ר׳ אברהם בן הרמב״ם

ר׳ אברהם בן הרמב״ם (1186–1237), also known as ר׳ אברהם בן משה בן מימון, was the only surviving son of ר׳ משה בן מימון and his successor as nagid of Egyptian Jewry. Born and based in Fustat, he inherited communal leadership in 1204 while still eighteen and also served as a court physician under the Ayyubids. He defended his father's legal and philosophical legacy, answered questions from communities across the Mediterranean and led the Jewish court in Fustat. At the same time he developed an original pietist programme, seeking to restore practices of inward devotion, disciplined prayer, solitude and bodily humility that he regarded as authentically biblical and rabbinic, although some contemporaries opposed changes associated with his circle. His massive Arabic work כפאיה אלעאבדין, known in Hebrew as המספיק לעובדי השם, systematized halakhah, ethics and spiritual discipline; only portions survive. His פירוש התורה, responsa, ברכת אברהם and מלחמות השם preserve his biblical interpretation and his defense of ר׳ משה בן מימון. He remained nagid until his death in Fustat in 1237 and was succeeded by his son ר׳ דוד הנגיד.