Ibn-e Hâjib in a Fictional Allusion

There is a semi-proverbial expression in some Persian literary texts that has not yet indexed in none of Persian dictionaries –such as Loqat-nameh or any other proverb references and has been totally neglected. Accordingly it seems necessary being explained. It has been mentioned under different topics such as Ibn-e Hâjib’s lamb, Ibn-e Hâjib’s sheep, Ibn-e Hâjib’s ewe in Divans of Adib-ol-Mamâlek, Ghâ’âni, and Taghi Dânesh. The present essay is to explore the historical-fictional roots of the subject and to show that Ibn-e Hâjib in the story related to this proverb is the Arabic grammarian who lived in 6th and 7th centuries AH (12th -13th centuries AD) who linked to al-Dīn Tūsī in a legendary story. On the basis of the story, after the conquest of Baghdad and fall of Abbasid caliphate by Hulagu Khan, Ibn-e Hâjib was hiden for fear of Khawaja Nasīr due to a history of animosity with him, and Khawaja could find him using a special trick entrusting sheep to each household in Baghdad. It has also been made clear that the story is fabricated according to the reasons mentioned.