Database

This is a fatwa issued by the al-Azhar fatwa department on 24 October 2011 responding to a question regarding the permissibility of the destruction of graves.  The fatwa states that Islam prohibits transgression against the sanctity of the deceased and it is therefore not permissible to dig up their graves. In addition, the removal of any corpse from its place or from the mosque in which it is buried, especially the graves of the saints, the pious, martyrs and scholars, destroying its distinguishing marks by flattening it to the ground or destroying whatever is above it is prohibited according to the sacred law - no matter under which pretense it is done - and it is considered from amongst the major sins.

Translation of fatwa by E Moos

The purpose of this dateline is to give a brief impression of the past of Timbuktu, some hint of its broader setting, and note a few of its famous inhabitants and visitors.  It is by no means exhaustive or comprehensive.

This letter, dated 1324/1906-7, concerns trade issues. No information is known about the sender, Muḥammd b. ‘Abd al-Qādir b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Bāyish (?) Nalqībā (?) b. Maḥmūd b. ‘Alī. As for the recipient, al-sayyid Muḥammad al-‘Alim b. al-sayyid Muḥammad al-‘Ābid b. al-sayyid A‘zīz b. al-sayyd Aḥmad al-Ḥabīb, the letter records that he is the nephew of a certain al-shaykh al- sayyid Abū Na‘āmat, also unidentified.

The folding lines of the leaf indicate how the letter was folded in Timbuktu. It was folded in portrait position into five equal parts starting from the bottom. The resulting slip was in turn folded into three adjacent rectangles and on the central, front rectangle the recipient’s name was written. Once unfolded, the recipient’s name appears in the verso of the leaf in central position. This is most likely the common way of folding private and commercial letters in Timbuktu. Some of these letters were also folded in four rectangles with the recipient’s name written on the front quarter - thus appearing, once unfolded, on one of the rectangles on the verso.
The top and the bottom margins are torn, missing both about two lines.

Dimension of the leaf: 15,9x20 Text surface: 12,1x18,3
Black Ink.

Mauro Nobili, Shahid Mathee, Aluka, Savama-Dci