Murshid al-Zuwar ila Qubur al-Abrar
- Author died
- 615 AH
- Editions
- al-Dar al-Misriyyah al-Lubnaniyyah
Murshid al-Zuwar ila Qubur al-Abrar (Guide for Visitors to the Graves of the Pious), also titled al-Durr al-Munazzam fi Ziyarat al-Jabal al-Muqattam (The Arranged Pearls on Visiting Mount al-Muqattam), is a topographical and biographical guide to the shrines and cemeteries of Cairo by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar Muwaffaq al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Makki ibn Uthman al-Share'i (d. 615 AH / 1217 CE) .
Authorship and Scope
The book is traditionally attributed to Muwaffaq al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Haram Makki ibn Uthman al-Share'i al-Shafi'i (d. 615 AH / 1217 CE), also known as Ibn Uthman . In some manuscript title pages, the name is transcribed as Zayn al-Din Uthman ibn al-Muwaffaq , and later bibliographers noted copies dated to 838 AH (1434 CE) .
The work serves as a comprehensive pilgrimage guide (ziyarat) and historical survey of the tombs and shrines situated across Mount al-Muqattam and the Greater and Lesser Qarafa cemeteries of Cairo . Its historical coverage spans from the Muslim conquest of Egypt through the Ayyubid period .
Contents and Structure
The book opens with chapters dedicated to the religious merits and historical virtues of Mount al-Muqattam and the Qarafa cemeteries, as well as descriptions of the mosques and structures constructed on the mountain, such as the Juyushi Mosque and the Lu'lu'a Mosque .
The core of the text comprises detailed geographical and biographical notices on the individuals buried at the site . These include:
- Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, such as Amr ibn al-As, Uqbah ibn Amir, Abd Allah ibn al-Harith, Abu Basrah al-Ghifari, and Maslamah ibn Mukhallad .
- Members of the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt) and their descendants, including Sayyidah Nafisah and members of the Tabataba lineage .
- Renowned jurists, scholars, Sufis, reciters, and judges, such as al-Layth ibn Sa'd, al-Shafi'i, Dhu al-Nun al-Misri, Abu al-Hasan al-Dinawari, Umar ibn al-Farid, Abd Allah ibn Lahi'ah, Abu al-Qasim al-Shatibi, and Warsh .
In addition to surviving graves, the author also records tombs, shrines, and memorial sites that had already fallen into ruin or disappeared by his time .
Reception and Editions
Murshid al-Zuwar became a primary source for later historians and chroniclers writing on Egyptian topography, shrines, and biographies. It is cited by Ibn al-Zayyat in al-Kawakib al-Sayyarah, Ibn Taghribirdi in al-Nujum al-Zahirah, and al-Sakhawi in al-I'lan bi-al-Tawbikh .
The work was edited by Muhammad Fathi Abu Bakr and published in Cairo by al-Dar al-Misriyyah al-Lubnaniyyah in 1415 AH (1995 CE) . The editor appended a supplementary volume titled Dhayl Murshid al-Zuwar ila Qubur al-Abrar, which documents shrines and figures from subsequent periods not reached by the author, including the burial place of Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam .
Answer updated