whipped and imprisoned; upon his release, he first went back to al-Andalus and then to Alge-
ria.106 He died shortly afterwards, in 537/1143.
As for Ibn Barrajn, there are two detailed accounts of these events. One is found in
al-Tdils biographical entry on Ibn irzihim, which is the closest source to the events:
When Ab l-akam b. Barrajn was summoned from Cordoba to His Excellency [the sultan] in
Marrakesh, he was questioned about some matters for which he had been rebuked (bat alayhi).
He answered based on what was supported by interpretation of the sacred sources (tawl) and
thus distanced himself from the criticism he was forced to answer. Ab l-akam said: By God,
I am not going to live, nor is the one who has summoned methat is, the sultangoing to live
for long after my death. Ab l-akam died and the sultan ordered [his corpse] to be thrown onto
the dump without funeral prayers, imitating in this what the jurists (fuqah) had said.
A black man, who was in Ibn irzihims service and who attended his meetings, went to Ibn
irzihims house and reported to Ab l-asan [b. irzihim] what the sultan had ordered regard-
ing Ab l-akam [b. Barrajn]. Ab l-asan told him: If you want to sell your soul to God, do
what I tell you. He answered: Order me and I will do what you want me to do. Ibn irzihim
said: Go and claim throughout the markets and streets of Marrakesh, Ibn irzihim says to you:
Attend the funeral prayers for the excellent shaykh, the ascetic jurist, Ab l-akam b. Barrajn.
The one who is able to attend and does not, may the curse of God fall upon him. [The servant]
did as he was ordered. When the news reached the sultans ears, he said: The one who knows
his excellence and does not attend his funeral, may the curse of God fall upon him.107
The second significant account of his death, although it has attracted little attention, is
found in Ibn ajar al-Asqalns Lisn al-mzn, which quotes al-Marrkushs al-Dhayl
wa-l-takmila li-kitbay al-Mawl wa-l-ila.108 Only parts of al-Dhayl wa-l-takmila have
survived, and Ibn Barrajns entry is not among them. The text in Lisn al-mzn reads as
follows:
102. For Ab Bakr Muammad al-Mayrq, a pious hir scholar with ascetic tendencies, see Ibn al-Abbr,
Mujam, 139 (no. 123) and Takmila, 1: 173 (no. 608); al-Marrkush, al-Dhayl wa-l-takmila, 6: 16970, no. 452; Ibn
al-Khab, al-Ikha f akhbr Gharna (Cairo, 1973), 3: 190.
103. For Ibn Aswad, see Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 126 (no. 116); Ibn Bashkuwl, al-ila, 3: 849 (no. 1294). One
of the teachers with whom he studied the longest was Ab Bakr al-ursh.
104.Al-Tdil, Tashawwuf, 11822 (no. 18).
105. Ibn al-Abbr, Mujam, 139 (no. 123).
106. Ibn al-Khab, al-Ikha, 3: 190.
107.Al-Tdil, Tashawwuf, 170 (no. 51).
108.Al-Asqaln, Lisn al-mzn, 5: 17374 (no. 4761).
Ibn Abd al-Malik [al-Marrkush] in his Dhayl al-ila li-Ibn Bashkuwl said: [Ibn Barrajn]
was falsely accused before [the sultan] Al b. Ysuf b. Tshufn. So [the sultan] summoned Ibn
Barrajn to Marrakesh. On his arrival, [Ibn Barrajn] said: I am only going to live for a short
time, and he who summoned me will outlive me only for a short time as well. An examining
committee (majlis munara) was convened and they laid before him the different matters they
condemned. [Ibn Barrajn] answered based on accepted interpretations (makhrij mutamala),
but they were not satisfied with [his answers] since they did not understand the meaning of what
he said. They affirmed in the sultans presence that [Ibn Barrajn] was introducing innovations
[in religious matters]. [Ibn Barrajn] fell ill some days later and died in the month of Muarram,
while Al b. Ysuf died after him in Rajab of the year [5]37. Since he had been told [by Ibn
Barrajn] that he was going to die, [the sultan] ordered that his corpse be thrown onto the dump
without [funeral] prayers and without burial, in accordance with what he had determined fol-
lowing the calumnies of the jurists against [Ibn Barrajn]. But someone from among the people
of excellence, upon hearing of [Ibn Barrajns] death, sent a black servant to publicly proclaim
in the markets: Attend the funeral of this man. So the squares were filled with people. They
performed the ritual washing of his body, offered the funeral prayers, and buried him.
Neither of these two texts references a Sufi uprising or fear of one like that of the Almo-
hads.109 Instead, Ibn Barrajn was condemned for committing bida. He defended himself
by using arguments relying (itiml) on interpretation of the sacred sources (tawl). In the
context of bida, the term tawl is a technical one. If an opinion was obtained through tawl
and was seen as being heterodox, it would not usually lead to a sentence of zandaqa heresy
but to bida, innovation in religious matters.110 Hence the reference to tawl has a legal
significance as well.
The fact that Ibn Bashkuwl excluded Ibn Barrajn from al-ila strongly supports the
argument that Ibn Barrajn was condemned for bida. Since Ibn Barrajn was a major scholar
of his time, as the import of his works shows, in normal circumstances he would have been
included in a biographical dictionary. There were many links between Ibn Barrajn and Ibn
Bashkuwl. They had some students in common, and although Ibn Bashkuwl does not name
Ibn Barrajn as his teacher, it makes sense to believe that Ibn Bashkuwl would have known
him or even been his student, just as he was a student of all of Ibn Manrs other students in
Cordoba and Seville. His omission is also not for reasons of al-ila being completed before
or very shortly after Ibn Barrajns death: it was completed during or shortly after 564/1169,
the date of the last death recorded, long after the Almoravids had disappeared. Perhaps he
was omitted for political reasons or because of his imprisonment. However, we know of
no political pressure that Ibn Bashkuwl was under to withhold an entry on Ibn Barrajn
whose fellow prisoner, Ibn al-Arf, was includedand Ibn Bashkuwl included other ulema
who had been imprisoned and had had political difficulties, such as his teacher Ab Bakr b.
al-Arab. It would seem therefore that the most plausible reason for Ibn Barrajns absence in
al-ila is his condemnation for religious matters and probably for bida, although we do not
have any account of his books being burned. Indeed, exclusion from biographical dictionar-
ies was a common practice in such cases.111
109. Ken Garden, following al-Dhahab, links the arrest of Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf to Al b. Ysuf b.
Tshufns fear of a revolt by Sufi groups like that of Ibn Tmart. See Garden, Al-Ghazls Contested Revival,
20820; and al-Dhahab, Siyar, 20: 7274 (no. 44).
110. See Maribel Fierro, El castigo de los herejes y su relacin con formas de poder poltico y religioso en
al-Andalus (ss. II/VIII-VII/XIII), in El cuerpo derrotado: Cmo trataban musulmanes y cristianos a los enemigos
vencidos. Pennsula Ibrica, ss. VIII-XIII, ed. M. Fierro and F. Garca-Fitz (Madrid, 2008), 283316, esp. 312 n. 69.
111. Maribel Fierro, Religious Dissension in al-Andalus: Ways of Exclusion and Inclusion,al-Qanara 22
(2001): 482.
Even though we cannot be absolutely certain of the cause of Ibn Barrajns death, it is
doubtful that he was executed. His advanced age makes it unlikely; in fact it is more plau-
sible that at that age the hardship of his journey to Marrakesh, possibly in chains, at the
height of summer, and his ensuing imprisonment, arguably in very tough conditions, would
have caused his death. Indeed, al-Marrkushs text in Lisn al-mzn suggests that after a
few days of imprisonment Ibn Barrajn fell ill and died. We recall the case of Ab Madyan,
also in his mid-eighties, who died of old age and illness on his way to Marrakesh after being
summoned by the Almohad sultan to answer a number of suspicions and accusations.112
According to Andalusian and Maghribi custom, had Ibn Barrajn been executed for a
religious matter, it would have been by crucifixion, although the actual legal punishment
was beheading. We know that al-Mayrq was lashed, at least according to Ibn al-Khab.
Had Ibn Barrajn died from beheading, crucifixion, or lashing, we would be aware of it, as
his corpse, thrown onto the dump, was ritually washed by the population of Marrakesh, who
later performed the funeral prayers and buried him. It is unlikely that any signs of violence
inflicted on him would have passed unnoticed during the washing of his corpse. Al-Tdil,
who was fully acquainted with Ab Madyans disciples and willing to extol the Sufis against
the jurists, as in his report of Ibn al-Arfs death, would have pointed it out. The fact that we
do not have any account of a violent death after such a popular burial suggests that he was
not executed. In addition, the earliest sources do not mention any reports or any suspicion
of a violent death, only death by illness. Thus an execution seems unlikely. However, this
may mean little since in view of his advanced age and the hardship of imprisonment,those
judging him would have known that aprison sentence would most probably have meant that
death would be imminent.
ibn barrajns doctrines motivating his conviction

It is difficult to ascertain which doctrines based on his tawl might have motivated his
conviction as they were not reported in the account. Later biographical texts claim that he
was falsely accused and that the examining committee did not understand what he intended
to say. One possibility is the link with al-Ghazl, whose doctrines were condemned in the
Islamic West; after all, Ibn Barrajn was considered al-Ghazl of al-Andalus and Q
Iy issued his fatwa to burn al-Ghazls Iy shortly after Ibn Barrajn was summoned
to Marrakesh.113
The Mlik fuqah in the Islamic West criticized different points of what they took to be
al-Ghazls position in his Iy. First, they believed that al-Ghazl held the opinion that
the purification of the soul through deeds grants knowledge of God and, therefore, God does
not freely bestow knowledge.114 Second, as a consequence of the previous statement, proph-
ecy can be obtained through effort by purifying ones own soul; in other words, prophets are
112.Cornell, The Way of Ab Madyan, 15.

113. Ibn Barrajn and al-Ghazl shared some common features. They were roughly the same age (al-Ghazl
was born in 447 h) and both were learned Sufis who wrote commentaries on the names of God. In the later tradition,
this comparison can be seen as complimentary to Ibn Barrajn, although during the time of the Almoravids it could
have meant quite the opposite. For a discussion of the various refutations of al-Ghazl in the Islamic West, see
Delfina Serrano, Why Did the Scholars of al-Andalus Distrust al-Ghazl? Ibn Rushd al-Jadds Fatw on Awliy
Allh, Der Islam 83 (2006): 13756.
114. For this criticism, see, e.g., Ab Bakr b. al-Arab, al-Awim min al-qawim, ed. A. lib (Cairo, 1997),
2324, according to whom al-Ghazl supported the notion that knowledge is only to be achieved through purifica-
tion. See Frank Griffel, Al-Ghazls Philosophical Theology (New York, 2009), 6770.
not appointed by God and are like any other person.115 And third, since al-Ghazl placed
the awliy second to the Prophet in the rank of knowledge and al-Qushayr identified the
awliy with the Sufisi.e., those who gain knowledge through purificationthis would
give the Sufis a position of preeminence over the scholars, which posed a particular threat to
traditional religious authority and to political authority as well.116
Ibn Barrajn explicitly denied the most important theological point criticized in
al-Ghazls Iy in the Islamic Westthat knowledge of God could be gained through
effort in the purification of ones heart, which could be interpreted as suggesting that proph-
ecy can be gained through effort. In his commentary on Gods name al-ayyib, he states:
Know that purification (tayb) of bad qualities of character (khubth khalq) cannot be acquired.
This only applies to Godexalted may He be, the One without associatesince it is at the
root of the manufacture and the composition of [the different elements of ] the constitution [of
human beings], while the servant cannot change the constitution. Only God can improve it [...].
However, Heglorified and exalted may He bedoes not create an illness without providing a
medicine and does not shut a door without finding a key for it [...] and the key for this lock is
supplication [in addition to] imploration, resignation, the detachment from [ones] strength and
power, and waiting for the opening and release from God [...]. And you do not know when the
fulfillment of your petition will take place.117
Even though Ibn Barrajn asserts Gods preeminence in freely bestowing His mercy upon
His servant, he holds nonetheless that God provides the means necessary for the servant
to overcome with his effort every particular spiritual situation by asking for Gods mercy,
which is to some extent close to al-Ghazls positionat least as it was understood in the
Islamic Westaccording to which effort grants knowledge of God. As to the position Ibn
Barrajn grants to the awliy, he sees those in the highest ranks as intermediaries between
the prophets and the believers: Nearness to God (wilya) originates (tanshau) among the
generations of the chosen (muafn) to the point that it reaches prophecy (nubuwwa), the
mission of messengers (risla), the most intimate friendship (khilla), and the utmost love;
and then [it reaches] the highest rank of intercession and the most exalted degree. The most
elevated people among the close intimates (awliy) are the link (wal) between the prophets
and the believers.118
Some other criticisms raised by later authors may help us figure out additional motiva-
tions for his conviction. Ibn Taymiyya links him with the Slimiyyathe alleged followers
of Sahl al-Tustar in Baraand accuses him of belonging to those who understand God as
both transcendent and immanent and thus defending a doctrine that Ibn Taymiyya says is
close to incarnation (ull).119 He also mentions Ibn Barrajn on the occasion of his criticism
of al-Ghazls concept of takhalluq, which Ibn Barrajn renames taabbud in his commen-
115. This is one of al-urshs main criticisms. See al-Dhahab, Siyar, 19: 49496 (no. 285) and particularly
p. 495 for his linking of al-Ghazl with those who were accused of believing that prophecy could be acquired (ikta-
saba) through purification. For a summary of al-Mzar and al-urshs criticisms of al-Ghazl and al-Subks
answer, see al-Subk, abaqt al-shfiiyya al-kubr, 6: 24058. For al-Ghazls theory of prophecy, see Frank
Griffel, Al-azls Concept of Prophecy: The Introduction of Avicennan Psychology into Aarite Theology,
Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 14 (2004): 10144.
116. For an analysis of the fatwa issued by the Mlik jurist Ibn Rushd al-Jadd on this point, see Serrano, Why
Did the Scholars of al-Andalus Distrust al-Ghazali? 13756.
117. Ibn Barrajn, Shar Asm Allh al-usn, 14243. See also p. 218 for a similar statement on knowledge
understood through purification (taahhur) in the measure of ones effort, although bestowed by Gods mercy.
118. Ibid., 488.
119. Ibn Taymiyya, Majmat al-fatw, 2: 299/182; 5: 485/289.
tary to the names of Godthat is, the adoption of Gods attributes by the believer, although
in the Sufi view attributes only applicable to God are excluded.
Other authors, such as Ab Shma al-Muqaddas, criticized Ibn Barrajns doctrine of
temporal cycles on which he based his prediction of the conquest of Jerusalem.120 This doc-
trine was confused with astrology, although Ibn Barrajn took it from the Quran and it bore
no relationship to astrology of any kind. Ab Shma particularly criticizes Ibn Barrajns
commentary to the verse the Night of Might is better (khayr) than 1,000 months (Q 97:3)
found in his Tafsr. Ab Shma attributes to Ibn Barrajn the idea that if the time of the
descent of the Quran were known, the time of its ascent would also be known. However, Ibn
Barrajn does not say this; he says that this time remains unknown since the period (mudda)
related to the word better (khayr) in the verse is unknown.121
The Mlik faqh al-ar criticized Ab Bakr b. al-Arab for introducing names of
God that were not obtained either from the Quran or the Sunna in his commentary on the
names of God, al-Amad al-aq.122 According to al-ar, Ab Bakr b. al-Arab followed
Ibn Barrajns Shar Asm Allh al-usn. Al-Qurub, who himself quotes Ibn Barrajn in
many instances in his al-Asn f shar Asm Allh al-usn, defended both scholars by giv-
ing some examples of names found in the Sunna or names not literally found in the Quran
and Sunna but easily derived from them.123 These are thus potentially controversial topics
that could have left Ibn Barrajn open to accusations of bida.
conclusion
The story of Ibn Barrajns trial and death reflects the complex situation of Sufism in
al-Andalus during the final years of Almoravid rule.
Ibn Barrajns works suggest that Sufism had reached a substantial degree of maturity
during his lifetime in al-Andalus. The importance of his works, the depth of his doctrines,
the books quoted, his practical advice regarding the path, and his spiritual creativity through
the aid of his symbolic transposition (itibr), as, for instance, in the development of the
doctrine of the creative Truth (al-aqq al-makhlq bihi al-khalq), show that he was firmly
established in a long-standing but at the same time innovative tradition in al-Andalus. Except
for the fact that there were no great Sufi authors in al-Andalus prior to him (if one accepts
that Ibn Masarra was not a Sufi author), nothing in his works suggests that Sufism was in its
early stages in his homeland at that time. All in all, it appears that Sufism must already have
been present for a relatively long time in al-Andalus.
This presence came to a head in Andalusian society with Ibn Barrajn and particularly
with Ibn al-Arf, who threatened the existing balance in religious authority in al-Andalus.
With Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf, along with others such as Ab Abd Allh b. Khall,
Sufism was no longer a movement supported only by low-profile groups; it was now fol-
lowed by members of the class of the ulema. Ibn Barrajn and Ibn al-Arf embody the
emergence of Sufism among the learned and the emergence of learned Sufism in al-Andalus.
Moreover, Sufism was gaining respect among the Almoravid ruling powers and the popu-
lation, at least in the Maghrib. This is evidenced by Ibn irzihim being the teacher of the
Almoravid sultan Al b. Ysuf b. Tshufn and by the events that surrounded Ibn al-Arf
120. Ab Shma al-Muqaddas, Uyn al-rawatayn f akhbr al-dawlatayn al-nriyya wa-l-aliyya, ed.
A. Baysm (Damascus, 1991), 2: 1078.
121. MS Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek BSB-Hss Cod. Arab. 83, f. 229b.
122. Ab l-asan Al al-ar (d. 611/1224). See Ibn al-Abbr, Takmila, 2: 686 (no. 1918).
123. Al-Qurub cites Ibn al-ar. Al-Qurub, al-Jmi li-akm al-Qurn (Beirut, 2006), 9: 39495.
and Ibn Barrajns summons and deaths: the sultans warmth towards Ibn al-Arf, and Ibn
irzihims appeal to the population concerning Ibn Barrajns burial, on the basis of his own
spiritual authority.
Nonetheless, Al b. Ysuf b. Tshufn had shown weakness toward the Andalusian class
of the fuqah and the judiciary,124 which shaped the Andalusian power structure around
local lineages. Bearing in mind this weakness and also Ibn Barrajns profile and old age,
his being summoned and imprisoned were probably the result of the growing tensions pro-
duced by the shifting of religious authority from transmitted knowledge to purity of heart and
intimacy with God rather than the result of his leading or inspiring a Sufi uprising against
the Almoravids, as was the case with Ibn Qas. All the same, the ongoing editing of Ibn
Barrajns works will help to clarify the role of this important figure in Andalusian Sufism.
translation of ibn al-arfs letter to ibn barrajn125

God be the intimate friend and protector of the faqh, the imm Ab l-akam [ibn Barrajn],
my master (shaykh) and my senior (kabr) [in age; as spiritual figure?] and may the mercy
and the benediction of God be upon him.
From the one learning from him, the one eager of knowing what is with him, the weak
servant of God, Amad ibn Muammad [ibn al-Arf ].
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the Most-Merciful; and the benediction and peace
of God upon Muammad, His Messenger. May peace, Gods mercy, and blessings be upon
you.
O, my God! Unite the essential reality (aqqa) of the existence (wujd) of the master
(shaykh)my imm and my senior (kabr)with the existence of the essential reality of
the knowledge (marifa) of You and the acquaintance (taarruf) with You; make him a guide
(zimm) of those who are signs in the paths leading to the purification of souls and an imm
of those principals who are banners (alm) in the guidance to salvation; and bless him and
through him with the benediction which begins and ends in Muammad, may Gods bless-
ings be upon him.
I was concerned with receiving a letter from the mastermy only one in consideration
(wid naaran), the one preceding me in surrender (mutaqaddim taslman) and in being
held in high estimation (wa-mutabaran)126since the bearer of arguments to be listened
to from me is moving him to interpose a separation between (la bayna) [my] soul and its
desire and to bring shame on it [i.e., on my soul] from its Lord (mawl). For this reason,
[my masters] supplication, letter, writing, and information were received bringing love and
affection to me.
All this is part of the signs (thr) I asked [God]exalted be His nameand it was not
His very Essence (ayn) [that I asked]. So I was expecting one of His allusions regarding
knowledge or practice.
124. Viz., Al b. Ysuf b. Ibn Tshufns letter to his governor al-Zubayr b. Umar reproaching his attitude
toward the q Ab Bakr b. Aswad and warning him against the power of the judiciary in al-Andalus. The q
Ibn Aswad was the one who accused Ibn al-Arf before the sultan. See M. Munis, Sab wathiq jadda an dawlat
al-murbin, Revista del Instituto egipcio de estudios islmicos 2 (1954): 5584, esp. 71.
125. Ibn al-Arf, Mift al-sada, 10910. Differences of translation from Nwyias version may partially arise
from differences in the base manuscripts. My translation is based on Dandashs edition (supra, n. 71).
126. If we read mutabir instead of mutabar, it can be translated as the one preceding me [...] as interpreter,
that is, the one who precedes me in exerting the symbolic transposition (itibr).
And the explanation in a detailed and general manner of one point is obscure to me: [this
point is] how to treat a drunk or how to treat him when his inebriety overcomes him, when
his friend is inattentive and his claimer is awakened.
O, my God! Such is the perplexity caused by a weak one with no excuse, an existence
upon which no power is exerted through regulations. And [this perplexity is such] except for
a misled and weak one.
O, my God! Cover with Your veil the one with overflowing inebriety caused by the love of
the world, the one whose inner reality is dead with regard to the contemplation of the visions
of the Hereafter. He has no Lord taking over him except You, while every wild beast he finds
stays with him for a long time and his passions overcome him.
And when Your generosity draws him to You, the vile aspects of his being draw him from
You; so have mercy and pay no attention to what You know [of us] and open a hardened heart
with the keys of solicitude, so that we can look at You and be ashamed before You.
And youmy immimbued with the veneration deserved by your white hair, remember
me when you lie down to rest with Whom you lie down, so that the One you have loved for
me loves you.
And may the eternal ever-recurring peace, Gods mercy, and blessings be upon you.

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Ibn Barrajān's Role in Andalusian Sufism

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Al-Ghazl of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajn, Mahdism, and the

Emergence of Learned Sufism on the Iberian Peninsula

Journal of the American Oriental Society 133.4 (2013) 659

ibn barrajn in historiographical sources

ibn barrajns biography

20. Takmila, 2: 559 (no. 1588).

by Muslims in 583/1187 is found in the commentary to the beginning of al-Rm.28 Because

ibn barrajn, an outsider?

57. Ibn Barrajn, Shar Asm Allh al-usn, 267.

ibn barrajn, a political activist?

82.Cornell, Realm of the Saint, 20.

88. Al-Futt al-makiyya, 1: 186.

94. See n. 9, supra.

ibn barrajns death

al-Mayrq from Granada102 to his presence in Marrakesh. According to al-Tdil, the q

ibn barrajns doctrines motivating his conviction

112.Cornell, The Way of Ab Madyan, 15.

translation of ibn al-arfs letter to ibn barrajn125

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