SevÃÂrus ibn al-Muqaffaÿ (; died 987) or Severus of El Ashmunein () was a Coptic Orthodox bishop, author and historian. Severus is sometimes confused with the better-known Abbasid author Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa' ().
He was bishop of Hermopolis Magna in Upper Egypt around the end of the tenth century. In this period, Egypt was ruled by the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate, which had taken Egypt from the Abbasid Caliphate in 969. Fatimid rule slowly but surely changed Coptic Christian culture, especially in the realm of language. Complaining that the Coptic Orthodox Christians of Egypt no longer knew the Coptic language, Severus composed a theological text in ArabicâÂÂthe first Coptic text written in that language.
While he was known as the traditional author of the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria since the 18th century, modern scholarship holds that it was Mawhib ibn Mufarrij of Alexandria (âÂÂ1100) who composed this work. One of the stories in it relates how Bishop Severus was asked by the Muslim chief justice () whether a passing dog was Muslim or Christian. As it was a Friday, the Bishop said to ask the dog by offering it both meat and wine as Muslims do not drink wine and Christians do not eat meat on Fridays.
After a brief period serving the government in Fatimid Egypt, he decided to join a monastery and become a monk. Later, he was ordained bishop of al-Ashminayn by Patriarch Theophane (953-956). He gained prominence for composing many works in defense of Christianity, in addition to his skills as a debater, even within the Fatimid courts under Caliph al-MuâÂÂizz (969-975), where he defended Christian doctrine. Thus he became the first Coptic author to compose theological works in Arabic. His legacy endures in the Coptic Orthodox Church whose theological and spiritual writings continue to be published in Arabic, like those of Pope Shenouda III.
Some of the most known works by Severus ibn al-Muqaffa are the following (for a list with 26 titles of works by the Author read Abà « al-BarakÃÂt, Catalog of Christian Literature in Arabic, which may have some different titles for the works we know presently.) :
(Full title in Arabic: ÃÂêçè çÃÂïñ çÃÂëàÃÂàÃÂàÃÂ¥ÃÂöçàçÃÂçùêÃÂçï ÃÂàçÃÂïÃÂàèàç ÃÂ÷ÃÂê èàãÃÂÃÂçàçÃÂÃÂèÃÂÃÂàÃÂçÃÂñóàçÃÂã÷ÃÂçñ çÃÂàäÃÂïÃÂàÃÂçÃÂãèçá çÃÂàùÃÂàÃÂàÃÂçÃÂè÷çñÃÂé çÃÂàúèÃÂ÷ÃÂàùÃÂàêìóï ñè çÃÂàìï ÃÂõùÃÂïàÃÂÃ¥ñóçÃÂàçÃÂèçñçÃÂÃÂÃÂ÷).