The title of my article includes the term “art,” which derives from the Arabic root “فَنَّ” (fanna), meaning someone has mastered or excelled in various matters. It also refers to something becoming diverse in its forms.
As for describing Kufa as the “City of Art,” this requires first discussing the city itself. Kufa was founded in the first century AH and became the capital of Islam during the caliphate of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). It was a city filled with events, serving as a hub for knowledge, literature, and a meeting place for scholars, poets, and writers.
Kufa, like other Islamic cities, had centers that contributed to the dissemination, growth, and flourishing of culture—whether in jurisprudence, language, or literature. Therefore, it is considered one of the main centers of Islamic culture. This status is due to several factors: Kufa was home to diverse cultural currents and multiple languages, including Aramaic, Persian, and Old Arabic. Its inhabitants were influenced by these cultural and civilizational currents. The intellectual life in Kufa was also shaped by the impact of non-Arabs (Mawali), political life, and cultural exchanges between Kufa and Basra, whether through competitive rivalries or mutual exchange of knowledge.
When examining Kufa’s cultural contributions, one can trace them to the most prominent arts that emerged in various fields, such as jurisprudence, philosophy, wisdom, literature, grammar, Hadith studies, Quranic readings and interpretation, poetry narration, and historical accounts. These contributions unfolded as follows:
The people of Kufa were engaged with the Quran from its very founding, focusing on its recitation, teaching, and interpretation. The city became a school for Quranic sciences, led by figures like Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Ammar ibn Yasir, and Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman. These figures taught the Quran and explained its verses, attracting audiences who gathered around them like the hum of bees in Kufa’s Grand Mosque.
As for Hadith studies, Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) laid its foundations in Kufa, narrating authentic Hadiths and exposing false narrators. Prominent figures in this field included Aban ibn Taghlib, Al-A’mash (the great Kufan Hadith scholar), Sufyan al-Thawri, Ubaydullah ibn Musa al-Absi, Abu al-Abbas ibn Uqda, Isma’il ibn Mansur al-Salwi, Talid ibn Sulayman al-Muharibi, Al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan al-Fazari, and Khalid ibn Makhlad al-Qattwani.
Kufa paid greater attention to and was more active in narrating poetry and historical accounts compared to Basra. This was because Basra, with its geographic location on the coast, was a hub for diverse foreign influences due to incoming trade ships. Consequently, learning Arabic and its grammar was more crucial in Basra than in Kufa, which, as a desert frontier, mainly received Arab caravans and remained under the influence of Bedouin aristocracy. Tribal loyalties played a significant role in Kufan society, and this focus on tribal heritage led to the preservation of poetry and historical narratives, which were the pride and legacy of these tribes. Notable scholars from Kufa include Al-Ru’asi, founder of the Kufan grammatical school, Al-Kisai, and Al-Farra, whose students included Abu Abdullah al-Tuwal, Salama ibn Asim, Muhammad ibn Qadim, Ibn al-A’rabi, Ibn al-Sikkit, and Thalab.
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was a mentor to jurists, scholars, and philosophers, establishing a scientific school in Kufa. Prominent Muslim figures studied under him, including Abu Hanifa al-Nu’man ibn Thabit, Malik ibn Anas, Shu’ba ibn al-Hajjaj, Jabir ibn Hayyan, Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar, Imam al-Shafi’i, Al-Hasan ibn Salih, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others.
Kufa was also known for theological debates and philosophical discussions, such as the debate between Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Nu’man al-Bajali (known as Shaytan al-Taq) with the Kharijites and the debate between Abu Bakr al-Hudhali al-Basri and Ibn Ayyash al-Kufi on certain doctrinal issues.
These diverse forms of art reflect Kufa’s cultural and intellectual prosperity, demonstrating its renaissance in various fields of knowledge. Indeed, Kufa rightly earned the title “City of Art,” preserving the essence of Arab artistry.
Thus, during the era of Amir al-mu’minin (peace be upon him), Kufa led the Islamic community, with Najaf al-Ashraf later assuming the mantle of intellectual leadership in both its Islamic and modern contexts.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Rafah Abdul-Hussein Mahdi Al-Fatlawi – University of Karbala / College of Islamic Sciences
