マムルーク朝期の非著名知識人のライフコース : アフマド・アイニーに関する事例研究

Abstract

Shihab al-Din Ahmad al-'Ayni (1363- at least 1431) does not appear in any contemporary written sources and was nearly anonymous in the 'ulama' society of his day, but as he was the younger brother of the famous historian Badr al-Din Mahmud al-'Ayni (1361-1451), several manuscripts of works that were either copied or authored by Ahmad are extant, and from the fragmentary records found therein, the course of his life can be reconstructed. This article analyzes Ahmad's life in terms of the following three points: his obtaining of knowledge, exercise of that knowledge, and the reproduction of that knowledge. First, as regards obtaining knowledge Ahmad was much inferior to his elder brother Mahmud in terms of the length of his studies, the number of teachers, and the contents of the texts he studied, but he was a master of recitation of the Quran and Islamic scholarship; jurisprudence, tasawwuf and so on. And, as regards the exercise of knowledge, Ahmad preached to his neighbors and donated his books to the Azhar Mosque, but these acts did not directly lead to obtaining a stipendiary post or monetary profit. In regard to the reproduction of knowledge, it can be pointed out that for Ahmad, who actually appears to have engaged in commerce, knowledge was not for material gain but rather an aid in enhancing social prestige or providing an education to his son Qasim as a pragmatic bureaucrat. When Ahmad's career viewed in this light, he can be seen as of little significance in 'ulama' society, but this should not be linked simply to any flaw in his character as an individual. Although he was excluded from both 'ulama' society and the bureaucratic hierarchy, he maintained prestige in local society, and the life course of Ahmad, who upheld knowledge that would be conveyed to the next generation for reproduction, can provide a viewpoint of an overlooked figured in the study of 'ulama' society, which have tended to deal only with the famed members of 'ulama' society.