قمت باختيار المشروع البحثي لنيل درجة الماجستير في العلوم الإنسانية والكتب النادرة ليكون عن حياة ومؤلفات شخصية مقدسية أثرت في المشهد الثقافي والعلمي في مدينة القدس في القرن الثامن عشر الميلادي هو الشيخ محمد بن بدير بن محمد بن محمود بن حبيش الشافعي المقدسي، المشهور بابن بدير والبديري وابن حبيش. (1160-1220 هجري)(1747-1805 ميلادي). رحمه الله
Regarding the subject of my research project for the digital humanities and rare book master at the university of Franche-Comté. i have chosen to research and study the works and legacy of a man of faith and knowledge a Palestinian sufi scholar and poet sheikh Muhammad Ibn Budeir Ibn Mahmoud Ibn Hubaish, better known as Al-Budeiri (1747-1805 A.D.) (1160-1220 A.H.)
Muhammad Ibn Budeir Ibn Hubaish was born in Jerusalem approximately 1747 in the Ottoman period to a religious wealthy family. at a young age his family sent him to Cairo, Egypt to be enrolled in an institution for education and Islamic sciences. after finishing school he studied various subjects of science and Islam at Al-Azhar university « جامعة الأزهر » and graduated with an Ijaza « اجازة » (an equivalent to a doctorate) in Qur’an, Hadith, and Arabic literature. later on he taught at the same university for a couple of years. After his return to Jerusalem he assumed his activities in teaching, preaching and convening groups of theology discussions and was the leader of a the Sufi order brotherhood Al-Khalwatieh « الطريقة الخلوتية ». one of the reasons i’m writing on sheikh Ibn Budeir that he is my 7th great-grandfather from my mother side.
He wrote books in Islamic subjects, Arabic literature, history, Sufi philosophy, and composed poems. the sheikh started to collect manuscripts at the age of 15. In 1771 he established a library to be used by students of Jerusalem from his collection of books. it included ones that he purchased in Egypt from well-known collectors, books that he copied, his scholarly works on various scientific and religious subjects, in adition to books that he received as gifts. the subject matters of the collection are Islamic religion, Qur’anic sciences, Hadith, Fiqeh, and suffism. it also contains books on literature, poetry, astronomy, and mathematics. the collection includes 6 unique manuscripts and 18 manuscripts copied by sheikh Ibn Hubaysh himself. The oldest manuscript in the collection, Al-Qushayri Message « الرسالة القيشرية » was composed in 1167 C.E. Al-Budeiri. The bulk of the collection is written in Arabic, though there are a few works in Ottoman Turkish and Persian. Before he passed away, he specified that his collection should remain in the library and be available for knowledge seekers, his tomb shrine is located next to the library.
A rare copy of the book « The Revival of the Religious Sciences » from Al-Budeiri collection. نسخة نادرة من كتاب احياء علوم الدين لأبي حامد الغزالي من مجموعة البديري
I acquired a digitized copy of the collection sent to me from the librarian Mrs. Shaima Budeiri. I started reading Ibn Budeir’s manuscript poems and personal correspondence with fellow scholars. i am typing choosen texts in modern Arabic using Libreoffice writer. the next step is translating a poem sheikh Ibn Budeir wrote on the siege of Acre by the French forces in 1799 to French and English. after that I am going to build a website dedicated to the sheikh legacy in Arabic, French, and English.
A map shows key places in Ibn Hubaish life
*the picture on top of the post shows Ibn Hubaish’s Budeir family emblem at the entrance of the library.