Top of page

Book/Printed Material The Response of Ahmad al-Bakayi to the Letter of Amir Ahmad, Ruler of Massinah.

About this Item

Title

  • The Response of Ahmad al-Bakayi to the Letter of Amir Ahmad, Ruler of Massinah.

Summary

  • Timbuktu (present-day Tombouctou in Mali), founded around 1100 as a commercial center for trade across the Sahara Desert, was also an important seat of Islamic learning from the 14th century onward. The libraries there contain many important manuscripts, in different styles of Arabic scripts, which were written and copied by Timbuktu's scribes and scholars. These works constitute the city's most famous and long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization. This document is a reply to the ruler of Massinah (present-day Macina), Amir Ahmad, who ordered the arrest of the noted German explorer Heinrich Barth (1821--65), who was suspected of spying for the British. There are two copies of the work: a shorter version, and a longer version, which incorporates information not given in the shorter. Shown here is the longer version. The author of the reply cites Islamic law in arguing that the arrest is illegal and declines to obey the amir. The scholar states that a non-Muslim entering the domain of Muslims in peace is protected and may not be arrested, have his property confiscated, or to be otherwise hindered.

Names

  • Bākī ibn Sayyid Muḥammad ibn Sayyid al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī, Aḥmad Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1853 to 1854]

Headings

  • -  Mali--Tombouctou
  • -  Mali--Mopti--Massina
  • -  1853 to 1854
  • -  Arabic calligraphy
  • -  Arabic manuscripts
  • -  Barth, Heinrich, 1821-1865
  • -  Islamic law
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Timbuktu manuscripts

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource at: Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667256

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the Islamic Manuscripts from Mali Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

The source of this collection has asked that persons who wish to make any other reproductions of manuscripts from this collection must seek permission from Abdel Kader Haidara, at:

Abdel Kader Haidara, Directeur
Bibliotheque Mamma Haidara de Manuscrits et la Documentation
Siége: Tombouctou BP 71 Rèp.du Mali
Tèl: B 292 16 76 | D 292 12 54
Cell: 636 96 60

Contact Bamako
Tèl: D 220 18 88
Cell: 636 96 60

Email: haidara_manuscrits@yahoo.fr

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Bākī Ibn Sayyid Muḥammad Ibn Sayyid Al-Mukhtār Al-Kuntī, Aḥmad Author. The Response of Ahmad al-Bakayi to the Letter of Amir Ahmad, Ruler of Massinah. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1854, 1853] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667256/.

APA citation style:

Bākī Ibn Sayyid Muḥammad Ibn Sayyid Al-Mukhtār Al-Kuntī, A. A. (1853) The Response of Ahmad al-Bakayi to the Letter of Amir Ahmad, Ruler of Massinah. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1854] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667256/.

MLA citation style:

Bākī Ibn Sayyid Muḥammad Ibn Sayyid Al-Mukhtār Al-Kuntī, Aḥmad Author. The Response of Ahmad al-Bakayi to the Letter of Amir Ahmad, Ruler of Massinah. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1854, 1853] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667256/>.