This investigation of Abu-al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi’s al-Wafa bi Fada'il al-Mustafa, according to the Leiden manuscript by one of Germany’s foremost Semiticists, is essential reading for anyone interested in Arabic history and literature. Ibn al-Jawzi was a twelfth-century jurist and perhaps the most prolific writer in the history of Arabic literature. He is credited with about 700 volumes, one of which is the work under consideration here. Al-Wafa bi Fada'il al-Mustafa (Detailed Accounts of the Chosen Prophet), is a large work on the biography of the prophet Muhammad. In this manuscript study, Brockelmann analyzes several aspects of this composition, including citations of this work by other notable Islamic writers. Following this analysis, several excerpts from al-Wafa bi Fada'il al-Mustafa are presented in their original Arabic, as reflected in the Leiden manuscript.

Carl Brockelmann (1868-1956) was an influential German Orientalist. Apart from publishing several important works on Arabic studies, he taught at Breslau, Berlin, and Königsberg.