Bahjat al-Nufus wal-Asrar fi Tarikh Dar Hijrat al-Nabi al-Mukhtar
- Author died
- 770 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Bahjat al-Nufus wal-Asrar fi Tarikh Dar Hijrat al-Nabi al-Mukhtar (The Delight of Souls and Secrets in the History of the Abode of Migration of the Chosen Prophet) is an eighth-century AH encyclopedic history and topographical study of Medina by the scholar Abu Muhammad 'Afif al-Din 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Bakri al-Marjani (d. after 770 AH / 1368 CE).
Composition and Scope
In his introduction, al-Marjani stated that he sought to compile a work on the history of Medina that would bring together its extensive lore, drawing material selected from more than two hundred earlier treatises while omitting chains of transmission (isnad). According to an account by 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar ibn Fahd referencing Taqi al-Din al-Fasi, al-Marjani began drafting the text in Shawwal 751 AH and completed it in Dhu al-Hijjah 760 AH, though personal observations recorded within the manuscript demonstrate that he continued adding notes after 757 AH.
The book is counted among the most significant specialized accounts of the history and topography (khitat) of Medina composed during the eighth century AH, following the work al-Ta'rif bi-ma Anasat Dar al-Hijrah by al-Matari (d. 741 AH / 1340 CE). Its breadth of historical, geographic, and literary material exceeds that of earlier foundational compilations, such as the history of Medina by 'Umar ibn Shabba.
Structure and Method
The work is organized into ten principal chapters (abwab):
- Chapter 1: The boundaries of Medina among the seven climates, its names, and its earliest inhabitants (divided into seven sections).
- Chapter 2: The opening of Medina and the migration (Hijrah) of the Prophet and his Companions (divided into two sections).
- Subsequent Chapters: Address various historical, prosopographical, and regional subjects, including the Ten Promised Paradise and the jurists of Medina (Chapter 4), Qur'anic topics and the collection and orthography of the 'Uthmanic codex (Chapter 6), the succession of caliphs through the Abbasid period alongside events such as the conquest of Egypt (Chapter 8), and the caliphate and martyrdom of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan as well as the Companions and Successors who settled in Medina (Chapter 10).
Al-Marjani employed a digressive encyclopedic method (istitrad), frequently departing from primary topics to treat tangential themes—such as the creation of the Earth, ancient peoples, or rulers—before signaling his return to the central narrative with recurring transitional formulas like "we return to the story" (raja'na ila al-qissah) or "we return to the intended subject" (raja'na ila al-mawdu'). While he occasionally cited titles without identifying their authors, his extensive excerpts preserve material from early sources whose originals have not survived.
Reception and Transmission
Bahjat al-Nufus served as a key reference for later chroniclers of the holy sanctuaries. It was quoted and relied upon by Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Diya' al-Makki (d. 885 AH / 1480 CE) in his history of Mecca and Medina, by al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-Wafa bi-Akhbar Dar al-Mustafa, and by Qutb al-Din al-Nahrawani.
The text has survived in several manuscript copies, including a codex preserved at the Library of the Holy Mosque in Mecca (derived from the library of the Ibn Fahd family and partly copied in 874 AH), a copy held at the Laleli Library in Turkey transcribed in 1122 AH carrying the endowment seal of Sultan Selim, and another copy at the 'Arif Hikmat Library in Medina.
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