The approach of ibn al-faradi( d 403 AH/ 1013AD) in his book the History of the Scholars of Andalusia (Yemeni scholars as a model)

Abstract

The aim of the research is to analyze the methodology adopted by Ibn al-Farḍī in the biographical notices of Yemeni scholars only, clarifying the points Ibn al-Farḍī used in studying these scholars. He benefited from a wide range of scholars, was influenced by many of them, and in turn influenced them; he is considered part of a rich scholarly environment—the Andalusian milieu.

Among the most important methods he relied upon, which were evident, is the practice of verifying scholars through the documentation of oral transmissions via listening and narrators. In addition, manuscript sources contributed to the research by providing significance and increasing the credibility of Ibn al-Farḍī’s writings. He also relied on temporal and geographical documentation; he recorded Yemeni scholars in terms of their emergence in al-Andalus and their places of spread, as well as the places they visited to acquire scholarly knowledge, whether in al-Andalus or elsewhere. He focused on affirming the scholarly status, as the value of a scholar begins with his scholarly standing and whether he is trustworthy or not, and he evaluated the scholars’ personalities, either positively or negatively. Ibn al-Farḍī also documented by relying on chains of transmission (asnād) and he examined references to administrative positions.