al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil
- Author died
- 928 AH
- Editions
- T. Dandis · T al-Najaf
al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil (The Sublime Companion to the History of Jerusalem and Hebron) is a comprehensive topographical, historical, and biographical work by the Palestinian Hanbali jurist and judge Mujir al-Din al-Ulaymi (860–928 AH / 1455–1521 CE; also cited as d. 927 AH) . It serves as a chronicle and architectural record of Jerusalem and Hebron, tracing their sacred traditions, monuments, rulers, and religious scholars down to the end of the ninth Islamic century .
Composition and Purpose
Mujir al-Din began compiling the work on 25 Dhu al-Hijjah 900 AH (September 1495 CE) and completed its drafting and arrangement in less than four months, despite an interruption of roughly one month caused by personal circumstances . The author noted in his introduction that although his initial intention had been to document the history specific to Jerusalem and Hebron, the interconnected nature of their accounts led him to address the sacred history of the three major mosques—including the Kaaba in connection with the prophet Ibrahim and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina in connection with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ—as well as broader historical and geographical contexts .
Structure and Scope
The work is organized sequentially from sacred history to detailed local topography and contemporary chronicles:
- Cosmology and Prophetic History: It opens with an explanation of Surah al-Isra' to establish the religious significance of the Holy Land, followed by accounts of the creation (the Throne, the Footstool, the Intellect, the heavenly bodies, Paradise, and Hellfire) and the lives of the prophets from Adam through Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya'qub . It details the construction of the sacred enclosure in Hebron attributed to Solomon (سليمان) that houses the tombs of the patriarchs and their wives .
- Topography of Jerusalem and Palestine: Moving forward through the conquest of Jerusalem by al-Nasir Da'ud of Karak in 637 AH (1239 CE), the author provides a physical survey of Jerusalem . He describes al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and their layout and measurements, followed by an exhaustive inventory of over sixty madrasas, Dar al-Hadith institutions, Dar al-Qur'an schools, mausoleums, cemeteries, and sufi hospices (zawiyas, khanaqahs, and ribats) . The text details city walls, gates, quarters, streets, markets, and public cisterns, as well as providing briefer descriptions of Bethlehem, Ramla, Jaffa, Lydda, Gaza, Jericho, and Nablus .
- Topography and Institutions of Hebron: It outlines the city of Hebron, its quarters, religious lodges, springs, and shrines, accompanied by a dedicated section on the historical land endowment (iqta') granted to the Companion Tamim al-Dari and the legal controversies surrounding his descendants' claims .
- Political Chronicle and Biographical Dictionaries: It chronicles the Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers and their architectural and charitable patronage in Jerusalem and Hebron, continuing up to the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (r. 872–901 AH) . This is complemented by biographical registers of judges, jurists, scholars, and ascetics across the four Sunni madhhabs (Shafi'i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali), as well as Mamluk governors (nuwwab) and endowment inspectors (nuzzar) . The book concludes with the founding of al-Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya in al-Aqsa Mosque and a biographical sketch of its head scholar, Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Abi Sharif (d. 900 AH) .
Method and Sources
Mujir al-Din drew upon earlier universal histories and treatises dedicated to the merits of Jerusalem, while synthesizing their material into a specialized local history . Beyond literary sources, he relied heavily on documentary archives, court registers, and commemorative foundation inscriptions, which he personally inspected and corrected . His first-hand observations and administrative insight as a long-serving judge across Jerusalem, Hebron, Ramla, and Nablus informed his descriptions of late fifteenth-century social life, local disputes, Christian and Jewish sanctuaries, and administrative affairs .
Reception, Abridgments, and Editions
al-Uns al-Jalil is recognized as a primary source for the topography, architectural heritage, and socio-religious history of late Mamluk Palestine, preserving records of institutions and monuments that subsequently disappeared .
Mahmud ibn Abd al-Muhsin, known as Ibn al-Mudqa' al-Dimashqi, produced an abridgment titled al-Uns al-Jamil bi-Ikhtisar al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil . The orientalist Henri Sauvaire translated substantial portions of the text into French, published in Paris in 1876 .
The complete Arabic text was printed in Cairo at al-Matba'a al-Wahbiyya in two volumes in Jumada al-Ula 1283 AH (1866 CE) . It was later reprinted at al-Matba'a al-Haydariyya in Najaf in 1388 AH (1968 CE), alongside multiple modern critical editions based on manuscript witnesses preserved across international libraries .
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