Jerusalem-traditions.pdf A Comment on the Antiquity of Traditions Praising] erusalem MEIR KISTER UR TOPIC of discussion is closely related to the hadiths of Fadd'il Bayt af-Maqdis. Two of the most important problems in the analysis of these hadiths are determining their dates of composition, and when they were committed to writing. We can say with cfcrtainty that they were well-known and widely circulated as early as the beginning of the second century after the hidjra. Decisive proof of this is the incl usion of a large chapter of hadiths extolling the merits of Jerusalem in the work of Muqatil (d. 150 A.H.1765 C.E.). I These l;adFths-about 60 in number-are transmitted without isndd [chain of authorities] and contain most of the elements known to us from later works in praise of Jerusalem. 2 Ibn al-Faqih transmits them in Muqatil's name in the chapter of his book devoted to praise of Jerusalem.' Examples of these hadiths are: "Jerusalem is the land God has chosen from among other lands"; "He who chose to die in Jerusalem, has died as if in heaven"; "All sweet water originates beneath the Rock [foundation stone of the Temple]"; "The Rock is the navel of the universe"; "God will destroy Yddjtid] lI'aMiidjudj (Gog and Magog) in Jerusalem"; "Before his death in India, Adam commanded that he be brought to Jerusalem for burial"; "The ingathering and resurrection of the dead will take place in Jerusalem." It seems to me that all these hadiths may be attributed without hesitation to the latter half of the first century of the hidjra (the end of seventh century C.E.). No less ancient, in my opinion, is the hadith, "The establishment of the site of the Temple will be the destruction of Yathrib." 4 I would ascribe it to the period of the building of Jerusalem, i.e. the seventh decade of the first century, along with other hadiths of a similar nature: the tradition that Muhammad's nation will build the "Temple", 5 the O l 2 3 4 5 See F. Sezgin, GAS I, p. 36-37. Muqatil, Tafsir, ms. Saray Ahmad III, 74, I, f. 2 lOa. Kitdb al-Bulddn, ed. De Goeje (Leiden, 1885), p. 93-95. Al-Djahiz, al-Baytin wa-l-Tabyin. II, ed. al-Sandubi, (Cairo 135111932), p. 28; Abu Dawud, Sa~rI:zSunan al-Mustafd, (Cairo 1348/1929), p. 209; al-Samhudi, Wafa' al-Wafd. I, ed. M. Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-Hamid (Cairo 1375/1955), p. 120; Ibn Kathlr, Nihdyat al-Biddya wal-Nihdya. I, cd. M. Fahim AbuUbayd (Riyad 1968), p. 79; al-Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, IV (Cairo 1391/1972), p. 360, no. 5612; al-Dhahabi, Mtzan aiI'riddl, II, ed. 'All M. al-Bidjawi (Cairo 1382/1963), p. 552, no. 4828; al-t Azizi, al-Sirddj al-Munir, II (Cairo 1377/1957), p. 460; al-Daylami, Musnad al-Firdaws, ms. Chester Beaty, no. 3037, f. 105a; al-Bukhari. alTa'rikh al-Kabir, III (Hyderabad 1377/1958), I, p. 193, no. 613. Ibn Nasir al-Din, Djdmi' al-Athdr fi Mawlid al-Nabi al-Mukhhar, ms. Cambridge, Or. 913, f. 48b. MEIR KISTE"R dispute over Muhammad's place of burial, in which a group of his friends demanded that he be brought to Jerusalem, the resting place of the prophets," the stories about the construction of the Temple 7 and the burning of the Temple, 8 about Israfil standing on the Rock on the Day of Resurrection, 9 or Jesus blessing Hebron, 10 and the tradition about the Ka'ba's journey to the Rock on Judgment Day.1I To summarize, Jerusalem praise literature emerged in the second half of the first century of the hidjra (the end of the seventh century C.E.) and was put into writing in the first half of the second century of the hidjra (eighth century C.E.}.lJadfths in praise of Jerusalem may be found in the earliest collections of hadiths and Qur'anic exegesis. Jewish converts to Islam played an important role in disseminating stories from the Bible and Midrash, and even held parties upon completion of reading the Torah." Although they had severed their ties with the Jewish community, they did not relinquish their heritage, passing this wealth on to Islam. These isrd'iliyydt were absorbed in the Islamic system of values and eventually became an integral part of it. It is only natural, then, that praise of Jerusalem should be of such importance in the body of isrd'Iliyyiit. The role played by the zuhhdd or pious ascetics has also been mentioned. There is evidence that these people did in fact circulate Jerusalem praise literature. I) It should also be noted that some of them served in the Umayyad government 14which was extremely interested in developing and promoting such literature. 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 Ibn Hadjar al-Haythami, al-Sawd' iq al-Muhriqa, ed. 'Abd al-Wahhab 'Abd al-Latif (Cairo 13751 1955), p. 32; Life of the Prophets. anon., ms. British Museum 1510. f. 250a. See 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf. V, ed. 'Abd al-Rahrnan al-A'zarni (Beirut 1392/1972j, pp. 426-428. AI-FakihI, Ta'rfkh Makka, ms. Leiden, Or. 463, f. 469b-470a. Muqatil, Tafsir. II, p. 169a. Nu'ayrn b. Harnmad, K. al-Fitan. ms. British Museum, Or. 9449, f. 65a (and compare ibid .. f. 65bj. Al-FakihI, ibid., f.416b. See Ibn Sad, Tabaqtit, VII (Beirut, 1960), pp. 110, 222. See for example Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Isti'tib, ed. 'All M. al-Bidjawi, III (Cairo 1380/1960j, p. 894. no. 1518 (wa-rawa /f fadli-l-shtim al-a~iidfth). See for example al-Minqari, Waq'at Siffin. ed. 'Abd al-Salarn Harun (Cairo 1382/1963), pp. 85-86, about the role of Abu Muslim al-Khawlani in the battle between 'All and Mu'awiya. 

Three_MSS.pdf NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM 1. MS Or. 7698, entitled Adab al-muridin, was attributed by A. G. Ellis and E. Edwards 1 to 'Ubaidullah b. Mul}.ammadb. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Samarqandi. The text begins on fol. 13a and is preceded in the MS by the 'Aja'ib al-qulUb of al-Samarqandi. A rather late note on the front page, by a hand different from that of the scribe of the two treatises, gives the contents of the MS as , Risala fi 'aja'ib al-qulub Ii-'Ubaidillah b. Mulj,ammad b. 'AM al-'Aziz alSamarqandi quddisa sirruhu: Kitab Adab al-muridin '. Ellis and Edwards erroneously assumed that like the 'Aja'ib al-qulub the Adab al-muridin was also by al-Samarqandi. In fact, however, the author of the Adab al-muridin is J;>iya'aI-Din Abu'lNajib 'Abd al-Qiihir al-Suhrawardi (A.H. 490-563). Comparing the explicit of the British Museum MS with the explicit ofMS Tiibingen 89 i, and the contents of the MS with the description of al-Suhrawardi's work given by H. Ritter in Der Islam, xxv, 1939, 35, the authorship of al-Suhrawardi can be established with certainty. The explicit of the British Museum MS reads as follows: ... wa-'a~amana min aijawahish mii ~aharaminha wa-mii batana wa-waffaqana li-talab marifiitihi mii khafiya minha wa-mii 'aluna wa-nafa'ana wa-jami'a'lmuslimina bimii jama'nii wa-la yaj'aIhu 'alayna man na~ra fihi waoolan wa-la yaj'al lj,a~~na min dhalika jama'h wa-hif~h duna isti'miiIih wa-mutaba'atik bijildih wa-si'at rahmatih innah 'azza ismuh qarib mujib. A few folios are missing at the beginning; the text begins on fol. 13a as follows: ... wa-in quita ayna fa-qad taqaddama hua 'ala'l-makiin .... The MS (16 X 12 cm.) was copied by Hibatulliih b. Mul}.ammadaI-Ants i in A.H. 743, as stated at the end of the MS (fol. 56b). Ritter writes that the Adab al-muridin is an important treatise and is the most famous work of al-Suhrawardi.2 Fr. Meier classifies it as a comprehensive description of f;!iifismfrom the point of view of the adab 3 (contrary to Kubrii., who deals only with manners of behaviour). 2. The MS of the Kitab al-FarJil, Or. 6499 (fols. 94a-143b), was described by Ellis and Edwards as ' a book of witty utterances in prose and verse, compiled about A.H. 300 '. The title of the book is indicated in the MS, fol. 93b, as follows: 'Hadha'lkitab al-musammii bi-K itab al-FarJil4fi funun al-balaghawa-'I-bara'a wa-anwa' aZ ijaz wa-'Ija~aha '. The title mentioned at the end of the book (fol. 143b) differs, however, from the title on the front page: al-Kitab al-musammii biU A descriptive list of the Arabic MSS in the British Museum, London, 1912. In Der Islam, xxv, 1939, 35, as quoted above. 3 Fr. Meier, 'Ein Knigge fur $ufi's', Rivista di Studi Orientali, XXXII, 1957, 491; cf. the quotations given in Meier's article. , In the MS: al-Fuzil. 1 2 391 NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS Kitiib al-Fai/iIfi §iJat al-adab al-kamil. The title given on fol, 93b is connected with the description of the book given by the author in his preface: ... fa~ana'tu laka kitiiban ji-'I-baliigha wa-'I-iJaz wa-'I-bara'a (fol, 94a). The title at the end of the book is apparently derived from the statement of the author on fol, 94b, 1. 1: .. , wa-tarjamtuhu bi-Kitiib al-Fai/iIIiJaijIihi 'ala kulli kitiibin kamil. The MS (29 X 19 cm.) was copied in A.H. 1217 in Basra in a clear, legible script. It is divided into two parts and contains 25 lines on every page. The MS begins as follows: A(ala Allah fi 'fill afya'l-salama baqdka, walJ,ajaba'an ghiyar nawa'ib al-dahr na'miika, wa ja'alaka Ii-mutawakhkhi subUgh al-ni'am ma'kilan. The MS is identical with the MS mentioned by Muhammad Abu'l-Fa<;llIbrahlm in his introduction to the Kitiib al-Fai/il of al-Mubarrad.' The al-Fai/il of Mubarrad is, however, quite different from the book al-Fai/il preserved in the British Museum and the Istanbul MSS. The BM and Istanbul texts are identical with the text contained in the MS described in Lughat al-'Arab, IX, pp. 282, 337, 674.2 After an examination of the BM MS and its comparison with the description in the Lughat al-'Arab it may be stated that the author of the book is al-Washsha' (d. A.H. 325), the author of the Kitiib al-Muwashshii. The variants of the title may be mentioned: al-Fai/i1min al-adab al-shamil3 and al-Fai/il min al-adab al-kiimil.4 3. The MS of the Makarim al-akhlaq, Or. 7598, attributed in the descriptive list of Ellis and Edwards to Ibn Abi'l-Dunyii, contains in fact the text of Radt al-Din Abu'I-Nasr b. Amin aI-Din al-Tabarsl's Makarim al-akhlaq.5 The MS begins as follows: AI-bab al-awwalfi khaIqihi wa-khuIuqihi,' khamsat fu~ul. A11a~1 al-awwal fi khaIqihi wa-khuIuqihi wa-siratihi ma'a juIasa'ihi bi-riwiiyat al-lJasan wa-'I-lJusayn, corresponding to p. 5 of the printed edition, Cairo, A.H. 1300. Thus the contents of the first five pages of the printed edition are missing in the MS. On fol. 85b the copyist, Mirza 'Ali al-Sultanl, states that he copied nine chapters of the book Makarim al-akhlaq by al-Tabarsl in the month of Muharram 966; the three chapters forming the rest of the book are found in fols. 97a-llOb and 115a-201a. The copyist states that he finished the copying of the whole book on the day of Nayruz 966, while he was far from his family and relatives. On fol. 89b the copyist mentions that he carried out his work in the' town of the Unitarians (baidat al-muwahhidin), Qazwln '. Fols. 86a-96 and 111-14 contain interesting Shi'ite traditions, the sources of which are supplied. These traditions are scattered all over the book in the printed editions. Fo1. 86a contains quotations from Qutb al-Dln alRawandj's Tafsir and his al-Khara'iJ wa-'I-jara'ih. Fols. 87a-89b contain traditions about the behaviour of a man on his journey. Fol. 90a contains a tradition Ed. al-Maymani, Cairo, 1956, p. 'd '. • cf. also Brockelmann, GAL, I, 124, Suppl., I, 189. 3 Brockelmann, GAL, I, 124. , Brockelmann, Suppl., I, 189. • Brockelmann, GAL, I, 405 (al-Tabarsl, 5), Suppl., I, 709. 1 NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS 392 read by AbU Dii'iid al-Sijistiini in Baghdad in A.H. 307 in a public assembly. The tradition is quoted on the authority of al-Asbagh b. Nubata and records the orders of 'Ali about the fate of Ibn Muljam. The tradition is copied from the book al-Riyarf, al-?iihira. Fol. 91 contains 'Ali's remarks about merchants in the markets and is told on the authority of Ibn Nubiita. Fol. 92 deals with qualities of different fruits and vegetables and is copied from Kitiib al-Firdaws (by Abu Shujii' Shirawaih al-Dailami I). Fol. 93 contains details about the manners of the Prophet and is copied from the K itab al-N ubuwwa. The tradition about manners of dining is given on the authority of Muhammed b. Ja'far al'Ai?imand is copied from the Kitab al-Ba§a'ir (fol. 94). The tradition about 'Ali on fol. 95 is taken from the book of ' Zuhd ' of the Commander of the Faithful. Fol. 96 contains traditions about blessings of sheep, cocks, and hens. Fol. 112 deals with begging forgiveness from God for sins and advice to the believers. Fol. 114 is about values of food and vegetables. Fols. 202-10 contain a treatise about prayers and invocations; the script is somewhat different, but is signed by the same copyist, Mirza 'Ali al-Sultani. The treatise was copied from the Manahij al-§alah fi-mukhta§ar al-Mi§bah. The last fols. (211-13) are a beginning of a treatise about repentance. The small MS (9 X 17 cm.) is written in a nice, clear miniature Persian script. On the margin the copyist added explanations of words and expressions. M. J. KISTER