What 'Isa ibn Hisham Told Us: or, A Period of Time, Volume One (Library of Arabic Literature (54))

521 Pages·2015·8.229 MB·English

by  Muhammad al-Muwaylihi

What ʿĪsā Ibn Hishām Told Us
Volume One
Library of Arabic Literature
Editorial Board
General Editor
Philip F. Kennedy, New York University
Executive Editors
James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge
Shawkat M. Toorawa, Cornell University
Editors
Julia Bray, University of Oxford
Michael Cooperson, University of California, Los Angeles
Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania
Tahera Qutbuddin, University of Chicago
Devin J. Stewart, Emory University
Managing Editor
Chip Rossetti
Digital Production Manager
Stuart Brown
Assistant Editor
Gemma Juan-Simó
Letter from the General Editor
The Library of Arabic Literature series offers Arabic editions and English trans-
lations of key works of classical and pre-modern Arabic literature. Books in the
series are edited and translated by distinguished scholars of Arabic and Islamic
studies and are published in parallel-text format with Arabic and English on
facing pages. These titles are also made available as English-only paperbacks.
The Library of Arabic Literature includes texts from the pre-Islamic era to the
cusp of the modern period, and encompasses a wide range of genres, includ-
ing poetry, poetics, fiction, religion, philosophy, law, science, history, and
historiography.
Supported by a grant from the New York University Abu Dhabi Institute,
and established in partnership with NYU Press, the Library of Arabic Literature
produces authoritative Arabic editions and modern, lucid English translations,
with the goal of introducing the Arabic literary heritage to a general audience of
readers, as well as to scholars and students.
Philip F. Kennedy
General Editor, Library of Arabic Literature
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What ʿĪsā Ibn Hishām Told Us
or
A Period of Time
Volume One
Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī
Edited and translated by
Roger Allen
Volume editor
Philip Kennedy
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
Copyright © 2015 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Muwaylihi, Muhammad.
What ‘Isa ibn Hisham told us, or, A period of time / Muhammad
al-Muwaylihi ; edited and translated by Roger Allen.
volumes cm -- (Library of Arabic literature)
In English and Arabic.
ISBN 978-1-4798-1388-9 (cl : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-4798-9511-3
(e-book) -- ISBN 978-1-4798-0441-2 (e-book)
I. Allen, Roger, 1942- editor, translator. II. Muwaylihi, Muhammad.
Hadith ‘Isa ibn Hisham. III. Muwaylihi, Muhammad. Hadith ‘Isa ibn Hisham.
English. IV. Title. V. Title: Period of time.
PJ7850.U9H313 2015
892.7’35--dc23
2014044218
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Series design by Titus Nemeth.
Typeset in Tasmeem, using DecoType Naskh and Emiri.
Typesetting and digitization by Stuart Brown.
Manufactured in the United States of America
c10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
Letter from the General Editor iii
Introduction ix
Note on the Text and Translation xxviii
Notes to the Introduction xxxiii
What ʿĪsā Ibn Hishām Told Us, Volume One 1
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 21, September 8, 1898 2
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 23, September 22, 1898 10
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 24, September 29, 1898 20
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 30, November 10, 1898 26
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 31, November 17, 1898 34
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 32, November 24, 1898 44
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 34, December 8, 1898 58
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 35, December 15 1898 78
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 39, January 12, 1899 96
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 40, January 19, 1899 118
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 41, January 26, 1899 132
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 42, February 2, 1899 142
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 43, February 9, 1899 154
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 44, February 16, 1899 170
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 48, March 23, 1899 192
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 49, March 30, 1899 208
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 50, April 6, 1899 220
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 54, May 11, 1899 234
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 55, May 18, 1899 250
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 57, June 1, 1899 268
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 58, June 8, 1899 294
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 59, June 15, 1899 308
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 63, July 13, 1899 326
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 64, July 20, 1899 344
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 68, August 17, 1899 364
vii
Table of Contents
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 69, August 24, 1899 382
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 71, September 7, 1899 402
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 72, September 14, 1899 420
Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 74, September 28, 1899 442
Notes 461
Index 473
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 480
About the Typefaces 481
Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature 482
About the Editor–Translator 484
viii
Introduction
The Author: Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī
Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī was born on the 30th of March, 1858, into an illustri-
ous family that traced its origins to the town of Muwayliḥ on the coast of the
Ḥijāz in the Arabian Peninsula. His father, Ibrāhīm al-Muwayliḥī (1843–1906)—
only fifteen years older than his son, had inherited the family silk business along
with his brother ʿAbd al-Salām, and both brothers were closely involved in the
political life of Egypt during the reign of the Khedive Ismāʿīl (r.1863–79).
For a brief period at the age of ten, Muḥammad attended the famous school
at Khurunfish in Cairo which was run by the Jesuit order and catered for the
sons of the aristocracy, but from the time he was fifteen he was taught privately.
As a young man he made the acquaintance of many of his father’s friends,
among whom Jamāl al-dīn al-Afghānī and Muḥammad ʿAbduh.1 Muḥammad
later attended ʿAbduh’s lectures at al-Azhar, the same institution that he was
to criticize with such vehemence in the newspaper articles that were later to
be published in edited form as Ḥadīth ʿĪsā ibn Hishām (What ʿĪsā ibn Hishām
Told Us). He also had occasion to meet other important figures in Egyptian cul-
tural life of the times, including Shaykh Ḥusayn al-Marṣafī and Maḥmūd Pāshā
Sāmī al-Bārūdī, the famous statesman and poet, both of whom took an interest
in his education.2
In 1872, Ibrāhīm’s fortunes suffered a severe setback. He had been attracted
to the newly founded Stock Exchange, and in the course of speculation lost the
80,000 pounds which had been bequeathed to him by his father.3 Leaving ʿAbd
al-Salām to manage the business as best he could, Ibrāhīm retired to his house
for three months. We learn from various sources that when the Khedive Ismāʿīl
heard about this, he summoned both brothers to the palace, gave each the title
of Bey and 3,000 pounds, and ordered his entourage and harem to dress them-
selves exclusively in al-Muwayliḥī silks.4
Following the financial crisis of 1879, the Khedive Ismāʿīl was forced to abdi-
cate and went into exile in Naples. He invited Ibrāhīm al-Muwayliḥī to join
him as his private secretary and tutor to Prince Aḥmad Fuʾād (later King Fuʾād
ix