IBN ABI AR-RIJAL, AHMAD (IBN ...

born July 1620, ash-Shabat, Arabia died March 1681, San'a' Yemeni scholar and theologian, who is the best source of historical information on the little-known sect of Shi'i Muslims in Yemen called the Zaydis. After completing his education, Ibn Abi ar-Rijal joined the religious-bureaucratic establishment and reached the important rank of secretary and court orator under the rule of Isma'il al-Mutawakkil, the Zaydi spiritual and temporal ruler of Yemen. Ibn Abi ar-Rijal was a scholar of some renown; most of his works are lost, however, and only their titles remain. Of special note among his surviving works is a biographical dictionary of 1,300 Zaydi leaders of Yemen and Iraq, his Matla' al-budur wa-majma' al-buhur (Rising of the Moons and Meeting of the Seas). The Matla', now a standard source, is particularly important because the Zaydis were extremely secretive about their beliefs.