Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyya fi Tabaqat al-Malikiyya
- Author died
- 1360 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah
Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyya fi Tabaqat al-Malikiyya (The Pure Tree of Light on the Generations of the Malikis) is a biographical dictionary of Maliki scholars written by the Tunisian jurist and mufti Muhammad ibn Muhammad Makhluf (1280–1360 AH / 1863–1941 CE) . It serves as an extensive compendium covering the lives and scholarly contributions of Maliki authorities from the inception of the school down to the early twentieth century .
Purpose and Scope
Makhluf composed the work to present the biographies of Maliki scholars in concise, polished entries arranged conceptually in the image of a branching tree (shajara) . His stated motive was to provide readers with an easy and reliable reference for tracing scholarly lineages, chains of transmission (asanid), and authoritative legal transmissions .
The work encompasses multiple categories of figures, including caliphs, rulers, judges, Quranic reciters, hadith masters, and jurists devoted to legal examination and derivation . Chronologically and geographically, it begins with the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, followed by the Companions, the Successors, and prominent jurists across the Hejaz, Iraq, Egypt, North Africa, and al-Andalus, ultimately concluding with contemporary scholars under whom Makhluf studied in 1922 CE .
Sources
In a concluding notice to the book, Makhluf documented the major classical works from which he gathered his material . Among these sources are:
- Fundamental biographical collections of the Maliki school, including Qadi Iyad's Tartib al-Madarik, Ibn Farhun's al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab, and Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti's Nayl al-Ibtihaj .
- Andalusian and North African biographical dictionaries, such as Ibn al-Faradi's Tarikh 'Ulama' al-Andalus, Ibn Bashkuwal's al-Sila, Ibn al-Abbar's al-Takmila, Abu al-Arab's Tabaqat, Abu Bakr ibn Khayr's Fihrisa, and Abu al-Abbas al-Ghubrini's 'Unwan al-Diraya .
- General biographical and historical references, including Ibn Khallikan's Wafayat al-A'yan, Ibn Abd al-Barr's al-Isti'ab, Ibn Khaldun's al-Muqaddima, and Al-Suyuti's Bughyat al-Wu'at .
Reception and Publication
The work received commendations from contemporary scholars upon its completion; Mahmud ibn Ahmad Musa Makhluf, the Mufti of Monastir, composed encomia in verse praising the author for assembling dispersed biographies into an accessible and comprehensive reference .
Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyya was published in Cairo in 1931 CE . It was later reissued in a two-volume edition annotated by Abd al-Majid Khayali and published in Beirut in 2003 CE (1424 AH) .
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