Abū ʿImrān Moshe ben Labrat Ibn Sughmār, haDayyan al-Mahdiyya

According to Moses ibn Ezra in the Kitāb al-Muḥāḍara wa ’l-Mudhākara (Halkin ed., p. 76), Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Dayyan lived between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Ibn Ezra mentions him after a reference to Ibn al-Marah, a poet from Granada who lived at the end of the eleventh century, and before a passage pertaining to his brother Isaac ibn Ezra which specifies that he lived in Lucena and died in 1121. This date gives a chronological position for Ibn al Dayyan, who is stated to have been a resident of eastern al-Andalus without naming a specific place. Given the time frame referred to, Valencia, Alicante, and Murcia are the most likely places, since other nearby enclaves, such as Saragossa, were falling into Christian hands at this time.

Based upon what is said about him in the Kitāb al-Muḥāḍara wa ʾl-Mudhākara, it may be inferred that Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Dayyan was a noble and pious individual who was remembered as the author of ascetic works, none of which has been preserved. He is said to have written skillfully on this topic both in prose and in verse. The same genre may also have been cultivated by the authors Ibn Ezra cites next: Abū Isḥāq ibn Paquda, a native of Saragossa, whom different scholars identify with Baḥya ibn Paquda, and Abū Sulaymān ben ʿUmma.

In addition to the facet of asceticism, a literary style that was undergoing a notable flowering at this time, Ibn al-Dayyan’s deep knowledge of other branches of learning is also underscored. The specific material in which he excelled is not indicated, nor has any written testimony been left.

Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Dayyan may have belonged to the same family as David (Abū ʾl-Ḥasan) ben al-Dayyan, who is known thanks to three poems dedicated to him by Judah ha-Levi, but there are no data to confirm this hypothesis.

Aurora Salvatierra Ossorio

Bibliography

Ibn Ezra, Moses. Sefer ha-ʿIyyunim ve-ha-Diyyunim: ʿal ha-Shira ha-ʿIvrit (Kitāb al-Mu ḥ ā ḍ ara wa ʾl-Mudhākara), ed. Avraham S. Halkin (Jerusalem: Hotsaʾat Meqiṣe Nirdamim, 1975).

Sáenz-Badillos, Ángel, and Judit Targarona Borrás. Diccionario de autores judíos (Sefarad. Siglos X–-XV) (Cordova: El Almendro, 1988).

Schirmann, Ḥayyim. “Ha-Meshorerim Beney Doram shel Moshe ibn ʿEzra,” Yediʿot ha-Makhon le- Ḥ eqer ha-Shira ha-ʿIvrit 2 (1936): 147.

Citation Aurora Salvatierra Ossorio. " Ibn al-Dayyan, Abū ʿAmr." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online , 2013. Reference. Jim Harlow. 16 January 2013 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>