Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahliha

Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahliha (The Virtues of al-Andalus and Its People) is a collection of three classical Arabic treatises extolling the intellectual, literary, and cultural merits of al-Andalus and its inhabitants al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Contents and Structure

The volume brings together three distinct apologetic and laudatory epistles written by prominent Andalusian scholars al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1:

• Ibn Hazm's Treatise: Authored by Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH / 1064 CE), this work is also known under the titles Fadl al-Andalus wa-Dhikr Rijaliha (The Virtue of al-Andalus and the Mention of Its Men) and Bayan Fadl al-Andalus wa-Dhikr Ulama'iha (Elucidation of the Virtue of al-Andalus and the Mention of Its Scholars) al-Irab an al-Hayra wa al…. Ibn Hazm composed it after discovering an epistle sent by the North African secretary Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Rabib al-Tamimi al-Qayrawani to Abu al-Mughira Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad ibn Hazm, in which Ibn al-Rabib asserted that Andalusian scholars had failed to record the historical deeds of their monarchs, jurists, judges, and learned men, or to produce works preserving their legacy Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahli…+1. Ibn Hazm addressed his response to a companion named Abu Bakr, surveying the contributions of Andalusian authors across various fields of knowledge, such as geography, hadith, jurisprudence, history, and language al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

• Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi's Supplement: Written as a continuation (tadhyil) to Ibn Hazm's epistle by Ibn Said al-Maghribi (Ali ibn Musa, d. 685 AH / 1286 CE) Taaddud al-Khulafa wa Wah…+1. It extends the survey of Andalusian scholarship to later centuries, recording notable figures, jurists, and literary works that emerged after Ibn Hazm's era down to the author's lifetime Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahli…+1.

• Al-Shaqundi's Treatise: Composed by al-Shaqundi (Abu al-Walid Ismail ibn Muhammad, d. 629 AH / 1232 CE) Taaddud al-Khulafa wa Wah…+1. The text originated from a debate held in Ceuta in the council of its governor, Abu Yahya ibn Abi Zakariyya, between al-Shaqundi and the North African scholar Abu Yahya ibn al-Mu'allim al-Tanji regarding the comparative superiority of al-Andalus versus the Maghrebi coast (Barr al-Udwah) Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahli…+1. The governor requested each of them to commit his arguments to writing; al-Shaqundi subsequently compiled an extensive defense celebrating the rulers, scholars, literary achievements, poetic selections (including works by women poets), warriors, and major cities of al-Andalus, such as Cordoba and Seville Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahli…+1.

Publication and Transmission

These epistles were extensively cited and preserved by classical historians and anthologists, including al-Humaydi in Jadhwat al-Muqtabis and al-Maqqari in Nafh al-Tib Rasail Ibn Hazm+1. The three texts were collected and published together under the title Fadail al-Andalus wa Ahliha by the editor Salah al-Din al-Munajjid, with a first edition issued in Beirut in 1387 AH / 1968 CE by Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.