Shaÿyàibn Farëghà «n () was a Muslim writer active in the Emirate of ÃÂaghÃÂniyÃÂn in the 10th century. He wrote a short but comprehensive encyclopaedia in Arabic entitled JawÃÂmiÿ al-ÿulà «m ("Connections of the Sciences"), which he dedicated to the MuḥtÃÂjid emir Abà « ÿAlë Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-MuáºÂaffar, who died in 955. He may also have written the Ḥodud al-ÿÃÂlam ("Limits of the World"), a geographical text in Persian.
Ibn Farëghà «n is not mentioned in any of the numerous extant Arabic bio-bibliographical dictionaries.
Shaÿyàis the Arabic form of Isaiah. The patronymic Ibn Farëghà «n suggests a connection to the Farëghà «nids who ruled Gà «zgÃÂn to the south of ÃÂaghÃÂniyÃÂn as vassals of the SÃÂmÃÂnids. This northeastern Iranian dynasty probably took its name from the earlier Afrëghids. There is, however, some uncertainty surrounding the reading of the name of the author of the JawÃÂmiÿ. Fuat Sezgin read it as Mutaghabbë (or MubtaghÃÂ) ibn FurayÃ¿à «n. Others spell it Ibn Firëghà «n. Some scholars have suggested more unusual identifications. On the basis of the name ShaÿyÃÂ, Moritz Steinschneider concluded that Ibn Farëghà «n was Jewish. Heinrich Suter identified him with the Andalusian scholar Saÿëd ibn Fatá¸¥à «n.
Ibn Farëghà «n was a student of Abà « Zayd al-Balkhë, who died in 934. Intellectually, he belongs to the "eastern" school of the followers of al-Kindë alongside Aḥmad ibn al-Ṭayyib al-Sarakhsë and Abà « al-Ḥasan al-ÿÃÂmirë. The defining characteristic of this school of thought was its combination of Arab and Islamic interests, Hellenistic science and Persian notions of statecraft. If he was the author of the Ḥodud, he was patronized successively by two dynasties (MuḥtÃÂjid and Farëghà «nids), wrote in two languages and flourished from 934 until 983.
The JawÃÂmiÿ was probably designed as a handbook for the use of a kÃÂtib (state secretary). It is structured and diagrammed as a tashjër: a system of trees and branches. The main topics are written in large letters, while lines connect these headings to their subtopics, which are written vertically and in smaller letters. Roughly, the order of topics in the JawÃÂmiÿ is: (1) Arabic grammar, (2) the skills and knowledge required of a kÃÂtib, (3) ethics, (4) statecraft and warfare, (5) kalÃÂm, (6) the sources of knowledge and its transmission, i.e., philosophy, mathematics and science, and (7) the occult, what Ibn Farëghà «n defines as "those fields of knowledge that are subject to controversy on whether they are really that, or rather fraud, trickery, and means to make a profit."
C. E. Bosworth sees Ibn Farëghà «n's first division as between the maḳÃÂla (discourse) on Arabic sciences and that on "Greek" (i.e., non-Arabic) sciences. This division is identical to that found in the later MafÃÂtëḥ al-ÿulà «m of Abà « ÿAbdallÃÂh al-KhwÃÂrazmë. If the dating of Ibn Farëghà «n's work to the mid-10th century is correct, then his is probably the earliest encyclopedia to adopt this "ArabicâÂÂGreek" format. Hans Biesterfeldt, however, does not see Ibn Farëghà «n applying the ArabicâÂÂGreek distinction systematically in the way of the MafÃÂtëḥ.
The JawÃÂmiÿ does not cite any sources, nor do any later works cite it. It survives in at least three manuscripts. The earliest, dating to 1003, is kept in the Escorial. Another, dated 1006, is found in the Topkapñ Palace in Istanbul. There is also an undated manuscript in Istanbul. There are photostats of the Istanbul manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library and Archives in Cairo. There is as yet no critical edition.
The Ḥodud is known from a single manuscript, in which it is anonymous. Its author, a native of Gà «zgÃÂn who had not travelled widely, wrote the work in 982âÂÂ983 and dedicated it to the Farighunid emir Abu þl-ḤÃÂrith Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad. Like the JawÃÂmiÿ, it is a concisely written work.