Nisba wa Mansub
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Nisba wa Mansub (Attribution and the Attributed Person) is a biographical and geographical reference work by the contemporary Saudi scholar Marzouq bin Hiyas al-Zahrani, compiling and organizing geographical attributions (nisbas) and the individuals associated with them based on Yaqut al-Hamawi's geographical encyclopedia Mu'jam al-Buldan.
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction, al-Zahrani explains that after reflecting on classical literature, he turned to Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam al-Buldan, describing it as an expansive encyclopedia from which numerous specialized works could be extracted. He undertook the project to extract all instances of geographical attributions (nisba) and the figures linked to them (mansub), adapting the material according to his own editorial selection. The author dedicated the work to his former and current colleagues and students at the College of Hadith and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah.
The scope of the work is restricted to the individuals explicitly mentioned by Yaqut, rather than aiming to provide an exhaustive survey of all figures associated with every locality. Likewise, where multiple distinct localities share identical names across different regions, the author focuses on the specific place to which the named figure was attributed. He notes that descriptions, boundaries, and names of cities, villages, fortresses, and valleys reflect their historical reality up to Yaqut's era in the sixth and seventh centuries AH, acknowledging that many locations subsequently fell into ruin—particularly following the Mongol invasions of 617–618 AH—or were absorbed into expanding modern urban quarters.
Structure and Method
The book is organized as an alphabetically arranged dictionary from Alif to Ya, with sub-entries ordered by their subsequent letters (e.g., Alif with Alif, Alif with Ba). Each numbered entry follows a standard format:
- The Nisba (al-Nisba): The relative adjective is stated alongside precise vocalization instructions and a concise geographical definition of the place (such as a town, village, or quarter).
- The Attributed Person (al-Mansub): The entry provides biographical details for the individual or individuals tied to the location, highlighting their lineage, scholarship, notable teachers (shuyukh), students (talamidh), and year of death when recorded.
Prefatory Notices
In the preface, al-Zahrani includes a critical advisory note regarding terms frequently found in Yaqut's text, particularly descriptions of figures as Sufis, masters of Sufi orders (shaykh al-tariqa), gnostics (al-'arif), or individuals credited with miracles (karamat) and visited shrines. He categorizes historical Sufism into acceptable asceticism focused on obedience and detachment from worldly distractions, reprehensible innovations involving unwarranted renunciation of lawful things, and extreme forms leading to doctrinal deviance such as pantheistic indwelling (hulul) and unity of existence (ittihad). He clarifies that while he records Yaqut's attributions and designations faithfully, he does not pass personal theological judgment on the individual historical figures summarized in the book.
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