ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 presents Ibn I:Ianbal's ancestors, his wives and children, and their property. The information we have concerning his family history strikes me as reliable, and there seems to be little ideological embroidery in it. We learn that there were tensions among its members, that contrary to his wishes they cooperated with the authorities, and that they had some property that they rented out. These and other bits of information blemish Ibn I:Ianbal's pious image, yet they were incorporated into his biographies. It is precisely the awkwardness of these descriptions of Ibn l:Ianbal's family that lend them a sense of authenticity. Basing myself on this assumption I set out to sketch the ordinary dimensions of Ibn I:Ianbal's life.
