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The Enwreathed Pearl: The Conquest of Mecca, the Revered

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The Enwreathed Pearl: The Conquest of Mecca, the Revered
This manuscript relates the history of the fath (conquest) of Mecca, the commercial and religious capital of Arabia, by the Prophet Muhammad in 630. The work is an abridged version, drawn from the many accounts in early texts, of the years of battle, negotiation, and exhortation that culminated in the conquest. The author is probably Egyptian scholar and Sufi Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Bakri (1493 or 1494−1545 or 1546), although other members of this prominent family of scholars also have been credited with the work. The main source for the biography of the Prophet Muhammad is, of course, the Qur’an itself, supplemented by the hadith and the early siyar (biographies), such as those of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq (died circa 768) and ʻAbd al-Malik Ibn Hisham (died 834). The author intersperses poetry, in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, between the narrative of the battles, raids, and diplomacy that preceded the conquest. The 18th century manuscript is copied in a bold, relaxed naskh script. There is no colophon, so the name of the scribe and the place and date of copying are all unknown. Ownership stamps and inscriptions show that the manuscript was once owned by one Ibrahim Mahmud of the Egyptian State Railway.

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