Kitāb Dustūr al-gharāʾib wa-maʿdan al-raghāʾib and Related Texts: The Correspondence (__Inshāʾ__) of Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Ḥasan al-Bakrī al-Ṣiddīqī (930–994/1524–1586)

attributed to the early sultans. Muh ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄addressednumerous letters to Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (d. 987/1579) and at least twotoFeridun Bey, as well as several to SultanMurad III. Most likely, the majority of his letters were composed in the period 1574-79, although some clearly predate this period, such as the one addressed to SultanSelim II (r. 974-82/1566-74). It is unclear to what degree Müns ̧eatü's-selatin may haveinfluenced the collection of Muh ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄' scorrespondence. The former is acollectionof imperial correspondence, which is one genre of insha ̄ʾ ,but rather different from the letters by Muh ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄that are editedhere. Anothergenre of insha ̄ʾ is private letters, and many examples of these survivefrom the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.A tl east one such letter by Muh ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄, which wasnot included in his canonical collectionofcorrespondence, survives and will be mentioned below. It should be noted, however, that the distinction between private and public correspondence is nebulous when the letters in question are between state officials or aspirantstooffice. As is very clear from Muh ̇ammadal-Bakrı ̄' scorrespondence, one of the principal purposeso fl etter writing in this period wastopetition for the patronage of an important official. Al-Bakrı ̄made thesepetitions on behalf of third parties, not on his own behalf, although the latter is also known to be common. He served as ac onduit for patronage between his own clients and important state officials in Cairo, Mecca, Istanbul, and elsewhere. In this sense, Muh ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄played the role of a node between twonetworks. The first network waslocated in the Arabic-speaking provinces, especially Cairo and the Hijaz. It presumably focused on local religious scholars and Sufis, whose patron wasM u h ̇ammad al-Bakrı ̄,b ut it also included the sharı ̄fian rulers of Mecca and Medina. The second network involved imperial officials. These included officials stationed in Cairo, such as the governor and chief judge of Egypt, as well as those stationed in Istanbul, such as the grand vizier, chancellor,a nd chief judge of Anatolia. The latter appointed the chief judge of Egypt. Given that imperialofficials often circulated through Cairo on their waytopromotion to higher office in Istanbul, connections made in the provinces could lead sooner or later to influence in the imperial capital. Muh ̇ammadal-Bakrı ̄also made the pilgrimage to Mecca on aregular basis, and so he served as an intermediary between the rulers of Mecca, the commander of the Egyptian H ̇ajj caravan, and imperialofficials in Cairo and Istanbul. 2 2M any of his letters and poems are said to havebeen composed in Meccaand afew in Medina. 3A h ṁad ibn Zayn al-ʿA ̄bidı ̄nal-Bakrı ̄, Qala ̄' id al-minan wa fara ̄' id al-zaman,inMana ̄qib al-Sa ̄da al-Bakrı ̄ya,ed.,Mustafa Mughazy and Adam Sabra (Beirut: Da ̄ral-Machreq, 2015), p. 21; Ibn Abı ̄al-Suru ̄ral-Bakrı ̄, al-Kawkab al-durrı ̄f ı ̄mana ̄qib al-usta ̄dh al-Bakrı ̄in Mana ̄qib,ed. Mughazy and Sabra, p. 15. 4I bn Abı ̄al-Suru ̄r, al-Kawkab al-durrı ̄,p.18gives the exact date. 5P ublished as Abu ̄al-H ̇asan Muh ̇ammad b. Muh ̇ammad b. ʿAbd al-Rah ̇ma ̄nal-S ̇iddı ̄q ı ̄al-Bakrı ̄, Tafsı ̄ral-Bakrı ̄,ed. Ah ̇mad Farı ̄dal-Mazı ̄d ı ̄(Beirut: Da ̄ral-Kutubal-'Ilmı ̄yah, 2010). 6N ajm al-Dı ̄nal-Ghazzı ̄, al-Kawa ̄kib al-sa ̄' ira bi-a'ya ̄nal-mi'aal-'a ̄shira (Beirut: Da ̄ral-Kutub al-ʿIlmı ̄ya, 1997), Vo l2,pp. 192-96. Al-Ghazzı ̄lists his name as 'Alı ̄,nodoubt because his kunya wasAbu ̄al-H ̇asan, but the hagiographicalw orks produced for the Bakrı ̄lineage say that his name wasMuh ̇ammad. See below. 7F or an introductiont ot he Bakrı ̄lineage see Adam Sabra, "Household Sufism in Sixteenth-CenturyEgypt: The Rise of al-Sâda al-Bakrîya," in Le soufisme a`l'e ́poqueottomane, XVIe-XVIIIe sie`cle =Sufism in the Ottoman Era, 16th-18th Century,ed. Rachida Chih and Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen (Cairo: Institutfranc ̧ais d'arche ́ologie orientale, 2010), pp. 101-13. 8 ʿAbd al-Wahha ̄bal-Shaʿra ̄n ı ̄, al-T ̇abaqa ̄tal-s ̇ughra ̄=Lawa ̄qih ̇al-anwa ̄ral-qudsı ̄ya fı ̄t ̇a baqa ̄t al-ʿulama ̄ʾ wa al-S ̇u ̄f ı ̄ya (Cairo: Maktabat al-A ̄da ̄b, 2003), p. 119. 9a l-Shaʿra ̄n ı ̄, al-T ̇abaqa ̄tal-s ̇ughra ̄,p.120. 10 See the hagiographical works cited below. 11 ʿAbd al-Qa ̄dir ibn Shaykh ibn ʿAbd Alla ̄hal-ʿAydaru ̄s, al-H ̇usaynı ̄al-H ̇ad ̇ramı ̄al-Yamanı ̄al-Hindı ̄, al-Nu ̄ral-sa ̄firʿan akhba ̄ral-qarn al-ʿa ̄shir,ed. Ah ̇mad H ̇a ̄lu ̄,Mah ̇mu ̄dal-Arna ̄ʾu ̄t ̇,and "This is the first publication of the official correspondence of the leading religious scholar and literary figure, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Bakri al-Siddiqi al-Shafi'i Sibt Al al-Hasan. It provides a window into the world of an influential religious scholar in sixteenth century Cairo and his network of contacts in the Ottoman Empire and beyond. Muhammad al-Bakri corresponded with Sultan Murad III, the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, and with various officials in Mecca, including the sharifian ruler of Mecca, al-Hasan ibn Abi Numayy. The collection also contains two letters addressed to Sa'di rulers of Morocco and one to the Mughal Emperor Akbar, as well as letters to a variety of lesser Ottoman officials. It is an important source for the history of Ottoman Egypt and the Hijaz"