Hadawa Brotherhood: A Sufi sect, often suspected of using hashish as a means of achieving a state of ecstasy.
Hafsids: The Banu Hafs, who, splitting off from the Almohads (q.v.) in the thirteenth century, established their own dynasty based in Tunis. They were particularly welcoming to Muslims fleeing the reconquista in Spain.
Al-Hakam ibn `Abd al-Rahman (915–976): Known as "al-Mustansir," the son of `Abd alRahman III, the founder of the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, Spain.
Al-Hallaj, Abu Mansur (c. 858–922): One of the most famous of all Sufi mystics, who was executed on orders of the Abbasid Caliph, Al-Muqtadir, after he had declared "Ana 1-haqq" (I am the Truth) during his ecstatic trances.
Hanafi: The name of one of the four major schools of Islamic law, named for Abu Hanifa (699–765).
Al-Harawi, `Abdallah al-Ansari (d. 1089): Born in Khurasan, `Abdallah al-Ansari alHarawi was a Sufi jurist and hadith scholar. His Manazil al-sa'irin wa-zad al-'arifin (Stations of the Wayfarer) discusses the stages on the path to transcendence.
Al-Harrali (d. 1240): Like Ibn Sabin himself, a mystic born in Murcia, he was known as both a commentator on the Qur'an and as a mathematician specializing, among other things, in the numerical values of letters.
Al-Hasan al-Basri (642–728?): An early supporter of the doctrine of free will (as opposed to those who advocated predestination), he lived an ascetic life that was to be a model for the emergence of Sufi ideas concerning the need for withdrawal from earthly concerns.
Hatim [al-Ta'i]: A renowned poet of pre-Islamic Arabia who was proverbial for his generosity.
Hawqala: The formulaic utterance "There is no power or ability save with God."
Hira': The name of a cave outside the city of Mecca where Muslims believe that Muhammad received his first revelation.
Al-Hudhali, Abu Bakr (d. c. 775): A hadith specialist from Basra, often cited in connection with anecdotes concerning Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law.
Hulagu Khan (c. 1217–1265): The commander of the Mongol armies that invaded the Middle East and sacked the Abbasid capital of Baghdad in 1258. The invaders were eventually stopped in their advance at the Battle of `Ayn Jalut (q.v.) in 1260.
Al-Husayn (626–680): The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, martyred at the Battle of Karbala'. The mosque named for him in Cairo stands at the entrance to Khan alKhalili, the city's famous bazaar.
Ibn Adham, Ibrahim (d. 777): Originally a member of the royal family of Balkh in Khurasan, Ibrahim ibn Adham abandoned that life to become a renowned Sufi figure.
Ibn al-'Arabi, Muhyi al-din (1165–1240): Like Ibn Sabin, a native of Murcia in Spain. Also like Ibn Sabin, he eventually left Spain and moved to the east, initially to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the most famous scholars in the history of Islam, his works include Fusus al-hikam (Bezels of Wisdom) and al-Futuhat alMakkiyya (The Meccan Illuminations).
Ibn al-`Arif al-Sanhaji (1088–1141): A Sufi scholar of Moroccan origins who gathered a large following during the Almoravid period (q.v.). Like Ibn Sabin himself, he was accused of heterodox beliefs by the authorities in Marrakesh.
Ibn Bajja (d. 1139): Known in Europe as "Avembace," he was born in Saragossa and became a major intellectual figure, being not only a political adviser but also an astronomer, philosopher, musician, and poet.
Ibn Baqi (d. c. 1145): An Andalusian poet famous in particular for his strophic poems in the muwashshah (q.v.) form.
Ibn Da'ud al-Zahiri al-Isfahani (c. 868–910): Author of Kitab al-Zahra (Book of the Flower), an early poetic anthology on the theme of love.
Ibn al-Farid (1181–1235): The most famous of the Sufi poets who wrote in Arabic. His khamriyya (wine poem) uses the symbolism of the wine poem to express the quest for the transcendent that is the primary quest of the Sufi devotee.
Ibn Hazm (994-1064): A famous Muslim poet, philosopher, and controversialist, who is best known for his study on love, Tawq al-Hamama (The Neckring of the Dove).
Ibn Jubayr (1145–1217): A renowned Andalusian traveler who wrote an account of his travels from his native Spain to the Arabian Peninsula.
Ibn al-Mara (d. 1214?): From Malaga, Ibn al-Mar'a, one of Ibn Sab'in's teachers, was a jurist and theologian of the Maliki school of Islamic law.
Ibn Masarra (883–931): A major figure in the foundation of Spanish Islamic philosophy and its relationship to religious belief. Like his successor, Ibn Sabin, and others, he suffered greatly from the attacks of orthodox scholars during his lifetime.
Ibn al-Mu'tazz (861–908): Abbasid caliph for a single day before being assassinated, he was a major poet and critic. In addition to his major contributions to various genres of Arabic poetry, he both wrote Kitab al-Badi' (Book of Tropes)-an analysis of poetic devices-and compiled Kitab al-Shu`ara' al-Muhdathin (Modernist Poets) in which he advocated the value of many of his immediate predecessors and contemporary poets.
Ibn Qasi, Ahmad (d. 1151): The initiator of a revolt against the Almoravids (q.v.) and author of Kitab khal` al-na`layn (The Removal of Sandals), the title of which is a reference to the Qur'an (Sura 20) and the story of Moses. A work of esoteric wisdom, it was a source of inspiration for the great Spanish Sufi scholar Ibn al-'Arabi.
Ibn al-Ramimi: The ruler of Almeria in southern Spain who was ousted from his position by Ibn al-Ahmar, the Nasrid ruler of Granada, in 1238.
Ibn Rushd (1126–1198): Known in Europe as "Averroes," Ibn Rushd was one of the most prominent scholars in Spain during the Islamic period. He composed works on philosophy, theology, poetics, and music, as well as on the natural sciences.
Ibn Sahl (1212–1251): A renowned Spanish poet of Jewish origins, known in particular for his love poetry. Following the capture of Seville by the Christians in 1248, he moved to Sabta.
Ibn Sina (980-1037): Known in Europe as Avicenna, Ibn Sina was one of the most renowned philosophers in the history of Islam. Besides a number of works on philosophy and logic, he was also renowned for his studies on medicine, including AlKanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon on Medicine) and Al-Shifa' (Book of Healing).
Ibn Tashufin, Yusuf (d. 1006): The commander of Almoravid (q.v.) armies that, having subdued much of North Africa (and established a capital in Marrakesh), crossed the straits at the invitation of Al-Mu`tamid and defeated the Christian armies under the command of Alfonso VI. The Almoravids remained in control of Spain until they were ousted by yet another invading force from North Africa, the Almohads (q.v.).
Ibn Tufayl (c. 1105–1185): A scholar born in Guadix who is remembered primarily for his philosophical narrative Hayy ibn Yaqzan.
Ibn Tulun (835–884): Ahmad ibn Tulun, originally appointed governor of Egypt by the Abbasid caliph, founded the Tulunid dynasty that ruled the country in the second half of the ninth century. His mosque is one of the most elaborate surviving monuments of the period.
Ibn Tumart (c. 1080–1130): An Amazigh scholar who became the founder of the Almohad dynasty (q.v.).
Ibn `Umar (614–693): As his name implies, `Umarwas the son of the second caliph, `Umar ibn al-Khattab, and a famous collector of hadith.
Ibn `Umayra (1186–1259): A Spanish poet remembered in particular for his poetry of nostalgia for the Spain that had been lost to the Christians.
Ibn Zuhr (1113–1198): Member of an illustrious family of physicians, Abu Bakr ibn Zuhr became well known as a poet, serving as physician to the Almohad court of Ya`qub al-Mansur in Marrakesh.
Idris al-Shafi'i (767–820): The founder of the one of the four major schools of Islamic law, his Risala (Epistle) is a major source for the prioritization of authority in determining matters of Islamic jurisprudence, involving the Qur'an and prophetic hadith as sources, and analogy and consensus as methods.