Is Dhul Qarnayn, Alexander the Great? Reflecting on Muhammad Rāghib al–Ṭabbākh�s contribution on a translated manuscript discovered in Timbuktu on Dul Qarnayn

This article emanates from a manuscript found in Timbuktu and digitised. The digitised version was subsequently translated by a team of translators and published as a book: Qissat Dhul Qarnayn [Tale of the two-horned one]. The most important question raised in reading this manuscript was the identity of Dhul Qarnayn. Subsequently to this manuscript being published as a book, a book written by Muḥammad Rāghib al-Ṭabbākh in 1949 in Arabic was examined, and it detailed a comprehensive scholarly study of the different views among scholars at that time about Dhul Qarnayn and Alexander the Great. This article reflects on the views of Muḥammad Rāghib al-Ṭabbākh in his book together with the manuscript found in Timbuktu and brings together views that attempt to establish and understand who Dhul Qarnayn is or was and his adventures. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article elaborates on a topic that has been discussed by historians and theologians of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths. It forms part of the discussion on apocalyptic literature. Within the Islamic context, it is often discussed among scholars dealing with the exegesis of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Some Sufi scholars tend to discuss it as well. It has intrigued some archaeologists. It highlights some civilisational issues at the time.http://www.ve.org.zaam2018Science of Religion and Missiolog

Iṣlāḥ al-masāǧid : al-badʿ wa-'l-ʿawāʾid

taʾlīf Ǧamāl-ad-Dīn al-Qāsimī ad-Dimašqī. Qāma bi-amr ṭabʿihī Fauzān as-Sābiq an-NaǧdīIn arab. Schr., ara

[al-Talwīḥ ilá kashf ḥaqāʼiq al-Tanqīḥ maʻa Ḥāshiyat Ḥasan Chalabī, 1090, i.e. 1679].

al-Taftāzānī's commentary on al-Tawḍīḥ fī ḥall ghawāmiḍ al-Tanqīḥ, itself a commentary on Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl both by ʻUbayd Allāh ibn Masʻūd al-Maḥbūbī (d. 747/1346), on uṣūl al-fiqh. The text is arranged in two parts within the single volume, with table of contents for each. The complete text of Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad Shāh al-Fanārī's (d. 886/1481) gloss on al-Talwīḥ is provided in the margin by a different copyist.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 564Origin: As appears in colophons at the close of juzʼ I and the close of juzʼ II, main text copied by Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd Allāh ibn Ṣalāḥ ibn ʻAbd al-Khāliq ibn Jaḥḥāf al-Qāsimī for the patron Fakhr al-Dīn ʻAbd Allāh ibn ʻAlī ibn ʻIzz al-Dīn al-Akwaʻ. Copying of juzʼ I finished 3rd Ṣafar 1090 [ca. 16 March 1679] ; transcription of juzʼ II finished ("wa-ittafaqa al-farāgh min taḥrīr hādhā al-kitāb al-mubārak...") 2nd Shaʻbān 1090 [ca. 8 September 1679]. Gloss copied by al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥashr. Copying of gloss for juzʼ I finished 10th Ramaḍān 1090 [ca. 15 October 1679] ; copying of gloss for juzʼ II finished ("wa-kāna al-farāgh min raqm hādhihi al-ḥawāshī al-mubārakah...") 7th Shawwāl 1090 [ca. 11 November 1679]. While place of transcription is not explicitly stated, the nisbahs and affiliations of the patron, copyists, and former owners, and other features strongly suggest Yemen.Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas. -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda. -- c. note on slip of laid European paper inserted between leaves marked p.398-399 (pagination in pencil, Western numerals).Former shelfmark: From inscription on front flyleaf "IL 470" (likely supplied by Yahuda).Binding: Pasteboard covered with a variety of red (spine), dark brown (covers) and light brown (onlays, flap, repairs) leathers ; Type II binding (with flap) ; upper and lower covers bear blind-stamped mandorla (compare Déroche class. OSd8) with pendants, corner pieces, and border lozenges, all with leather onlays ; doublures of red brown leather ; interior of envelope and foreedge flap in light blue cloth ; pasted label on spine with former shelfmark ; upper doublure inscribed in ink with a verse from the poetry of Ibn Ḥamād al-Baṣrī beginning "لا اشتكي زمني هذا فاظلمه..." ; pasted label bearing illegible inscription on upper doublure ; in somewhat poor condition with some abrasion, staining, lifting and losses of leather, delamination of upper board, etc. ; repairs to spine, fore edge flap, etc. in brown and red leathers.Support: European laid paper of at least two types, a paper bearing the crown-star-three crescent watermark (see p.538 in ms., single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 21 mm. apart, roughly 10-11 laid lines per cm.), a paper bearing crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.640 in ms., compare Nikolaev, Watermarks of the Ottoman Empire, v.1 nos. 257, 268, 273, etc., Heawood 1132 and Regourd, Catalogue cumulé des bibliothèques de manuscrits de Zabid, fascicule 1, nos. 147, 150 and 151, single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 30 mm. apart), and a paper bearing the three crescents watermark and crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.650 in ms., compare Heawood 863, single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 21 mm. apart, roughly 9 laid lines per cm.) with “FC” countermark (see p.652 in ms., compare Regourd nos. 137 and 138).Support: European laid paper of many types ; codex opens with a paper bearing the crown-star-crescent watermark (62 mm. tall, single chain lines vertical and spaced 30 mm. apart, roughly 6 laid lines per cm.) and continues with at least five additional types in the opening juzʼ, concluding with another type bearing the crown-star-crescent with "B" below (see p.326, 356, etc., 101 mm. tall, single chain lines spaced 20 mm. apart, roughly 10 laid lines per cm.) ; other watermarks in the papers of this juzʼ include scrollwork or shield with "FB" below (see p.306) and cross in circle with "BB" below (motif similar to Heawood 934) ; the second juzʼ is also comprised of several papers featuring variations on the crown-star-crescent watermark, three crescents (tre lune) and crown-star-three crescent watermark ; near the opening of this juzʼ, a well-burnished paper with crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.390, 39, etc., 70 mm. tall, single chain lines vertical spaced 30 mm. apart, roughly 6-7 laid lines per cm., compare Regourd, Catalogue cumulé des bibliothèques de manuscrits de Zabid, fascicule 1, no.147) and paper bearing the three crescents watermark (see p.490, 80 mm., chain lines vertical and spaced 28 mm. apart, roughly 7-8 laid lines per cm., somewhat similar to Heawood 865), toward the close, a paper with crown-star-three crescent watermark (see p.538, 558, etc., 80 mm. tall, single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 20-23 mm. apart, roughly 9-10 laid lines per cm.), and paper with another crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.640, 70 mm. tall, single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 28-30 mm. apart, roughly 6-7 laid lines per cm.) with countermark "HZ" (see p.594) and another paper with three crescents watermark (see p.650, compare Heawood 863, single chain lines vertical and spaced roughly 25 mm. apart, roughly 9 laid lines per cm.) with “FC” countermark (see p.652, compare Regourd nos. 137 and 138).Decoration: Headings, words such as "قوله" linking the text and commentary, and some corrections rubricated (in matn and gloss) ; overlining in red ; red rule-borders throughout ; textual dividers in the form of red discs and black dot in circle with four red dots (compare types 2 and 19 in Regourd, Catalogue cumulé des bibliothèques de manuscrits de Zabid, fascicule 1).Script: Naskh ; main text and gloss in two distinct hands ; main text in a neat Yemeni hand, partially but irregularly seriffed with occasional rightward or leftward serifs on assorted ascenders (even free standing alif), effect of tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders (though somewhat stiff), lām seated on the baseline with stiff horizontal stroke, many open counters, pointing mainly in distinct dots, kāf mashqūqah (mashkūlah) preferred (shaqq even appearing on occasional final kāf), partially vocalized, headings/keywords supplied in larger, bolded script that is partially seriffed ; gloss in small, rounded Yemeni hand, serifless with a slight tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders, some free assimilation of letters, open and closed counters, pointing in distinct dots, kāf mabsūṭah appearing often, miniature kāf seated in final kāf larger than expected, headings/keywords again supplied in larger, bolded script.Layout: Written in 28 lines per page; frame-ruled.Collation: i, (IV-4)+1 (5), I (7), 7 IV (63), II (67), 3 IV (91), III+1 (98), 10 IV (178), IV+1 (187), 6 IV (235), III+1 (242), 9 IV (314), III+1 (321), IV-2 (327), i ; chiefly quaternions ; middle four leaves of the first quire (foliated ۳ through ۶) have been removed and inserted as the binion which follows the ninth quire (inserted between fol.۶۴ and fol.۶۵) ; entire leaves bearing the gloss (but with portions left blank and unmarked) are inserted occasionally and not reckoned in the foliation (but are reckoned in the pagination) ; occasionally lacuna in the gloss of the margin are marked "بياض" ; middle-of-the-quire marks appear in the form of oblique dashes on the lower left corner of the left hand leaf ; catchwords are present for main text and occasionally gloss, though often difficult to see due to the tight binding ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals, top outer corner of the recto of each leaf ; each juzʼ foliated separately ; foliation of second juzʼ mistakenly skips ١٣۴ ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied during cataloguing).Colophon: [al-Talwīḥ] "Scribal," triangular, reads: واتفق الفراغ من تحرير هذا الكتاب المبارك نهار الجمعة المباركة ثاني شهر شعبان الكريم احد شهور سنة تسعين والف والحمد لله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات وذلك بخط افقر العباد الى ربه يتولي امره وغفرانه محمد بن عبد الله بن صلاح بن عبد الخالق بن جحاف القاسمي غفر الله له ولامامه وللمسلمين امين امين [Ḥāshiyat Ḥasan Chalabī] "Scribal," triangular, reads: وكان الفراغ من رقم هذه الحواشي المباركة بعد العصر يوم السبت ليلة سابع شهر شوال الكريم الذي من شهور سنة تسعين والف سنة بخط الفقير الى كرم الله وعفوه الغني بالله عمن سواه الحسين بن احمد بن محمد بن احمد بن حشر غفر الله له ولوالديه وللمؤمنين والمؤمنات امينExplicit: [al-Talwīḥ] لسلوك طريق الهدى انه ولي العصمة ومنه الهداية الى سوا الطريق و قد اتفق صبيحة يوم الاثنين التاسع والعشرين من ذي القعدة سنة ثمان وخمسين وسبعمائة فراغ بيان البيان ... والحمد لله على نعمه العظام ومنحه الجسام والصلوة على نبيه محمد واله واصحابه البررة الكرام وسلم عليهم [Ḥāshiyat Ḥasan Chalabī] لا يجور السقوط حرمة تركها في الجملة بالاعذار هذا اخر ما اردنا ايراده في حواشي الكتاب مستعينا بالملك الوهاب وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد واله وسلم"Incipit: [al-Talwīḥ] الحمد لله الذي احكم بكتابه اصول الشريعة ... وبعد فان علم الاصول الجامع بين المعقول والمنقول ... وان كتاب التنقيح مع شرحه ... ثم جمعت هذا الشرح الموسوم بالتلويح الى كشف حقائق التنقيح مشتملا على تقرير قواعد الفن ... قوله حامدا لله [Ḥāshiyat Ḥasan Chalabī] الحمد لله على شمول نعمه الجسام ... فشرعت في حواشي التلويحTitle supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Kropf, E. "The Yemeni manuscripts of the Yahuda Collection at the University of Michigan: provenance and acquisition," Chroniques du manuscrit au Yémen, 13 (janvier 2012).Regourd, Anne. Catalogue cumulé des bibliothèques de manuscrits de Zabid. Fascicule 1, Les papiers filigranés. Sanaa, 2008.Heawood, Edward. Watermarks, Mainly of the 17th and 19th Centuries (Hilversum, 1950).Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GAL,al-Taftāzānī's commentary on al-Tawḍīḥ fī ḥall ghawāmiḍ al-Tanqīḥ, itself a commentary on Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl both by ʻUbayd Allāh ibn Masʻūd al-Maḥbūbī (d. 747/1346), on uṣūl al-fiqh. The text is arranged in two parts within the single volume, with table of contents for each. The complete text of Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad Shāh al-Fanārī's (d. 886/1481) gloss on al-Talwīḥ is provided in the margin by a different copyist.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired in 1926 from the bookseller Isaac Benjamin S.E. Yahuda via purchase transacted on his behalf by Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951), his younger brother.Copied under the patronage of (bi-ʻināyat) Fakhr al-Dīn ʻAbd Allāh ibn ʻAlī ibn ʻIzz al-Dīn al-Akwaʻ, see patronage statements accompanying the colophons at the close of each juzʼ "وكتب بعناية الفقيه العلامة الامجد رئيس شيعة ال محمد صلى الله عليه واله فخر الدين عبد الله بن علي بن عز الدين الاكوع ..." ; numerous marks of ownership on front flyleaf and 'title page' (fol.1a), some dated, some illegible or obliterated, including statement dated Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1090 [1680] apparently referring to the patron, a statement and circular/oval seal impression dated 1270 [1853 or 4] in name of Muḥammad Saʻīd ( محمد سعيد / Mehmet Sait ) who indicates that he is a former qāḍī of Mocha (Yemen), and an oval inspection stamp for the port of Tripoli (Lebanon) in purple ink dated 1313 [1895 or 6] with inscription in Ottoman Turkish reading "معاينة اولنمشدر طرابلس شام ١٣١٣" ; numerous marginal corrections and notabilia for both the main text and the gloss; occasional collation marks in the form "بلغ"