Thursday, June 15, 2023

2023: Dan Fodio - Dawudpotras

Dan Fodio

Dan Fodio (Uthman dan Fodio) (Usuman dan Fodio) (Usman dan Fodio) (Usman ibn Fodio) (Uthman Dan Fuduye) (c.1754-1817). Nigerian religious leader and reformer.  Shaykh ‘Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman ibn Salih, known to the the Hausas as Shehu Usuman Dan Fodio, was born into a family of Muslim Fulani clerics in the Hausa kingdom of Gobir in present day northern Nigeria.  The family had abandoned the nomadic way of life several generations earlier and was dedicated to the teaching of Sunni, Maliki Islam.  By the end of the eighteenth century, Shehu Usuman Dan Fodio had inspired the Muslim Fulani to begin the jihad al-qawl (“preaching jihad”) addressed to the Hausa aristocracy of Gobir and its neighbors.  This aristocracy, nominally Muslim, was in the Fulani view polytheistic, given to “mixed Islam,” maintaining animist practices while at the same time adopting elements of Islam.  Such mixed Islam was common in the aftermath of the collapse of the medieval Islamic empires of the Sahel. 

The preaching jihad, which extended over several years, demanded the political and cultural surrender of this faintly Muslim, largely animist establishment to the strictly orthodox practice of Sunni, Maliki Islam.  This the Hausa refused.  In an escalating climate of tension, hostilities broke out between the Muslim Fulani and the Hausa in 1804.  Shehu Usuman, adopting certain precedents from the struggle of the Prophet Muhammad against the polytheists of Mecca, solemnly elevated this conflict to the status of a “holy war of the sword” that must necessarily follow the “preaching jihad” when the latter fails to be effective.

The campaign was conducted not by the Shehu himself, a scholarly and somewhat reclusive mystic, but by his brother Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, an equally scholarly but hardheaded legalist who proved himself a brilliant field commander.  He was enthusiastic about the Sufi mysticism espoused by his brother Shehu Usuman and more inclined to the strict construction of the shari‘ah.

The jihad was successful.  The “Sokoto caliphate,” a centralist Islamic polity to which provincial jihadist emirs owed allegiance, took the place of the hodgepodge of Hausa principalities that had preceded it.  While the Islamic shari‘ah cannot be said to have been imposed on this polity with total conformity – much pagan practice did survive – its writ was nevertheless substantial.  By the time the British occupied Nigeria early in the twentieth century, there was no doubt that what they took over was a Muslim society governed by shari‘ah law.

The jihad had two other immediate consequences.  First, it transformed Islam from a tolerated minority religion into the official religion of the state.  Second, it elevated the Islamic scholars from their previous position as mere advisers of polytheistic rulers who engaged in mixed Islam to a place as the sole custodians of political power and the arbiters of social behavior.  The jihad also altered the trade patterns of Hausaland by destroying the old centers of trade and setting up new ones.

The significance of the jihad for present-day Islam in Nigeria rests more with Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad than with his mystically inclined brother Usuman, who initially inspired the jihad.  The latter was a Qadiri Sufi given to visions and other liminal experiences greatly revered in his day.  With the rise of modern Islamic fundamentalism, while he still enjoys reverence, he has been largely superseded.  His brother ‘Abd Allah, the down-to-earth legalist, whose platform was not mysticism but strict adherence to the letter of the shari‘ah, has become the admired exemplar for the present generation of Islamists in northern Nigeria. 


Uthman dan Fodio see Dan Fodio
Usuman dan Fodio see Dan Fodio
Shaykh ‘Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman ibn Salih see Dan Fodio
Shehu Usuman Dan Fodio see Dan Fodio
Usman dan Fodio see Dan Fodio
Uthman Dan Fuduye see Dan Fodio


Danishmends
Danishmends  (Danishmendids). Turkish dynasty in Asia Minor (1085-1173).  Their main capital was Danishmand.  The founder of the dynasty was Shams al-Din Ahmad (1085-1104), who during the course of the Seljuk invasion set up his own dominion to the west in Cappadocia, which was fortified by his son Gumushtegin (1104-1134).  His successors maintained their position against the Crusaders until 1173 when their territories were absorbed into the empire of the Anatolian Seljuks. 

The Danishmend dynasty was a Turcoman dynasty that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Danishmendids were centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia. They extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103. In early 12th century, Danishmends were rivals of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, which controlled much of the territory surrounding the Danishmend lands, and they fought extensively with the Crusaders.

The dynasty was established by Danishmend Gazi for whom historical information is rather scarce and was generally written long after his death. His title or name, Dānishmand or more accurately Dāneshmand, means "learned man" in Persian. As of 1134, Danishmend dynasty leaders also held the title Melik (the King) bestowed in recognition of their military successes by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustarshid, although the Beys (Emirs) of Danishmend prior to 1134 may also be retrospectively referred to as Melik. Danishmend Gazi himself was alternatively called "Danishmend Taylu".

Danishmends established themselves in Anatolia in the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, in which the Seljuks defeated the Byzantine Empire and captured most of Anatolia. Gazi took advantage of the dynastic struggles of the Seljuks upon the death of the Sultan Suleyman I of Rûm in 1086 to establish his own dynasty in central Anatolia. The capital was likely first established in Amasia.

In 1100, Gazi's son, Emir Gazi Gümüshtigin. captured Bohemond I of Antioch, who remained in their captivity until 1103. A Seljuk-Danishmend alliance was also responsible for defeating the Crusade of 1101.

In 1116, the Danishmends helped Mesud I become the Seljuk sultan.

In 1130 Bohemond II of Antioch was killed in a battle with Gazi Gümüshtigin, after coming to the aid of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which Gümüshtigin had invaded. Gümüshtigin died in 1134 and his son and successor Mehmed did not have the martial spirit of his father and grandfather. He is nevertheless considered the first builder of Kayseri as a Turkish city, despite his relatively short period of reign.

When Mehmed died in 1142, the Danishmend lands were divided between his two brothers, Melik Yaghibasan, who maintained the title of "Melik" and ruled from Sivas, and Ayn el-Devle, who ruled from Malatya.

In 1155, Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan II attacked Melik Yaghibasan, who sought help from Nur ad-Din, the Zengid emir of Mosul. However, when Nur ad-Din died in 1174, the Sivas lands were incorporated into the Sultanate. Four years later, the Malatya Danishmends were defeated and also incorporated, marking the end of Danishmend rule.

Danishmend Gazi, the founder of the dynasty, is the central figure of a posthumous romance epic, Danishmendnâme, in which he is mis-identified with an 8th century Arab warrior, Sidi Battal Gazi, and their exploits intertwined.

Virtually all Danishmend rulers entered the traditions of the Turkish folk literature, where they are all referred to as "Melik Gazi". Hence, there are "tombs of Melik Gazi", many of which are much visited shrines and belong in fact to different Danishmend rulers, in the cities of Niksar, Bünyan, Kırşehir, along the River Zamantı near the castle of the same name (Zamantı) and elsewhere in Anatolia. Melikgazi is also the name of one of the central districts of the city of Kayseri.
 
The Danishmendid rulers include:

Name                                         Reign Period               Notes

Danishmend Gazi                         1097-1104        Also called Danishmend Taylu
Gazi Gümüshtigin                         1104-1134 
Melik Mehmed Gazi                         1134-1142
 
Sivas branch (Meliks - The Kings)      1142-1175               Incorporated to Anatolian Seljuks
Melik Yaghibasan                         1142-1164 
Melik Mücahid Gazi                         1164-1166 
Melik İbrahim                                 1166-1166 
Melik İsmail                                 1166-1166 
Melik Zünnun                                 1172-1174 

Malatya branch (Emirs)                 1142-1178                Incorporated to Anatolian Seljuks
Ayn el-Devle                                 1142-1152 
Zülkarneyn                                 1152-1162 
Nasreddin Muhammed                 1162-1170 
Fahreddin                                         1170-1172 
Afridun                                         1172-1175 
Nasreddin Muhammed                 1175-1178                Second reign

Danishmendids see Danishmends


Danqali
Danqali (in plural form, Danaqil).  Tribe on the western Red Sea coast, inhabiting a territory of extreme heat and desolation.  The Danqali sultan of Aussa in northeastern Ethiopia is the only potentate in the region commanding more than sub-tribal or group prestige. 

The term Danakil may refer to the Afar people and/or their language.

The Afar are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa who reside principally in the Danakil Desert in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, as well as in Eritrea and Djibouti. The Afar are sometimes called Danakil, a name used specifically to refer to northern Afars, while southern Afars can be called Adel (also transliterated as Adal), similar to the former Adal Sultanate.

The Afar Danakil are the sister culture of the ancient Ta-Seti people. Whereas the Ta-Seti culture were amongst the founding branches of the eastern Bejaw or Beja People; the Ta-Antyu (Puntite) Utjenet Culture were progenitors of the Afari and Tigre cultures. The Land of Punt was of pivotal importance to the development of Egypt's pre-dynastic civilization and played a significant role throughout dynastic Egyptian history. The Utjenet and Ta-Seti cultures formed a single territory until Egypt's Second Intermediate Period when opposing cultures of Omo ethnic clans from further south and west pushed into central Sudan, separating the two branches of the Ta-Antyw. The Northern most branch would become the Ta-Seti whilst the Southernmost populations would become the Afar.

The Afar make up over a third of the population of Djibouti, and are one of the nine recognized ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. The Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, is spoken by ethnic Afars in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, as well as eastern Eritrea and Djibouti. However, since the Afar are traditionally nomadic herders, they may be found further afield.

Although some Afar have migrated to cities and adopted an urban lifestyle, the majority have remained nomadic pastoralists, raising goats, sheep, and cattle in the desert. During the dry season, most move to and camp on the banks of the Awash River. Camels comprise the most common means of transportation as the Afar nomads move from watering hole to watering hole. With the arrival of the rainy season in November, most relocate to higher ground in order to avoid flooding and mosquitos.

An Afar tent house is known as an ari and is made of sticks covered with mats; beds of mats raised on sticks are used. The burra or camp consists of two or more ari, and is the responsibility of the women. The Afar supplement their diet of milk and meat by selling salt that they dig from the desert along with milk and animal hides at markets in Senbete and Bati.

Traditionally, the society is ruled by sultanates made up of several villages headed by a dardar.

Afar are organized into clan families, and into classes -- asaimara ('reds') who are the dominant class politically, and the adoimara ('whites') who are a working class.

Circumcision is practiced for both boys and girls. A boy is judged for his bravery upon bearing the pain of circumcision, and is then allowed to marry the girl of his choice, though preferably someone from his own ethnic group.

The Afar have a strong relationship with their environment and its wildlife, sharing land and resources with animals and doing them no harm. It is this tendency that is largely responsible for the preservation of the critically endangered African wild ass (Equus africanus), which has become extinct in more vulnerable environments.

The Afar culture features unique items of clothing.

These include:

    * When married, women traditionally wear a black headscarf called a shash or mushal.
    * For men and women, the main article of clothing is the sanafil, a waistcloth. Women's are dyed brown (although today many women adopt multi-coloured sanafil) while men's are undyed.

The Afar began to convert to Islam in the 10th century after contact with Arab merchants from the Arabian Peninsula.

The earliest surviving written mention of the Afar was in the 13th century by the Arab writer Ibn Sa'id, who reported that they lived in the area from around the port of Suakin as far south as Mandeb, near Zeila. They are mentioned intermittently in Ethiopian records, first as helping Emperor Amda Seyon in a campaign beyond the Awash River, then over a century later when they assisted Emperor Baeda Maryam when he campaigned against their neighbors the Dobe'a. In the late 17th century, the Aussa Sultanate had emerged, which became the first amongst equals of the Afar rulers. Other important Afar sultanates include one based at Tadjura and another based at Rahaita.

The Afar Liberation Front was founded in 1975 after an unsuccessful rebellion led by the Afar sultan, Alimirah Hanfadhe. The Derg established the Autonomous Region of Assab (now called Aseb and located in Eritrea), although low level insurrection continued until the early 1990s. In Djibouti, a similar movement simmered throughout the 1980s, eventually culminating in the Afar Insurgency in 1991.

Danaqil see Danqali


Daqiqi
Daqiqi (Abu Mansur Muhammad Daqiqi) (c. 935-980).   Persian poet who composed the oldest known text of the Book of Kings, the national epic of Persia.

Abu Mansur Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Daqiqi Balkhi (Tusi), sometimes referred to as Daqiqi (also Dakiki or Daghighi), was an early Persian poet from Tus in Iran or in Balkh, currently one of the cities of Afghanistan.

Daqiqi supported the nationalistic tendencies in Persian literature and attempted to create an epic history of Iran which begins with the history of Zarathushtra and Gashtasb. Questions have been raised as to whether Daqiqi harbored some Zoroastrian beliefs, or was simply promoting Sassanian cultural trends in the wake of Samanid domination. A large couplet of his work was included in the epic Shahname (Book of Kings) by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi. Daqiqi was murdered by his favorite slave.
Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Ahmad Daqiqi Balkhi see Daqiqi
Abu Mansur Muhammad Daqiqi see Daqiqi
Daqiqi, Abu Mansur see Daqiqi
Balkhi, Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Ahmad Daqiqi see Daqiqi
Dakiki see Daqiqi
Daghighi see Daqiqi


Daraqutni
Daraqutni (Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Daraqutni) (918-995). Scholar of Muslim tradition who is highly praised by his biographers.
Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Daraqutni see Daraqutni


Dara Shikoh
Dara Shikoh (Dara Shukoh) (March 20, 1615 - August 30, 1659).  Mughal prince, general, Sufi and prolific writer.  He was the eldest of four sons of Shah Jahan, and was Shah Jahan’s favorite.  Dara was inclined toward religious eclecticism in the tradition of Akbar.  He held discussions with exponents of Islam and Hinduism, studied deeply and wrote on problems of mysticism.  He remained mostly in the capital while his brothers governed provinces.  This allowed him a wide-ranging experience of administration but denied him familiarity with details that provincial administration provided.  He had very little combat experience, which proved to be a setback during the War of Succession among the four brothers, from which Aurangzib emerged victorious. 

The War of Succession in the last years of Shah Jahan’s reign (1627-1658) was long portrayed as an ideological conflict between religious liberalism represented by Dara and fanaticism personified in Aurangzib.  Marked differences in their religious attitudes notwithstanding, a recent analysis of the alignment of their support has shown that it was evenly distributed across religious and sectarian divides.  Dara’s failure was indeed a personal one arising from his inexperience with combat and inability to assess human character.  Some of his most trusted men were Aurangzib’s sympathizers.  Yet admiration for Dara at all levels was immense and his cruel execution greatly enhanced his popular image.

Dara Shikoh was the eldest son and the heir apparent of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. His name in Persian means "Darius the Magnificent". He was favored as a successor by his father and his sister Jahanara Begum, but was defeated by his younger brother Aurangzeb in a bitter struggle for the Mughal throne.

On September 6, 1657, the illness of emperor Shah Jahan triggered a desperate struggle for power among the four Mughal princes, though realistically only Dara and Aurangzeb had a chance of emerging victorious. Shah Shuja was the first to make his move, declaring himself emperor in Bengal and marching towards Agra while Murad Baksh allied himself with Aurangzeb.

Despite strong support from Shah Jahan, who had recovered enough from his illness to remain a strong factor in the struggle for supremacy, and the victory of his army led by his eldest son Sulaiman Shikoh over Shah Shuja in the battle of Bahadurpur on February 14, 1658, Dara was defeated by Aurangzeb and Murad at the battlefield of Samugarh, 13 kilometers from Agra on May 30, 1658. Subsequently, Aurangzeb took over Agra fort and deposed emperor Shah Jahan on June 8, 1658.

After the defeat, Dara retreated from Agra to Delhi and thence to Lahore. His next destination was Multan and then to Thatta (Sindh). From Sindh, he crossed the Rann of Kachchh and reached Kathiawar, where he met Shah Nawaz Khan, the governor of the province of Gujarat who opened the treasury to Dara and helped him to recruit a new army. He occupied Surat and advanced towards Ajmer. Foiled in his hopes of persuading the fickle but powerful Rajput feudatory, Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Marwar, to support his cause, Dara decided to make a stand and fight Aurangzeb's relentless pursuers.  However, he was once again comprehensively routed in the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer) on March 11, 1659. After this defeat, Dara fled to Sindh and sought refuge under Malik Jiwan, a Baluch chieftain whose life had on more than one occasion been saved by Dara from the wrath of Shah Jahan. However, Malik betrayed Dara and turned him (and his second son Sipihr Shikoh) over to Aurangzeb's army on June 10, 1659.

Dara was brought to Delhi, placed on an elephant and paraded through the streets of the capital in chains. Dara's fate was decided by the political threat he posed as a prince popular with the common people.  A convocation of nobles and clergy, called by Aurangzeb in response to the perceived danger of insurrection in Delhi, declared Dara a threat to the public peace and an apostate from Islam. He was murdered by assassins on the night of August 30, 1659.

Dara Shikoh is widely renowned as an enlightened paragon of the harmonious co-existence of heterodox traditions on the Indian subcontinent. He was an erudite champion of mystical religious speculation and a poetic diviner of syncretic cultural interaction among people of all faiths. This made him a heretic in the eyes of his orthodox brothers and a suspect eccentric in the view of many of the worldly power brokers swarming around the Mughal throne. Dara was a follower of Lahore's famous Qadiri Sufi saint Hazrat Mian Mir, whom he was introduced to by Mullah Shah Badakhshi (Mian Mir's spiritual disciple and successor) and who was so widely respected among all communities that he was invited to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Sikhs. Dara subsequently developed a friendship with the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai. Dara devoted much effort towards finding a common mystical language between Islam and Hinduism. Towards this goal he completed the translation of 50 Upanishads from its original Sanskrit into Persian in 1657 so it could be read by Muslim scholars. His translation is often called Sirr-e-Akbar (The Greatest Mystery), where he states boldly, in the Introduction, his speculative hypothesis that the work referred to in the Qur'an as the "Kitab al-maknun" or the hidden book is none other than the Upanishads. His most famous work, Majma ul-Bahrain ("The Mingling of the Two Seas"), was also devoted to a revelation of the mystical and pluralistic affinities between Sufic and Vedantic speculation.

The library established by Dara Shikoh still exists on the grounds of Indraprastha University, Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, and is now run as a museum by Archeological Survey of India after being renovated.

Dara Shikoh was also a patron of fine arts, music and dancing, a trait frowned upon by his sibling Aurangzeb. In fact many of his paintings are quite detailed and compare well to a professional artist of his time. The 'Dara Shikoh album' is a collection of paintings and calligraphy assembled from the 1630s until his death. It was presented to his wife Nadira Banu in 1641-42 and remained with her until her death after which the album was taken into the royal library and the inscriptions connecting it with Dara Shikoh were deliberately erased. However, not everything was vandalized and many calligraphy scripts and paintings still bear his mark.

Dara Shikoh is also credited with the commissioning of several exquisite, still extant, examples of Mughal architecture - among them the tomb of his wife Nadira Banu in Lahore, the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir also in Lahore, the Dara Shikoh Library in Delhi, the Akhun Mullah Shah Mosque in Srinagar in Kashmir and the Pari Mahal garden palace (also in Srinagar in Kashmir).

Dara Shukoh see Dara Shikoh


Darazi
Darazi (Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Darazi) (Shaykh Darazi). One of the founders of the Druze religion.  He was a Syrian who lived in the eleventh century.  He is said to have been the first to proclaim the divinity of the Fatimid al-Hakim bi-Am

Muhammad bin Ismail Nashtakin ad-Darazi was a 11th century Ismaili preacher and early leader of the Druze faith who was labeled a heretic and sexual deviant in 1016 and subsequently executed by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Nashtakin, a Turk, was born in Bukhara and publicly proclaimed the divinity of Caliph al-Hakim.

Little information is known about the early life of Darazi.  According to most sources, he was one of the early preachers of the Druze faith and enlisted a large number of adherents. However, he was later considered a renegade and is usually described by the Druze as following the traits of satan.

Since the number of his followers grew, he became obsessed with the leadership and gave himself the title “The Sword of the Faith”. Such attitude led to disputes between him and Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad, who disliked his behavior. Darazi argued that he should be the leader of the Da’wa rather than Hamza ibn Ali and gave himself the title “Lord of the Guides”, because Caliph al-Hakim referred to Hamza as “Guide of the Consented”.

By 1018, Darazi had around him partisans - "Darazites" - who believed that universal reason became incarnated in Adam at the beginning of the world, passed from him into prophets, then into Ali and hence into his descendants, the Fatimid Caliphs. Darazi wrote a book to develop this doctrine. He read his book in the principle mosque in Cairo, which caused riots and protests against his claims and many of his followers were killed. Hamza ibn Ali refuted his ideology calling him "the insolent one and Satan". The controversy created by Darazi led Caliph al-Hakim to suspend the Druze da'wa in 1018.

In an attempt to gain the support of al-Hakim, Darazi started preaching that al-Hakim and his ancestors were the incarnation of God.

It is believed that Darazi allowed wine, forbidden marriages and taught metempsychosis although it has argued that his actions might have been exaggerated by the early historians and polemicists.

An inherently modest man, al-Hakim did not believe that he was God, and felt Darazi was trying to depict himself as a new prophet. Al-Hakim preferred Hamza ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad over Darazi and Darazi was executed in 1018, leaving Hamza the sole leader of the new faith.

Even though the Druze do not consider ad-Darazi founder of their faith - in fact, they refer to him as their "first heretic" - rival Muslim groups purposely attached the name of the controversial preacher to the new sect and it has stuck with them ever since.
Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Darazi see Darazi
Shaykh Darazi see Darazi
Muhammad bin Ismail Nas see Darazi


Dard
Dard (Sayyid Khvaja Mir Dard) (1721-1785). Along with Sauda and Mir, was part of the first generation of great Urdu poets of Delhi.  Born into a well-known Sufi family, Dard studied theology, literature, and music.  At the age of thirty-nine, he succeeded his father as head of a small Sufi order.  His poetry, written in Urdu and Persian, is markedly intellectual as well as passionately mystical.  Dard, his pen name, means “pain.” 

Khwaja Mir Dard is one of the three major poets of the Delhi School—the other two being Mir Taqi Mir and 'Sauda'—who could be called the pillars of the classical Urdu ghazal.

Dard was first and foremost a mystic, a prominent member of the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi order, and the head of the Muhammadi path (tariqah muhammadiyah, a Mujaddidi offshoot) in Delhi. He regarded the phenomenal world as a veil of the eternal Reality, and this life as a term of exile from our real home. Dard inherited his mystical temperament from his father, Khwaja Muhammad Nasir Andalib, who was a mystic saint and a poet, and the founder of the Muhammadi path.

Dard received his education in an informal way at home, and in the company of the learned, acquiring in due course a command of Arabic and Persian. He also developed a deep love of music, possibly, through his association with singers and qawaals who frequented his father's house. He renounced earthly pleasures at the young age of 28, and led a life of piety and humility.

Dard's Persian prose works are extensive, consisting of the Ilm ul Kitab, a 600+ page metaphysical work on the philosophy of the Muhammadi path, and the Chahar Risalat, collections of more than a thousand mystical aphorisms and sayings.


Sayyid Khvaja Mir Dard see Dard


Darimi
Darimi (‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Darimi) (797-869).  Scholar of Muslim tradition.  His collection of traditions is commonly known as al-Musnad.

Sunan al-Darimi or Musnad al-Darimi by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Darimi is a Hadith collection considered by Sunnis to be among the Nine: the Six major Hadith collections, Al-Muwatta, Musnad of Imam Ahmed, and Sunan al-Darimi.

Despite its title "Musnad", it is not set per narrator like the Musnads of Tayalisi or Ibn Hanbal. It is arranged by topic, like the Sunan of Ibn Maja.

Darimi transmitted these hadiths to 'Isa ibn 'Umar al-Samarqandi. Thereafter it passed to:

    * ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hamawiya al-Sarkhasi
    * ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muzaffar al-Dawudi "Jamal al-Islam"
    * Abu'l-Waqt ‘Abd al-Awwal ibn ‘Isa ibn Shu‘ayb al-Sijizzi



‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Darimi see Darimi


Darjini
Darjini (Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Darjini). Ibadi jurist, poet and historian of the thirteenth century.  He was the author of a historical and biographical work on the Ibadis.

Darweesh
Darweesh (Sheikh Sayed Darweesh) (1891-1923).  Key figure in twentieth century Egyptian classical song.  At 25, Darweesh was a traveling actor fallen on hard times.  At 30, he was hailed as the father of the new Egyptian Arab music, and a hero of the renaissance.  He rose to fame with his controversial “innovation” musical movement of the 1910s and 1920s, in which he blended western instruments and harmony with forgotten Arab musical forms and Egyptian folklore.  More importantly, he wrote songs for the Egyptian people:  dedications for the tradesmen, operettas for the hashish dealers, and daring anti-British nationalistic songs.  Indeed, one of his songs, Bilaadi Bilaadi – “My Country, My Country” -- ultimately became the Egyptian national anthem.

After a composing career of just seven years, Darweesh died of a cocaine overdose at the age of 32.  He was buried in the Garden of the Immortals in Alexandria.

Sayyid Darwîsh's life is one of those lightning trajectories in the history of music, the memory and the influence of which go much beyond the actual frame of a musical production. He was to die at the dawn of a striking career, almost ignored by the musical milieu in his lifetime and mythified after his death. In the modern Arab historiography of music. Sayyid Darwîsh has become an icon symbolizing Progress. Modernity, and the shift from "Oriental music", an elitist music made for Pachas and still bathing in the original ottoman matrix, to "Egyptian music", the first figuralist expression of a peoples' soul and their nationalist demands.

Sayyid Darwîsh was born in the popular quarter of Kôm ed-dikka in Alexandria. Egypt, and trained in his youth to be a munshid (cantor). He worked as a bricklayer in order to support his family.  His legend has it that the manager of a theatrical troupe overheard him singing for his fellows and hired him on the spot. While touring in Syria, he had the opportunity to gain a musical education, short of finding success. He returned to Egypt before the beginning of the Great War, and won limited recognition by singing in the cafés and on various stages the learned repertoire of the great composers of the 19th century of the Christian calendar, to which he added adwâr and muviashshahât of his own. In spite of the cleverness of his compositions, he did not to find public favor, paling in comparison to such stars of his time as Sâlih 'Abd al-Hayy or Zakî Murâd.

1918 was a turning point in his life. After too many failures in singing cafés, he decided to follow the path of Shaykh Salama Higâzî. the pioneer of Arabic lyric theater and launched a career on the stage. He settled in Cairo and got acquainted with the main companies,

particularly Nagîb al-Rîhanî's (1891-1949), for whom he composed seven operettas. This gifted comedian had invented, with the playwright and poet Badî' Khayrî, the laughable character of Kish Kish Bey, a rich provincial mayor squandering his fortune in Cairo with ill-reputed women... The apparition of social matters and the allusions to the political situation of colonial Egypt (the 1919 "revolution") were to boost the success of the trio's operettas, such as "al-'Ashara al-Tayyiba" (The Ten of Diamonds, 1920) a nationalistic adaptation of 'Blubeard". Sayyid Darvîsh also worked for Rihânî's rival troupe, 'Alî al-Kassâr's, and eventually collaborated with the Queen of Stages, singer and actress Munîra al-Mahdiyya (1884-1965), for whom he composed comical operettas such as "Kollaha yomên" (It will just take two days, 1920) and started an opera, "Cleopatra and Mark-Anthony", which was played in 1927 with Muhammad 'Abd al-Wahhâb in the leading role.

In the early twenties, all the companies sought his help. He decided to start his own company, acting at last on stage in a lead part . His two creations "Shahwazâd' and "al-Barûka" were not as successful as planned, and he was forced to compose again for other companies from 1922 until his death on September 15, 1923.

Sheikh Sayed Darweesh see Darweesh
Sayed Darweesh see Darweesh


Darwish, Mahmoud
Darwish, Mahmoud (Mahmoud Darwish) (March 15, 1941 - August 9, 2008).  Palestinian poet who was internationally recognized for his poetry evoking a strong affection for a lost homeland.  Darwish became a compelling voice for the Palestinian struggle for independence. 

Darwish was born into a landowning Sunni Muslim family in the village of Barwa (al-Birwa) near Akko (Acre), then in the British Mandate of Palestine, now Western Galilee.  He was the second child of Salim and Houreyyah Darwish.  His father was a Muslim landowner.  His mother was illiterate, but his grandfather taught him to read.  After the establishment of the State of Israel, the family fled to Lebanon first in Jezzin and then in Damour.  A year later, they returned to the Acre area, which is now part of Israel, and settled in Deir al-Asad (Dayru al-Assad).  In 1948, Darwish’s family was forced to leave their home town after it was declared to be part of the new state of Israel.  Darwish attended high school in Kafr Yasif, two kilometers north of Jadeidi.  He eventually moved to Haifa.  He published his first book of poetry, Asafir bila ajniha, at the age of nineteen. 

Darwish left Israel in the early 1970s to study in the Soviet Union and was stripped of Israeli citizenship.  He attended the University of Moscow for one year, before moving to Egypt and Lebanon.  In 1972, Darwish moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where he started working for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as editor of the monthly Shu’un Filistiniyya (Palestinian Affairs).  In 1975, Darwish was appointed director of the PLO Research Center and, in 1982, after the PLO was expelled from Beirut following the Israeli invasion, Darwish settled on Cyprus.  Later in 1982, Darwish received the Ibn Sina Prize, followed by, in 1983, the Lenin Peace Prize.

In 1987, Darwish was elected to the PLO executive committee.  However, in 1993, Darwish resigned from this position because of his opposition to the Oslo Agreement.  In 1995, Darwish attended the funeral of his colleague, Emile Habibi.  During the visit, he received a permit from the Israeli authorities to remain in Israel for four days.  Darwish was finally allowed to return to live in the West Bank city of Ramallah in 1995.

Darwish was twice married and divorced.  His first wife was the writer Rana Kabbani.  In the mid-1980s, he married an Egyptian translator, Hayat Heeni.  He had no children.  Darwish had a history of heart problems.  After a heart attack in 1984, he underwent heart surgery.  In 1998, he was operated on again.  His last return visit to Israel was on July 15, 2007 to attend a poetry recital at Mount Carmel Auditorium.  At that time, he criticized the factional violence between Fatah and Hamas as a "suicide attempt in the streets."

Darwish died on August 9, 2008, three days after heart surgery at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Darwish published over thirty volumes of poetry and eight books of prose.  In 1960, Darwish published his first book of poetry entitled Asafir bila ajniha (Birds Without Wings). This was followed by Awraq Al-Zaytun (Olive Leaves) in 1964 and Ashiq min filastin (Lover from Palestine) in 1966.  In 1995, Darwish published another notable book of poetry entitled Limaza tarakt al-hissan wahidan (Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone?).


Mahmoud Darwish see Darwish, Mahmoud


Dasuqi
Dasuqi (al-Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Ibrahim al-Dasuqi) (1811-1883).  Trusted collaborator in the preparation of Edward William Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon.

The Arabic-English Lexicon is a 19th-century Arabic dictionary compiled by the British Orientalist Edward William Lane. Writing in 1998, a critic says, "Every serious classical Arabic scholar, for the last hundred years and more, has been indebted to Lane's work [the Lexicon]."

In 1842, Lane, who had already won fame as an Arabist for his Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians and his version of the One Thousand and One Nights, received a sponsorship from Lord Prudhoe, later Duke of Northumberland, to compile an Arabic-English dictionary.

Lane set to work at once, making his third voyage to Cairo to collect materials in the same year. Since the Muslim scholars there were reluctant to loan manuscripts to Lane, the acquisition of materials was commissioned to Ibrahim Al-Dasuqi (1811-1883), a graduate of Azhar and a teacher in Boulaq. In order to collect and collate the materials, Lane stayed in Cairo for seven years, working arduously with little rest and recreation. The acquisition of materials, which took 13 years, was left in the hands of Al-Dasuqi when Lane returned to England in 1849.

Back to England, Lane continued to work on the dictionary with zeal, complaining that he was so used to the cursive calligraphy of his Arabic manuscripts that the Western print strained his eyes. He had arrived at the letter Qāf, the 21st letter of the Arabic alphabet, when he died in 1876.

The lexicon is based on many medieval Arabic dictionaries, chiefly the Taj al-ʿArus ("Crown of the Bride") by al-Zabidi produced in the 19th century. In total, 112 sources are cited in the work. Lane also read widely in order to provide examples for the entries.

The lexicon was designed to consist of two books: one for the common, classical words, another for the rare ones. Part I of the First Book came out in 1863; Part II in 1865; Part III in 1867; Part IV and V in 1872. A total of 2,219 pages were proofread by Lane himself. Lane's great-nephew Stanley Lane-Poole published Part VI to Part VIII including a supplement from 1877-1893, using Lane's incomplete notes left behind him. These parts are sketchy and full of lacunae. In total, the First Book comprises 3,064 pages. Nothing has come out of the planned Second Book. Thus the work has never been completed.[8]

Lane's work focuses on classical vocabulary, thus later scholars found it necessary to compile supplements to the work for post-classical usage, such as the Supplément aux dictionaires arabes (1881; 2nd ed., 1927) by the Dutch Arabist Reinhart Dozy; also, the Wörterbuch der klassischen arabischen Sprache, being published from 1970 onwards by the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, starts from Kāf, thus supplementing Lane's work in effect.

The first draft of the lexicon, as well as the whole Taj al-ʿArus copied by Al-Dasuqi for Lane in 24 volumes, are now preserved in the British Library.

al-Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Ibrahim al-Dasuqi see Dasuqi


Daud Beureu’eh, Mohammed
Daud Beureu’eh, Mohammed (Mohammed Daud Beureu’eh) (1909-1978).  Prime minister of Afghanistan (r. 1953-1963).  Born in Kabul, Daud was the cousin and brother-in-law of Aghanistan’s last king, Zahir Shah.  He studied in France from 1921 to 1930 and in 1953 was appointed the country’s prime minister.  He ruled the country until 1963, dominating the king in the process.  Daud pushed for rapid modernization of Afghanistan and pursued irredentist claims against Pakistan, supporting ethnic Pakhtuns against Islamabad.  Zahir Shah dismissed Daud in 1963 because of differences over policy toward Pakistan.  Daud remained bitter and waited for an opportunity to remove the king.  With support from several young officers, he overthrew the monarchy on July 17, 1973.  He ruled the country until April 1978, when he was overthrown and killed in a Communist coup. 
Mohammed Daud Beureu’eh see Daud Beureu’eh, Mohammed


Daud Beureu’eh, Muhammad
Daud Beureu’eh, Muhammad (Muhammad Daud Beureu’eh) (b. September 17, 1899, Beureu'eh, regencies of Pidie Aceh - d. June 10, 1987, Aceh).  Islamic leader of Aceh (northern Sumatra).  Educated at traditional Islamic schools in his native Pidie region of Aceh, Tunku Daud Beureu’eh nevertheless championed more modern methods of teaching and organization, notably as president of the All-Aceh Association of Ulama (PUSA) in 1939-1942.  PUSA became a vehicle for Acehnese protest against the ruling class, the uleebalang, and aided an anti-Dutch revolt on the eve of the Japanese occupation.  Daud remained the most influential Acehnese ulama during the revolutionary destruction of uleebalang authority (December 1945), and in 1947 he was named military governor of Aceh by the republic.  He did not accept the merger of Aceh into a North Sumatra province (1950), and in September 1953 he led a rebellion against Jakarta, proclaiming Aceh part of Kartosuwirjo’s Negara Islam Indonesia.  He surrendered in 1962, after Aceh was recognized as an autonomous region. 


David
David (in Arabic, Dawudor Da’ud).  The biblical David is mentioned in several places in the Qur’an.  Muslim tradition stresses his zeal in prayer, in fasting, and his gift in singing psalms.  David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Bible. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet (he is traditionally credited with the authorship of many of the Psalms).

The biblical chronology sets his life c.1037–970 B.C.T., his reign over Judah c.1007–1000 B.C.T., and his reign over the united Kingdom of Israel c.1000–970 B.C.T.. The Books of Samuel are the primary source of information on his life and reign; there is little archaeological evidence to confirm the Bible's picture of David (although the Tel Dan stele records the existence in the mid-9th century of a Judean royal dynasty called the "House of David"), but his story has been of immense importance to subsequent Jewish and Christian culture.

Dawud see David
Da’ud see David


Dawasir
Dawasir (al-Dawasir)(in singular, Dawsari). Name of a large tribe in central Arabia.  About 1689, they forced the Al Sabah and the Al Khalifa to migrate to the Persian Gulf, where the latter in time became the rulers of Kuwait and Bahrain. 

The al Dawasir is an Arabian bedouin tribe divided into clans and families. The word Dawasir is plural for Dossari (which is also spelled Dosary, Dossary, Dowsary, Doseri, Dosari, Dosseri, Dossery, Dossari, etc.)

The tribe gave its name to the famous valley in Najd, Wadi al-Dawasir (The Valley of al-Dawasir), and spread to various parts of the Middle East.

The tribe also either gave birth or helped the growth of cities like: al-Dammam, al-Khobar, al-Ahsa, al-Zubara, Zallaq and Budaiya (island of Bahrain) and Kuwait. They were also inhabitants of the Juzur Hawar, a fact that helped Bahrain to win (on March 16, 2001) its dispute over the archipelago with Qatar.


al-Dawasir see Dawasir
Dawsari see Dawasir


Dawlat Giray I
Dawlat Giray I. Khan of the Crimea (r.1551-1577).  He was supported by the Ottoman sultan against Russia. 


Dawood, Shahzada

Shahzada Dawood (b. February 12, 1975, Rawalpindi – d.June 18, 2023. North Atlantic Ocean) was a Pakistani businessman, investor, and philanthropist.  Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, died alongside three others when the Titan submersible imploded during dur a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic on June 18, 2023.


Dawood was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on February 12, 1975, the son of Hussain Dawood. His sisters were Azmeh Dawood, and Sabrina Dawood, a philanthropist. His brother was Samad Dawood. His paternal grandfather, Ahmed Dawood, was a prominent Memon industrialist who founded the family business, Dawood Group. Shahzada received an LLB from Buckingham University and an MSc in global textile marketing from Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University).


Dawood served as the vice-chairman of the Engro Corporation and was a director of the Dawood Hercules Corporation.


Dawood was appointed to the board of the Engro Corporation in 2003. He became the vice-chairman of Engro in October 2021. Before this, he served as the vice-chairman of the Dawood Hercules Corporation.  He invested in finding growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions in textiles, fertilizers, foods, and energy in public-listed companies.


In 2012, Dawood was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Dawood spoke at the United Nations in 2020 on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science. 


From 1996 to 2023, Dawood was a trustee of the family-foundation, The Dawood Foundation (TDF), which focused on education. TDF coordinated the Hussain Dawood Pledge, a private donation to fight COVID-19 in Pakistan. He was focused on efforts to provide mental health support to people hit by COVID-19 in Pakistan. 


Dawood was also a trustee of The Engro Foundation, a member of the Global Advisory Board for the Prince's Trust International, a charity founded by Charles III, and a board member of the SETI Institute.  


Shahzada Dawood was married to Christine Dawood. They had two children (Suleman and Alina) together.


Dawood became a Maltese citizen in 2016, reportedly through an Individual Investor Programme.


Dawood had a keen interest in investigating natural habitats and renewable energies. He was a photography enthusiast, particularly passionate about wildlife photography and exploring different natural habitats.


In 2023, Dawood and his family departed from their residence in London and journeyed to Canada for the duration of one month. Shahzada, with a year's long passion for science and discovery, booked tickets for himself and his nineteen-year-old son, Suleman, over Father's Day weekend in 2023 to embark on the Titan submersible to view the wreck of the Titanic, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 after it hit an iceberg. The dive, which was expected to bring the travelers to a depth of 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), began on the morning of June 18, 2023, and was expected to last eight hours. Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes after beginning the descent, the Titan lost contact with the surface ship, the MV Polar Prince.  Search and rescue missions involved water and air support from the United States, Canada and France.


On June 22, 2023, the United States Coast Guard confirmed that they had found debris approximately 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic that was consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber and concluded that the passengers aboard the Titan — Dawood and his son, Suleman, as well as Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush -- had all died.  




Dawud
Dawud (d. 1582).  Ruler of the Songhay Empire (r.1549-1582).  Dawud was the last of the sons of the famous Askia Muhammad to rule over Songhay.  Dawud was the most powerful of his brother kings.  He ascended the throne peacefully after the death of his brother Ishaq I.  He set about reconquering parts of the empire which had broken away since the time of his father’s deposition (1528).  Dawud’s most notable campaigns were against the old Mali empire and the Tuareg.  He also fought the Mossi, although they continued to evade subjugation by the Sudanic empires.  According to the Ta’rikh al-Fattash, he was a devout Muslim who studied the Qur’an, built mosques and libraries, and gave alms generously.  He did not, however, make the pilgrimage to Mecca, and showed conspicuous deference to traditional beliefs.  He died peacefuly in 1582 and was succeeded by his son, Muhammad II. 


Dawud al-Fatani
Dawud al-Fatani. Malay author from Patani, in Thailand, of the nineteenth century.  He wrote popular tracts and extensive handbooks on Shafi‘i law, theology and orthodox mysticism.


Dawud ibn Khalaf
Dawud ibn Khalaf (d.884). Imam of the school of the Zahiriyya (Dawudiyya).  The school is hostile to human reasoning and relies exclusively on the Qur’an and the hadith. 


Dawudpotras
Dawudpotras.  Dynasty which ruled at Bahawalpur in Pakistan (r.1723-1956).  In 1956, Bahawalpur was merged with West Pakistan. 

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