Fadail Misr wa Akhbaruha wa Khawassuha
- Author died
- 387 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
Fadail Misr wa Akhbaruha wa Khawassuha (The Virtues, Accounts, and Particularities of Egypt) is a geographical and historical treatise on the merits and characteristics of Egypt composed by the Egyptian historian Ibn Zulaq (306–387 AH / 919–997 CE) .
Composition and Title
The author compiled the work as an abridgment of his larger historical writing, Tarikh Misr wa Akhbaruha (also referred to as al-Tarikh al-Kabir), deliberately omitting chains of transmission (asānīd) to render the material more accessible to readers . Ibn Zulaq references himself in the opening of the text as well as in passages discussing Egypt's nobility and canals .
The title appears on some manuscript title pages as Fadail Misr wa Akhbaruha wa Khawassuha . Al-Sakhawi recorded it as Fadail Misr wa Akhbaruha, while other biographers and historians—including Yaqut al-Hamawi, Al-Nuwayri, Al-Safadi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Suyuti, and Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi—referred to it under the shorter title Fadail Misr . Other copies bear the title Fadail Misr wa Sifatuha .
Contents and Structure
The book addresses the religious, historical, economic, and topographical merits of Egypt across several topics:
- Scriptural and Prophetic Traditions: It begins with the mention of Egypt in the Quran, identifying twenty-eight instances where it is mentioned either explicitly or by allusion . It includes prophetic narrations regarding Egypt and counsels to treat the Copts well, such as the hadith: ستفتح عليكم بعدي مصر، فاستوصوا بقبطها خيرًا، فإن لهم ذمة ورحمًا ("Egypt will be conquered after me, so treat its Copts well, for they possess a covenant of protection and kinship") .
- Prophets and Righteous Figures: Chapters cover the prayers of prophets and scholars for Egypt, prophets born or resident there, and righteous men and women connected to the land, such as the believer of Pharaoh's household, Asiya, Hagar, Maryam, and Mariya al-Qibtiyya .
- Topography, Canals, and Geography: The book describes the Nile, irrigation waterways, bridges, and seven canals, dedicating a chapter to the canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea, known as Khalij Amir al-Mu'minin .
- Administrative Districts and Economy: It surveys the eighty administrative districts (kūrah) of Egypt, cataloging the distinct crops, fruits, foods, beverages, woven textiles, carpets, and paper manufactured in each . It highlights specialty crafts such as Tinnīs reeds (qaṣab), Dabīqī cloth, and fine woolens .
- Wonders of Egypt: The text records ancient lore and monuments, noting a tradition that of thirty worldly wonders, twenty belong to Egypt, including Memphis, the Great Pyramids, and Heliopolis (Ayn Shams) with its two obelisks .
Transmission and Influence
Later geographers and historians drew heavily on the work. Ibn Uthman utilized it in Murshid al-Zuwwar . In Mu'jam al-Buldan, Yaqut al-Hamawi quoted extensive passages verbatim from the book concerning various Egyptian cities and sites, including Alexandria, Aswan, Edfu, Busir, Damietta, Fayyum, Maryut, Sardus, al-Arish, Memphis, and the Pyramids . Zakariyya al-Qazwini cited it in Athar al-Bilad for entries on Heliopolis, Memphis, and the Pyramids . Al-Suyuti drew from it in Husn al-Muhadara, and Ibn Iyas quoted from it in his chronicle .
Manuscripts
Manuscripts of the work include:
- A copy penned in Naskh script in 1023 AH by Shams al-Din ibn Abi Bakr al-Suhrajati, comprising 70 folios, held at the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub, no. 23 Tarikh Halim) .
- An undated Naskh manuscript of 48 folios preserved in the Azhar Library (no. 2717 Tarikh) .
- A manuscript of 63 folios preserved in Damascus, bearing reading and ownership notes dated 1115 AH .
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