al-Ilan bil-Tawbikh liman Dhamm Ahl al-Tawarikh
- Author died
- 902 AH
- Editions
- t al-Dhafiri
al-Ilan bil-Tawbikh liman Dhamm Ahl al-Tawarikh (The Declaration of Reproof to Those Who Censure the People of History) is a treatise on Islamic historiography and the defense of the historical discipline written by the Shafi'i hadith scholar and historian al-Sakhawi (831–902 AH / 1428–1497 CE) .
Title and Composition
The work is recorded under several slight variants in its title across manuscripts and citations:
- In his biographical compendium al-Daw' al-Lami', al-Sakhawi referred to it as al-I‘lan bi-l-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma al-Tawrikh, while in Wajiz al-Kalam he mentioned it as al-I‘lam bi-l-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma al-Tawrikh and al-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma al-Tawrikh .
- Manuscript titles and introductory phrases include al-I‘lan bi-l-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma al-Ta’rikh, al-I‘lan bi-l-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma al-Tawarikh, and al-I‘lan bi-l-Tawbikh li-Man Dhamma Ahl al-Tawrikh .
Al-Sakhawi completed the fair copy of the text in 897 AH (1492 CE), toward the end of his life, though the exact date when he began drafting it is unrecorded .
Background and Purpose
Al-Sakhawi composed the treatise to fill an absence of comprehensive monographs dedicated to the virtues, necessity, and methods of history . He specifically aimed to refute critics from other religious fields who depreciated the discipline as mere entertainment or trivial storytelling . In his introduction, he argued that engaging with history is among the most meritorious acts of religious scholarship and one of the necessary fields of knowledge, serving as an indispensable foundation for understanding religious and secular affairs .
Content and Methodology
The work serves as a foundational theoretical defense of Islamic historiography and historical criticism :
- Definition and Scope: Al-Sakhawi defines history linguistically and technically as the precise determination of time by which the conditions of narrators and scholars—such as birth, death, physical and mental soundness, travels, memory, verification, and critical appraisal (al-jarh wa-l-ta‘dil)—are established . He extends this to the recording of major political and military events, appointments, dynastic transitions, public constructions, celestial phenomena, and natural disasters, identifying its central subject matter as time and humankind .
- Benefits: The treatise outlines the pedagogical, moral, political, economic, and social functions of history, illustrating how historical examples encourage justice among rulers, military prudence among commanders, and civic awareness in society .
- Methodological Standards: Al-Sakhawi details the ethical and scholarly criteria required of a historian, including personal integrity (‘adalah), careful verification of transmissions, and the rejection of unsubstantiated legends and Isra'iliyyat (Biblical lore) .
- Impartiality and Historiographical Criticism: He emphasizes that a historian must avoid prejudice stemming from theological, legal, or personal partisanship . He discusses historical tensions among theological groups and critiques past historians, including al-Dhahabi, citing Taqi al-Din al-Subki on the need for caution regarding assessments influenced by sectarian friction .
Publication History
The text has been published in several modern editions:
- An early edition edited by Muhammad Husam al-Din al-Qudsi at Matba'at al-Taraqqi in Damascus (1349 AH / 1930 CE) .
- A critical edition and study by the orientalist Franz Rosenthal, published in Baghdad at Matba'at al-'Ani (1382 AH / 1963 CE) with Arabic translation and notes by Salih Ahmad al-Ali, later reissued in Beirut by Mu'assasat al-Risalah .
- A modern edition edited by Salim ibn Ghatar al-Zufayri, published in Riyadh by Dar al-Somai'i (1438 AH / 2017 CE) .
Answer updated