Twice Toldal-Tabari, History, vol. XIII (SUNY, 1989), transl. Juynboll: the remains of Daniel at al-Sus, pp. 146 to 148
- Language
- English
- Reading
- transcribed from the page image
- Retrieved
- 10 October 2026
Gautier H. A. Juynboll’s English translation of the events of the year 17 (638) in al-Tabari’s Tarikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk. The Daniel passages are two reports that al-Tabari gives on the authority of Sayf b. ‘Umar, through al-Sari and Shu’ayb. The bracketed numbers are the Leiden edition’s page numbers, printed in the margin of the translation.
Original
[p. 146, [2566]] According to al-Sari-Shu’ayb-Sayf-‘Atiyyah-the one who reported on the conquest of al-Sus: Someone said to Abu Sabrah, “Here are the remains of Daniel which are buried in this city.” “What concern is that of ours?” Abu Sabrah asked and he left the remains there under the supervision of the local people.
‘Atiyyah continued with the same isnad: Daniel had stayed on in the coastal regions of Fars after Nebuchadnezzar’s death.
[p. 147, [2567]] Daniel died at al-Sus and there, near his tomb, people used to pray for rain.
When the Muslims conquered the city, Daniel’s remains were brought to them, but they left them in the permanent care of the local people. Later, when Abu Sabrah had departed from them and gone to Jundaysabur, Abu Musa came and stayed in al-Sus. He wrote to ‘Umar about Daniel’s grave. ‘Umar wrote back and ordered him to hide it. So Abu Musa had the body wrapped in shrouds and the Muslims buried it. Meanwhile, Abu Musa wrote to ‘Umar saying that on the body they had found a signet ring that
[p. 148, [2568]] they had taken from it. “Return the signet ring to the body,” ‘Umar wrote back. In the stone of that ring there was the picture of a man between two lions.
In this year, I mean the year 17 (638), the peace treaty of the Muslims with the inhabitants of Jundaysabur was concluded.
Translation
Juynboll’s published English translation; we read al-Tabari in translation (the Arabic is in the Leiden edition, Series I, pp. 2566 to 2568; two phrases were checked, see Notes).
Notes
- Between the two passages the page prints a story about Daniel and the book of God cast into the sea (pp. 146 to 147), omitted above.
- Juynboll’s footnote 508 (p. 148) says the Muslim version of Daniel’s story differs somewhat from the Old Testament’s and refers to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, s.v. Daniyal (Vajda), and R. G. Khoury, Les legendes prophetiques dans l’Islam (Wiesbaden, 1978), pp. 266 to 283.
- The account has no river, no coffin and no bridge. The order is to hide the grave.
- We read two phrases of the Arabic on the Leiden page images (archive.org india.history.resource.86986, leaves n342 and n343): p. 2566, line 5, “hadha jasad Daniyal” (“this is the body of Daniel”), and p. 2567, line 8, a command “bi-tawriyatihi” (to conceal it), which Juynboll renders “hide it”.