Tarikh al-Khamis fi Ahwal Anfas al-Nafis
- Author died
- 966 AH
- Editions
- Al-Matba'ah al-Wahbiyyah
Tarikh al-Khamis fi Ahwal Anfas al-Nafis (The Chronicle of the Quintet on the Circumstances of the Most Precious Soul) is a comprehensive work on the prophetic biography (Sirah) and early Islamic history by the judge and historian Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Diyarbakri (d. 966 AH / 1559 CE).
Composition and Title
Al-Diyarbakri completed the composition of the work on 8 Sha'ban 940 AH (23 February 1534 CE). Bibliographical sources record variations in its title, including Tarikh al-Khamis fi Ahwal Anfas Nafis, fi Ahwal Nafs Nafis, and fi Ahwal al-Nafs al-Nafis. Katip Celebi noted a disagreement regarding the vocalization of the first word: while some pronounced it with an undotted ha' (al-Hamis), naming it after Mecca, the well-known and attested reading is with a dotted kha' (al-Khamis), as recorded in the handwriting of Qutb al-Din al-Makki.
Manuscripts of the text conclude with the accession of the Ottoman sultan Murad III (r. 982–1003 AH / 1574–1595 CE), which has led biographers to note that either al-Diyarbakri died after 982 AH (1574 CE) or that the historical appendix was supplemented by later copyists.
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into an introduction (muqaddimah), three main pillars (arkan), and a concluding section (khatimah):
- Introduction (al-Muqaddimah): Covers the events from the primordial creation of the Prophet's light (nur) until his physical birth and appearance. It is divided into three opening sections (tala'i'), defining the concepts of prophet, messenger, the resolute emissaries (ulu al-azm), and the seal of prophets, and examining the metaphysical creation of the Prophet's light and clay.
- First Pillar (al-Rukn al-Awwal): Covers historical events from the birth of the Prophet ﷺ to the beginning of his prophetic mission (al-ba'thah).
- Second Pillar (al-Rukn al-Thani): Covers the period from the commencement of his mission to his migration (Hijrah) to Medina.
- Third Pillar (al-Rukn al-Thalith): Details the Medinan period from the Hijrah to his death, arranged chronologically by year.
- Conclusion (al-Khatimah): Provides a concise history of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad dynasty, the Abbasid caliphate, and subsequent ruling dynasties up to the accession of Sultan Murad III.
Method and Sources
In compiling the work, al-Diyarbakri selected material from major classical references across Quranic exegesis, hadith, sirah, history, and theology. His stated sources include al-Tafsir al-Kabir by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, al-Kashshaf by al-Zamakhshari and its supercommentary by al-Sharif al-Jurjani, Ma'alim al-Tanzil by al-Baghawi, Zad al-Masir by Ibn al-Jawzi, and the local histories of Mecca by al-Azraqi and al-Fasi. While the narrative is expansive, the author attempted to weigh different reports and separate unreliable accounts from sound ones. The work also preserves citations from early sources that did not survive independently in complete form, such as the Maghazi of Musa ibn Uqba (d. 141 AH).
Editions and Excerpts
Tarikh al-Khamis was published in two volumes in Cairo in 1283 AH (1866 CE) and again in 1302 AH (1885 CE), and later reprinted in Beirut. An excerpt concerning the assassination of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab was edited and translated into German by Otto von Platen in Berlin (1837) under the title Geschichte der Tödtung des Chalifen Omer. A short extract regarding the punishment of Umar's son was also incorporated by J. H. Petermann in his Grammatica Arabica.
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