Abd al-Malik Research Articles

An Arabic Inscription From The Time Of The Caliph 'Abd Al-Malik

The very hard, grey basalt stone on which this inscription is cut was discovered in 1961 by Mr. Shalom Kotzer (of the kibbutz Shā'ar ha-Golān) in shallow water off the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near the modern amphitheatre ofTsēmaḥ (Samakh). In 1962 it was moved from the water to the kibbutz by Mr. Kotzer and his son Moshe. A preliminary note on the inscription in Hebrew by the present writer appeared in 'Al ha-Mishmār of 11 January 1963. The inscription consists of eight readable lines insimple Kūfī script, incised on afairly smooth surface. The back of the stone is not worked.

The Works of Shams Al-Dīn Al-Dailamī

Brockelmann mentions once a certain Shams al-Dịn Abụ Thạbit Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Malik al-Dailamị as author of a treatise entitled Mir'ạt al-arwạh wa-sụrat al-aujạh, 'Erläuterung einer Figur, welche die Einteilung der Welt nach den Vorstellungen der Sîfîs von der hîchsten Region 'îlam al haira wal ‘ilm al maǵhûl bis zur tiefsten mahall aš šaitîn taht al ard darstellt’.1 The unique copy of this curious work is preserved in Gotha; and W. Pertsch when cataloguing it, having seen the entry in Hạjjị Khalịfa in which it is stated that this al-Dailamị composed al-Jam ‘bain al-tauhid wa’l-ta'zim during the year 899 (1493),2 very reasonably gave that date as his floruit. In this Brockelmann duly followed Pertsch.

The Monetary Reforms of 'Abd Al-Malik 1)

For the first half-century after their conquest of the Sasanian empire and much of the Byzantine east the Arabs made no changes in the metrological and monetary systems of the lands they occupied 2). It is alleged that Muhammad took credit for having left to 'Iraq its dirham and its qafiz, to Syria its mudd and its dinar, and to Egypt its ardeb and its dinar 3). Although this politic conservatism must be

Khargūshī's Manual of Ṣūfism

Through the courtesy of the authorities of the Preussische Staatsbibliothek I have had the opportunity of reading in the India Office Library the apparently unique copy of Abū Sa'd 'Abd al-Malik b. Muhammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Wā'iz al-Khargūshī's manual of Sūfism entitled Tahdhīb al-asrār. Khargūshī, who is otherwise known for his voluminous biography of the Prophet and a treatise on the interpretation of dreams, died at Nīshāpūr in 406/1015 or 4Q7/1016. He is therefore an earlier authority than Sulamī (d. 412/1021), Abu Nu'aim al-Isfahānī (d. 430/1039), and Qushairī (d. 465/1072), but is junior to Sarrāj (d. 378/988), Kalābādhī (d. 385/995), and Abū Tālib al-Makkī (d. 386/996). These comparisons are important, for they show Khargūshī as being a sufficiently early writer in the genre of systematic Sūfism. His name is not included in Nicholson's list of eight authorities for the history of early Sufism, and he does not appear to have received the attention which he deserves; though it is true that he has been utilized by Massignon in his study of Hallaj. The purpose of the present note is to supplement the somewhat exiguous account of the work given by Ahlwardt, and also to estimate the true value of Khargūshī's manual as a primary source.