To next page
Shams al-Din Muḥammad ibn Abd al-Raḥman al-Sakhawi, (1428 – 1497AD) born in Cairo died in Medina. He excelled in hadith, tafsir, literature, and history. A lot of the sources for his: Al-Daw' al-lami li ahli al-Qarni al-Tasi; were interviews. He gives some interesting anecdotes about people from Mogadishu and of a special happening among the black slaves of Egypt.
Taken from: alwaraq.net
الموسوعة الشاملة - الضوء اللامع islamport.com by السخاوي
Vol1p434
In 1441-2 a Kasif (government official) from South Egypt got killed in the High Said (1) when in battle against the Zanj.
(Somewhere in Nubba).
Vol3p169
Ali ibn Yusuf ibn 'Umar ibn Anwar (2), who the Sheikh mentioned in his sermon, the ruler of our time in Mekdhoh; is known as Muayad-bin-Muzaffar ibn Mansur. He died in the year (eight hundred) thirty-six (1433AD).
Vol3p443
Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Muhammad, judge of Lamu city (3) - One of the cities of Zinj on the Sea of Berbera, west of the city of
Maqdishuh, at about twenty stages. He was born in the year seven eight and seven hundred. Al-Maqrizi said in his “aleuqud alfaridat”: He came to Mecca and I was there among others in the year
thirty-nine and eight hundred. And he told us that the monkeys defeated the city of Maqdishuh in about the year eight hundred, so that they annoyed people in their dwellings and their markets
and began to take food out of utensils and other things and the group attacks the people and takes whatever vessels it finds, so that the owner of that house follows the monkey and he is kind
to him so it returns the bowl, so he returns it after eating what is in it, and if he finds a lonely woman he is having intercourse with her. He said; It is a custom for the Lord that the
heads of his state stand under his palace, and if they are gathered, the window is opened to him at the top, then they prostrate for him, then raise their heads, and they find the king has
supervised them from that window, so he orders and ends where he is. And when there were some days, the supervisor of them was a monkey, he said, and the monkeys pass by sects, each sect has
a great offering, and it is subordinate to him in an arrangement; and he said that it is a punishment from God for them, and that the sea is thrown the amber at the coast of Lamu, and the
king takes it and once a piece of it weighed a thousand and two hundred pounds. He said, and banana trees they have very much, and that there are several types of them, a kind of which the
banana reaches an arm's length, and they make molasses from it that stays for more than a year, and they also make deserts from it. This is all (what he said). And I have stopped in the
validity of this in this way God knows best. (15)
Note: Dr. Muhammad Hussain Muallem Ali wrote in his article: Al-Maqrizi ... between Lamu and Mogadishu (2020) that the text of Maqrizi got messed up. This story of the Qadi of Lamu has a story of Mogadishu in it but ends again with a description of Lamu. As the description of the customs in Mogadishu as found by Ibn Battuta are very different from those described here; the story should not be attributed to Mogadishu. Dr. Muhammad does not conclude that it needs to be attributed to Lamu; only that a mess-up happened.
Note: Abu al-Mahasin by his writing on Lamu (3) gives evidence of the existence of old Lamu town. Today it is covered by a sand dune called Hedabu hill situated between Shela and present day Lamu. More evidence of old Lamu comes from the Pate chronicle and Archeology.
Vol4p254
(805AH)(1403AD) Muhammad ibn Abi Qasim Jamal Abu Abdullah Al-Makdashi (4); In the dictionary - the sheikh of the grammarians, Balin, for the benefit of the group of these people, Al-Shehab, Ahmed Bari Omar Al-Mutqash. He died in Rabi’ al-Awwal (5), so we redeemed him forty-five days.
Vol4p295
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Almekdci (6). Our Sheikh said in his Mu'jam: Born in 714AH (1314AD), was a true Muslim,
Ali Abu-Faraj ibn Abd al-Hadi heard of an event, that he had such a worship and the peace was his friend that people tell him:
Pray for so and so, he says: and hopefully let the justice be in power, the judges had all heard of him; he died on the sixth of the
month of Rajab (7)
and was ninety.
Vol5p112
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Maqdisi Al-Jamal; Mekdhoh judge. He died in Mecca, Jumada al-Awwal (May) in the year forty-four (of the ninth century).
Vol5p301
The letter: qaf…
Abu Alq.sm;… Muhammad ibn Abu Alq.sm Al-Maqdishi in the dictionary " - He assumed the leadership of the Ilham Zubaid Mosque, and he was righteous and used to pray for blessings. Al-Afif Al-Nashiri mentioned him, but his death was not dated, and his death was at about the same time as ibn Abu Bakr.
The khawaja Badr al-Din Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qasim al Tahir (8)(d1466-7) travelled extensively
in Egypt, the Yemen, East Africa and India and gradually became the acknowledged leader of the
Meccan mercantile community. In addition he held a Mamluk (11) appointment as supervisor of the Great Mosque.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al-Sakhawi, al-Maqasid al-Hasanah (The purposes of good) (1497)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: alwaraq.net
P190
Abbas mentioned that the Prophet used the word Sudan. (Let me be from the Sudan, for black is for the stomach and vulva). Some of them (=these hadith) confirm each other, and the bond is good and by Abu Na`im, with a chain of transmission that Al-Dailami ascribed to it on the authority of Abi Rafe` (The evil of the Zinj slave is that when satisfied they are committing fornication). This hadith was adopted by our Imam al-Shafi’i (9), Farwina in his merits of al-Bayhaqi through the path. Al-Muzni said, I was with Al-Shafei in the mosque when a man entered, turning to the one who sleeps there, Al-Shafi’i said to him; get up, say to him; a black slave went to you with one eyes, he said. He went up to him. Al Shafi’i said to him: Yes. Where is my servant? He said: You will find him in custody. Imprisonment, Al-Muzni said, so I told him: Tell us, because he baffled us, so he said: Yes, I saw a man entered through a door; the mosque rotates among those who sleep there, so I said: I want a fugitive and I saw the Sudanese come without one eye, so I said a black slave fled to here and I saw him come with only the left eye, so I said: He suffers in one of his eyes, I said: How do you know that he is in custody? (If they are hungry they steal, and if they are satisfied they commit fornication)(14). So I assumed that he did one of them, and so it was.
P740
The monkeys at the center of the state, so al-Maqrizi narrated that Muhammad bin Ishaq ibn Muhammad, the judge of the city of Lamu (3), west of Mogadishu, described it with
knowledge and worship and ritualism, and that he met him in Makkah in the year of thirty-nine and eight hundred, he told him that the monkeys had defeated those who lived there in about the year
eight hundred, so that the people were bothered in their homes and markets and (the monkeys) began to take food from utensils and other things and attacking people in the place and taking what
they find from the vessels so that the owner of that house follows the monkey and is kind to him so as to returning the pot and returning it after eating what is in it. And if they meet a single
woman they have intercourse with her. And it is the habit of the king, when the officials of his state are standing below and they kiss the soil, then raise their heads, and they find the king
has supervised them from doing it, so he orders and then ends, and then someday the supervisor overseeing them was a monkey he said, while the monkeys pass section by section. Each section brings
a large offering, and are subordinate to him with loyalty and arrangement. He said that they see that is a punishment from God for them. And God knows best. (15)
Al-Sakhawi: Kitab al-tibr al-masbuk fi dhayl al-suluk. (Supplement to al-suluk) (d1497)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: BLACK SLAVES IN MAMLUK NARRATIVES: REPRESENTATIONS OF TRANSGRESSION by SHAUN MARMON
A very strange event occurred in this year. A large group of black slaves (abid) assembled in the plain of Giza (10) during the days of spring pasturage and appointed a Sultan from among them-selves. They set up a pavilion for him and furnished it with carpets. Inside it, they put up a platform (dikka) and other things [related to] what is put in place for a king in all his doings. They cut in half at the waist a number of black slaves who opposed them. Their Sultan appointed one of them to [rule over] the domain of Syria and another to [rule over] the domain of Aleppo. It happened that a black slave belonging to one of the Sultan’s mamluks (11) ran away. His master went outlooking for him and was guided to him. When he [the mamluk] came to them [the slaves], permission was requested for him to enter the sitting place of the leaders, permission was granted to him and he entered. He saw such a dreadful and awe inspiring presence that he was afraid. When he stood before that abd [the slave Sultan], the [slave Sultan] said to him: What do you seek, oh mamluk (11)? He responded: I seek a black slave of mine here. He has entered your army. The [slave Sultan] said to someone who was standing there to serve him, Bring this one his slave. So they brought in the black slave in chains. The [slave Sultan] said to the [mamluk],Is this your black slave? The [mamluk] responded, Yes. Then, he [al-Ayni] said that they cut him [the black slave] into two pieces. His master was overcome by fear and he asked permission to depart. Then the [slave Sultan] said to him: What is the price of your slave? He [the mamluk](11) said, I bought him for twenty five dinars (12). [The slave Sultan] then lifted up the corner of the cushion on which he was sitting and there was a pile of gold. He then measured out for him [the mamluk] the amount that he had specified and said to him: Take this sum and buy yourself a black slave to replace him. When he had taken the money, [the mamluk] requested from him [the slave Sultan] that he would send someone with him to bring him to a place where he would be safe. So he [the slave Sultan] sent someone with him [the mamluk] who brought him to the tents set up for the spring pasturage. Then he left him. This mamluk (11) then went up to the Sultan [Jaqmaq, r. 842/1438-852/1453] and told him what had happened. The Sultan said: Have they disturbed anyone from amongst the subjects? The mamluk said: No. So the Sultan said, Leave them to kill one-another. My opinion is that their deed is done on a whim and I consider their affair to be of little consequence. I [al-Sakhawi] say, that if it were not for the killing, then it would be a simple matter, despite my hesitation concerning the affair of the master of the black slave. But this is what al-Ayni narrates. And he [al-Ayni] says that it was something the likes of which has never happened and that a king like him [the black slave Sultan] has never been heard of. Then he [al-‘Ayni] is silent.
Al-Sakhawi: Tuhfat al-Albab (The gift of the spirits) (d1497) Egypt
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: masaha.org/book/view/4661 تحفة الأحباب وبغية الطلاب by علي بن أحمد السخاوي
Note: the following story he copied from Abu Hamid Al-Garnati : Tuhfat al-Albab
(The gift of the spirits) (1080-1169) from Andalusia.
P125-127
Reasons for Affan's (13) wealth and asceticism:
It was said that the reason for this richness of Affan was that he used to do sewing, so he bought a young Zinj slave to serve him, so some days Affan ordered him to light the oven to bake in it, so he blew the oven and lit it, so the fire burst into the oven, so the servant rejoiced and rejoiced.
To feed the fire, he went to Affan's clothes, which he used to be his best, then he threw them into the fire and his turban, and everything that was available. When Affan saw what the slave had made, God Almighty provided him with a dream and patience. And what Affan did with him was put him free, because of this he fell into the hearts of loving people, so a man from the great merchants of Egypt came to Affan and said to him: I have goods suitable for India, and I chose you to go with it, and no matter how much you gain, you have such-and-such for you and they agreed on that. The merchandise went to the salty sea, and he traveled there to Aden and stayed there whatever God wanted, then boarded the sea and entered the Sea of India and sold what he had of goods and profit, then he returned and the wind blew over them, so the wind blew the ship to the Zinj country, so the merchants were afraid of themselves and their money, and they entered into the land the Zunuy greeted them and they grabbed a man and take him away and promised to bring him back to the ship and presented him to their king, and the king did not speak with any of them, so they finally took Affan, and they brought him to the king.
Affan was terrified of that, so the king said to him, Wasn't he Affan the tailor in Egypt: The one who bought a Zinj boy who burned your clothes and you did not hurt him, and you offended him freedom and provided of things needed? Affan said, Yes, O king. The king said, Affan, I am that slave who was freed, and God Almighty has given me this blessing with the blessing of your kindness and also all of this kingdom. You are mine, like a boy, and your country is not suitable for me or mine for you, so he ordered a ship and carried in it endless money and gave him the ship and all that was on it and sent with him some of his servants and they arrived in the country of Yemen, and then Affan returned from the countries of Yemen to Egypt and with him the money, so he (may God Almighty have mercy on him) did not respond to asking and did not go to the houses and bars and the shops and bathrooms, and endow all to God Almighty through the poor and the needy. He made his house his soil and used to pray in it.
Al-Sakhawi: altuhfat allatifat fi tarikh almadinat alsharifa:
(The gentle masterpiece in the history of the honorable city)(d1497) Egypt
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: التحفة اللطيفة في تاريخ المدينة الشريفة - ج2 by IslamKotob
(Hamad) bin Khamad bin Ahmad Al-Maqdishi Balshin Al-Mujamah. Sheikh Nafi mentioned him and said: He was born in the year seven hundred and fourteen and he heard most of the “Sahih Muslim” (16), and of Ali Al-Farajab, Abdul-Ahadi (d. 749/1348). ……… and he was called among his companions the judge of judges because of the safety of his heart, the abundance of his worship …………… He died on the sixteenth of Rajab (17), …… He was almost ninety. ………
(1) High Said: deep south of Egypt.
(2) Ali ibn Yusuf ibn 'Umar ibn Anwar: this sultan of Mogadishu is mentioned in the Album Stephen list (see my webpage Contents 6). This means he putted his name on the coins he had minted. Ibn Yusuf is also mentioned by Al-Sakhawi (1497); al Asqalani (d1448); Maqrizi (1441).
(3) Lamu city: this story is also found in: Abu al-Mahasin (1441); Makrizi (1441).
(4) Muhammad ibn Abi Qasim Jamal Abu Abdullah Al-Makdashi: also mentioned by Abdul Wahab bin Abdul Rahman Al-Barihi Al-Sukski Yemeni (1499).
(5) Rabi: Rabiʽ al-Awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar.
(6) Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Almekdci: also mentioned by Hafiz Ibn Hajar al Asqalani (d1448).
(7) Rajab: Rajab is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar.
(8) khawaja Badr al-Din Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qasim al Tahir: also mentioned by Najm al-Din Umar ibn Fahd (d1480).
(9) Imam al-Shafi’i: Mohammed bin Idris Shafi'i: (767–820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and scholar, who was the first contributor of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. His legacy on juridical matters and teaching eventually led to the formation of Shafi'i school of fiqh.
(10) plain of Giza: on the other side of the Nile opposite Cairo. The place where the three pyramids are.
(11) Mamluks: literally: "one who is owned", meaning "slave". Here a military slave of the Sultan.
(12) dinars: gold coin of one mithqal (4-5 gr of gold).
(13) The story about Affan the tailor in Egypt: The one who bought a Zinj boy: Al-Sakhawi (1497). The same story can be found in Abu Hamid Al-Garnati : Tuhfat al-Albab (The gift of the spirits) (1080-1169). And a not so nice variation of it in Buzurg (955). It is the ideology of slavery. Through slavery they get in contact with Islam. Similar stories but not connected to justification of slavery are: Bahktyar Nama (end 14th) and an extreme weird and horrible version is found in Mudjmal al -Tawarikh wa-l-qisas (1126). And Athanasius Nikitin (1475) who was actually blown by the wind to the coast of Somalia.
(14) This hadith is repeated by: Ibn Uday Al-Jurjani, (d976) Ibn Iraq (1036); al Maydani (1124); al Dhahabi (1348); al Abshihi (1450); al Sakhawi (1497); Suyuti (1505); (and many others).
(15) the monkeys: Ibn Said (1250); Qadi Ibn Sasri Al-Shafi’I (1300); Al Marvazi (1120) mentions Aden, where female apes were offered for sale to visitors who could not afford to buy slave girls, Al Maqrizi (1441) copied by Abu al-Mahasin (1441) and Al-Sakhawi (d1497) describes this same behaviour of the monkeys in the towns of East Africa, from where the monkeys supposedly were imported to Aden.). Al-Idrisi (1150) and Ibn Al Wardi (1456) has the merchants of Yemen use them as slaves to guard their belongings and money in their shops.
(16) Sahih Muslim is a 9th-century hadith collection and a book of sunnah compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875).
(17) Rajab: is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar.