Simt al-Nujum al-Awali fi Anba al-Awail wa al-Tawali
- Author died
- 1111 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Simt al-Nujum al-Awali fi Anba al-Awail wa al-Tawali (The String of Sublime Stars on the Annals of Early and Later Peoples) is a comprehensive universal Islamic history and Meccan chronicle composed by the Shafi'i scholar and historian Abd al-Malik ibn Husayn al-Isami (1049–1111 AH / 1639–1699 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Al-Isami began compiling the work while residing in Medina in 1094 AH (1683 CE) . He formulated the title so that its numerical value would form a chronogram marking the date of its completion, noting a parallel to Ahmad ibn al-Fadl Bakathir's work Wasilat al-Ma'al . He dedicated the chronicle to the ruling Sharif of Mecca .
Structure and Scope
The chronicle is arranged into four broad divisions (maqasid):
- Universal and Prophetic History: Beginning from the creation of Adam, early prophets, and pre-Islamic Arabian history .
- The Prophetic Era and the Caliphate: Covering the biography (sirah) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates .
- Islamic Dynasties and Regional States: Documenting various regional ruling dynasties across Islamic history .
- The Rulers of Mecca and Contemporary Biographies: Focusing in detail on the Talibid rulers of Mecca up to the author's own time, including the dynasties of Al Abi al-Tayyib, the Hawashim, and the Qatadid Sharifs, followed by biographical entries of notable figures and scholars from the Two Holy Sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina), Egypt, and the Levant who died after 1000 AH down to the book's completion .
Sources and Methodology
In the introduction, al-Isami lists dozens of foundational historical, biographical, and religious works that he extracted material from, including:
- Biographical and Prophetic history works such as al-Shami's (Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi) Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad, Ibn Sayyid al-Nas's Uyun al-Athar, Abu al-Qasim al-Suhayli's al-Rawd al-Unuf, and al-Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa .
- Universal histories such as al-Mas'udi's Muruj al-Dhahab, al-Dhahabi's Duwal al-Islam, Ibn al-Jawzi's al-Muntazam, and Ibn Khaldun's Tarikh .
- Meccan and regional histories such as al-Azraqi's Akhbar Makka, al-Fakihi's Tarikh Makka, Taqi al-Din al-Fasi's Shifa al-Gharam, al-Najm ibn Fahd's Ithaf al-Wara, Ali al-Tabari's al-Araj al-Miski, and al-Samhudi's Khulasat al-Wafa bi-Akhbar Dar al-Mustafa .
- Centurial biographical dictionaries such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's al-Durar al-Kaminah and al-Sakhawi's al-Daw' al-Lami' .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscripts of the work are preserved in several global libraries, including the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, the British Museum, Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, and the Library of the Holy Mosque in Mecca .
The work was first printed in Cairo across four volumes by al-Matba'a al-Salafiyya between 1379 and 1380 AH (1949–1963), sponsored by Sheikh Ali ibn Abdullah Al Thani of Qatar . Another critical edition was prepared by Adil Ahmad Abd al-Mawjud and Ali Muhammad Mu'awwad and published in Beirut by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in 1419 AH / 1998 CE . In earlier bibliographical registers, such as Idah al-Maknun and Hadiyyat al-Arifin, it was described as a two-volume work based on manuscript codices .
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