The Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’ of Ibn Muṭarrif al-Ṭarafī (d. 454/1062): Stories of the Prophets from al-Andalus

Abstract

The Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā of the Andalusian Ibn Muṭarrif al-Ṭarafī is a collection of stories of the prophets which was written in the 5th/llth century. There are only two extant manuscripts of this work. Litle is known about the autor, who was an expert in variant readings of the Qur’ān. No biographical or later source mentions this qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā collection. Ṭarafī’s work is introduced by a preface that indicates its exegetical character. Its most noteworthy feature is the strong dependence on Ṭabarī’s tafsīr. Notwithstanding this, some of the material included by Ṭarafī in his work is quite interesting, such as the traditions dealing with onomastic, the physical appearance of the prophets, and various other reports.