al-Muhammadun min al-Shuara
- Author died
- 646 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Yamāmah
al-Muhammadun min al-Shu‘ara’ (The Poets Named Muhammad), also known as al-Muhammadun min al-Shu‘ara’ wa-Ash‘aruhum, is an onomastic biographical dictionary and anthology composed by the Ayyubid vizier and historian Jamal al-Din al-Qifti (568–646 AH / 1172–1248 CE) . The work compiles biographical profiles and poetic selections for Arabic poets sharing the given name Muhammad .
Scope and Structure
The book is part of the classical Arabic tradition of single-name biographical compendiums, focusing exclusively on poets named Muhammad across different historical periods . Entries typically provide the poet's lineage, background, historical reports, and representative verses .
Al-Qifti organized the dictionary alphabetically by the names of the poets' fathers . The compilation remained incomplete, breaking off at the entry for Muhammad ibn Sa‘id .
Transmission and Modern Editions
Manuscripts of the work have been preserved in several collections, notably in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris (MS 3335), as well as copies held at the Asafiyya Library in Hyderabad and the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo .
The text has been published in several modern critical editions:
- An edition edited by Muhammad Abd al-Sattar Khan, published in Hyderabad in 1386 AH / 1966 CE .
- An edition edited by Hasan Ma‘mari and reviewed and collated against the author's manuscript by Hamad al-Jasir, published by Dar al-Yamama in Riyadh in 1390 AH / 1970 CE .
- An edition edited by Riyad Abd al-Hamid Murad, published by the Arab Academy of Damascus in 1975 CE, and republished by Dar Ibn Kathir in Beirut in 1408 AH / 1988 CE .
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