Primary Sources
Baba Ibn Ahmad Al-Alawi Al-Maliki Al-Maghribi Al-Shingiti Author. The Desire of the Aspirant. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1900, 1780]
In Munyat al-murīd (The desire of the aspirant), Baba ibn Ahmad al-Alawi al-Maliki al-Maghribi al-Shingiti presents an explanation of the lives and activities of the Sufi Tijānī order. The Tijāniyyah originated in North Africa in the 1780s and was soon established in West Africa. Here the author stresses the importance of individuals and groups within society paying attention to avoiding violence. (LINK)
Certificate of Emancipation for Female Slave. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1726]
“‘Itq Raqīqah” (Certificate of emancipation for female slave) gives a detailed physical description of a woman who is being granted her freedom by her owner. The document is drawn up in the manner prescribed by Islamic law. (LINK)
Commercial Agreement Gold as Currency. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1900, 1500]
This commercial agreement concerns commerce in several cities. The agreement contains interesting references to the cost of building houses in the city of Massinah (present-day Macina). Gold is used as the standard of value in all transactions, which include the buying and selling of slaves, gold bullion, and Acacia senegal (gum arabic). (LINK)
Book of the Blessed Merits of Crafts and Agriculture. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1900, 1500]
The social benefits of trades, crafts, and agricultural pursuits are discussed in this book. The anonymous author describes the contributions to society of various vocations and expresses the fundamental dignity that individuals acquire by working in socially useful jobs. (LINK)
Tumbukti, Ahmad Baba Ibn Ahmad Ibn Umar Ibn Muhammad Aqit Author. The Ladder of Ascent in Obtaining the Procurements of the Sudan: Ahmad Baba Answers a Moroccan’s Questions about Slavery. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1615]
Ahmad Baba ibn Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad Aqit al-Tumbukti discusses slavery as it existed in West Africa during the seventeenth century. The examination of the subject in Mi’rāj al-Ṣu’ūd ilá nayl Majlūb al-Sūdān (The ladder of ascent in obtaining the procurements of the Sudan: Ahmad Baba answers a Moroccan’s questions about slavery) is based on Islamic law and it is noted that the fundamental and original nature of humanity is that individuals are free. They may be enslaved only under certain very specific conditions governed by Islamic law. (LINK)
Islamic Heritage Project. 2002. Harvard University Library.
A digital collection of Islamic manuscripts, published texts, and maps from across Harvard’s libraries and museums.
(LINK)
Ziyati, A. I. Y. I. Y. I. M. A. (1768) Explanation of “The Prosodies” of Abi Abdullah Muhammad al-Arabi. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified]
This work explains how to live a life of charity. Charity refers to not only generosity toward one’s fellow human beings, but how to live a life of respect for the natural environment. (LINK)
Book of the Blessed Merits of Crafts and Agriculture. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified]
The social benefits of trades, crafts, and agricultural pursuits are discussed in this book. The anonymous author describes the contributions to society of various vocations and expresses the fundamental dignity that individuals acquire by working in socially useful jobs. (LINK)
Secondary SOURCES
Nadia Maria El Cheikh. Women, Islam, and Abbasid Identity.
Through its investigation of how gender and sexuality were used to articulate cultural differences and formulate identities in Abbasid systems of power and thought, Women, Islam, and Abbasid Identity demonstrates the importance of women to the writing of early Islamic history. (LINK)
Kruk, Remke. The Warrior Women of Islam: Female Empowerment in Arabic Popular Literature. London: I.B. Tauris, 2014.
Colloquial Arabic storytelling, often linked with The Thousand and One Nights, includes a larger body of tales called popular epic. Originating in the Middle Ages, these heroic narratives feature strong and memorable women. Despite their popularity among medieval audiences and dissemination by professional storytellers across the Muslim world, they remain largely untranslated and unfamiliar to non-Arab audiences. Remke Kruk’s work introduces these overlooked romances to the Western world, highlighting figures like Princess Dhat al-Himma, Ghamra, and Qannasa, who challenge traditional gender roles. “The Warrior Women of Islam” sheds light on women’s roles in Arab culture, offering a fresh perspective. (LINK)
Caswell, F.Matthew. The Slave Girls of Baghdad: The Qiyān in the Early Abbasid Era. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2011.
The history of courtesans and slave girls in the medieval Arab world transcends traditional boundaries of study and opens up new fields of sociological and cultural enquiry. In the process it offers a remarkably rich source of historical and cultural information on medieval Islam. The Slave Girls of Baghdad explores the origins, education and art of the ‘qiyan’ – indentured girls and women who entertained and entranced the caliphs and aristocrats who worked the labyrinths of power throughout the Abbasid Empire. In a detailed analysis of Islamic law, historical sources and poetry, F. Matthew Caswell examines the qiyans’ unique place in the society of ninth-century Baghdad, providing an insightful and comprehensive cultural overview of an elusive and little understood institution. This important history will be essential reading for all those concerned with the history of slavery and its morality, culture and importance in the early Islamic era. (LINK)