IBN QUTAYBAH

born 828, al-Kufah, Iraq died 889, Baghdad in full Abu Muhammad 'abd Allah Ibn Muslim Ad-dinawari Ibn Qutaybah writer of adab literaturethat is, of literature exhibiting wide secular erudition and also of theology, philology, and literary criticism. He introduced an Arabic prose style outstanding for its simplicity and ease, or modern flavour. Little is known of Ibn Qutaybah's life. Of Khorasanian stock, he was qadi (religious judge) of Dinawar (c. 851870). From c. 871 until his death he taught at Baghdad. The 14 surviving volumes definitively ascribed to Ibn Qutaybah include the Kitab adab al-katib (Secretary's Guide), a compendium of Arabic usage and vocabulary; Kitab al-'Arab (Arab Book), a defense of Arab rather than Iranian cultural preeminence in the caliphate; Kitab al-ma'arif (Book of Knowledge), a handbook of history; Kitab ash-shi'r wa ash-shu'ara' (Book of Poetry and Poets), a chronological anthology of early Arabic poetry, with an introduction that presented Ibn Qutaybah's canons of literary criticism; and Kitab 'uyun al-akhbar (Book of Choice Narratives), a collection of adab studies dealing with the authority of the overlord, the conduct of war, nobility, character, eloquence, and friendship, valued for its wealth of examples from history, poetry, and proverbs.