Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: ) (1456–1522), often simply Mujir al-Din, was a
Jerusalemite ''
qadi
A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
'' and historian whose principal work chronicled the history of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
[Little, 1995, p. 237.][van Donzel, 1994, p. 291.] Entitled ''al-Uns al-Jalil bi-tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil'' ("The glorious history of Jerusalem and Hebron") (c. 1495), it is considered to be invaluable, constituting "the most comprehensive and detailed source for the history of Jerusalem" written in its time.
[Khalidi, 1998, p. 216, footnote 25.][Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p. 148.]
Name and background
Commonly known simply as Mujir al-Din or the Ibn Quttainah, he was born 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-'Ulaymi
(Arabic: ) during the period of Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
rule over Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
into a family of notables native to the city of Jerusalem.[ Among his many '']nisba
The Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to:
* Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation
**comparatively, in Afro-Asiatic: see Afroasiatic_lang ...
s'' is al-Hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
, referring to the Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic school of thought to which he adhered. Another is al-'Umari, denoting that his ancestral lineage traces back to 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb (c. 590–644), the second Rashidun
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of t ...
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
. This ''nisba'' and a third, the ''shuhra'' ("nickname") of al-'Ulaymi, indicate his association with a prominent 15th century Jerusalemite family of Hanbali scholars and judges, one of whom was the chief Hanbali judge of the city, Shams al-Din al-'Umari al-'Ulaymi.[Little, 1995, p. 238.]
Education
Mujir al-Din's father, Muhammad ibn 'Adb al-Rahman, was a scholar, and he instructed his son in the religious sciences. His formal education began early, and by the age of six, Mujir al-Din was successfully tested on his knowledge of Arabic grammar by another of his instructors, Taqi al-Din al-Qarqashandi, a Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
, with whom he also studied the hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
s. At ten years old, he studied Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
ic recitation with a Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
'' faqih'' (one who has received the Islamic equivalent of a Master of Law
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
).[
He attended Islamic jurisprudence classes given by Kamal al-Din al-Maqdisi, a prominent Shafi'i scholar and ''qadi'', at al-Madrasa as-Salahiyya, the most prestigious college in the city, and at ]Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
. Al-Maqdisi granted Mujir al-Din an ''ijaza
An ''ijazah'' ( ar, الإِجازَة, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such au ...
'' when he was thirteen years old. In his youth in Jerusalem, he also studied hadith with two other Hanafi scholars (ibn Qamuwwa, a ''faqih'', and the sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
Shams al-Din al-Ghazzi al-Maqdisi), studying grammar and Hanbali ''fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'' with a Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
scholar (the chief judge Nur al-Din al-Misri). When he was approximately eighteen years old, he left for Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, where he pursued his studies under the tutelage of Muhammad al-Sa'di, a ''qadi'', for about ten years, returning to Jerusalem in 1484.[
]
Career
Public servant
Extensive knowledge of Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, Hanbali jurisprudence, and Islamic theology, as well as his hailing from highly regarded and well-connected family, led to Mujir al-Din's procuring important posts as a public servant. He was appointed the ''qadi'' of Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
in 1484, and the chief Hanbali ''qadi'' of Jerusalem in 1486, holding this position for almost three decades until completing his service in 1516.[
]
Writings
Mujir al-Din's writings included two volumes of Quranic exegesis, a biographical dictionary of Hanbali scholars, a general history from the time of Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
through to the Middle Ages, and a work on "The glorious history of Jerusalem and Hebron".[ The central focus of the latter book, despite its title, is the history of Jerusalem. Though many books had been written by other Arab and Muslim authors on the virtues of Jerusalem, including about 30 composed during the Mamluk period alone, none of these set out to provide a comprehensive history of the city, making Mujir al-Din's work unique in both scope and design.][
The book is divided into four parts. The first outlines the history of Jerusalem, and to a lesser degree Hebron, from the time of Adam to the end of the 13th century, incorporating both political developments and events of importance to Islamic and pre-Islamic monotheistic traditions. The second part provides a physical description of shrines and landmarks in Hebron and Jerusalem, with a focus on Muslim sites. Biographies of the various governors of Jerusalem and Hebron in the ]Ayyubid
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
and Mamluk periods, as well as those of notable Mamluk figures who undertook special works in these cities are provided in part three. The fourth part concerns itself with the history of Jerusalem during Mujir al-Din's own lifetime, under the rule of Mamluk Sultan Qait Bay
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay ( ar, السلطان أبو النصر سيف الدين الأشرف قايتباي) (c. 1416/14187 August 1496) was the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from 872 to 901 A.H. (1468–149 ...
.[Little, 1995, p. 239.] Composed in Jerusalem, Mujir al-Din alternates in referring to his place of residence as ''Filastin'' ("Palestine") and ''al-Ard al-Muqaddasa'' ("the Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
").[Gerber, 2003, pp. 23-41.]
Influence
Mujir al-Din's writings are quoted extensively in the works of 19th century Orientalists and 20th and 21st century scholars alike.[See Elad, 1995, p. 3. See footnote #5 for the names of some the 20th century scholars who relied extensively upon Mujir al-Din's work.] It is particularly valuable for what it reveals about the topography and social life of 15th century Jerusalem.[ A number of copies of manuscripts of ''al-Uns al-Jalil'' are kept in libraries in ]Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. El Wahby
EL, El or el may refer to:
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* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
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* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
, a Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
-based publishing house printed his work in full. A French translation of excerpts of his work with a foreword by Henry Sauvaire
Henry may refer to:
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*Henry (given name)
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** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
was published under the title, ''Histoire de Jérusalem et d'Hébron depuis Abraham jusqu'à la fin du XVe siècle de J.-C. : fragments de la Chronique de Moudjir-ed-dyn'' (1876). This compilation was made up of excerpts of his work translated from a manuscript procured in Jerusalem and from the Egyptian edition.[Sauvaire, 1849.]
Translated excerpts of ''al-Uns al Jalil'' can be found in the work of Joseph Toussaint Reinaud
Joseph Toussaint Reinaud (4 December 1795 – 14 May 1867) was a French orientalist.
Life
Joseph Toussaint Reinaud was born at Lambesc, Bouches-du-Rhône. He came to Paris in 1815, and became a pupil of Silvestre de Sacy. In 1818-19 he was at ...
and Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall
Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist and historian. He is considered one of the most accomplished Orientalists of his time. He was critical of the trend of ascribing classical or a ...
.[Edbury and Philips, 2003, p. 222-223.] Guy Le Strange
Guy Le Strange (24 July 1854 – 24 December 1933) was a British Orientalist noted especially for his work in the field of the historical geography of the pre-modern Middle Eastern and Eastern Islamic lands, and his editing of Persian geographic ...
references the work of Mujir al-Din throughout his book ''Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500'' (1890), drawing upon his descriptions of various monuments to determine their state, appearance, and measurements at his time of writing.[Le Strange, 1890.]
Death and tomb in Jerusalem
Mujir al-Din died in 1522.[ He was buried at the base of the ]Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
just outside the walls of the Old City, a little to the north of the Church of Gethsemane
Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...
and right in front of the Tomb of Mary
; hy, Սուրբ Մարիամ Աստվածածնի գերեզման), is a Christian tomb in the Kidron Valley – at the foot of Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem – believed by Eastern Christians to be the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. ...
.[Ring et al., 1996, p. 377.] His tomb, with its open four-columned structure covered by a dome, lies next to the sidewalk on the main road and there are steps leading down from it on both sides to the Tomb of the Virgin.
Memorial shrine in Nablus
There is also a shrine in Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
dedicated to the memory of Mujir Al-Din.
Descendants
It is documented that members of the Jerusalemite family of Quttainah are the descendants of Mujir al-Din al-Hanbali. On a Palestinian genealogy website, they explain that the nickname Quttainah (meaning "dried fig") was given to al-Hanbali family some 300 years ago due to their use of dried figs to cover gold they were trading in within Palestine from road robbers. The Quttainah family continues to own numerous properties in and around the Old City, including waqf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...
properties. Since the 1948 Palestinian exodus
In 1948 Estimates of the Palestinian Refugee flight of 1948, more than 700,000 Palestinians, Palestinian Arabs – about half of prewar Mandatory Palestine, Palestine's Arab population – Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, were expelled ...
, some members of the family live in the Palestinian diaspora
The Palestinian diaspora ( ar, الشتات الفلسطيني, ''al-shatat al-filastini''), part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine.
History
Palestinian individuals have a long history of ...
, in other Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern countries and the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
region.
Footnotes
*In Mujir al-Din's time, ''Al-Aqsa Mosque'' referred to the whole mosque compound (today also referred to as the Haram al-Sharif
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew language, Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
, also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al- ...
). The southernmost building in that compound, today known as Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...
, is called in Mujir al-Din's writings ''Al-Jami' Al-Kabir Al-Qibliyy'' ("The Grand Southern Friday-Mosque").
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*, London,
p.12
*
*
*
*
**Alt:
*
*
External links
Tomb and Dome of Mujir al-Din
{{DEFAULTSORT:Din, Mujir Al-Din Al-Ulaymi
Historians from the Mamluk Sultanate
15th-century historians of the medieval Islamic world
People from Jerusalem
1456 births
1522 deaths
Burials at the Mount of Olives
Hanbalis
15th-century Arabs
16th-century Arabs