Abu al-Arab
Muḥammad ibn Tamīm ibn Tammām al-Tamīmī more commonly known as Abu al-Arab was a 10th-century Arab Muslim historian, poet, traditionist and faqih of the Maliki school. His most celebrated work is Tabaqat 'Ulama Ifriqiya which include numerous scholars of his time.
Biography
Abu al-Arab year of birth is unknown, though he most probably was born between 864 and 873 in the city of Kayrawan, the cultural center of Ifriqiya, at the time was under the control of the Fatimid Caliphate. He belonged to a noble Arab family of governors. His great-grandfather held the governorship of Tunis and he also successfully managed to seize control of Kayrawan in the year 799. Abu al-Arab studied under a number of scholars who were themselves took knowledge from the renowned Kayrawani jurist Sahnun, and he wrote a detailed account of Sahnun's life. Sequentially, Abu al-Arab devoted his time to teaching in Kayrawan, his most notable student was Ibn Abi Zayd al-Kayrawani. Abu al-Arab participated in Abu Yazid's revolt against the Fatimids, eventually he was imprisoned. Few years later, he died in 945.Abu al-Arab relied also on the work of Issa ibn Abi al-Mouhajir for his writings about Ifriqiya..