al-Tuhfa al-Latifa fi Tarikh al-Madina al-Sharifa
- Author died
- 902 AH
- Editions
- t al-Ilmiyya
al-Tuhfa al-Latifa fi Tarikh al-Madina al-Sharifa (The Fine Gift on the History of the Noble City of Medina) is an extensive historical and biographical work on Medina and its notable figures by the Egyptian-born hadith master and historian Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (831–902 AH / 1427–1497 CE) .
Scope and Content
The work belongs to the genre of local histories dedicated to Medina, chronicling its history and notables from its pre-Islamic foundations as Yathrib through Islamic history up to al-Sakhawi's own time, concluding shortly before his death in Sha'ban 902 AH . Arranged primarily as a biographical dictionary of figures who lived in, visited, or taught in Medina, it incorporates prominent companions, scholars, judges, teachers, and governors associated with the city. The author also included an abridged version of his own autobiography within the dictionary .
A distinctive feature of the book is its detailed documentation of the academic and scholarly environment in Medina . al-Sakhawi records the curricula pursued by students, the titles of books studied and memorized, the texts expounded in study circles at the Prophet's Mosque (al-Masjid al-Nabawi) and local colleges, and precise descriptions of scholarly licenses (ijāzāt) and authored treatises .
Manuscript Tradition and Structure
The surviving manuscript tradition represents only the first two-thirds of the complete work, while the concluding third remains lost . The primary surviving manuscript is preserved in the Topkapi Palace Library (MS No. 527) in Istanbul . It consists of two parts bound in a single volume comprising 411 folios, with approximately 31 lines per page .
The manuscript is arranged alphabetically:
- The first third concludes with the biography of 'Abd Allah al-Jammal al-Nafti under the letter ʿAyn .
- The second third concludes with the entry for Muhammad ibn Mubarak al-Qustantini under the letter Mīm .
This manuscript was transcribed in a standard Naskh hand by 'Abd al-Basit ibn 'Abd al-Hafiz ibn Muhammad ibn Sharaf al-Din al-Hanafi, who completed copying on Sunday, 21 Dhu al-Qi'da 952 AH .
Publications
The book has been published across several editions, including a Cairo edition in 1376 AH / 1956–1957 CE, a three-volume Cairo edition in 1979–1980 CE, and a Beirut edition in 1414 AH / 1993 CE . A later multi-volume critical edition was produced and published by the Center for Research and Studies of Medina (Markaz Buhuth wa Dirasat al-Madina al-Munawwara) .
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