Ibn Al-Muqaffa (ابن المقفّع)

Abbasid Period Prose


             Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh Rūzbih ibn Dādūya (ابو محمد عبدالله روزبه ابن دادويه‎), born Rōzbih pūr-i Dādōē (روزبه پور دادویه‎), more commonly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (ابن المقفع‎), (died c. 756/759), was a Persian translator, author and thinker who wrote in the Arabic language.

          Originally Abdul bin Al-Muqaffa was a Persian and his surname was Abu Umar. His father was in the service of the Taiayyad government when he was punished severely for corruption in which his land got fractured. It is an account of this disability of his father that he was called Al-Muqaffa. Ibnu Al Muqaffa was born in the year 106 A.H.

   When he was serving under bin Ali Al Mansur's uncle at Basra. he expressed his desire to embrace Islam as his religion and a gathering was arranged and he declared Islam as his religion. It was thus that he celebrated his change of religion. He loved humanity and helped the needy people generously. There are instances in his life that he could not see people in trouble and was ready to help them even at the cost of his life. When Abdul Hamid the great writer of the Umayyad period and among the greatest among the writers of the Arabic literary prose was to be arrested after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty incidentally he was hiding with Ibnu Al Muqaffa who did not divulge his identity. On the contrary he offered himself as the man who was wanted by caliph Saffah's men. This spirit of sacrifice for other is a quality rarely found in human society. In those days when the atmosphere was surcharged with feeling of eliminating the opposition at every level in respective of moral justification or human considerations here is a man who honors him morals values for which he is prepared to risk everything. It is an established fact that those who are charging Ibnu Al-Muqaffa with the offence of zindild had political motive behind it attributing to Qim such work which cannot be his for the author of Al-Fihrist did not mention it. The record of the Abbasid rule shows that they killed scholars of divinity men of learning and talented men of letters without any regard to justice and morality. Abdul Hamid Ibnu Al Muqaffa, Imam Abu Hanifa are the examples of their merciless killing of great scholars in their own field of knowledge. It appears that in order to justify their action they fi-amed baseless charges against Ibnu Al-Muqaffa. His adherence to certain customs of his forefathers may be due to his weakness in habits but on that account he can be called zindik as his opponent have done.

Ibnu Al Muqaffa's mother language was Persian but in Arabic also he was equally fluent and commanded mastery over expression we would not like to enter into the discussion of his religious beliefs since they are clouded in the political atmosphere of that period with a dipodic ruler at the helm of affairs at whose behest anything could be managed falsely with political motive which was foremost in the minds of the people. However we would like to refrain from taking sides and leave it for others to go deep into the matter. No doubt many scholars have discussed this matter in depth.

His execution:

 The circumstances under which Ibnu Al Muqaffa was executed are of political nature in which Caliph Al Mansur is also involved. He was a victim of political vengeance. The fact is that Al Mansur had to face so many revolts not only from outside but also from his own family. His vmck Abdullah bin AU who had played important role in establishing the Abbasid rule revolted against and in this struggle for power he was defeated by Al Mansur. He fled to his brother Isa bin Ali to seek his protection who was governor of Basra. Ibnu Al Muqaffa was employed by Musa to draft letters on his behalf Isa bin Ali ordered to prepare a letter which will contains of reconciliation between Abdullah bin Ali and the caliph Al Mansur which was so nicely drafted that when Al Mansurs two others uncles Isa bin Ali and Sulaiman bin Ali went to Al Mansur with that draft, Al Mansur had no alternative but to accept the proposal because he could not overlook other powerful members of his family. But he was not pleased to read the writing and asked as to who had drafted the letter. When he was told that it was Ibnu Al Muqaffa he was enraged and that occasion prepared the groimd for his opponent to manage his execution. They succeeded in their plan in 142 A.H. when he was brutally murdered and burnt. It was under these circumstance that the literary world of the early Abbasid rule lost such a great man of learning and literature at an early age of 38 years. When he had yet to unfold the extraordinary capabilities in him endowed by God Almighty.

Ibnu Al Muqaffa's contribution to the world of learning

 Ibnu Muqaffa was a Persian by birth and Persian language was his mother tongue but to the astonishment of all and jealousy of many he was equally good command over Arabic language. He could write Arabic prose 216 with ease and excellence in expression that was infect a gift from God. He was not only a prose writer but also a boom poet. But he did not pay required attention to this art of literature. It will be more appropriate to say that he directed all his talents in adorning his art of prose writing. He was a scientific writer. Before actually dressing his thoughts with appropriate words he would chalk out a plan for the subject he was dealing with. When his mental preparation is complete he sits to write engrossed in his job. As he has a wealth of words and phrases at his disposals it is with ease that he gives shape to his thoughts with beautiful language. His poetic talent adds poetic beauty to his prose. In his wisdom vast knowledge and sharp intelligence, he was ahead of all his contemporaries.

 It is said that after the compassions of the prophet (P.B.U.H.) Khalid was the most intelligent man of learning among the Arabs, while among the non-Arabs Ibnu Al Muqaffa has no equal as an intelligent man of learning.

2. The second characteristic is the deep insight into the matter which he presents in his writings. 

 Ibnu Al Muqaffa's original writings as well as his translated works provide us with the evidence of his deep study of the topics on which he writes. His style of presentation is simple and clear which does not leave the meaning ambiguous. His approach is that of a philosopher who sees things in the light of reason.

 3. The third quality of his writings is that his study is not restricted to a particular field of learning. His translated works as well as his original works exhibit his vast knowledge and his deep study of various sciences. He has written on different subjects which are political moral social educational and also religious and his approach and style presentation is most attractive.

 4. The fourth characteristic of his writings in their charm of presentation which appeals to the readers and attracts their attention who feel a new life and new spirit awakened in them. His writings have a purpose and message who have regard for moral values. The words and phrases he uses have a sort of magic in them which have their own effect and which make his writings purposeful.

The brief description of the some of the characteristics of Ibnu Al Muqaffa's writings provides an ample proof of his being for ahead of his contemporaries as a man and also as a writer in the golden period of Islamic rule. He has no equal in many respects Jafar bin Yahya rightly said that Abdul Haraid and Sahl bin Harun are like branches and Ibnu Al Muqaffa is like its fruit while Ahmad bin Yusuf is like its flower. We have already given a short account of the personality of Ibnu Al Muqaffa and some of the chief characteristics of his writings. Now we shall give in brief file artistic beauties in his writings. Firstly his selection of appropriate words is always in accord with the meaning he wants to convey to his reader’s vrith all their linguistic beauties. Secondly he connects together small sentences by using relative pronouns and we find a chain of relative sentences in his expression. It is therefore that his reader to pause for a moment to folly understand the meaning he wants to convey. He does not use superfluous words and phrases just for the sake of beauty of language at the cost of the meaning by using less words and that is the chief beauty of his literary prose writing.

Ibnu  Al Muqaffa's contribution to Arabic prose

 His contribution to Arabic prose is divided into two parts. One is his translation work while the others relates to his original writings. The following are his translation works.

1.   Kalila wa Dimna. It is a translation from the pahlavi book entitled punj tantar into Arabic. It is originally an Indian work which had reached Persian during the reign of Nawsherwan the first. This work cannot be called mere translation. It has its own originality since the personality of the translator peeps through it. It contains a sort of preference in the beginning of the book which is written by Ibnu Al Muqaffa himself the language and the style which the translator has used adds to the beauty of the original work.

2.   The other translation is Siyar Al Muluk which is the translation of Khadi Nama.

3.    The third is kitabu Al Taj Fi Sirati Nawsherwan. This is the biography of Nawsherwan.
4.   The fourth is kitabu Mazdah which is related to the life of Mazdak.
5.    Kitabu Al Baikar is another important translation work which is a collection of the historical short stories.
6.   Kitabu Al Baikar is another important translation work which is a collection of the historical short stories. There are other translation works also that have been reported which 1 0 include Philosophical works of Greek thinkers.

The following are his original works:

1. Al-Adabu Al Saghir. It is a booklet in which moral lessons are given. In a way it is a book on ethics and morality.

     2. Al Adabu Al Kabir Fi Taati Al-Muluk or Al Risalatu Al yatimah is his miportant work.

This book is a masterpiece of Ibnu Al Muqaffa's works whichbrings into full view the personality of its author and proves how great really he was and what a great loss the Islamic world suffered on account of his death at the hands of those who claim to the protectors of Islam and its interest. We are going an extract from his book Al Adabu Al Kabir which will give an idea of his thinking as well as his style of writing.

His other works

 Are Rasaail, which is a collection of letters. Risalatu Al Sahaba in which political matters are discussed. It is known as Resalatu Al Siyasah also. Hikamu Ibnu Al-Muqaffa which is a collection of the sayings of its author. We have given in brief the contribution of Ibnu Al Muqaffa to Arabic prose by way of translation and also as his original works. Now we shall add a note on his translated book Kilila wa Dimna whose fame is worldwide. As we have already said the book Kalila wa Dimna is a translation of the Persian book panj tantey. Its translator is a great writer of Persian and Arabic prose. He is a man of moral values a man who loves humanity who has philosophical outlook on life. The question arises as to why such a great scholar selected this Persian book for rendering it into Arabic. He was himself capable of writing book of wisdom. Yet he thought it wise to translate a book of a foreign country whose history was obscure to him. It is in fact the usefulness of the book Kalila wa Dimna which induced Ibnu Al Muqaffa to render it into Arabic. Those were the days of despotic rule and the gap between the ruler and the ruled was so wide that it was not possible to convey to the ruler the right thing in a straight way. It was therefore that the wise men of those days adopted a new method to achieve the purpose interesting stories were told to human beings in the language of the animals and birds. It was a novel way of giving moral lessons of wisdom to human beings who were created with the faculty of intelligence among the creation of their Lord the creator of the universe. However political conditions were such that the method was effective and this induced Ibnu Al Muqaffa to select this book for translation. However the contents of the book clearly show that it is not merely a translation. Ibnu Al Muqaffa's mind and skill have changed the very face of the book. No doubt it is a new technique and a new method of presenting ones thoughts before the renders with a definite purpose in view. This work of Ibnu Al Muqaffa has a great value not only as a story book but also as a philosophical and literary work.

Commenting on the book Najeebullah writes:

“Kalila wa Dimna is a selection of anecdotes and short stories about animals with ethical conclusions relating to human conditions'^. The merit of the book can be judged from the fact that the story writer is no other than Ibnu Al Muqaffa who has displayed in his work all the merits of a versatile writer using select words and small sentences like pearls rolling from the mind of a saintly philosopher a man of many good qualities with eloquence at his command. The real merit of the book can be judged by only highly placed intellectual who are men thinking and who understand what human life is the following quotations from the book will give an idea of the themes treated in the book.”

Though Ibnu Al Muqaffa left this world forever under tragic circumstances and it is only this much what Al Mansur the despotic ruler of the so-called Islamic Empire could do. He eliminated him physically but his name remained alive for all time to come as a man of moral values, as a lover of humanity as one who could sacrifice his life for others and as a writer who has no equal. He had rightly said about himself when he was being executed by those who were people to lower class of the morality as compared to this great man whom the world of 91 learning was losing. He cited the following verses:


اذ ما مات مثلی مات شخص                یموت بموتہ خلق کثیر
       و انت تموت وحدک لیس یدری                   لموتک و لا الصغیر ولا الکبیر 


لائیک کرو اور اپنے دوستوں کے ساتھ شیئر کرو