Qudama ibn Ja'far al-Qatib al-Baghdadi (ca. 873 – ca. 923/948), also known as Abu'l Faraj, was an Arab scholar and administrator for the Abbasid Caliphate.

Little is known with certainty about Qudama's life and work. He was probably born ca. 873/874, possibly at Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, came from a Syriac Christian family and converted to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 ca. 902–908. He held various junior administrative positions in the caliphal secretariat in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, and eventually rose to a senior post the treasury department. Various dates for his death have been supplied, ranging from 932 to 939/940 and 948.

Of his several books on philosophy, history, philology, and administration, only three survive:

• the Kitab al-Kharaj (the Book of the Land Tax
  Kharaj
  In Islamic law, kharaj is a tax on agricultural land.Initially, after the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, kharaj usually denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the conquered provinces and collected by the officials of the former Byzantine and Sassanid empires or, more broadly, any kind of...
  
  , in full form Book of the Land Tax and the Art of the Secretary), for which Qudama is chiefly known. Only the second half of the book, with four of its original eight sections, survives. It was written after 928 as a manual for administrators, and deals with the structure of the state and the army, as well with geographic details, including valuable accounts on the Caliphate's neighbours, especially the Byzantine Empire
  Byzantine Empire
  The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
  
  . It also included a now lost section on literary rhetoric.

• the Kitab al-Alfaz (Book of words) or Jawahir al-Alfaz (Jewels of words), a compilation of synonyms and phrases for the use of poets and orators, as well as containing an introduction on the figures of speech.

• the Kitab Naqd al-shi'r (Book on Poetic Criticism), an essay and guide on composing good poetry
  Poetry
  Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
  
  .

Sources