This is the first publication of the official correspondence of the leading religious scholar
and literary figure Shaykh Mu¿ammad ibn Abi al-¿asan al-Bakri al-¿iddiqi al-Shafi¿i Sib¿ Al
al-¿asan. 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. Mu¿ammad 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-¿asan 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.
