In his great work, "History of African Literature" (1), Dr. Salah al-Najd, in agreement with the government of Mali, also prepared a book titled "Mali and Arab Geographers," which contains a large amount of information from the works of these geographers and historians related to the Islamic state of Mali, especially the visit of Mansa Musa to Mecca during his pilgrimage.

As for the second part, we can say that writing in Arabic and composing in it became known in this region during the existence of the Almoravid state, and its conquest of the ancient pagan kingdom of Ghana (11th-12th centuries AD). This was during the spread of Islam in the region. We will briefly mention the most prominent who wrote in Arabic, especially the African historians who recorded the history of their countries: Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Karm al-Thali (Isma'il), the jurist from Tlemcen, the famous preacher and mujahid, who authored many works on jurisprudence and on the explanation of "Rukn al-Dhahab al-Mali," and from whom the honorable Imam al-Hajj Umar al-Futi benefited greatly from his works and opinions. He is also the author of "Tarikh al-Fattash fi Akhbar al-Buldān wa al-Juyūsh wa al-Akābir al-Nās" (2). Ahmad Baba al-Massufi, the scholar and great Imam, the trusted friend and advisor of Askia the Great, and the historian of the Songhai state.

(1) This book was translated into Arabic (directly from Russian) by Professor Salah al-Din 'Imad Hashim, and the Department of Translation, Editing, and Publishing at the General Administration of Cultural Affairs, League of Arab States, Cairo, supervised its publication. (2) This book was verified, translated into French, commented on, and introduced by the Orientalist Gustave Houtsma and Delafosse, and published by the Paris School of Oriental Languages in 1913. It has Arabic and French editions. UNESCO reissued it in facsimile in one volume containing both Arabic and French editions in 1964.