Ithaf al-Akhissa b Fadail al-Masjid al-Aqsa
- Author died
- 880 AH
- Editions
- t Ahmad Ramadan
Ithaf al-Akhissa bi-Fada'il al-Masjid al-Aqsa (The Gift of the Elite on the Virtues of al-Masjid al-Aqsa) is a 9th-century AH compendium on the religious virtues, history, and topography of Jerusalem, al-Aqsa Mosque, and the broader region of al-Sham by the Shafi'i scholar al-Minhaji al-Asyuti (d. 880 AH / 1475 CE) .
Method and Sources
In his introduction, al-Minhaji explains that he composed the book by selecting and curating material from the works of earlier and later scholars on sacred virtues (fada'il), stripping the chains of transmission (asand) for concise presentation . Among his foundational sources were earlier treatises on Jerusalem and Sham, such as Rawd al-Mughras, Abu Bakr al-Wasiti's Fada'il al-Bayt al-Muqaddas, and works by Ibn Asakir and his son Baha' al-Din .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into seventeen distinct chapters (abwab):
- Chapter 1: The names of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, its merits, the virtues of visiting it, and general and specific traditions concerning it .
- Chapter 2: The initial foundation of the sanctuary, the building projects of the prophets Dawud and Sulayman, and Sulayman's supplication upon its completion .
- Chapter 3: The merits of the Noble Rock (al-Sakhrah), its description during the era of Sulayman, and eschatological traditions regarding its role on the Day of Resurrection .
- Chapter 4: The legal rulings and virtues of performing prayer, charity, fasting, the call to prayer, and donning the pilgrim garments (ihram) for Hajj and Umrah in Jerusalem, as well as providing oil for its lamps .
- Chapter 5: The water issuing from beneath the Rock, the etiquettes of entering under it, recommended prayers, and the features associated with the site .
- Chapter 6: The Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey (al-Isra') and Ascension (al-Mi'raj) from Jerusalem, and the Dome of the Ascension .
- Chapter 7: The outer perimeter wall of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, its gates, physical dimensions, interior shrines, and prayer niches (maharib), including the mihrabs of Dawud, Zakariyya, Maryam, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Mu'awiyah .
- Chapter 8: Notable landmarks in and around the city, including the spring of Silwan (Ayn Silwan), the well of Ayyub, the Mount of Olives (Tur Zayta), al-Sahirah, and Mount Qasyun .
- Chapter 9: The historical conquests and renovations of Jerusalem, including the conquest by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Umayyad construction under Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the Crusader occupation, and the city's recapture and restoration by Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi .
- Chapter 10: Prophets, Companions, Successors, and prominent figures who visited, died in, or were buried in Jerusalem, and the universal veneration of the sanctuary across religious denominations .
- Chapters 11–16: Biographical accounts, burial sites, and virtues associated with individual prophets connected to the region, including Ibrahim (al-Khalil), Ishaq, Ya'qub, Yusuf, Isma'il, Lut, and Musa, alongside discussions of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the land grant to Tamim al-Dari .
- Chapter 17: The virtues, geographical boundaries, and sanctuaries of the broader land of al-Sham, including prophetic reports encouraging settlement in it .
Transmission and Editions
Manuscripts of the text are preserved across multiple international collections, including the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, Leiden University, and Dar al-Kutub in Cairo . Hajji Khalifa recorded a work under this title attributing an abridgment structured in seventeen chapters to Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Abi Sharif (d. 906 AH), which he composed while residing in Jerusalem in 875 AH . Al-Minhaji's text was edited by Ahmad Ramadan Ahmad and published by Dar al-Kutub wa-l-Watha'iq al-Qawmiyya in Cairo in 2005 .
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