Back to Table of Contents 8  To next page
Suyuti (1445-d1505) From Cairo
-------------------------------------

Al-Suyuti (c. 1445–1505 CE); aka Jalaluddin; was an Egyptian scholar, historian and jurist from Cairo. His studies included: Shafi'i and Hanafi jurisprudence (fiqh), traditions (hadith), exegesis (tafsir), theology, history, rhetoric, philosophy, philology, arithmetic, timekeeping (miqat) and medicine. He wrote a very big amount of books. As to East Africa he wrote several books in which he collected every time all the mythical stories about the sources of the Nile. His knowledge of East Africa was rather limited.

Full name: Abd al-Rahman ibn Kamal al-Din Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Sabiq al-Din, Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari, also known as Ibn al-Asyuti. He was the mujtahid imam and renewer of the tenth Islamic century, foremost hadith master, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian, he authored works in virtually every Islamic science.

 

His name is spelled in at least 10 different ways on the Internet. He wrote 560 books, 723 according to others.

The sources of the Nile from his mss



The miniature painting just above is found in a late 19th or 20th century copy of Kawkab al-rawda fi tarih al-Nil wa-gazirat al-Rawda of Suyuti

Rawdah Suyuti from Āl Khalidi Library (AKDI 1368 34)
Rawdah Suyuti from Āl Khalidi Library (AKDI 1368 34)

Fitarikh al Nil wajazirath Rawdah

(The history of the Nile and the island Rawdah)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Taken from: Journal Asiatique 1837

maktabatalarab.com

 

P147-148

The author of the delights of thought - mabahij alfikr: Abu al-Faraj Qudamah (1) said that the total of what is in the world of rivers is two hundred and twenty-eight rivers; including what is going from the east to the west, including what is going from north to south, including the river Nile River from the south to the north, Including what is composed of such entities as the Euphrates and Jihon (2); as for the Nile, Qudamah (1) mentioned that his starting point from the Mount of the Moon behind the equator of a spring, from which 10 rivers flow, five of them pour into a large lake in the first region.  From this lake comes the Nile River.

 

P149

Others who have travelled up the river have said that (it rises) because of the increase of the sources on its both banks.

Others said that its course (of the Nile) comes from the mountains of the Mount of Snow and that it enters the green sea and passes on metals gold, rubies, emeralds, coral when it comes to the sea of Zinj. They said: Had it not been entered in the salty sea and mixes with it we could not drink (its water because of) the intensity of its sweetness……………………..

In the book of plans of Makrizi: Some people have said that the increase (of the Nile) is caused  by the sea that stops the water and holds it till it has watered the land, then releases it and the Nile falls; There are differences (of opinion) on how the Mount Moon is functioning.

 Al-Tafashi (3) said: It is called so, because the springs flush from it, if you look at it (you see) the severity of its whiteness.  He said: So also called the moon of the moon. He said: This mountain is a rectangular from the east to the west, its end in the area of the west in desolation, and its end in the Orient is like that, which is in its entirety in the desolation of the south, and rises up in the air, completely from beneath.

 

P150

And he said about Mount Moon, that it is on the edge of the clime, behind the desert and the mountains of the island of Chemi (4). Among others the island of Qomr; it faces the island of Serendib (5); Its length is of four months' march, and its breadth twenty days, and sometimes less. There are many villages, among others that of Qomryeh which gave its name to the bird qomri…… In the mirror of time is written: Ahmed ibn Bakhtiar (6) said that the spring which is the origin of the Nile is the first spring of Mount Moon and from it springs the river Nile. He said: It cuts through the first region and then to the second, and from its pools on Mount Moon to its arrival at the Roman Sea is three thousand miles. (The increase) starts up in half June and ends in September. He said: people differ as to why it increases. Some says only Allah knows.  Others said: It is caused by an increase at its sources. Some people said that the springs, which are under the mountain of the moon, are muddy in the days of his increase. He said: All the rivers are going in a different direction, but this one it is going to the north.

 

P153

Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah (7), writer of the book: Akhbar al Zaman said: One of the kings of Misr (63) said that Idris (64)-peace be upon him-  lived before the flood and his science had caused him to predict its coming. He ordered a palace to be build at the foot of the Mountain of the Moon. In this stand copper statues in the number of eighty-five (10); the Nile water comes out of their throats and flows into the batiha (lakes).

Ibn al Wardi (8) said in his book Kharidat al aji ib that there is no river in the world longer than the Nile; because it flows for two months in the lands of islam, two months among the unbelievers, two months in the wilderness, and four months in the desert till it reaches where it leaves Mount Moon behind the equator. The moon is not seen at the origin of the river south of the equator but its light comes out of the sea of darkness as it is behind Mount Moon. …………..

The first to go there was Hermes (9) who had a palace at the Mount Moon. He saw it coming out of the Black Sea and under Mount Moon and there he build the palace on the foot of Gebel Qammar in which eighty-five copper statues (10) made for him.

 

P155

Massoudi (11) said: I saw in the book of geography a picture of the Nile coming from under the mountain of the moon and its source run down in a dozen waters …

then going through the sand there and the mountains and through the Sudan following the country of Zinj and flows into the Sea Zinj, being on the face of the earth nine hundred thousand leagues …

The Nile.

They say there are in the world no rivers longer as the Nile, because he flows one month in the countries of the Muslims, two through Nubia and four flowing through desert land, until where it comes out in the countries of the mountains of the moon behind the equinoctial line.  Also there is in the world no other stream that pours from south to north, as the Nile; and also none exists in the world, which swells during the most violent heat, when all other currents suffer a water reduction, and swells in a sequence of stages, while the others decrease.

 

P156

Al-Maqrizi (12) said: It is told that the Nile is formed by ten streams which flow from the above mentioned Jabal al-Qamar – each five streams gathering into one tributary. Then the ten streams flow into two lakes - five streams into one lake; then a river (bahr) flows from the eastern lake smoothly (latif), eastwards near Mount Qaquli (13) (or: Qaqul, Qaqarli) and passes by the towns of that region, until it enters the Indian Sea. From the two lakes, six rivers flow, i.e. three rivers from each lake; the six rivers unite in a vast lake which is called: The Swamp (al-batiha); on it there is a castle (qasr) which resembles a mountain round which the waters divide into two streams. One of them flows out from the western side of the Swamp, and this is the Nile of the Sudan which becomes a river (bahr) and is called the Great River of the Damadim (14)(bahr ad-Damadim). It turns towards the west ……………..

 

P157

Maqrizi (12) said in his book of plans: From the mountain of Qomr comes the Nile whose waters formerly were lost on the surface of the ground; But when Naqraush (15) the valiant, son of the first Misraim (65), son of Markabil, son of Douabil, son of Arbab (66), son of Adam, came to Egypt, followed by a great number of the Btni Arbab (66), they populated the country, Built the cities of Amsous (16) and others, and dug the Nile which they directed to the cities. The river before had no regularity in its course; It was spreading in puddles on the ground and its waters were lost. This state of affairs lasted until the time when Naqraouch (15) sent an expedition to Nubia, which dammed the river, and derived from it numerous canals intended to water the new towns………….

 

P158a

The Nile comes out of its springs through copper statues (10) and flows into batiha (swamps). It is said that also the banks of the Nile were changed to prevent overflowing, as they may break in places.

The palace in which the copper mouth is composed of eighty-five copper statues (10) made by Hermes the wise (9). The water of the Nile that comes out of them is collected in channels are carried out brought out from under the Mount of Al-Qamar in different arms the rivers then turn to Batiha and emerge from them until they are collected in a lake……… after its centre of the first buildings in the west, thirty-two degrees, and past the equator two degrees north…………..

 

P158b

El-Oualid (60), son of Darmi, the Amalite with a numerous army…………. He crossed over the country of the Negroes, and having passed it, reached the Gold Region, where the golden stems were seen to rise from the ground. Continuing his march, he reached the lake where the Nile is formed, formed by the waters which rise from the foot of the mountain of Qomr. This is a very high mountain, to which the name of Qomr has been given, because the Moon never rises above it, the mountain is situated beyond the equator. Budchir (17) saw the Nile emerging from the mountain and flowing through streams and channels to the two lakes from which it emerges into two rivers which will meet in another lake. After having passed the equator, the Nile receives as a tributary a river which comes from the region of the river Alehran (18), in India, river who also came out of the mountain of Qomr, and who, from the beginning, is on his way to the Nile. The river Mehran (67) is said to be similar to the Nile; It grows and decreases like it; Like it, it is peopled with crocodiles, and the fishes found there are similar to those of the Nile. ………….

 

P159

(after reaching the top) He said, and from the point of view of the moon, on Mount Moon, I saw him from very high, so that I could stand up to see what was behind him, he oversaw the Black Sea and the tare and the Nile looked like a ditch passing through and from the sea came a very bad smells and a lot of his companions died so they rushed to go down after almost perishing……….

              

 Raf' Sha'n al-Hubshan (The raising of the status of the Ethiopians; to defend the blacks against the accusations made against them).

Taken from: Akbar Muhammad; The image of Africans in Arabic Literature.

Praise be to Allah Who preferred some people to others.....I composed this treatise on the virtues of the Ethiopians .....and I did not exclude from it the important instruction (fawa'id) and gems (which) the eager enquirer needs.....I read a treatise on this subject by .... Ibn al-Jawzi (19) entitled Tanwir al Ghabash. But I found It lacking and incomplete. Indeed, there is scope for more (information) and the addition of the beautiful
(details) that eluded him. This is an abridgement of and a supplement to his treatise. Due to its completeness it shines like a full moon compared with that (of Ibn al-Jawzi which is like) a crescent.
The contents of the work (in 110 chapters):
1. On the Traditions Concerning Them (Ethiopians) E.g.: A hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra in which the Prophet defines the descendants of Shem as the Arabs, the Persians, and the Byzantines, the descendants of Japheth as the Turks, the Slavs, and Gog and Magog, and the
descendants of Ham as the Copts, the Berbers and the Sudan.
2. On the revealed (Quranic) Verses about Them.
3. On Quranic Terms of Ethiopian (Geez) Origin.

A page from the Raf sha’n al Hubshan


4. On the Emigration to Ethiopia, the Emigrants, the Conversion of Amr b. al-As (22) and the Negus (23) Betrothal of Umm Habiba to the Prophet (24).
5. On some (35) prominent (good, pious) Ethiopian Personages. (important here are the najashi = Ethiopian emperor and Bilal) The najashi section begins with a long discussion on his road to power in his father’s court, continues with quotations from his correspondence with the Prophet, and ends with his recognition of Muhammad as the messenger of God and the latter’s prayers for him as for a departed, distinguishedMuslim.
6. On the Peculiarities and Good Qualities Which They Possess.
7. Some previously considered Matters.(examples; the reason of the rising of the Nile in Egypt is heavy rain in the land of al-habasha and also Egypt will be destroyed due to drying up of the Nile and also Mecca will be destroyed by the Ethiopians).
8. Epilogue: concerning the Desirability of marrying Concubines and the fear of Abandoning (i.e., not marrying) virtuous slaves.
 

Taken from: The African diaspora in the Mediterranean lands of Islam By John O. Hunwick, Eve Troutt Powell

 

As for the blackness of their skin, Ibn al-Jawzi (19) said: It is evident that they were created as they are without any apparent reason. However, we narrate (the following account): The children of Noah divided up the earth and the children of Shem settled at the centre of the earth and they had amongst them both darkness of skin and whiteness The sons of Japheth settled in a northerly and in an easterly direction, and they had amongst them both redness and blondness. The sons of Ham settled in the south and in the west, and their colors changed. Ibn al-Jawzi (19) said: As for what is related about Noah’s nakedness being exposed and ham not covering it and being cursed this is something not proven and it is not correct.

Al-Jalal al-Suyuti said: I say: This is supported by what Umm al-Fadl (25) informed me of through (my) study (with her, saying) Abu Ishaq al-Shasi told us (saying) Awf b. Qasama told us on the authority of Zuhayr who said: I heard al-Ash’ari say: The Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – said: Adam was created from a handful (of earth) which (God) took from all parts of the world. Hence his offspring turned out according to the earth (they were made form); some came out red, others white, others black, some where easy-going, others downcaste, some were evil and others good. This is a sound hadith published by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (26), and it is to  be relied upon in (the matter of) the blackness of their colour, for it is a reversion to the clay from which they were created. As for what Ibn al-Jawz (19)i denied, Ibn Jarir (27)(al Tabari) published it in his History. He said: Salama told us on the authority of Ibn Ishaq who said: The people of the Torah (28) claim that this only came about through a curse (62) uttered by Noah against Ham. It happened that Noah slept and his nakedness was uncovered, and Ham saw it and did not cover it up. Shem and Japheth saw it and cast a cloth upon it and covered up his nakedness. When he awoke he realised what Ham had done and what Shem and Japheth had done and he made mention of it. Amongst what he said was: He that is Shem, is blessed and Ham shall be a slave to his two brothers. Ibn Jarir (27) continued: Others than Ibn Ishaq said that Noah prayed that the prophets and messengers should come from Shem’s progeny, and he cursed Ham saying that his color should be changed and his descendants should be slaves of the descendants of Shem and Japheth.  

 al-Mutawakkili fima warada fi al-Qur'an bi al-lugha al-Habashiyya wa al-Farisiyya wa al-Rumiyya wa al-Hindiyya wa

al-Siryaniyya wa al-`Ibraniyya wa al-Nabatiyya wa al-Qibtiyya wa al-Turkiyya wa al-Zanjiyya wa al-Barbariyya 

(My reliance concerning what has been mentioned in the Qur'an in Ethiopian, Farsi, Greek, Hindi, Syriac, Hebrew,

Nabatean, (54) Coptic, Turkic, Zanj-language, and Berber)
Mutawakkili is the Caliph who commanded that he compiled a list of Quranic words that are to be found in the speech of the Ethiopians, Persians,
or any people other then the Arab. In it he lists 108 words from 11 languages. It is organized according to language and for each language in textual order of the Quran. He made also a similar list in an other book of his with 124 foreign words, and a third is in his :

al-Itqan fi 'ulum al-Quran which for different reasons is mentioned here too. Suyuti did not get into linguistic research himself, he copied what was written on the subject in former centuries.
Taken from: Bell, William, Yancy;The Mutawakkili of as-Suyuti

The report of what appears (in the Quran) in the language of the Blacks (Zanj)
(Hasb Jahannam)
Ibn Abi Hatim (29), on the authority of Abdallah Ibn Abbas (68), concerning God's expression, hasab jahannam it means fuel for Gehenna (30) in the language of the Blacks (Zanj).
(Al Minsaa)
Ibn al-Jauzi (31) related that al-minsaa means staff in the language of the Blacks (Zanj). 

al-Itqan fī ʿulum al-Quran; The perfect manual of the Koranic sciences.

Taken from: Le parfait manuel des sciences coraniques al-Itqān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān de ...By Michel Lagarde

 

Alimun; painful; Ibn al-Gawzi (31) relates that this means' what is suffering in the language of the East Africans (az-zangiyya). Saydala says it is in Hebrew (al-ibraniyya).

 

Inahu: his preparation: his cooking, in the language of the people of the West, that's what Saydala says. Abul-Qasim says that it is in the language of the Berbers (lugat al-barbar) (Somalia). He says about his word: hamimin anin; a boiling water, that's what the heat has ended; and about his word: min aynin aniyatin; at a boiling source, that means where there is heat.

 

Hasabu; fuel: Ibn Abi Hatim (29) quotes what Ibn Abbas (68) says about his words: hasabu gahannama: the fuel of Hell, namely the firewood of Hell, in the language of the East Africans (az-zangiyya).

 

Ka-l-muhli; molten liquid metal: it is said to be the sediment of oil, in the language of the people of the west. That's what Saydala relates. Abul-Qasim says that it is the language of the Berbers (lugat al-barbar) (Somalia).


Azhar al-urush fi akhbar al hubush (The flowers of the throne concerning information about the Ethiopians)

Taken from: The African diaspora in the Mediterranean lands of Islam By John O. Hunwick, Eve Troutt Powell

 

Is an abidged version of Raf' Sha'n al-Hubshan.

Ibn Masud reported that Noah bathed and saw his son looking at him, and said to him: Are you watching me whilst I bathe?

May God change your color. And he became black, and he is the ancestor of the sudan. Ibn Jarir (27)(al Tabari) said: Noah prayed

for Shem that his descendants should be prophets and messengers, and he cursed Ham praying that his descendants should

be slaves to Shem and Japheth.

 

Nuzha al- umr fi al-tafdil bayna al-bid wa al-sumr : (The promenade of a lifetime concerning preference for
light-skinned, dark-skinned and brown-skinned peoples).

Taken from; G. Rotter; Die stellung des negers in der islamisch-arabischen gesellschaft

 

A number of men of letters wrote comparisons of light- and brown-skinned peoples. Ibn al Marzuban (32) wrote Kitab al-Sudan wa Fadluhum'ala al-Bidan (The book concerning the dark skinned people and their preference over light skinned peoples). I do not think that is strange of him, for indeed he wrote Kitab Tafdil al-Kilab ala Kathir mimman Labisa al-Thiyab (The book of preference for dogs to many who wear clothes). So if he preferred dogs to people, is it not strange that he would prefer dark skinned people to light skinned peoples. Al-Hafiz al-Mandhari (33) said in his history: Two man disputed over the merits of light skinned and dark skinned peoples; so Abu al-Abbas al-Nashi (34) wrote Risala fi Tafdil al-Sud ala al Bid (An essay on the preference for dark skinned peoples over light skinned peoples). In my opinion, this is like the person who proudly wrote ( a work comparing) gold to glass. This is a nice comprehensive treatise on what has been stated regarding preference for light-,dark-and brown-skinned people, it is entitled; the Promenade of a Lifetime.

 

Taken from: Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume One: Islam and the Ideology of Enslavement by John Ralph Willis

 

This anthology is significant for the study of possible attitudes towards females of various complexions. The text includes 217 lines attributed to some sixty authors.  There are four sub-sections:

1 those who prefer light complexion : 26 lines

2 brown : 43 lines

3 dark complexion: 130 lines

4 no preference: 18 lines

It is difficult to take some of the verses seriously, since Arab poets were often requested to compose praise and satirical verses for various reasons.

 

Taken from: Nuzhat al-ʻumr fī al-tafḍīl bayna al-bīḍ wa-al-sūd wa-al-sumr - Page 11 Suyūṭī

 

... O Lord of Khod (35), one of the daughters of the Zanj, carries a strong glow that withstands severe glare enlightened, ….. And the wonderful movements, I dwell in her love, the love of the hearts, the raging, the black, the strong, and so on, I look at the lights, capturing her beauties.

 

Taken from: maktabatalarab.com

In this library the complete text (14 pages) is available in Arabic. It is a poem of quotes from a whole range of authors on the

subject. Nothing to be found that relates to East Africa. 

 

Mustazraf min akhbar al-jawari : (The graceful reports concerning women slaves)

No translation found

Tafsir ul-Jalalain (or Jalaluddin), (Commentary on the Quran)

Taken from: A comprehensive commentary on the Qurán: comprising Sale's ..., By Elwood Morris Wherry, George Sale

 

Begun by Jalal-al-Din-al-Mahalli (1389-1459) and finished by Suyuti Commentary on the following part of the 18th chapter of the Koran:

Then he continued his way,  until he came to the place where the sun riseth; and he found it to rise on certain people, unto whom we had not given anything wherewith to shelter themselves therefrom.  Thus it was; and we comprehended with our knowledge the forces which were with him. And he prosecuted his journey from south to north.

 

The Jalaluddin of Suyuti says they were the Zanj, a black nation lying south-west of Ethiopia. They seem to be the Troglodytes of the

ancients.


Azhar al-Mutanathira fi al-Ahadith al-Mutawatira (The Most Prominent of the Reports Concerning the Narrations
of Mass Transmission)

His own version of the curse of Ham appears; it starts with : Ham looked shamelessly at his father when the man was bathing.

 
Al Jami al Kabir

 Taken from: Arabs and others in early Islam  By Sulayman Bashir 1997

 

He is citing Ibn al Qayyim:

The worst of the slaves are the Zanj

 

Lubb al-lubab fi taḥrir al-ansab (The core issues in editing Genealogy)

Taken from: alwaraq.net

 

Negro: (slave) taken in raids in Zinj. Type of the Sudan.

 

Berber: Berber tribes, nations are countless in al-Maghreb and Berbera island which is between the country's Habash and Zinj and Yemen.

 

Zanzibar: Zanzibar the coast town of the house of the king.

 

The evil of the slave Zinj is that they committed fornication if they are satisfied and steal when starved.

 

Hassan almhadhrh fiakhbaar Misr (63) walqahrh; (Good lecture in Egypt and Cairo)(= Husn al Muhadarah)

Taken from: سن المحاضرة في أخبار مصر والقاهرة by لال الدين عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر السيوطي  books.rafed.net

 

P293

Some of the newsmen mentioned that this Hamada did not prophesise, and that he was the guardian of wisdom, and that he asked God to show him the end of the Nile, so he gave power to that, and he reached Mount Moon, and he intended to go to the top, he could not; so he asked God to help him, and he went up and saw behind him the sea of Zifti (37), it is a black sea, and a dark wind, and the Nile is seen in its midst; it is like a silver alloy.

The author of the delights of thought - mabahij alfikr: Abu al-Faraj Qudamah (1) said that the total of what is in the world of rivers is two hundred and twenty-eight rivers; including what is going from the east to the west, including what is going from north to south, including the river Nile River from the south to the north, Including what is composed of such entities as the Euphrates and Jihon (2); as for the Nile, Qudamah (1) mentioned that his starting point from the Mount of the Moon behind the equator of a spring, from which 10 rivers flow, five of them pour into a large lake in the first region.  From this lake comes the Nile River.

 

P294

The owner of the book of Nazah al-Mashtaq said that this sea is called Lake Kori (38) attributed to a group of Sudan, inhabited by savages who live from eating people, the Nile comes out of it, in the country of Kori (38) and then the land of Nana a district of the Sudan, between Kannum (39) and Nubia. In the vincity of the city of Dongola it reaches Nubia, and descends to the second clime, then there is a large island in the city of Nubia, and there are large islands full of cities and villages…………….

It is said that it is in the desert for four months, and in the country of Sudan two months, and in the country of Islam one month, and there is no other river than this that increases when other rivers lack water; and that the increase is in the extreme in the head when in Cancer, and Lion. The rivers are supplied by side-rivers.

People said: The increase comes from the snow melted by the summer and because to the length will be much delayed.

Others went on to say that it was due to a lot of rain in Abyssinia.

Others said that the increase is due to the  different wind, that the north if a storm storms the Rumi Sea, it will result in a flood on the face of the earth.

Others claimed the increase it from the springs in the sand, this was seen by those who travelled up to the highest.

 

P295

Others said that its course (of the Nile) comes from the mountains of the Mount of Snow and that it enters the green sea and passes on metals gold, rubies, emeralds, coral when it comes to the sea of Zinj. They said: Had it not been entered in the salty sea and mixes with it we could not drink (its water because of) the intensity of its sweetness. ……………….

There are differences (of opinion) on how the Mount Moon is functioning.

Al-Tafashi (3) said: It is called so, because the springs flush from it, if you look at it (you see) the severity of its whiteness.  He said: So also called the moon of the moon.  He said: This mountain is a rectangular from the east to the west, its end in the area of the west in desolation, and its end in the Orient is like that, which is in its entirety in the desolation of the south, and rises up in the air, completely from beneath.

 

P296

He said in the mukhtasir almasalik: Some mentioned that people ended up on this mountain and ascended it,

They saw a sea behind it, black as night, a white river, like the river, crossed it, entered the mountain from the south, and came out in the north, and stretched over the dome that Hermes (9) built there.

They claimed that Hermes -Idris (64), peace be upon him - had reached that place and built a dome.

Some of them said that people went up the mountain, and the first of them laughed, clapped his hands, and threw himself over the mountain, and the rest feared that he would be hit them, so they returned.

It was said: Those who only saw the stone albaht (40)(pale), which are shiny stones like white silver shimmering, all those laughed and stuck (to the stone) until they die, they are called the magnets of people.

 Some said that a king among the first kings of Egypt prepared people to go to the beginning of the Nile, and they ended up in the mountains of brass, and when the sun rose upon them, it burned them.

It was also said that they ended up in glittering mountains, brilliant as crystal, where the rays of the sun were reflected which burned them.

It is said: the author of marat alzaman (41): Ahmed bin Bakhtiar (6) said that the spring, which is the origin of the Nile, is the first spring of Mount Moon, and then sends down ten rivers, and the Nile of Egypt is one of them, he said: The Nile cuts through the first region, and then over to the second, and the beginning, of Mount Moon to its end to the Sea of Rum, three thousand farsakhs (42), and the rise starts in the half of June, and ends in September.

He said: People differ on the reason of the increase, and some said: This is only known to Allah.

Others said: It is caused by an increase at its sources.

Others said, it is apparent: it is caused by the abundance of rain and floods in the land of Habash and Nubia, but is delayed to arrive here till the summer because of the distance.  Some people said that the springs, which are under the mountain of the moon, are muddy in the days of his increase. He indicated that it is an act of God without increasing the rain.  He said: All the rivers are going in a different direction, but this one it is going to the north.  Qadi Hamah said:

 

P297-298

When (the rise) reaches sixteen arms the Sultan calls it excess, and when it reached eighteen arms it is said: Egypt is experiencing a great epidemic, and when it reaches twenty cubits it is the end for the king of Egypt.

Ibn al-Muttuj said: One of the wonders of Egypt is the Nile, which comes from the mystery of the science of God in the time of thirst, and makes the country easy and wide, and God sends in the days of the rise the wind to the north and the salt sea, and it becomes like a bridge.  And if it reaches the limit that is full irrigation and the exact time of agriculture, God sent the wind to the south in his sweep, and brought him to the salt sea, and people benefited from agriculture. ……………….

Said the author of Cada al-Hadeel: A group of astrologers and heads of their body said that the Nile comes from behind the equator eleven and a half degrees, and from the south until it ends in Damietta and Alexandria and others about thirty of them in the north, they said: from the beginning to the end hundred forty-two degrees; each degree sixty miles and one third by approximation, the length of the starting position to the salt sea eight thousand miles, six hundred and fourteen miles and two-thirds miles on the intention and equinox, and has East and West curves so the length of it is more than what we have said. Quoted from Sheikh Izz al-Din bin Jamaeat (43) of his book in medicine: He said:

The source of the Nile from Mount Moon is behind the equator by eleven and a half degrees, and the spread of this mountain is fifteen degrees and twenty minutes. Ten rivers come out of his eyes, each five of them are directed at a round lake after the centre of the first buildings in the west at fifty-seven degrees. The two lakes are equal, each one is five cubits, each of which has four rivers flowing to a small lake in the first region after its centre of the first buildings in the west, thirty-three degrees and thirty minutes, and past the equator two degrees north of the first region, diameter of two degrees, and the mouth of each of the eight rivers in this lake, then one river comes out of the lake; Which is the Nile of Egypt……….

(under the sources of the Nile from this manuscript)




Taken from: Der Neger in der Bildersprache der arabischen Dichter By Manfred Ullmann

Vol II p393

(citing Sihab ad din Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Fadl Allah al Umari)

The Orion can be driven back in the dark night. This is, as it were, a zanj woman who is pulled at the ends of her belt.

Vol II p406

(citing abu Ahmed at Jarrari)

How wonderful are the black roses that look at us from the garden with the pupils of the gazelle. They resemble the cheeks of the Zanj, who dabbed the imam's hand with half gold coins.

Vol II p427

(citing Mahmud ibn al Husain ibn as Sindi, called Kusagim.)

It is as if the anemones in the garden are carnelian crowns on the heads of Zanj.

Vol II p446

(anon)

The earth produced mint, the stems and leaves of which appeared to be made of chrysolite. When the breeze of the hot wind hits them, they look like sleeping hair from zanj who fall into curled curls.

Tarikh al-khulafa‎ (History of the Caliphs)

Taken from : Journal Asiatique 1862 : Glossaire des mots espagnols et portugais dérivés de l’ Arabe par le Dr WH Engelmann

 

In the year 1173-4 Nour Eddin (69) sent to the Caliph presents and gifts among whom was a donkey zebra striped as  a piece of cloth called attabi residents left their homes to consider this animal there was among them a manufacturer of attabi full of pretensions but who was a fool without merit. Someone said: now that we were just send a donkey - attabi we will have an attabi which is not a donkey.
 

Bugyat al-wu’ah

Taken from: Klaus Hachmeier; Rating Adas: Al-Tawhidi on the Merits of Poetry and Prose.

Another bedouin said:

Their dispute about grammar makes me feel a stranger until [or: to the point that] I heard the speech of the Zanj and the Byzantines.

Taken from: Der Neger in der Bildersprache der arabischen Dichter By Manfred Ullmann

Vol I p540

(citing Husain ibn al Muhaddab al Misri)

It is as were the night while the Pleiades are swimming and walking in their skies, like a negress who has been stripped and one is thus able to see a pearl necklace on the surface of her breast.

Al Ashbah wa al-Nazair
A legal maxim normally consists of an abstract and epithetic statement of a fiqh position based on the overall reading of
available evidence in the Qur'an and Hadith.  By way of explanation, al-Suyuti raises the question:
Is it permitted to use for human consumption the giraffe?
Answer: the jurists have not taken a position on this and it is therefore halal in the light of the said maxim (when there is a
mixing of halal and haram the haram prevails) and also the fact that the giraffe is not a predatory animal.

‘iithaf al’akhsa bifadayil almasjid al’aqsaa (Especially the virtues of the Aqsa Mosque)
Taken from: http://books.islamww.com/bk_page-343-33.html

 

He said: The Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - said: Makkah is a sign of honor, the city is the religion of religions, Kufa (44) is the province of Islam, Basra is the pride of the Abidin (45), Sham (Syria) is the home of the righteous, Egypt is for the devil and its infidel and stable, adultery is in Zinj (61), honesty in Nubia, Bahrain, Thin and do not prepare them livelihood and imams of Quraysh (46), and the people of the tribe of Hashim (47) …..

 

Left a page from this book


Kitab al-izah fi'ilm al-nikah (The book of exposition)

 Taken from: The book of exposition = Kitab al-izah fi'ilm al-nikah

 

…….and know that the white women are the enjoyment

of mankind as well its adornment, while black women

are its sorrows and afflictions— as was said:

Remember that the white pearl

Can really boast no peer:

While a bushel of black coal

Is for a few pence bought ;

But Allah's first-preferred

Are the white of skin-clear

Whilst amongst Hell's folk, the Black

Are surely pitchforked there.


And as to the various kinds of women, those of the Greeks are the cleanest in that which appertained to their vulvas, and most of them possess broad bottoms well-adapted to the sitting posture, and favourable for coition ; the women of Andalusia are the most beautiful of face, and their smell is the best ; the women of India, and Sind (48) and of Sicily are the most reprehensible in their conditions, the ugliest of feature, the dirtiest in what concerned their vulvas and the most debased in intelligence ; the daughters of Zanzibar and Abyssinia are by nature more sweet-smelling than the rest and the most obedient ; the women of Baghdad and Babylonia are the greatest drawers-down of men's voluptuousness in the love-act above any other women in the world, while the Syrian women are towards men the unkindest.

The women of the Bedouins, and of Persia, are the most charming in respect of their secret conditions, and their children the most intelligent; for eloquence they are unrivalled, and in Sociability outshine all the rest; their faithfulness is known.

Mufhimat-il-Qur'an fi Mubhimat-il-Quran:

(The decisive centuries in the composition of the Quran)

Taken from: maktabatalarab.com

 

From the Koran: And found it rising (the sun) on a people that Allah had given nothing. Qatada said: It is said that they are the Zinj. Narrated by Abdul Razzak.

 

Badayie Alzuhwr fi Waqayie Alduhur (Flowers in the Chronicles of the ages)

 Taken from: بدائع الزهور في وقائع الدهور  by السيوطي  www.alwaraq.net

 

P18

Masoudi said in golden meadows. The author of the seven regions puts the origin of the Nile on the Mount of the Moon from ten springs; every one of them goes to one Batiha. He mentioned that the top of Moon Mount is senior and noble. It is mentioned that Mount Moon is behind the equator where the night and day are always equal and that the moon is always visible.

Masoudi said that the Nile is being flowing on the face of the earth for a thousand farsakh (42) on land and desert…………….

Al Kindi (49) said that the Nile comes out of the dome of aquamarine (beryl) and passes on the land where the gold bars sprout and there are two rivers. One is going to the land of India and is called the river of Mehran (67) and the other is going towards the land of Zinj and Hermes (9) said that four rivers are coming out of this dome they are the Sihan and Jihan and Euphrates and Nile it is said that the king of Narkawash Jabbar son of Masriem (50) went to the source of the Nile and dug and repaired its course and was dispensing in the ground and dispersed without the barrier because of his engineering and the legs of it many rivers went to many places to be used by people and there were there eighty-five statues of copper (10) to conduct the water until the water of the Nile come out of it, and it has round niches that bring water out of the rings of these statues, and make it known by the sections of the known branches, so that these rivers come out and then pour into two lakes……………

Al-Kindi (49) said that the Nile passes through sixty of the kingdoms of Abyssinia and Zanj, and Ibn Zulaq said in his history that some kings ordered to walk to where the Nile is coming from until they ended up in a high mountain and the water comes down from above and has a roar so heavy to barely hear the voice of others and then one of the people started the climb up the mountain to look beyond it and when he arrived above laughed and clapped his hands then went over the mountain and his friends did not know what happened then another man went up after him to see beyond that mountain, and what was the matter with his companion, he did like his companion and clapped and went over the mountain and did not return and they did not know what happened. A third said to his companions, put a rope around my middle. So he came to where his friends had reached and he did as they did. When he was at the top of the mountain, he applauded and wanted to go over the mountain. They pulled the rope to them and he came down to them. When he reached them he was unable to speak, he did not answer. And he died after an hour, and the people returned, and they did not know any other news of the Nile.

Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd (51)(may Allaah be pleased with him) said that a man named Hamed ibn Abi Salem, who was born of al-'Ias ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him), ran away from some mighty kings and arrived in Egypt. When he saw her (the Nile), he marvelled at him and vowed not to leave the Nile banks until he reaches the end and from where he goes out or dies before that.

Then he went up the Nile banks for about thirty years until he arrived at Mount Moon, so he sees a man praying under an apple tree when he saw him he greeted him and he said to the man under the tree Who are you, the man said to him Hamed I was born son of Isaac bin Ibrahim peace be upon him then Hamed said to him, I am Abu al-Abbas al-Khadr. Why did you come here? He said, in a quest to know the Nile,

( After his talk to the man and some more adventures he climes the mountain comes back, finds the man dead and goes back to Egypt)

al- Rawdah Wa-al-Miqyas; (The Nilometer and the island Rawḍah)

Taken from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cultnat/12611118983

 

A copy, transcribed by Muhammad Hamadah al-Mursi and dated 1114H; of a book that was written in 895 H. The book contains a great number of quotations (including poems, as well as Ahadith);

 

Theme: Imaginary dialogue between the cities of al-Rawdah and Cairo, each extolling its own excellence.

 

The page showing the river Nile; from its source (in the Moon mountains); to its estuary (into the Mediterranean), through its Rashid and Dumyat Branches.

al-Hi’a al-Saniya fi’l-hai’a as-sunniya (Astronomy according to the Koran, Tradition, and History)

Taken from: as cited in Tarih-i Hind-i Ḡarbi. Translation from: The Ottoman Turks and the New World: A Study of Tarih-i Hind-i Ḡarbi and Sixteenth-century Ottoman Americana. By Thomas D. Goodrich.

 

Taken from Layth b. Sa’d and proven in the correct way that a person named Hayd (70) from the lineage of Ishak settled in the region of Egypt. When he witnessed the strange conditions and the unusual aspects of the river Nile, he set forth to travel on the shores of the River Nile visiting all its sides and regions and [was determined] to reach its limits and to visit its mouth and its source. Then, with this project, he went to the shore of the river Nile. He voyaged and travelled thirty years, so that he passed beyond the limits of habitation and the dwellings of man and fell upon deserted places. Solitary and alone for thirty years more he wandered on land and desert and he reached the Green Sea [Bahr-i Ahzer]. He saw that the Nile originates from the Green Sea and flows forth in two branches. In that place an individual stood occupied at prayer. Then Hayd saluted the aforementioned individual with honor and respect, and they conversed. They asked each other his situation. Then the aforementioned individual stated,: I am 'Umran ben ‘Ays (52) and, in order to get knowledge about the conditions of the Nile, I went on a journey. I left my country with this desire. When I reached this place and entered this region, from the direction of God [Hak] a cry arose: Stay in your place. Beware lest you go one step forward. Then for many months and years I have complied with the said order and I have remained in this spot. But by a valid manner the news had reached me that an individual from the lineage of ‘Ays will truly go to the mouth of the Nile. He will be aware of the circumstances of the matter and solve the vexing problem. It is my fairly certain presumption — that you are the aforementioned person. In a short time you will reach the origin of the Nile. Then Hayd (70) sought information from the aforementioned person and asked him information about the means of reaching his object. The aforementioned person stated: Turn toward this sea. A great beast will come forth to meet you, whose beginnings you will see but not its ends. You will not know what its true nature is. Then without fear or apprehension, mount it, and it will take you across this endless sea and it will get you to the land of iron. You will go beyond there. You will go from there to the land of copper, and from there you will go to the land of silver, and from there you will reach the land of silver, and from there you will reach the land of gold. In that place you will bring to a conclusion the knowledge of the Nile.

Then Hayd wandered and travelled as explained and passed the above mentioned places and arrived all the way to the land of gold. Traveling for some time in the land of gold he reached a gladsome walled city [sur-u pur su'rur] whose buildings were wonderful and whose roof and wall were completely gold, and within the aforementioned wall there was a dome of pure gold on whose sides were four gates. A great river descended on the upper part of the city-wall and settled in the aforementioned dome. Later it became four parts, and each of its parts turned toward a gate and left. Three of its parts flowed down into the inside regions of the earth, and one of its parts flowed on the surface of the earth in the customary way. It seems that the blessed Nile is the aforementioned part. Thus the fateful desire of Hayd (70) was accomplished. Waters were sprinkled on his soul. He drank some of the water of the Nile, which pleased his weary spirits. Afterwards he decided to ascend the above mentioned city-wall. An angel appeared suddenly. It stated: You know the end of the Nile and you have reached the limit of knowledge of it. You have found your desire. Hereafter there is no path for you. This that you see is Heaven. The River Nile descends from Heaven.

Tibb-ul-Nabbi,  (Medicine of the Prophet)

Taken from : Tibb-ul-Nabbi, Or Medicine of the Prophet: Being a Translation of Two Works of the Same Name, By Cyril Elgood.

 

PRINCIPLES OF TREATMENT

……..It is not easy for him to treat a very old man or a gourmand or a young child or a person very tired or one in charge of a public bath or one whose faculties are weak or a hypochondriac or one very weak in body or a very fat person or a negro or one with an ulcer or anyone in very hot or very cold weather or one who is already accustomed to taking medicine……..

 

Kitab al-rahma fi al-tibb wa-al-hikma (The Book of Mercy on Medicine and Wisdom)

Taken from: Livre de la misericorde dans l'art de guérir les maladies et de conserver la santé, par M. Pharaon.

 

King Chosroes (71) one day brought together four doctors: an Iraqi, a Christian, an Indian, a sage from Sudan; and spoke to them in these terms: Let each one of you indicate to me the remedy which will ward off all disease. The scholar of Iraq, Arabi replied: you must swallow, on an empty stomach, each morning, three sips of hot water. The Christian: eat every day on an empty stomach, a little cresson. The Indian: take three nuts in the morning on an empty stomach. of black myrobolan. (Because myrobolan excites the black bile.) The black doctor from Sudan said nothing. So you don't give me your opinion? Said the king. The best remedy, O my master, is to eat only when one is hungry and to cease before one is full. Do so and, until the appointed hour for your death, you will avoid all disease. It's true! It's true! Cried the other doctors.

 

Bughyat al-wu’ah: fi tabaqat al-lughawiyin (Classes of Linguists and Grammarians)

Taken from: Bughyat al-wuʻāh: fī ṭabaqāt al-lughawiyīn wa-al-nuḥāh, Volume 2 by Suyūṭī

 

There, people read; And he is peerless and pious; I have been informed that he passed away in the year eight hundred and three, may God have mercy on him. From Tabaqat al Zubaidi (53). He used to take them into complementary grammar, until they used the words of the Zanj. With what hurtful and against: To describe prose and systems?

 

al-Muzhir fi ulum al-luga wa-anwa iha (The Luminous Work on Sciences of Language)

Taken from:  al-Muzhir fī ʿulūm al-luġa wa-anwāʿihā - Volume 1 by Suyuti

 

Their words are like a bottle, otherwise meanings are satisfactory for every generation from the people of monotheism in the North to the Zinj and Tartars and Turks. But they were short of their tongues to reach Maramouh of the Arabs. You may prepare the loudest of the tongues of the Arabs and the least that the speaker must explain.

 

Jam al jawami (The collection of mosques)

Taken from: Jamʻ al-jawāmiʻ: al-maʻrūf bi-al-Jāmiʻ al-Kabīr, by Suyuti

 

Hadith number 4226
Al-Tayyari on the authority of Ibn Abbas (68) and his symbol for the good. Al-Manawi said:
The meaning of "my prayer from Sudan" means: from Zinj.
13307
Al-Libyan said: and the wild slave of Zinj, if he is satisfied he will be inherited and grow in power.


Kitab al-Wasa’il fī ila ma’rifat al-awa’il (Means to know the early adopters)
Taken from: الوسائل إلى معرفة الأوائل - Page 108 by Suyuti

I liked it until they used the words of the zinj and the rum, when I heard words that I did not understand, as if they were ravens.

Kitab alkinz almadfun walfulk almashhun (The Book of Buried Treasure and Charged Astronomy)
Taken from: كتاب الكنز المدفون والفلك المشحون ‏ by Suyuti

P109
And talking about the human qualities
(Others) Four are not known in four people
Generosity in Rum
And loyalty among Turks
And the courage in Nabateans (54)
And understanding in Zinj
P173
…….and Koukou (55), Zaghawa (56), Kawar (57) and Fezzan (58), and as for the Nuba races, they are: Anj, Anksa, Al-Batan, Gulwa, and Maqra. As for the Beja races, there are two classes: a class called Al-Hidaria and a class called Al-Zanafa. As for the Abyssinian races, they are: Ahamrah Sahar, Jazal Belin, Damut Khumid, Kavat, and several more, As for Zinj, two classes Kabila and Katajwia (59). As for India, it is three sects……
P251
... Haraj in the Indian Sea, Andalusia island in the west, Sicily, Cyprus Island, the Eternal Islands, and they are three islands in the surrounding sea, Al Sabli Islands in the dark sea, Moon Island, including the source of the Nile, which is behind the equator, Zang Island in the far end of India in the China Sea Alamni Island…………


Sharah Sunan al Nisayiyu (Explanation of Sunan Al-Nasa’i)

Taken from: شرح سنن النسائي - ذخيرة العقبى - ج 6

 

They agreed that the principle of the Nile is from the Mountains of the Moon. …. an analogy of the moon in its whiteness stems from twelve eyes, then ten rivers emanate from them: one of them is the Nile of Egypt, which is the first of the springs to flow on the lands of Abyssinia…..

(1) Abu al-Faraj Qudamah: Abu al-Faraj Qudamah bin Jaafar said in Kitab al-Kharaj: see my webpage Qadama (930).

(2) Jihon: the Geon: The author of Genesis describes Gihon as "encircling the entire land of Cush", a name associated with Ethiopia elsewhere in the Bible. This is the reason that Ethiopians have long identified the Gihon (Giyon) with the Abay River (Blue Nile), which encircles the former kingdom of Gojjam.

(3) Al-Tafashi: on another book of him see my webpage Ibn Yusuf Tifashi (d 1253).

(4) island of Chemi: Jimi (Gimi), (Himi): al Makrizi (1441) mentions it on the Niger; abulfida (1331) and Ibn Said (1250) make it the kaptial of Kanim/Kanem. Al Umari (1349) has Jimi, Jamie, Chemi.

(5) Serendib: in Sumatra.

(6) Ahmed ibn Bakhtiar: an important judge from Wasit in the 12th century AD. His statement is repeated by: Suyuti (1445-d1505); Ibn al Jawzi (1257); Ibn al Jawzi (1200); Ibn al-Dawadari (1335); Annon: Dhikr Kalam (15th).

(7) Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah: see my webpage Wasif Shah: Akhbar al-zaman (1209).

(8) Ibn al Wardi: see my webpage Ibn al Wardi (1348).

(9) Hermes: The first Hermes, was a "civilizing hero", an initiator into the mysteries of the divine science and wisdom that animate the world. Hermes is here a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth in the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

(10) 85 tamatil: or tamafil: the 85 copper or bronze statues build at the source of the Nile by Hermes. They are mentioned by the following authors: Maslamah ibn Ahmad Majriti (1050); Wasif Shah (1209); Murtada Ibn al-Afif (1237); Picatrix: (1256); Nuwayri (1333); Ibn al-Dawadari (1335); al Maqrizi (1441); Ibn al Wardi (1456); Dhikr Kalam al-Nas fi Manba’ al-Nil (15th); Suyuti (d1505).

(11) Massoudi: see my webpage Masudi (916).

(12) Al-Maqrizi; see my webpage Al-Maqrizi (1441).

(13) Mount Qaquli: also found with Al-Maqrizi (1441).

(14) River of the Damadim: river of Demadem or of Maqdashou: Cowar el-aqalim (1347) also speaks of the Nile of Demadem or of Maqdashou. al Maqrizi (1441): the Nile River Damadem; Suyuti (1505) has Damadim.

(15) Naqraush: King Naqraus: Maqrizi (1441) has Naqraush; also mentioned by Suyuti (1505); Wasif Shah (1209) has: King Naqraus.

Naqraush the valiant, son of the first Misraim, son of Markabil, son of Douabil, son of Arbab, son of Adam: this is literally copied from Maqrizi (1441).

(16) Amosus: several Pharaohs had the name Ahmose. Wasif Shah (1209) writes: “There was in old Misr, whose name was then Amsus ….” so it should have been an old name for Egypt. Murtada Ibn al-Afif (d1237) has Emsos; Nuwayri (1333): Amosus; al Maqrizi (1441): Amsus Amsous; Assus in Annon: Dhikr Kalam (15th); Suyuti (1505): Amsous.

(17) Budchir; Al-Budashir: literally meaning form the Red House. Found in Ibn al-Dawadari (1335); Wasif Shah (1209) has Al-Budashir; Nuwayri (1333) has Al-Boudsir, Ibn Khaldun (1406) Al-Boudashir Ibn Qubt; al Maqrizi (1441) has Budchir; Annon: Dhikr Kalam (15th) has Berdashir; Suyuti (1505) has Budchir.

(18) river Alehran: Al Mekran (in Pakistan).

(19) Ibn al-Jawzi entitled Tanwir al Ghabash: see my webpage Ibn al Jawzi: Tanwir al-Ghabash fi fadl al-Sudan wa al-Habash (d1200).

(20) hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra: (603–680), was one of the companions of Islamic prophet Muhammad and, the most prolific narrator of hadith.

(21) Gog and Magog: high North of the globe.

(22) Amr b. al-As: Amr ibn al-As al-Sahmi (c. 573 – 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664.

(23) Negus: the Ethiopian emperor

(24) Betrothal of Umm Habiba to the Prophet: she married Muhammad while she was in Abyssinia.

(25) Umm al-Fadl: Lubaba bint al-Harith (died c. 650), was a prominent early Muslim. Two of her sisters, Maymuna bint al-Harith and Zaynab bint Khuzayma, became wives of Muhammad.

(26) hadith published by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak: Mustadrak Al Hakim is a five volume hadith collection written by Hakim al-Nishapuri (in Iran) in the year (1003 CE).

(27) Ibn Jarir (al Tabari): also known as al-Tabari or in Persian as Tabari, 839–923 CE, was an influential scholar, historian and commentator on the Qur'an from Amol, Tabaristan. (see also my webpage Al Tabari (922)).

(28) Torah: here the Jews.

(29) Ibn Abi Hatim: (854–5–938),was a transmitter, critic, traditionist, and exegete, who was born in Rayy (north-eastern Iran).

(30) Gehenna: Hell.

(31) Ibn al-Jauzi; Gawzi; Ibn al Jawzi (1200).

(32) Ibn al Marzuban: Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-Marzuban was a philologist of Persian origin (d921 CE). He was a scholar of hadith, poetry and the Quranic sciences.

(33) Al-Hafiz al-Mandhari: Imam Al-Mundhiri was born in Egypt in (1185-1258)of Syrian Origin. He was a master in hadith, Arabic language and history.

(34) Abu al-Abbas al-Nashi: Abu al-Abbas al-Nashi al-Akbar (d906 AD).

(35) O Lord of Khod: : Khod means Lord or God in Persian.

(36) Jalal-al-Din-al-Mahalli (1389-1459): on a different book of this author see my webpage Jalal-al-Din-al-Mahalli (d1459).

(37) sea of Zifti: sea of Pitch or the Black or Gravelly Sea.

(38) Lake Kori: see my webpage on Ibn Said (1250).

(39) Kannum; Kannam; Kanem in West Africa.

(40) stone albaht: Pieces of the story of the tones Baht or Bahit brought by Alexander from the country of the Zanj and found in the mountains of the moon called the magnet of men or who make people laugh till they die and which story comes originally from Aristotle can be found in: al Maqrizi (1441); Suyuti (1445-d1505); Qadi Ibn Sasri Al-Shafi’I (1300); Al Umari (1349); Al-Dimashqi (1325); Al Zuhri (1137).

(41) the author of marat alzaman: Ahmed bin Bakhtiar: an important judge from Wasit in the 12th century AD. His statement is repeated by: Suyuti (1445-d1505); Ibn al Jawzi (1257); Ibn al Jawzi (1200); Ibn al-Dawadari (1335); Annon: Dhikr Kalam (15th).

(42) farsakhs: Parasang: 1 parasangs or farsakhs = 2.8 nautical miles/ about 5km.

(43) Sheikh Izz al-Din bin Jamaeat : Izz Al Din ibn Jama'ah (694-767 H /1294-1365 AD) born in Damascus, he took over the judiciary in Egypt. Also mentioned by Dhahirah (1457); Annon: Dhikr Kalam (15th).

(44) Kufa: Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres south of Baghdad.

(45) Abidin: literally worshippers.

(46) Quraysh: tribe of the Prophet Mohamed.

(47) Hashim: Banu Hashim is one of the clans of the Quraysh tribe.

(48) Sind: now in Pakistan.

(49) Al Kindi: see my webpage Al Kindi (968) Fada il Misr (The excellent qualities of Egypt).

(50) king of Narkawash Jabbar son of Masriem: see note on Naqraush (note 15).

(51) In Suyuti (1505) he is called Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd; in Ibn Abd’essalam al-Menoufi (15th): Alleith ibn-Saad; Al-Muqaddasi (985) al-Laith ibn Sa‘d; Dawadari (1335): Al-Layth bin Saad.  

Al-Layth ibn Saʿd ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Fahmi al-Qalqashandi (713-791) was the chief representative, imam, and eponym of the Laythi school of Islamic Jurisprudence. He was regarded as the main representative of an Egyptian tradition of law.

(52) Repeated by the following authors: Masudi (916): Amran, son of Jabir; Al-Muqaddasi: (985) has Imran; in Dawadari (1335): a man from the son of Al-Ais bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim; Ibn Abd’essalam al-Menoufi (15th): Amran ibn-Folan ibn-al-Aiss ibn-Ishak ibn-Ibrahim; Suyuti (1505): Umran ben ‘Ays.

(53) Tabaqat al Zubaidi: Abu Bakr al-Zubaydi(d989): Tabaqat al-Nahwiyin (on grammar).

(54) Nabateans: were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant.

(55) Koukou: or Qaqu: the Kuku of al-Zayyat 1058; Ibn al Jawzi 1257; Al-Dimashqi 1325; Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi (d897) has Qaqu; Yakut 1220 Koko; Suyuti (1505) Koukou

(56) Zaghawa: also called Beri or Zakhawa, are a Sahelian Muslim ethnic group primarily residing in Fezzan North-eastern Chad, and western Sudan, including Darfur.

(57) Kawar: The Kaouar is a series of ten oases in the southern Sahara in northeast Niger, covering about 75 km (50 mi) from north to south.

(58) Fezzan; Fazz, Fazzan: in south west Libya.

(59) As for Zinj, two classes Kabila and Katajwi: Other authors have the following two classes:

-al-Sahib ibn Abbad (995); Alkharzinjy: A Tale of Al Jahiz in which: Zinj of two kinds, one called lkfw and the other lytw.

-Jahiz (869) mentioned this tale in two books: Kitab al Hayawan and Al-Fakhar al-Sudan: the tribes of Zinj are of two types: the ants and the dogs, this tribe are the dogs, and that tribe are the ants.

-Al-Dimashqi (1325): they are divided in two tribes, the Qabliet and the Kendjewiat, the first name means ants, the second dogs.

-Suyuti (1505): As for Zinj, two classes Kabila and Katajwia.

(60) Oualid: Al-Walid: Ar-Rayyan ibn al-Walid ibn Dauma was an Amalekite king of Misr during the time of Prophet Yusuf (=Joseph)

Walid is mentioned in the following books: Al-Mas'udi: (916) Kitab al-Ausat; Ibn Babawayh (991); Maslamah ibn Ahmad Majriti (1050); Katib Marrakesh (12th); Wasif Shah (1209); Ibn al-Dawadari (1335); Nuwayri (1333); Maqrizi (1441) (Oualid); Ibn Abd'essalem al-Menoufi (15th); Suyuti (1505).

(61) This hadith is repeated by: Ibn Uday Al-Jurjani, (d976) Ibn Iraq (1036); al Maydani (1124); al Dhahabi (1348); al Abshihi (1450); al Sakhawi (1497); Suyuti (1505); (and many others).

(62) The curse of Ham is repeated by:

- Ibn Qutayba (880)

- Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi (d897)

- Al-Kisa'i (d904)

- Eutychius of Alexandria: (d. 940 A.D.)

- Muhammad Bal'ami (10th)

- Al Rabghuzi; Qisas al Anbiya (1300)

-Al Dimashqi (1325)

- Ibn Khaldun (1406)

- Suyuti (1505)

(63) Misr =Egypt

(64) Idris: is an ancient prophet mentioned in the Quran, whom Muslims believe was the third prophet after Seth. He is the second prophet mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition has unanimously identified Idris with the biblical Enoch.

(65) Mizraim is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people. According to Genesis 10, Mizraim son of Ham was the younger brother of Cush and elder brother of Phut whose families together made up the Hamite branch of Noah's descendants.

(66) Banu Arbab: literally meaning Lords. He is better known as Abel.

(67) Mehran of al-Sindh: Mehran River, a local name for the Indus River in Sindh, Pakistan.

(68) ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbas, also known as Ibn ʿAbbas, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was highly regarded for his 

(69) Nur Eddin Zangi (ruled 1145-1178 CE) commonly known as Nur ad-Din, was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syrian province of the Seljuk Empire.

(70) Haid ibn-Abu-Schalum ibn-al-Aiss-ibn-Ishak ibn-Ibrahim: Aiss, called Haid ibn-Abu-Schalum ibn al-Aiss-ibn-Ishak ibn-Ibrahim, also mentioned by Ibn Abd’essalam al-Menoufi (15th); Ibn al-Dawadari (1335) has al-Ais; Grandson of Muhallib bin Muhammad bin Shadi (1126); Suyuti (1505) has: Hayd from the lineage of Ishak; Dhikr Kalam (end 15th) has Hyad, one of the children of Ees (Aiss); Yaqut’s (1229); Al-Muqaddasi (985) calls him: al-Laith;

(71) Key Khosrow: Kay Khosrow is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book, Shahnameh.