Roads of Arabia

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ROADS OF ARABIA
Tombstones of the al-Ma‘la Cemetery in Mecca
3. On the questions of the legal status of the tombs
and their visit see Sourdel–Thomine, Qabr, EI2,
vol. IV, Leyde 1978, pp. 367–70, and in particular
Diem and Schöller 2004, II, p. 13 and ff.
4. An al-Ma‘la tombstone thus addresses the
passer-by: “If you visit al-Ma‘la and its graves . . .”,
al-Rashid 2004, no. 346B, dated 862 H./1458.
5. Itharat al-hajun ila ziyarat al-Hujun, manuscript
preserved in Cairo, Schöller 2004, p. 304, nos 60–61.
6. Born and died in Mecca (1377–1433), after
studying religious law in Baghdad, Shiraz and Zabid,
he received the charge of custodian of the door of the
Ka‘ba, then of the entire sanctuary (nazir al-haram);
he also served as a Shafiite judge and wrote a history
of Mecca. He was buried in the al-Ma‘la cemetery.
See Diem and Schöller 2004, II, p. 305.
7. A manuscript is preserved in Berlin (Staatsbibliothek,
Ms 6124); see Diem and Schöller 2004, II,
p. 307.
8. Rabi ‘II 614 H. according to al-Shaybi and al-
Fasi, but dhu’l-Hijja 613 H. on the tombstone.
9. Diem and Schöller 2004, II, no. 139, pp. 483–84,
where there is a confusion regarding the text recorded
in the RCEA, no. 3808, established after al-Shaybi
and not the preserved tombstone, which does not
feature a poetic passage.
10. To be completed with al-Fa‘r, 1984; Al-Rashid
1993; Al-Harithi 2005; RCEA, nos 3507, 3479,
3521, 3631, 3794, 3956.
11. On the Arabic name see Sublet 1991.
The graves: theory and practice
These monuments and stone slabs – found all over the Islamic world – contradicted the rules
of the early Muslim austerity decreed in the hadith concerning the taswiyat al-qabr, “making
the tomb level with the ground around it”, implying that the tomb should not be marked by a
sign or a structure. The domed mausoleums (qubba), in particular, were disliked by ulemas of
all allegiances, and were sometimes even destroyed by strict doctrinarians, as happened in
Mecca and the Baqi‘ cemetery in Medina. The mere fact of putting an inscription, naming the
deceased and, even worse, of using Quranic quotations, was objected to on theoretical grounds.
These constraints were rarely applied, however, and this now allows us to gather precious
palaeographic, socio-anthropological and historical information, and to study these ancient testimonies
of meditation in the face of death, turned towards divine mercy and the other world.
If the outright marking a tomb or the naming of the deceased may have been considered futile
or even reprehensible, apparently the visiting of graves was authorized and even encouraged, in
accordance with a Hadith of the Prophet: “I had forbidden you to visit graves, but [now I tell
you] whoever wishes to visit them may do so”, to which some sources add: “because in them
lies an example (warning)”. In fact, according to the Hadith literature and the recommendations
of the ulemas, both Sunnite and Shiite, a visit to the graves allows the believer to contemplate
and meditate on the last hour while softening his heart. 3 Indeed the al-Ma‘la cemetery was
cited as a remarkable site to visit 4 in several accounts of travellers, geographers and historians,
including Azraqi (9th century), al-Harawi (d. 1215), Ibn Jubayr (d. 1217), Yaqut (d. 1229),
and Ibn Battuta (14th century). Two guidebooks on the cemetery were written in the early 15th
century, when it had grown considerably, listing a certain number of epitaphs of noteworthy
personalities: the first 5 was compiled by the linguist Majd al-Din al-Shirazi, known as al-Firuzabadi
(1328/29–1414); the second, a selection completed by twenty-two epitaphs, recorded by
Jamal al-Din al-Shaybi, a member of the illustrious Meccan family, custodian of the Ka‘ba since
the days of the Prophet. 6 The book is known under the title al-Sharaf al-a‘la fi dhikr qubur
maqbarat al-Ma‘la (The Highest Honour: Evoking the Tombs of the al-Ma‘la Cemetery). 7 Another
source of information on al-Ma‘la tombstones is the history of Mecca written by Taqi al-Din
al-Fasi al-Makki al-Maliki (1373–1428), titled al-‘Iqd al-thamin fi tarikh al-balad al-amin (The
Precious Necklace or the History of the Faithful City), a sort of biographical dictionary which
draws some of its information from the inscriptions in the cemetery. In a rare and particularly
moving coincidence, one of the tombstones shown here (cat. no. 297) is among the epitaphs
listed by al-Shaybi and al-Fasi: oddly, the date differs by a year 8 but it is clearly the same person,
a renowned religious figure; in addition, al-Fasi recorded the signature of the famous
stoneworker, ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Harami al-Makki, which in fact features on the stele. 9
Next to these valuable textual references, the corpus of the preserved al-Ma‘la tombstones,
published in length in 2004 under the direction of Sa‘d Al-Rashid, groups together over six
hundred inscriptions, which can be dated to between the 9th and the 16th centuries. 10 This
impressive work of data recording and deciphering opens a vast field of study.
Identities of the deceased
Barring one or two exceptions, the al-Ma‘la epitaphs always name the deceased, thereby offering
material for an onomastic study. 11 The Arabic name consists of the forename (ism), followed
by the patronymic (nasab): “son/daughter of (ibn/ibnat) . . . son of . . .” usually going back at
least two generations. This ancestry can be extended if the deceased belongs to a great lineage
– descendants of the Prophet, a Companion of the Prophet, members of a dynasty or a lineage
of religious dignitaries. Women can be cited as “mother of [name of the first-born son]”
(kunya). In the 12th century the number of attributes and honorary titles escalated, making the
deceased’s name even longer. The names can also provide information on the geographic, ethnic
and tribal origins of the individuals (nisba). We count at least fifty mentions of cities and
regions, illustrating the steady influx in Hijaz of pilgrims and tradesmen from all over the Muslim
world, from Spain to India; Iranians are particularly well represented. References to clans
and tribes include: al-Hashimi (descendants of the Prophet, cat. no. 288), al-Tamimi (a great
tribe of Central Arabia), al-Shammar (a tribal confederation from the north of the peninsula),
al-Makhzumi (a great Meccan family), al-Lakhmi (a tribe settled in the north-east of the peninsula)
and al-Ghassani (a tribe settled in the north-west).
The epitaphs occasionally contain information about the deceased’s profession: the occupations
of money-changer (sarraf/sayrafi) and perfumer–apothecary (‘attar) appear several
times, and must have been flourishing and lucrative activities in Mecca. Here and there we also
run into craftsmen: a painter (dahhan), a clothes salesman (bazzaz), a specialist in silks
(haririya), a “polisher” (sayqal), a cobbler (kharraz). Other occupations relate to a more intellectual
activity: a bookseller (warraq), a master or a teacher (mu‘allim), a secretary (katib).
Unsurprisingly, the most frequent references concern tradesmen (tajir, khawaja) and especially,
Fig. 3. An old photograph of the al-Ma‘la cemetery
taken by Sadiq Bey c. 1880. Institut de France Library,
Paris, Schlumberger Collection
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