Skip to main content

Translating al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab into English

Translating al-Jahshiyārī’s Kitāb al-Wuzarāʾ wa-l-Kuttāb into English

Before beginning my English translation of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūs al-Jahshiyārī’s Kitāb al-Wuzarāʾ wa-l-Kuttāb, “The Book of Ministers and Secretaries,” it is worth saying a few words about the importance of this work and its author.
Al-Jahshiyārī, who died in 331 AH / 942 CE, belonged to the Abbasid period and wrote at a time when the caliphate had already passed through major political and administrative changes. He was deeply interested in the history of government, administration, ministers, secretaries, and court culture. His work is therefore not merely a biographical record of officials; it is an important source for understanding how power actually functioned in the early Islamic world.
Kitāb al-Wuzarāʾ wa-l-Kuttāb opens a window onto the political, administrative, social, and economic life of the Muslim world, especially during a period when the authority of the caliphs began to weaken and the influence of ministers, scribes, palace circles, women, concubines, and court officials became increasingly visible. Through accounts of ministers and secretaries, al-Jahshiyārī preserves valuable details about the machinery of government, the conduct of officials, the habits of the ruling class, and the relationship between power and society.
I felt it was important to translate this entire book into English because works of this kind remain inaccessible to many readers who are interested in Islamic history but cannot read Arabic. Bringing it into English allows a wider audience to appreciate the richness of early Arabic historical writing and to see how Muslim historians preserved not only major political events, but also the social realities, administrative practices, and human relationships that shaped them.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

English Translation of al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab: 2

The Scribes Among The Persians The kings of Persia were exceedingly strict with anyone who forged or engraved a seal resembling the royal seal. They considered such a crime equal to the gravest offenses and punished it accordingly. The Persian kings referred to the letter-writers as “the interpreters ( tarājimah ) of kings.” They used to say to them: “Do not let your desire to make speech concise lead you to omit meanings, abandon proper structure and clarity ( al-iblāgh ) in it or weaken the strength of argument.” It was the established practice in the days of the Persians that the younger generation ( aḥdāth al-kuttāb ) of scribes, and those newly emerging among them, would gather at the palace gates seeking employment. The king would then command the heads of his chancery to test them and examine their intellects. Those found worthy would have their names presented to the king and would be instructed to remain at the gate so they could be called upon when needed. The king w...
Post a Comment
Read more

English Translation of al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab: 5: Scribes During the time of Muʿawiyah b. Abu Sufyan

  During the time of Mu ʿ ā wiyah b. Ab ī Sufy ā n ʿUbayd Allāh b. Aws al-Ghassānī used to write Muʿāwiyah’s correspondence, and Sarjūn b. Manṣūr al-Rūmī handled the tax bureau ( dīwān al-kharāj ) for him. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ wrote on behalf of the military register ( dīwān al-jund ).  Mu ʿ ā wiyah also had a scribe named ʿ Abd al-Ra ḥ mān b. Darrāj, whose brother was ʿ Ubayd All ā h b. Darr ā j — both were his freedmen ( mawālī ). He appointed [ ʿ Ubayd All ā h] over the tax administration   ( kharāj ) of Iraq, taking the responsibility from al-Mughīrah, who had been in charge of military affairs there. ʿ Ubayd All ā h asked the villagers to offer gifts during Nawr ū z and Mihrj ā n, and they did so. The total of these offerings reached ten million dirhams in a single year. Muʿāwiyah was the first to establish the seal register ( dīwān al-khātam ). The reason for this was that he once wrote a letter to ʿAmr b. al-Zubayr authorizing a payment of o...
Post a Comment
Read more

1. Kitāb al-Tawḥīd: Introduction by the Author

Introduction by the Author بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم مقدمة المؤلف (رحمه الله): الحمد الله العلي العظيم؛ السميع البصير؛ الحكيم الكريم اللطيف الخبير ذى النعم السوابغ؛ والفضل الواسع؛ والحجج البوالغ؛ (تعالى) ربنا عن صفات المحددين؛ وتقدس عن شبه المخلوقين؛ وتنزه عن ما قالة المعطلين؛ علا ربنا فكان فوق سبع سمواتة عاليا؛ ثم على عرشه استوى؛ يعلم السر واخفى؛ ويسمع الكلام والنجوى؛ لا يخفى عليه خافية في الأرض ولا في السماء؛ ولا في لجج البحار؛ ولا في الهواء. All gratitude is due to Allah the Most High, the Supreme, the Hearer and the Seer, the Wise, the bountiful, and source of the affluent blessings, vast benedictions and conclusive proofs. The Lord is beyond the grasp of and is incomparable to those of limited qualities. He cannot be compared to the created things. He is pure of what the mu‘aṭṭilūn [1] attribute to Him. He transcends high above the seven heavens. He sits firmly on His throne (‘ arsh ). He knows the hidden secrets. He hears audible speech as well as wh...
Post a Comment
Read more