Abd-Allāh Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ

Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh Rūzbih ibn Dādūya, born Rōzbeh pūr-i Dādōē and more commonly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ, was a Persian translator, philosopher, author, and thinker who wrote in the Arabic language. He was born in Jur, Fars, in the Umayyad Caliphate (modern-day Firuzabad, Iran) and died in Basra, Abbasid Caliphate, around 756/759 AD. He converted to Islam from Manichaeism. His father had been a tax official under the Umayyads who was punished by having his hand crushed, leading to Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ's epithet 'Muqaffa' (shrivelled hand). Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ served in secretarial posts under the Umayyad and later Abbasid governors. His translation of the *Kalīla wa Dimna* from Middle Persian is considered the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose. He also translated other works and is credited with original works such as *al-Adab al-kabīr* and *Risala fi-l-Sahaba*. He was reportedly executed for heresy by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur.