Hafs ibn Albar

Hafs ibn Albar al-Qūṭī , commonly known as al-Qūṭī or al-Qurṭubî, was a 9th–10th Century Visigothic Christian count, theologian, translator and poet, often memorialised as the 'Last of the Goths'. He was a descendant of Visigothic royalty and held a position of power over the Christians of his region. He was possibly a priest or censor, but many scholars take him to be a layman. He describes himself as ignorant of the sacred sciences, and constantly allowed his works to be checked and commented on by those he called "best in their religion and a bright light in the sacred sciences", claiming that "all of them know what I do not know". This system had been stable for some time, but eventually the children of former kings became claimants to the throne and civil wars broke out. In 711, the Visigothic Kingdom, in the middle of one such civil war, fell to Islamic forces. During the invasion there were two Visigothic claimants: the main claimant Roderic ruled from the ancient capital of Toledo and he controlled South-West, whereas Achila II ruled Tarraconensis and Narbonensis in the North-East. Achila was succeeded by his younger brother Ardo in Narbonensis alone as Tarraconensis had been taken by Islamic forces. Nobles, such as Count Theodimir, often managed to negotiate treaties which allowed them to keep some of their status, land and wealth, along with the rights of their subjects. The children of King Wittiza, the penultimate Visigothic king before the Islamic invasion, negotiated treaties and retained great significance. Al-Maqqari and the Chronicle of Alfonso III refer to them as Romulus, Artabasdus and Olmundus. Other chronicles and genealogies mention Evan and Sisebut in addition to the other sons of Wittiza. Romulus settled in Toledo and held extensive lands in the east of Spain. Some Scholars believe that the names Romulus and Artabasdus are corruptions of Achila and Ardo respectively. This would explain Romulus' holdings in the east of Spain.thumb

In the centuries following the Islamic conquest of Spain, Romulus' descendants had significant power over the Mozarabs of al-Andalus due to the fact that the representatives of Christian communities, called counts, were required to be Christians themselves. Hafs ibn Albar was a descendant of Romulus and the Count of the Christians of Toledo Other Christian communities had counts, such as Flavius Athaulf of Coimbra, son of the aforementioned Prince Sisebut. Abû Sa’îd al-Qûmis, a descendant of Artabasdus, was Count of the Christians of al-Andalus, possibly because he lived in Cordoba, although some claim that Hafs is more likely to be Álvaro's grandson or descendant. He is also remembered either as al-Qūṭī (the Goth) or al-Qurṭubî (the Cordoban). Some take al-Qurṭubî to be a toponym. Others believe that al-Qurṭubî is either a corruption of al-Qūṭī or a deliberate attempt to link him more closely with Álvaro.

In one manuscript he is referred to as ibn al-Quti (Son of the Goth). He appears in Judaeo-Spanish texts as Héféç al-Qouti. In Maghrebi texts he instead appears as Alfuti. This is because the letters: ق and ف (usually romanised as q and f respectively) are especially similar in the Maghrebi Arabic alphabet. Such scribal errors at times confused details about his background. David Colville, the first person to translate the works of Hafs ibn Albar into English, believed that Hafs was Jewish. Adolf Neubauer refuted this based on the other works of Hafs, such as his pro-Christian polemics, which were unavailable to Colville. He also rejected the hypothesis that Hafs was a Jewish converso on the basis that Jewish writers who felt uncomfortable with using the works of apostates used the works of Hafs extensively. Neubauer believed Hafs to be an Arab or Syriac Christian due to his use of eastern forms of Arabic. His free use of complex Arabic poetic forms and Islamic-sounding language limited the marginalisation that Christians felt during the 10th century and after. All major Mozarabic intellectuals who lived after Hafs used Arabic extensively. completing the work in 889AD. This does show some influence of Islamic legal terminology. (862-875), a partisan of Abbot Samson Cordubensis and a correspondent of Alvarus, whom Hafs highly esteemed As the author of the Apologeticus Contra Perfidos, Abbot Samson is noted for being among the last major Mozarabic writers to write in Latin who nevertheless turned his attention to translating works from Latin to Arabic, "epitomising the new reality" of Arabic language prominence in the Mozarabic community. It was his belief that the Psalms were essentially Hebrew rajaz. Rather than using the standard word for God, Allah, he used Lahumma or Allahumma inspired by the Hebrew word Elohim. Hafs said "They only believe and pray to their Lord in the language they know... in order that each language expresses faith in God". the Cordoban), completed either 904 or 942 (depending on how one reads the dating inscription), Hafs' version is said to be more fluent and complex, while John's version is strict and literal. Hafs style and skill in Arabic seems to be at odds with the Kitāb Hurūshiyūsh. The style, but certainly not the content, of the Kitāb Hurūshiyūsh is also much more Islamic. The Kitāb Hurūshiyūsh eulogises Orosius with "raḥmat allāh ‘alay-hī", that is ‘may Allah be merciful upon him’

He wrote a number of original works as well. His Treatise on the Trinity (or The Book of Fifty-seven Questions ) is considered to be the first anti-Islamic polemic written in Arabic in the West. He also wrote a treatise called al-Fiqh (الْفِقْه, meaning Knowledge) and two books: Kitab al-Huruf (the Book of Letters) and Kitâb al-Masâ’il al-Sab῾ wa-al-Khamsîn (the Book of the Fifty-Seven Questions). He also used term uqnum from the Syriac qnoma in his Book of the Fifty-Seven Questions. His translation of the Psalms also remained popular after his death, not only for its intended Ecclesiastic and Monastic use, but among Muslims and Jews as well. It is this version that Al-Qurtubi, Moses ibn Ezra and Ibn Gabirol used.