لسان الدين ابن الخطيب

Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib, vizier and writer of Granada's Ibn al-Ahmar; he preached at the Alhambra congregational mosque under Abu al-Hajjaj, was summoned by Sultan Abu Inan in 754 AH and sent to Tunis in 758 to ask for the sultan's daughter, imprisoned at Constantine and freed before Abu Inan's death, then held Granada's vizierate; after his falls he reached Cairo where his wares sold — candidate for the Maliki bench, bound to teaching — dying in 781 AH; from his cell he appealed to Ibn Khaldun, whose intercession failed, and he was killed in prison ¹.

Overview

Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib, vizier and secretary to Ibn al-Ahmar, ruler of al-Andalus. He settled in Granada, where the sultan Abu al-Hajjaj appointed him to preach at the mosque of the Alhambra. ²

His career

Ibn Khaldun says that the Marinid sultan Abu Inan summoned him in 754 AH and sent him to Tunis in 758 AH to ask for the sultan's daughter on his behalf. He was then imprisoned in Constantine and released shortly before the death of the sultan, after which he settled in the vizierate of Granada. ²

He then went to the Marinid sultan at Tlemcen, who treated him generously, and he crossed over to the East. He stayed in Cairo as a candidate for the judgeship of the Malikis and kept teaching until he died in 781 AH. ²

His last days

When the state turned against him, he sent a call for help to Ibn Khaldun from his prison. Ibn Khaldun spoke to the people of the state on his behalf, but his efforts did not succeed, and Ibn al-Khatib was killed in his prison. ³

Works

The book al-Ihata fi Tarikh Gharnata (The Comprehensive Account of the History of Granada) is attributed to him according to Kashf al-Zunun. ⁴

لسان الدين ابن الخطيب

At a glance

Overview

His career

His last days

Works

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

People

The killing of Ibn al-Khatib in his prison