Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī Ibn ʿInabat͏̈

Sayyid Jamal al-Din Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hussein ibn Muhanna al-Hassani al-Husseini (born 748 AH, 1347 AD/CE - died 828 AH, 1425 AD/CE), commonly known as Ibn Inabah was a Shiite historian and genealogist. He is from the clan of Alawi Sayyids and his genealogy is related to Hasan ibn Ali through his father and to Husayn ibn Ali through his mother. He was called Ibn Inabah because "Inabah Asghar" was in his lineage. However, some have mistakenly called him "Ibn Utbah" or "Ibn Aqabah" . Although his affiliations has been disputed, some claim that he was a Zaydi while others claim he was a Twelver.

His most important work is "Umdat al-Talib fi Ansabi Al Abi Talib" (, ) which is written in Arabic language. In this book, Ibn Inabah describes the biography of Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib's ancestors and then his descendants. Finally, he describes in more detail the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, through his children: Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, Abbas ibn Ali, and Umar ibn Ali, in five chapters.

Life and lineage Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Muhanna ibn Inabah known as Ibn Inabah was born in 748 AH - 1347 AD/CE. Ibn Inabah passed away in the city of Kerman in Iran in the month of Safar 828 AH - January 1425 AD/CE at the age of 77.

Ibn Inabah was probably born in Hillah, Iraq. According to his autobiography, his lineage reaches back to Ali ibn Abi Talib through 20 intermediaries. He is considered a descendant of Abd Allah al-Mahd, hence his lineage goes back to Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. His relationship is to Hasan ibn Ali through his father and Husayn ibn Ali through his mother, and this is why Ibn Inabah is sometimes called "Hassani" and sometimes "Husseini". He is also called "Dawoodi" because Muhammad ibn Dawood ibn Mousa al-Thani was one of his ancestors.

Name His fame as Ibn Inabah is due to the fact that his grandfather was called "Inabah Asghar" , who in turn was a descendant of "Inaba ibn Muhammad Wared" . "Inabah Akbar" was the ancestor of a tribe of "Bani al-Hassan" nobles who lived in Iraq, around Hillah city.

Teachers From his early youth, Ibn Inabah studied genealogy under the supervision of "Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Qasim ibn Mu'ayyah Dibaji" (, died 776 AH - 1374 AD/CE) known as "Ibn Mu'ayyah" . Ibn Inabah became the beloved and the noble of his master "Ibn Mu'ayyah" among colleagues. During his education, Ibn Inabah benefited from numerous sources and teachers, but he undoubtedly gained the most scientific knowledge from the works of his bold master "Ibn Mu'ayyah". As can be seen from Ibn Inabah circumstances, after the death of his master "Ibn Mu'ayyah", he embarked on a journey of exploration and traveled to Isfahan, Herat, Samarkand, Mecca, and Mazaar (in the Mishan Plain), and benefited from the knowledge of many genealogists.

Ibn Inabah can be considered to be on the same level with Muhammad ibn Makki (known as "First Martyr", , a famous jurist who sacrificed his life for his religion). Both of these individuals were engaged in narrating and transmitting hadiths through "Ibn Mu'ayyah" from al-Allama al-Hilli (one of the most influential Twelver Shi'i Muslim authors of all time).

Views Ibn Inabah's affiliation is not very clear in the history, and several opinions have been expressed on this matter. Some have doubted whether he is a Shiite or not. But this seems to be incorrect, although it is not certain that he was a Twelver Shia.

Zaydi Some have considered Ibn Inabah a Zaydi (one of the three main branches of Shia Islam), In the preface to "Umdat al-Talib Timuri" (the same book "Umdat al-Talib fi Ansabi Ale Abi Talib" by Ibn Inabah which was dedicated to the then emperor, Timur), where Ibn Inabah speaks about the qualities of Amir Timur Gurkani, he praises Ibn Inabah in the following words: "... the owner of the sublime kingdoms, possessing the prophetic knowledge, the truthful eloquence, the noble verifier with immunity, the luminous generosity, and the approved enthusiasm...". These reasons are used as evidence that he was a Zaydi by supporters of that view.

Twelver Some have also considered Ibn Inabah an Twelver Shia and believe that the possibility of him being both a Shia and an Twelver is more acceptable. Especially since Ibn Inabah was the student and son-in-law of the Shiite scholar, Ibn Mu'ayyah, and spent the first part of his life in his service, benefiting from his knowledge, and always remaining loyal to his master.

Works The surviving works or those attributed to Ibn Inabah are all in the field of genealogy and are of great value and credibility. Ibn Inabah prepared the third edition for Sultan Muhammad ibn Falah Musha'sha'ie (an Iraqi-born theologian who founded the Musha'sha'iya, a Shia sect, the living ancestor of Sadat and the ruler of "Huwayzah" at the time) and finished writing it on 10 Safar 827 AH - 22 January 1424 AD/CE.

In the preface to the first two editions, Ibn Inabah says that he wrote this book because a group of people doubted the genealogy of the family of Abi Talib. In this book, Ibn Inabah describes the biography of Abu Talib's ancestors and then his descendants. Finally, he describes in more detail the lineage of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first Shia Imam) through his children: Hasan ibn Ali (the second Shia Imam), Husayn ibn Ali (the third Shia Imam), Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, Abbas ibn Ali (also known by the kunya Abu al-Fadl, in , was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib), and Umar ibn Ali (in , one of the children of Ali ibn Abi Talib who accompanied his brother, Husayn ibn Ali, to Karbala and was killed on the day of Ashura) in five chapters.

Al-Fosul al-Fakhriyah Ibn Inabah'''s another book, "Al-Fosul al-Fakhriyah fi Usul al-Bariyah" (in , ), is in Persian language and was published in Tehran in 1346 SH - 1967 AD/CE with the efforts of "Jalaluddin Hosseini Mohaddes Armavi".

This book has an introduction and 3 chapters, the title of the introduction is "On the Explanation of the Origin of Generation". In this book, the human lineage from Adam to Noah is briefly described, then Noah's descendants are followed in greater detail and with clearer classification, and the descendants of each of Noah's descendants are mentioned, especially the kings of Mesopotamia, Iran, and other places. The scope of this genealogy extends to the Arab tribes and the ancestors of the Prophet "Muhammad" and is linked to Abu Talib, and finally the children of Abu Talib are examined and arranged in the style and context of the main author, like the edition "Jalali Umdat al-Talib". In this book, Ibn Inabah sometimes criticizes the opinions of others. Ibn Inabah wrote this book for "Fakhruddin Hassan ibn Shamsuddin Muhammad", who was a famous scholar in Sabzevar, a descendant of Imam Ali al-Sajjad (also known as "Zayn al-Abidin", in , was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the fourth imam in Shia Islam), succeeding his father, Husayn ibn Ali (the third Shia Imam), his uncle, Hasan ibn Ali (the second Imam in Shia), and his grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first Imam in Shia).

Other works Other works by Ibn Inabah, manuscripts of which are available, are as follows: the Dar el-Kotob in Egypt, the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts, and the "Hakim Library" in Najaf. "Al-Tohfat al-Jalaaliate fi Ansabi al-Talibiyyah" (in , ), in Persian, a copy of which is available in the Mar'ashi Najafi Library in Qom. Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli (a Syrian historian) also mentions a handwritten book entitled "Risalah fi Usul Shajarat al-Sadah Ale Abi Alawi" (in , ) authored by Ibn Inabah. Agha Bozorg Tehrani attributed another book entitled “Ansabi Ale Abi Talib” (in , ) to Ibn Inabah'' and suggested that this book is a translation of "Umdat al-Talib" with minor changes.