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Response to Misha'al Al-Kadhi: Yaqut's entry on "Faran" (1485 words) |
 | Yaqut was an Arab geographer who died in A.D. 1229 and wrote a geographical dictionary that is still well regarded in the Arab world today and to which historians often resort as a source with a wealth of information. |
| Even though Yaqut's quote from Deuteronomy 33:2 is close to the original, notice his interpretive rendering of "shone forth" by "revealed" to suit his purpose, as well as the interpretation that "God came" means to him the same as "a revelation was given". |
| Yaqut builds his claim on this polemic recounting it with "it has been said" but he does not present any evidence for his assertion that Faran is a name for Mecca that is independent from the reference to the Torah verse. |
| A (1155 words) |
| Yaqut al-Musta'simi's achievements have been described succinctly by the 16th-century Iranian chronicler Qadi Ahmad: "In the art of writing he followed the tradition of Ibn Bawwab, but in the trimming of the qalam and in the clipping of its nib he altered the manner of the earlier masters...". |
| Yaqut's innovation was to cut the qalam's nib at an angle, thus enabling him to achieve greater fineness, thinness and linear variability. |
| Yaqut is reputed to have been a very strict tutor, requiring his students to practice long hours. |
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