User:Rawen Ab/Ibn Shabbat

Ibn Shabbat (Mohamed Ben Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Ali; 16 October 1221 - 17 June 1282) was a historian from Ifriqiya who was born in Tozeur. He contributed to both literary and social life of present-day Tunisia and he is best known for his irrigation system method.

Biography
Ibn Shabbat was born into a family of Berber descent in Tozeur in Ifriqiya. He began his education in his hometown and learned from many scholars of his time and served as an Imam then Qadi prior to heading to Tunis where he spent some years studying at University of Ez-zitouna as he believed that his knowledge should not be limited to his hometown. After returning to Tozeur, Ibn Shabbat helped solve the local problems whilst also practiced to enrich cultural activities through his poems.

Ibn Shabbat mainly contributed to ameliorate the system of irrigation by designing channels that course through the Oasis of Tozeur and they are still used to this day. However, this system had already been described by the historian Al-Bakri during the 9th century until Ibn Shabbat made it possible by improving it.

Works
Ibn Shabbat's major work was Thread Connection and Fabric Characteristic (Silat al-simt wa simat al-mirt), The Chokratsi Poem (adopted from another Tunisian Poet Abdallah Chokratsi) in which he praised Prophet Muhammed .

Memorial
There are many statues in honour of Ibn Shabbat that can be found in different places around Tozeur.