Acknowledgements
In most respects, this book has been a joint project between myself and my friend, Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr b. Ê¿Abd al-QÄdir al-á¹¢aghÄ«r. His edited text of TadhkÄ«r al-NÄsÄ« wa-TalyÄ«n al-Qalb al-QÄsÄ« is the principal text that is included within this book.
We first met in GhadÄmis in the year 2004â¯AD, when he invited me into his GhadÄmis family home that is situated in its ancient town.
Today, the latter quarter of GhÄdamis is principally a summer retreat. My visits were in order to examine his collection of Arabic and historical manuscripts. Many of these are to be found in the town. Since then, we have been in contact either by the Internet, or during the course of my subsequent visits to the town. His home address is in al-Karamâs street which is situated immediately behind the SÄ«dÄ« Ê¿Uqba mosque in the old town and he is well acquainted with scholars and members of the Tuareg and non-Tuareg communities. During one visit we went together to visit the cemeteries of the city in order to photograph the tomb of Shaykh Aḥmad al-SÅ«qÄ« and to view the early IbÄá¸ite cemetery, and the so-called pre-Islamic âidolsâ, called TamsÅ«dÄ«n, built of stone and gypsum.
Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr b. Ê¿Abd al-QÄdir al-GhadÄmisÄ« grew up in GhadÄmis where he attended primary, preparatory and secondary schools. In the year 1987â¯AD, he graduated from the Department of English in the Faculty of Arts and Education in the University of Garyounis in BenghÄzÄ«.
Al-GhadÄmisÄ«âs life has been devoted to teaching. Between 1988 and 1990â¯AD, he taught in the College for Financial Studies in TÄ«gÄ«, which is situated two hundred and fifty kilometers south-west of Tripoli. From 1991 to 2006â¯AD, he was a teacher in preparatory and secondary schools in GhadÄmes. In 2007â¯AD, he became an educational inspector of English language and assistant lecturer in GhadÄmes High School within the department of Civil Engineering. He is also an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Teacher training in the University of al-Jabal al-GharbÄ«. His employment includes two graduation projects, partial requirements for the BA degree in English language and the supervision of two graduation projects for the BA degree in English; the BA degree has a title âThe use of mother tongue in English in the classrooms of GhadÄmis (April 2006â¯AD) and Synonyms and their Semantic relation in April 2006â.
Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr has been a friend and an acquaintance of a number of leading Libyan academics including the late scholar, Dr BashÄ«r QÄsim YÅ«shaÊ¿, one of the authorities on the history of GhadÄmis and one of whose texts is translated and summarised in this book.
Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr has written several books. A plurality of these books is concerned with GhadÄmis. They include The judge (al-qÄá¸Ä«), Muḥammad b. YÅ«nis al-GhadÄmisÄ«, his life and his writings, a study devoted to a poem composed by Aḥmad b. Ê¿AbdallÄh b. AbÄ« Bakr, one of the Shaykhâs sons, and a formal legal opinion (fatwÄ) by a judge of GhadÄmes, namely al-KhasrÄwÄ«. He is planning to write several other books. They will include one about the poet Muḥammad BanbanÄ« al-Ê¿ImrÄnÄ« al-GhadÄmisÄ« (born before 1250â¯AH/1834â1835â¯AD), and another upon social and economic topics within the historical documents that survive in his town.
Ê¿Abd al-JabbÄr has research interests that are wide in scope. These research interests include the scholars of the local Tuareg and their legacy, death certificates as a source for information, a catalogue of early manuscripts in GhadÄmis, including private archives, the water distribution of the âspring (Ê¿ayn) of the mare (faras)â in GhadÄmis, a pedigree and lineal list of the Helpers, al-Aná¹£Är, in GhadÄmes, forty judges (quá¸Ät) of GhadÄmis between 700â¯AH/1300â¯AD and 1410â¯AH/1989â¯AD, commercial registers of GhadÄmis merchants in the Western and Eastern SÅ«dÄn, and the tomb stones and their inscriptions in the cemeteries of GhadÄmis.
Both of us would like to thank many other individuals and centres of learning for their help in the completion of our research; in particular, we are enormously indebted to prof. Knut Vikør at Bergen University for his extensive editorial work. We would additionally wish to thank the British Academy. We would also like to thank members of the Society for Libyan Studies in the United Kingdom who have helped in many respects. We also wish to express our thanks for the great help afforded by Kristian Norris and Dr Timothy Norris in the preparation and the completion of the text, as well as to Dr Helen Blatherwick, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, for her help in regard to advice on many matters in regard to its publication.
Travel within Libya in order to complete this book required the help and advice of Cox and Kings Travel Agency, in both London and Tripoli. I recall the kindness in particular of its guide, Ê¿AbdallÄh, from SabrÄtha, who facilitated, in many instances, our ability to meet one another in GhadÄmis, and to maintain contact between us by the postal services between GhadÄmis and the United Kingdom over past years.
Prof. Harry T. Norris
Professor Norris regretfully passed away during the final editing of this volume. His son, Dr. Timothy Norris, and I have in respect attempted to finalize the process from his instructions and with his acceptance.
Knut S. Vikør
series editor