Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi

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Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi (* around 1175 in Bukhara , † around 1230 in Delhi ) was a Persian historian and writer. In Oman , Kenya , Saudi Arabia and Bahrain there are still families who derive their descent from him.

Naming

The name Aufis has been passed down in different variants. In English and French secondary literature he is called Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi, but also Muhammad 'Awfi. The Persian name is given as Sadiduddin Muhammad Aufi (سدید الدین محمد عوفی). You can also find Mohammad ben Mohammad Aufi, Jemalledin Muhammad el-Aufi and Sadid ad-Did Muhammad al-Aufi al-Buhari.

Life

Aufi was born in Bukhara during the heyday of Islam and spent many years traveling, which he used for research and teaching. Stops on his travels were Khorasan , Khorezmia , Samarkand , Merw , Nischapur , Sistan and Ghazni . After all, he is said to have fled to India because of the Mongol storm. There he was accepted at the court of the Prince of Sind , Sultan Qubaca . After Qubaca was defeated by Iltutmysh in 1228, Aufi served the new ruler until his death.

Works

Only two of Aufi's works have survived today: The Lubabu'l-Albab (The Quintessence of the Heart) and Djawami 'u'l-Hikayat ( Collection of Stories). We know of two other works because they are mentioned elsewhere. It was a story of Turkestan princes and a book about the properties of things. Fragments of a fifth work, by Madayih al-Sultan , have survived .

Today, the most important work of Aufi is Lubabu'l-Albab , a collection of around 300 poet biographies. The book is structured according to the original professions of the respective poet. It still serves as a historical source today, although its usefulness is also viewed critically due to stylistic and structural defects. The book was completed in 1221 and was dedicated to Vizier Nasiriddin Ghobajeh (ناصر الدین قباجه), who served Prince Qubaca. The book also features the first mention of a compass in Islamic literature. His second major work, the Djawami 'u'l-Hikayat , is a collection of 2,113 anecdotes. It provides a wealth of information from the mythical times to the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustansir . Among countless others there is a description of elephants and strange birds. Aufi also deals with the medical use of animal organs and cites Dioscurides in this context . The oldest manuscript still preserved today is in the French National Library and dates from 1232.

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Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lexicon of World Literature, Alfred Kröner Verlag Stuttgart (1995), page 95
  2. ↑ Joseph Hammer; The story of the golden horde in Kripchak (1840), page XVII
  3. ↑ Manfred Ullmann; The natural and occult sciences of Islam , page 31
  4. ↑ Manfred Ullmann; The natural and occult sciences of Islam , page 32
personal data
SURNAME Aufi, Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Persian writer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1175
PLACE OF BIRTH Bukhara
DATE OF DEATH around 1230
Place of death Delhi