Wasaya al-Muluk
- Author died
- 246 AH
- Editions
- Wasaya al-Muluk
Wasaya al-Muluk (The Testaments of the Kings, in full Wasaya al-Muluk wa-Abna' al-Muluk min Walad Qahtan ibn Hud) is an early Arabic historical-literary compendium attributed to the poet Di'bil al-Khuza'i (d. 246 AH / 860 CE), focusing on the testamentary advice and lore of ancient South Arabian royalty .
Attribution and Transmission
The text is transmitted through the narration of Di'bil's grandson, Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Di'bil al-Khuza'i, who relates it directly from his grandfather . In the opening transmission, Di'bil states that he gathered the knowledge of early history and Arab genealogy from scholars of his time, recording the wills and advice of the kings descending from Qahtan son of the Prophet Hud .
Modern bibliographical scholarship notes that the definitive attribution of the work to Di'bil remains contested; copies of the text have also been attributed to the philologist Abu al-Tayyib Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Washsha' (d. 325 AH / 937 CE) and to al-Asma'i .
Content and Themes
The work records the genealogical lineages, deathbed exhortations, and poetic verses of legendary and historical Qahtanite rulers from the lineages of Himyar and Kahlan . It opens by tracing the prophetic and ancestral lineage from Adam down to Hud, describing Hud as the progenitor of the original Arabs (al-'Arab al-'Ariba) and quoting early poetic testimonies, such as those of 'Alqama Dhu Jadan .
The entries typically present a ruler's final counsel (wasiyya) to his sons and tribe on governance, virtue, courage, and maintaining tribal alliances, accompanied by illustrative poems, such as the testament of 'Amr al-Mafdur instructing his descendants on enduring adversity, honoring royal sovereignty, and preserving unity among the Yemeni tribes of Himyar, Kahlan, Azd, and Hamdan .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in several collections, including:
- The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan (MS G 3/6, fols. 105a–141b), copied in 549 AH .
- The al-Qadiriyya Library in Baghdad (MS 1420/3, fols. 67–82), copied in 1303 AH .
The book was printed in Baghdad in 1332 AH (1914 CE), and published in modern critical editions, including one edited by Mohammed Ben Cheneb and another edited by Nizar Abazah (Beirut: Dar Sader, 1997) .
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