Quá¹Âb al-Dën Abu þl-Fatḥ Mà «sàibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ÿAbd AllÃÂh al-Yà «nënë (1242âÂÂ1326) was a Syrian historian and religious scholar of the Ḥanbalë school of jurisprudence. He wrote the Dhayl MirþÃÂt al-zamÃÂn, a continuation of the MirþÃÂt al-zamÃÂn of Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë.
Mà «sàwas born on 7 August 1242 in Damascus. His family claimed descent from Jaÿfar al-á¹¢ÃÂdiq and originally came from the village of Yà «nën, hence his nisba al-Yà «nënë. His father was Muḥammad Taqë al-Dën Abà « ÿAbd AllÃÂh and his mother Zayn al-ÿArab bint Naá¹£r AllÃÂh. His early studies took place in Baalbek and Damascus. In 1260, his father died and elder brother ÿAlë sent him to Egypt to continue his education. In 1275, he performed the Ḥajj to Mecca. He visited Egypt in 1276âÂÂ1277.
In 1281, al-Yà «nënë and a fellow scholar enlisted in the war against the Mongol invasion of Syria. His friend died in the battle of Homs. Passing through Tripoli in March 1289, al-Yà «nënë witnessed the siege and fall of the city. Later that year, he visited Egypt a final time. In his trips to Egypt he learned ḥadëth and acquired the ijÃÂza (teaching licence) from prominent ShÃÂfiÿë and MÃÂlikë scholars, including al-DimyÃÂá¹Âë and ÿIzz al-Dën al-Sulamë.
In 1302, his elder brother was assassinated in his own library and al-Yà «nënë succeeded him as the shaykh of the Ḥanbalës of Baalbek. He continued the family tradition of great respect towards the á¹¢à «fës. He rarely left Baalbek in his later years. He died there on 13 September 1326. He was not famous in his own lifetime, but he is mentioned in several biographical dictionaries. The most important of these is that of al-Dhahabë, who studied ḥadëth under him in Damascus and Baalbek.
Al-Yà «nënë had a son, Muḥammad, who also became a Ḥanbalë ḥadëth scholar, but not as prominent as his ancestors. He had a daughter who married a much older man, Aybak al-Iskandarë al-á¹¢ÃÂliḥë, who was prominent in the Mamluks administration and died in 1276.
Al-Yà «nënë admired the MirþÃÂt al-zamÃÂn of Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë and created an abridgement in four volumes entitled Mukhtaá¹£ar. Around 1281, he began work on a continuation designed to carry the history of Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë from 1256 down to 1311. This became the Dhayl MirþÃÂt al-zamÃÂn. It is an original and independent source for the history of Syria during this period, when the area was ruled by Ayyubids, Crusaders and Mamluks. Al-Yà «nënë relied heavily on his own testimony and also on official documents to which he had access because of his good relationship with the Mamluk rulers. Earlier historians he cites include Ibn KhallikÃÂn, Abà « ShÃÂma, Ibn Ḥammawayh, al-Juwaynë, Ibn ShaddÃÂd, Ibn ÿAbd al-áºÂÃÂhir, Ibn WÃÂá¹£il, Ibn al-Mustawfë, Ibn al-NajjÃÂr and Ibn al-ÿAdëm.
The Dhayl survives in 23 known manuscripts but in two different redactions, a long version and a short. There is no single modern edition of the Dhayl. The years 1256âÂÂ1288 are covered in four volumes edited by Fritz Krenkow and Muḥammad Munër al-ShÃÂdhilë and published as Dhail Mir'ÃÂtu'z-zamÃÂn at Hyderabad in 1954, 1955, 1960 and 1961. The years 1288âÂÂ1291 are covered in Antranig Melkonian's unpublished doctoral thesis, Die Jahre 1287âÂÂ1291 in der Chronik al-Yà «nënës, completed in 1975 at the University of Freiburg. Li Guo's edition in two volumes covers 1297âÂÂ1301.
Al-Yà «nënë is the claimed author of a history of Baghdad, Taþrëkh BaghdÃÂd, but this text is lost. He may also have contributed to a pair of "apologetic biographies" of his father's father-in-law, ÿAbd AllÃÂh al-Yà «nënë, and a more distant relative, ÿAbd al-QÃÂdir al-JëlÃÂnë. Entitled ManÃÂqib ÿAbd al-QÃÂdir al-JëlÃÂnë wa-ÿAbd AllÃÂh ibn ÿUthmÃÂn al-Yà «nënë, this work is also attributed to al-Yà «nënë's brother. Both may have had a hand in composing it in response to Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë's meagre notice on al-JëlÃÂnë.