Azhar al-Riyad fi Akhbar al-Qadi Iyad
- Author died
- 1041 AH
- Editions
- Matba'at Lajnat al-Ta'lif wa-al-Tarjama wa-al-Nashr
Azhar al-Riyad fi Akhbar al-Qadi Iyad (The Flowers of the Gardens concerning the History of Judge Iyad) is a biographical and historical work composed by Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari al-Tilimsani (992–1041 AH / 1584–1631 CE; another report places his birth in 986 AH) on the life, lineage, and writings of the Maliki scholar and judge al-Qadi Iyad (476–544 AH / 1083–1149 CE; another report gives 496 AH) .
Background and Composition
Al-Maqqari composed the work in the Far Maghrib (Fez) in response to a request by the people of Tlemcen, who asked him to provide an account of al-Qadi Iyad . He worked on the book between 1013 AH and 1027 AH, prior to his departure for the East late in Ramadan 1027 AH . Al-Maqqari described writing it during a politically unstable period in his early career as an author, titling it Azhar al-Riyad fi Akhbar Iyad wa-ma yunasibuha mimma yahsulu bihi irtiyah wa-irtiyad .
Structure
Instead of dividing the text into standard chapters (abwab or fusul), al-Maqqari organized the book into eight thematic divisions called "gardens" (riyad), each named after a flower :
- Rawdat al-Ward ("The Garden of the Rose"): on the origins, lineage, and birth of al-Qadi Iyad .
- Rawdat al-Uqhuwan ("The Garden of the Chamomile"): on his upbringing, youth, and early life .
- Rawdat al-Bahar ("The Garden of the Narcissus"): on his teachers and shaykhs .
- Rawdat al-Manthur ("The Garden of the Gillyflower"): on his poetry and prose .
- Rawdat al-Nasrin ("The Garden of the Wild Rose"): on his books and compositions .
- Rawdat al-As ("The Garden of the Myrtle"): on his death and the vicissitudes of time he encountered .
- Rawdat al-Shaqiq ("The Garden of the Anemone"): on his scholarly benefits and unique legal insights .
- Rawdat al-Nilufar ("The Garden of the Water Lily"): serving as the concluding part of the work .
Method, Scope, and Historical Documents
Although focused primarily on al-Qadi Iyad, the work functions as an expansive historical and literary compendium characterized by frequent digressions into the culture and history of al-Andalus and the Maghrib . Al-Maqqari incorporates biographical notices of prominent later scholars such as Ibn al-Azraq and al-Qalsadi, along with historical accounts of Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib .
The book preserves unique documents and poems regarding the fall of Granada and the plight of the Moriscos under Castilian rule whose original manuscripts were lost . These include:
- An anonymous contemporary letter describing the Castilian crown's violation of treaties, forced Christianization, and the punishments enacted by the Spanish Inquisition .
- A long elegy mourning the loss of al-Andalus titled al-Maw'izah al-Gharra' bi-Akhdh al-Hamra' by the Moroccan scholar Ibn al-Abbas Ahmad al-Daqqun .
- An urgent appeal in verse sent by a Morisco to the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II requesting military assistance against the trials and persecution of the Inquisition .
Reception and Editions
The work was received with poetic commendations during the author's lifetime, including verses composed by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Maklani, a chancery scribe to the Moroccan sultan, and an exchange of praise involving the royal secretary Abd al-Aziz al-Fashtali and Ali ibn Ahmad al-Shami .
Azhar al-Riyad has been published in modern print editions in multiple volumes, including a Cairo edition edited by Mustafa al-Saqqa, Ibrahim al-Ibyari, and Abd al-Hafiz Shalabi (volumes 1–3, 1939–1942), supplemented by Rabat volumes edited by Sa'id Ahmad A'rab, Muhammad ibn Tawit, and Abd al-Salam al-Harras (volumes 4–5, 1978–1980) .
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