The diaries of a Hanbali jurist

These are the oldest private diaries discovered in human history, recorded by Baghdad historian Abu Ali ibn al-Banna al-Hanbali in his own handwriting around the middle of the 5th Islamic century. They were discovered by the great orientalist and prolific historian George Makdisi, in a manuscript at the Al-Zahiriyah Library in Damascus. He verified, introduced, and translated the text into English, and published it in five installments in the Journal of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (BSOAS) between 1956 and 1957. Ibn al-Banna’s diaries remained unknown to the Arab reader during this period, despite being housed in one of the most famous manuscript preservation centers in the Arab world. It did not help that the person who verified and published them was one of the most renowned orientalists. Egyptian historian and translator Dr. Ahmed Al-Adawi reconstructed the text of the diaries based on the original manuscript, corrected several errors made by Makdisi in his editing of the diaries, and introduced and prefaced the work by translating Makdisi’s introduction to Ibn al-Banna’s diaries. He also included an article written by Makdisi a quarter-century after publishing the diaries: “Remarks on the Diaries in Islamic Historical Writing,” to enhance the benefit. This work is closely connected to Makdisi’s interests in documenting Islamic schools and doctrines, which resulted in his rich publications in these fields: Ibn ‘Aqil, the emergence of colleges, and the origins of the humanities. It also meets the needs of important readers interested in history and literature alike, as it provides a detailed picture of political, intellectual, social, and religious life in Baghdad during the 5th Islamic century. Diaries, in themselves, are a unique genre of writing that sits between literature and history. They also bring us closer — more than ever before — to the spirit of a person who lived over a thousand years ago, due to the nature of private diaries, which are written for oneself, not for others, and differ from all other types of historical writing.