al-AûlÃÂm (Arabic: çÃÂãùÃÂçà), fully known as al-AûlÃÂm: QÃÂmà «s TarÃÂjim li-Ashhar al-RijÃÂl wa-al-NisÃÂü min al-ûArab wa-al-Mustaûribën wa-al-Mustashriqën (Eminent Personalities: A Biographical Dictionary of Noted Men and Women among the Arabs, the Arabists and the Orientalists) is a biographical work by the Syrian Arab historian, Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli. Written in the Arabic language, the work features biographies for more than a hundred influential people of Arabia, both historic and modern.
al-A'lam is a compilation of biographies of the prominent figures in the Arabian Peninsula from pre-Islamic ancient times until contemporary times (the 19thâÂÂ20th centuries). The placement of each biography is by alphabetical order and date of death. For example, in the book, the biography of 'Amr ibn 'Abd Allah al-Jumahi (died 625 CE) is directly above that of 'Amr ibn 'Abd Allah (died 745 CE). Among the notable figures mentioned in the book include the pre-Islamic knight Abu Layla al-Muhalhel and the early Muslim revert, Abu Bakr.
The first edition of al-A'lam was published in Egypt between 1926 and 1927. The second edition of al-A'lam was then published again in the 1950s, with added portraits and illustrations, as well as being printed in 10 volumes. A revised of al-A'lam was then printed in 8 volumes and published by the Lebanon-based Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin publishing house between the years 1978âÂÂ1979. The same publishing house also would reprint the work in 7 volumes in 2002.
Ahmad Alawinah, a Jordanian researcher and historian, wrote a commentary on al-A'lam that was titled Tawshëḥ kitÃÂb al-AâÂÂlÃÂm li-Khayr al-Dën al-Ziriklë. In his commentary, he gives criticism and praise of al-Zirikli's writings and also adds on to missing information in the biographies.
An annotated version of al-A'lam was later written by the academic Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Rashid and published in Jordan in the year 2014.
Below is a gallery of portraits and illustrations of individuals that were featured in al-A'lam.