He is Sheikh Muhammad Abd al-Malik (also referred to as Abd al-Melik), nicknamed Al-Ashrafani (in reference to Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, a suburb of Damascus), may God be pleased with him. He was a contemporary of the Ma’nid Emirate in Lebanon under Prince Fakhr al-Din al-Ma’ni, and of the Virtuous Sheikh, may God be pleased with him. He was among the pious sheikhs and one of the three prominent historians of the Muwahhidun, alongside Salih ibn Yahya, Ibn Sibat, and Al-Ashrafani. His lineage traces back to Bayt al-Faqih.
A great scholar and historian, he imparted his vast knowledge to devout sheikhs, who later urged him to compile it into a book known as “Al-Mu'allaf” (The Work), which its venerable author titled “Umdat al-Arifin fi Qisas al-Nabiyyin wa al-Umam al-Salifin” (The Pillar of the Gnostics on the Stories of the Prophets and Past Nations). It took him seven years to write, and he presented it in three volumes. This valuable book was the cause of an informant’s denunciation by the Sheikh of Al-Kiswah against him to the Turkish governor in the Levant. However, the governor honored and revered him once his truthfulness became evident, and was deeply impressed by the grandeur of the subjects and structure of his work.
This book is regarded as the most essential reference for the biographies of prophets and the pious in the history of the Druze Muwahhidun community, serving as the foundational source for all studies and publications addressing Druze history.
