30 Facts About Al-Tabari

1.

Al-Tabari wrote works on a diverse range of subjects, including world history, poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine.

2.

Al-Tabari followed the Shafi'i madhhab for nearly a decade before he developed his own interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence.

3.

Al-Tabari has been described as either of Persian or Arab origin.

4.

Al-Tabari memorized the Qur'an at seven, was a qualified prayer leader at eight, and began to study the prophetic traditions at nine.

5.

Al-Tabari left home to study in 236 AH, when he was twelve.

6.

Al-Tabari returned at least twice, the second time in 290 AH, when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness and led to his quick departure.

7.

Al-Tabari first went to Ray, where he remained for some five years.

8.

Al-Tabari left Baghdad probably in 242 AH to travel through the southern cities of Basra, Kufah and Wasit.

9.

Al-Tabari was well past seventy in the year his History was published.

10.

Al-Tabari's accounts are as authentic as one can expect from that period.

11.

Al-Tabari is described as having a dark complexion, large eyes and a long beard.

12.

Al-Tabari was tall and slender and his hair and beard remained black until he was very old.

13.

Al-Tabari was attentive to his health, avoiding red meat, fats, and other foods he deemed unhealthy.

14.

Al-Tabari was seldom sick before his last decade, when he suffered from bouts of pleurisy.

15.

Al-Tabari had a sense of humor, though serious subjects he treated seriously.

16.

Al-Tabari had studied poetry when young and enjoyed writing, reciting and participating in poetic exchanges.

17.

Al-Tabari had a good grounding in grammar, lexicography, and philology.

18.

Al-Tabari knew Persian and was acquainted with the origins of various foreign loan words in Arabic from a number of other languages.

19.

Al-Tabari was very humble to his companions, visitors and students, without being proud of his position, condescending with his knowledge, or being domineering towards others.

20.

Al-Tabari did not bear hatred against anyone, and he had a satisfied soul, excusing those who had wronged him, and forgiving those who offended him.

21.

Al-Tabari's ijtihad led to criticism from the Zahiris and some fanatic Hanbali followers.

22.

Al-Tabari was suddenly accused of being a Jahmite heretic, while his respect for 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth rightly guided caliph, exposed him to accusations of Shi'ite sympathies.

23.

Al-Tabari is said to have declared bluntly that it was absurd.

24.

Al-Tabari established his own madhhab, usually designated the Jariri madhhab after his patronymic.

25.

Al-Tabari's school failed to endure in the competitive atmosphere of the times.

26.

Al-Tabari's jurisprudence belongs to a type which Christopher Melchert has called "Rationalism", largely associated with the Shafi'i madhhab.

27.

Al-Tabari appears, like Dawud al-Zahiri, to restrict consensus historically, defining it as the transmission by many authorities of reports on which the Sahaba agreed unanimously.

28.

Al-Tabari wrote extensively; his voluminous corpus containing three main titles:.

29.

Al-Tabari supplemented this material with historical reports embodied in works on genealogy, poetry, and tribal affairs.

30.

Al-Tabari therefore made it concise and kept it to 3000 pages.