The Kawkab al-durriya li-akhbār Ifrīqiya is an Arabic chronicle of the stretch of the east African coast known as Zanj.
The writing in general is poor and may represent only a first draft, which the author's death prevented him from editing.
[9] The Kawkab has a strong bias in favour of the Nabhānī rulers of Pate and Siyu and against the Mazārīʿ.
According to his own words, Fāḍil bin ʿUmar al-Bawrī wrote it because the Sultanate of Zanzibar granted subsidies to Arab communities.
[12] He describes his work as "about Africa and the sea coast eastward in the region of the Equator at a place called 'the Juba', in explanation of the Zunūj [Zanj] who were created (or born) in it originally and the Arabs and non-Arabs and the Christians [Europeans].
[13] The historical value of most of the Kawkab and especially its earliest history is highly questionable, but "there is linguistic and other evidence to indicate that [its] stories may be more than mere fancy or legend.