ABU AL-FARAJ AL-ISBAHANI

in full Abu Al-faraj 'ali Ibn Al-husayn Al-qurashi Al-isbahani, also called Al-isfahani born 897, Isfahan, Iran died Nov. 20, 967, Baghdad literary scholar who composed an encyclopaedic and fundamental work on Arabic song, composers, poets, and musicians. Abu al-Faraj was a descendant of Marwan II, the last Umayyad caliph of Syria. Despite the enmity of this family and the 'Alids, he was a Shi'ite Muslim, upholding the rights of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law 'Ali to the caliphate. He spent most of his life in Baghdad where he enjoyed the patronage of the Buyid amirs. Kitab al-aghani ("The Book of Songs"), his major work, contains songs, biographical information, and much information concerning the life and customs of the early Arabs and of the Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad and 'Abbasid periods. Abu al-Faraj also wrote Maqatil at-Talibiyin wa-akhbaruhum ("The Slaying of the Talibis"), comprising biographies of the Shi'ah martyrs descended from 'Ali and his father, Abu Talib.