Analysis of Ibn Quteyba's Criticisms about the Scientific Circles of his Period in the Muqaddimah (Introduction) of Edeb al-Katib

Abstract

Ibn Quteyba (d. 276/889) who improved himself in almost every field of Islamic sciences, is one of the leading scholars who have a great role in the development and advancement of the literary and linguistic tradition in the Arabic language. In this context, Ibn Quteyba's work titled Edeb al-Katib, which contains information about language, composition and spelling, which he wrote for the scribes ( kuttab) working in the state service, is very important. Such that many commentaries have been written on this work since the 4th century of the Islamic tradition. One of the main points that differentiates Edeb al-Katib is that it begins with a short Muqaddimah (introduction) that includes criticisms about the scientific circles of the period in terms of correct understanding of religious texts, especially the Qur'an and hadiths. Due to the importance of this Muqaddimah, Ibn al-Sid al-Ba.alyevsi (d. 521/1127) in his three-volume commentary named al-Iqtidab fi Serhi Edeb al-Kuttab, he has commentated the chapter of Muqaddimah in one volume. Therefore, this Muqaddimah constitutes the scope of this research. The main purpose of the research is to analyze the criticisms made in the Muqaddimah in terms of Ibn Quteyba's world of thought and the intellectual mobility of the period. In this way, it will be possible to see the background of the criticisms made in terms of both the world of thought of Ibn Quteyba and the intellectual mobility of the period.