Photo: Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani – Kitāb al-Aghānī (Book of Songs) / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani

アブー・アル・ファラジュ・アル・イスファハーニー　/　あぶー・ある・ふぁらじゅ・ある・いすふぁはーにー

Poet from Iran

January 1, 897 – January 1, 973　・　Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran

Isfahan Province
poet
historian
literary scholar

My Take

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani fascinates me more than most living celebrities. Born in 897 and working out of Baghdad, this poet, historian and musicologist compiled the Kitab al-Aghani, the Book of Songs, an immense record of who composed and sang what, and why. Music vanishes the instant it sounds, yet he tried to pin centuries of it onto the page. That obsession with preservation is why we can still glimpse the musical world of the medieval Arab court today. I reserve my deepest respect for the archivists and chroniclers; without his stubborn diligence, an entire soundscape of history would simply be gone.

Overview

Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Iṣfahānī (Arabic: أبو الفرج الأصفهاني), also known as Abul-Faraj, (full form: Abū al-Faraj ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥaytham al-Umawī al-Marwānī al-Iṣfahānī) (897–967CE / 284–356AH) was a writer, historian, genealogist, poet, musicologist and scribe. He was of Arab-Quraysh origin and mainly based in Baghdad.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani
Name (Japanese): アブー・アル・ファラジュ・アル・イスファハーニー
Reading: あぶー・ある・ふぁらじゅ・ある・いすふぁはーにー
Born: January 1, 897 – January 1, 973
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Capricorn / Snake
Origin: Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: poet / historian / literary scholar / musician / writer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Notable work	Kitab al-Aghani	—

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B9%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%8F%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC

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