al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tabaqat Rabbat al-Khudur
- Author died
- 1332 AH
- Editions
- Al-Maṭba‘ah al-Kubrā al-Amīrīyah
al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tabaqat Rabbat al-Khudur (The Scattered Pearls Concerning the Generations of the Mistresses of Seclusion) is a biographical dictionary of prominent women throughout world history compiled by the Lebanese-born writer and historian Zaynab Fawwaz (d. 1332 AH / 1914 CE) .
Scope and Contents
The work gathers biographical entries on women across different eras and civilizations, encompassing female writers, poets, and historical figures from both the East and the West . On the opening page of the volume, the author inscribed verses stating her aim to serve womankind through the compendium:
كتابي تبدى جنة في قصورها * تروح روح الفكر روح التراجم
خدمت به جنسي اللطيف وإنه * لأكرم ما يهدى لغر الكرائمMy book appeared as a paradise within whose palaces the breeze of thought refreshes the spirit of biographies; / Through it I have served my gentle sex, and it is indeed the most noble gift to offer distinguished noblewomen.
Publication History
The book was first published in Cairo at the Amiri Press in Bulaq in 1312 AH (1894–1895 CE), spanning a single large volume of over 550 pages . It was subsequently reprinted through photographic reproduction in Beirut .
Reception and Impact
Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli praised the work as a substantial volume and described it as one of the best works compiled in its subject matter . The book also served as an inspiration for later regional biographical works; for instance, discussions regarding al-Durr al-Manthur led the Tunisian scholar Hasan Husni Abd al-Wahhab to compile his biographical work on notable women of Tunisia from the Islamic conquest to the modern era .
Critics noted certain unscrutinized historical errors transmitted in the text, such as the claim that the mystic Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya died in Jerusalem and was buried on Mount al-Tur; however, commentators remarked that Fawwaz was merely transmitting widely circulated reports from earlier scholars who had committed the same oversight .
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