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Al-Safi ibn al-Assal

Al-Safi ibn al-Assal was a thirteenth-century Coptic canonist and religious writer whose works included the influential Nomocanon, patristic epitomes, homilies, and Christian apologetics.[^1][^7][^10]

Also known as: al-Safi Abu al-Fadail Majid · Safi al-Dawlah

Published 10/1/2026Updated 3 revisionsPage history

Life and family

Al-Safi ibn al-Assal, whose complete name was al-Safi Abu al-Fadail Majid, belonged to the Awlad al-Assal family, which played an important role in the thirteenth-century intellectual renaissance of the Coptic Church.1 He was a son of Fakhr al-Dawlah Abu al-Mufaddal ibn al-Assal, brother of al-As‘ad Abu al-Faraj Hibatallah, and half-brother of Mu’taman al-Dawlah Abu Ishaq Ibrahim.2

His life is imperfectly documented: one account proposes a birth around 1205 and death around 1265, while another places his death before 1260.34 The sources also differ over the beginning of his literary activity: one dates work on Chrysostom’s homilies to 1232, whereas another suggests that he began writing in 1235.34 There is no evidence in the biographical account that he was a priest; it considers him likely to have been a married layman but records no wife or children.5

Canon law and ecclesiastical service

On 3 September 1238, al-Safi served as canonical counselor and secretary at the synod of Cairo, convened at the bishops’ request to address abuses associated with Patriarch Cyril III ibn Laqlaq.6 He drafted a twelve-section canonical compendium adopted by the synod and, on 13 September, a second collection containing five chapters and nineteen sections, likewise adopted.6

His best-known work, the Nomocanon, or al-Majmu‘ al-Safawi, was completed in September 1238.7 It brought together ecclesiastical and civil jurisprudence, addressing religious authority and tradition alongside such matters as sales, rentals, witnesses, inheritance, and marriage.8 Its treatment of civil matters drew upon the organization and methods of Islamic jurisprudence while presenting rules within a Coptic Christian framework.8

The Nomocanon is a foundation of Coptic ecclesiastical law and of Ethiopian law, where it is known as Fetha Nagast; it also influenced the eighteenth-century reform of Maronite ecclesiastical law by ‘Abdallah Qara‘ali.9

Patristic summaries and homilies

Al-Safi prepared epitomes of spiritual and patristic writings, apparently working from existing Arabic translations rather than translating directly from Greek.10 These included works attributed to Ephraem Syrus, John Climacus’s Ladder of Virtues, and writings of Isaac of Nineveh.11

He also summarized and revised Chrysostom’s homilies on John and Matthew.311 The supplied accounts disagree about the Arabic translation underlying the Johannine collection: one names ‘Abdallah ibn al-Fadl al-Antaki, while another names Anba Antuniyus of the Monastery of Saint Simeon near Antioch.311

His original homilies employed Arabic rhymed prose and covered the Trinity, Christology and the Lord’s festivals, morals, fasting, spirituality, and pastoral occasions.12 Related writings included congratulations on Cyril III’s election, a homily on his death, and a letter consoling al-Safi’s half-brother after his wife’s death.12

Theology and apologetics

Al-Safi’s apologetic work included summaries and discussions of philosophical defenses of Christianity written in Arabic, supplemented by his own commentaries, known as al-Hawashi al-Safawiyyah.13 In July 1241 he completed a summary of forty-one works by Yahya ibn ‘Adi, and in June 1242 he completed a short work on the Trinity and Incarnation.14 During Cyril III’s patriarchate, he composed eleven apologetic works responding to Muslim criticisms of Christianity.14

The Brief Treatise on the Trinity, formerly attributed by Assemani and Steinschneider to ‘Abd al-Masih al-Isra’ili al-Raqqi, is identified in the supplied account as al-Safi’s work.15

References

Sources

  1. 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 102)
    SAFI IBN AL-‘ASSAL, AL-, member of the great Coptic family of the AWLAD AL-‘ASSAL, who played an important role in the intellectual renaissance of the Coptic church in the thirteenth century. His complete name was al-Safi Abu al-Fadail Majid.
  2. 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 195)
    Fakhr al-Dawlah married twice. By his first wife he had two sons, al-As‘ad Abu al-Faraj Hibatallah and al-Safi Abu al-Fada’il Majid. After his first wife died, he remarried and had two other sons, Mu’taman al-Dawlah Abu Ishaq Ibrahim (named after his grandfather with all his names) and al-Amjad Abu al-Majd al-Rashid (cf. Awlad al-‘Assal).
  3. 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 102)
    Little is known of his life. He may have been born around 1205 and died around 1265. The dates thus far compiled of his literary activity are more certain. In 1232, he summarized and revised the eighty-eight homilies of Saint JOHN CHRYSOSTOM on the Gospel of John, using the translation of the Melchite ‘Abdallah ibn al-Fadl al-Antaki (eleventh century).
  4. 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 242)
    Al-Safi ibn al-‘Assal seems to have begun to write in 1235. He would have been dead before 1260.
  5. 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 103)
    There is nothing to indicate that al-Safi was a priest. It is likely that he was a married layman, although the documents tell nothing of a wife or children.
  6. 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 102)
    On 3 September, he participated as a canonical counselor and secretary in the synod of Cairo demanded by the bishops to bring an end to the abuses of Cyril III. There he drafted a canonical compendium of twelve sections that was adopted by the synod, and ten days later, 13 September, he drew up a new compendium consisting of five chapters and nineteen sections, likewise adopted by the synod.
  7. 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 105)
    Four works on canon law by al-Safi, dating from 1238 to 1243, are known: ... (3) a compendium of the abstract of laws or Nomocanon, his renowned work of synthesis (al-Majmu‘ al-Safawi)), also completed in September 1238.
  8. 8.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 280)
    The first was the question of religion and Coptic orthodox religious tradition; the second comprised all the items of civil jurisprudence, to which he applied the rules of classical Islamic works on this subject. ... The civil section of this work treats the material life of individuals within the context of biblical and orthodox traditions. Details of contractual conditions for sales, rentals, witnesses, and the like are surveyed in more or less the same system as the Islamic fiqh (works of jurisprudence). Other subjects such as inheritance are treated from the orthodox outlook, which varies
  9. 9.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 105)
    His great Nomocanon remains today the basis of ecclesiastical law for the Coptic church of Egypt, and even more so, for the church of Ethiopia (where it is entitled Fetha Nagast). This work also served as the basis for the Maronite ecclesiastical law, reformed in the eighteenth century by ‘Abdallah Qara‘ali.
  10. 10.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 103)
    His works fall into two broad categories: nonapologetic and apologetic. ... Epitomes (Mukhtasarat) of Spiritual Patristic Works. The six works in this category probably belong to the beginning of his literary career; they may be dated before 1232. It does not appear that al-Safi translated these epitomes directly from Greek, but rather that he based them on Arabic translations already in existence.
  11. 11.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 104)
    (1) epitome of the Arabic collection of fifty-two hymns attributed to Saint Ephraem Syrus; (2) epitome of a monastic ascetic compendium; (3) epitome of 100 chapters of Diadocus of Pholticea; (4) epitome of the Ladder of Virtues of John Climacus; (5) epitome of the thirty-five chapters on monastic life by Isaac of Nineveh; and (6) epitome of the Spiritual Paradise, in twelve chapters. ... Al-Safi began with the eighty-eight homilies on the Gospel of John, using the Arabic translation of the Melchite Anba Antuniyus of the Monastery of Saint Simeon near Antioch (tenth century). ... He then worked
  12. 12.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 104)
    Thereafter he turned to composing homilies in the pure Arabic style of rhymed prose ... (1) the unity and trinity of God; (2) Christology (covering the eight festivals of the Lord); (3) morals (commandments of God and purification of the heart); (4) homilies on fasting (seven have been published); (5) spirituality (prayers to God, intercessions to the Virgin and saints); and (6) homilies for various circumstances (advice to newlyweds, letters of investiture of bishops, spiritual letters). To this collection three writings of similar style may be added: (1) letter of congratulation upon the ele
  13. 13.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 105)
    Al-Safi concerned himself with apologetical works written in Arabic ... Rather he worked only with apologies of a philosophical nature. Throughout these epitomes he scattered commentaries, sometimes lengthy, which were often subsequently cited in the Theological Compendium under the title of al-Hawashi al-Safawiyyah (commentaries of al-Safi).
  14. 14.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 103)
    In July 1241 at Cairo, he finished the résumé of forty-one works of the Christian philosopher from Bagdad, Yahya ibn ‘Adi (d. 974). In June 1242, he completed, also at Cairo, the redaction of his opuscule on the Trinity and the Incarnation. During the eight years of the reign of Cyril III, al-Safi drafted eleven apologetical works in response to Muslim attacks against the Christians.
  15. 15.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 17)
    The Brief Treatise on the Trinity was also ascribed to ‘Abd al-Masih by Assemani (1831, p. 271, col. 2), an observation followed by Steinschneider (p. 115). But it is in fact by al-SAFI IBN AL-‘ASSAL (see Graf, 1947, p. 395, no. 4).

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