al-Tarif bima Anasat al-Hijra min Maalim Dar al-Hijra
- Author died
- 741 AH
- Editions
- Darah King Abdulaziz
al-Tarif bima Anasat al-Hijra min Maalim Dar al-Hijra (Notification of What Migration Has Caused to Be Forgotten of the Landmarks of the Abode of Emigration) is a fourteenth-century topographical and historical treatise on the city of Medina by the Medinan scholar and judge Jamal al-Din al-Matari (d. 741 AH / 1340 CE) .
Background and Title
The work was composed by al-Matari to document the sacred sites, historic mosques, wells, and topographies of Medina, particularly those that had fallen into obscurity or ruin over time . The author explained his motivation in the preface, observing that the city had become devoid of those who preserved knowledge of its historic boundaries and landmarks .
While the second word of the title has frequently been misread and printed as Ānasat (آنَسَت, with an initial lengthened alif), the correct reading found in the primary manuscript tradition is Anasat (أَنْسَت), derived from the Arabic verb meaning "to cause to forget," signifying that which the passage of time and abandonment had caused to be forgotten of Medina's landmarks .
Contents and Methodology
The treatise focuses on the geography, boundaries, and historic landmarks of Medina, identifying their exact locations and detailing which sites remained extant and which had disappeared by the eighth century AH . Al-Matari combined transmissions from earlier historical authorities—such as Ibn al-Najjar and Ibn Zabala—with firsthand empirical observation, recording contemporary events and physical measurements of Medinan sites that he inspected in person . In his bibliographical catalog, Haji Khalifa characterized the work as a historical supplement (dhayl) to Ibn al-Najjar's al-Durra al-Thamina fi Akhbar al-Madina .
Reception and Influence
The book became one of the standard references for the later historiography and topography of Medina . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani commended it as a "useful history," a praise echoed by al-Sakhawi, and Ibn Fahd cited it specifically by title . Later scholars relied heavily on al-Matari's data:
- Zayn al-Din al-Maraghi synthesized al-Matari's work with Ibn al-Najjar's history in his treatise Tahqiq al-Nusra bi-Talkhis Maalim Dar al-Hijra, noting that al-Matari had succeeded in recording many forgotten landmarks that Ibn al-Najjar had omitted .
- Nur al-Din al-Samhudi drew extensively from al-Matari's observations throughout his comprehensive history of Medina, Wafa al-Wafa bi-Akhbar Dar al-Mustafa .
Publication History
The text was first edited and published in 1372–1373 AH by As'ad Darabzuni al-Husayni, and was reprinted in Medina in 1402 AH . A subsequent edition appeared in Medina in 1412 AH . A critical edition based on four manuscript copies was later produced and published under the auspices of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) .
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