Muhammad Kibrit
- Died
- 1070 AH
- Born in
- Medina
Muhammad Kibrit (1012–1070 AH / 1603–1660 CE) was an Arabic man of letters and writer from Medina, best known for his travelogue Rihlat al-Shita wa al-Sayf ("The Journey of Winter and Summer") .
Lineage and Early Life
His full lineage is Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Shams al-Din ibn Ahmad al-Husayni al-Musawi al-Madani, tracing his descent to Sharaf al-Din ibn Yahya al-Hamzi al-Husayni al-Mawlawi . He was born in Medina in 1012 AH (1603 CE), where he was raised and began his literary and scholarly pursuits .
Travels and Literary Career
In 1039 AH, he embarked on an extensive journey to the Ottoman lands (al-Rum), and subsequently visited Damascus and Cairo . He documented his observations and encounters from this journey in Rihlat al-Shita wa al-Sayf . Among his other writings are Al-Jawahir al-thamina fi mahasin al-Madina ("Precious Jewels on the Beauties of Medina"), dedicated to the virtues and history of his home city, and Nasr min Allah wa-fath qarib ("Victory from Allah and an Imminent Conquest"), which contains biographical sketches of notable figures of Medina .
Standing and Controversies
While recognized for his prose and literary erudition, he faced hostility from certain contemporaries who accused him of heresy (al-ilhad), an accusation attributed to his divergence from their conventional methods of research and discourse .
Death
He died in Medina in 1070 AH (1659–1660 CE) . Other death dates appear in biographical literature: Isa ibn Lutfallah dated his death to 1016 AH, and modern bibliographer Carl Brockelmann gave 1011 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Rihlat al-Shita wa al-Sayf ("The Journey of Winter and Summer") is an Arabic prose travelogue that records an extensive journey from Medina to the Ottoman lands (al-Rum), Damascus, and Cairo.