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al-Maqqari al-Tilimsani

Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib

Author died
1041 AH
Editions
tahqiq Ihsan Abbas

Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib (The Fragrant Breeze from the Tender Branch of al-Andalus) is an encyclopedic history and biographical work by the North African scholar al-Maqqari al-Tilimsani (d. 1041 AH / 1631–1632 CE), devoted to the history, geography, and literature of Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) and the life and writings of the Granadan vizier Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib.

Background and Composition

During his visit to Damascus, al-Maqqari frequently spoke to local scholars and students about Ibn al-Khatib and Andalusian history, sparking their interest. The Damascene scholar Ahmad al-Shahini, a teacher at the Jaqmaqiyya Madrasa, persistently urged him to author a dedicated monograph on Ibn al-Khatib. Al-Maqqari agreed and commenced writing upon returning to Cairo.

He initially finished a first draft focused solely on Ibn al-Khatib in late Ramadan 1038 AH, entitling it 'Urf al-Tib fi al-Ta'rif bi-l-Wazir Ibn al-Khatib (The Fragrant Scent in Introducing Vizier Ibn al-Khatib). He then decided to expand the scope into a comprehensive account of al-Andalus, its geography, rulers, scholars, and literature, renaming the book Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib wa-Dhikr Waziraha Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib. He completed this expanded work at the end of Dhu al-Hijjah 1039 AH. Al-Maqqari noted several links connecting the book to the Levant, including that Syrian scholars prompted its composition, early Syrian contingents were among the conquerors and settlers of al-Andalus, and Granada bore topographical resemblances to Damascus.

Structure and Contents

The work is organized into two primary divisions, each containing eight thematic chapters (abwab):

Part One: History and Culture of al-Andalus

  1. The geography, topography, climate, cities, and physical features of al-Andalus.
  2. The Muslim conquest by Musa ibn Nusayr and Tariq ibn Ziyad, followed by the history of the governors and subsequent dynastic periods.
  3. The standing of Islam and military campaigns in the peninsula.
  4. The history and description of Cordoba, its Great Mosque, landmarks, and royal estates.
  5. Andalusian scholars and notables who traveled to the Islamic East.
  6. Eastern scholars who visited or settled in al-Andalus.
  7. The intellectual qualities, learning, and literary output of the Andalusians.
  8. The Christian reconquest, the fall of Islamic cities, and elegies composed on the loss of al-Andalus.

Part Two: Biography and Legacy of Ibn al-Khatib

  1. The ancestry and origins of Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib.
  2. His upbringing, rise to prominence, vizierate, trials, and death.
  3. His teachers and mentors.
  4. Royal correspondence addressed to him and contemporary praises.
  5. Extensive anthologies of his prose and poetry.
  6. An enumeration and description of his writings.
  7. His students and disciples.
  8. His descendants and his testament.

Method and Significance

Al-Maqqari employs a broadly encyclopedic, digressive method (istitrad), compiling historical documents, poems, official epistles, and entire treatises within individual chapters without adhering to strict chronological constraints. A major value of Nafh al-Tib lies in its preservation of extensive excerpts and complete texts from older Andalusian sources and archives that were subsequently lost. The full work encompasses four large volumes in standard print formats.

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