Abstract: Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (also known by Latinized versions of his name, Rhazes or Rasis, 865–925 AD) was a Persian polymath, physician, and philosopher. He was born in Rayy, south of present-day Tehran, Iran. After studying philosophy, at around the age of 30 he began studying medicine under the supervision of Abu Al-Hassan al-Tabari. He became the head of a Rayy hospital and later headed a hospital in Baghdad. Al-Razi was known in the fields of medicine and chemistry, which he combined to prescribe medications for numerous ailments. The author of 200 books and commentaries in various fields of knowledge, al-Razi was the first to use surgical threads and wrote an important treatise on smallpox and measles. Al-Razi’s Kitab al-Mansouri (Book of medicine dedicated to Mansur), a short, general textbook on medicine in ten chapters, was translated into Latin and became one of the most widely read medieval medical manuals in Europe. The ninth chapter, on therapeutics, frequently circulated by itself under the title Liber nonus ad Almansorem (Chapter nine of the book of medicine dedicated to Mansur). Numerous editions of the book were printed in Renaissance Europe, with commentaries by prominent physicians of the day. This 1483 edition was printed in Venice by Bernardus Stagninus (flourished circa 1483–1536). It includes a commentary by Sillanus de Nigris and an essay by Petrus de Tussignano (Pietro da Tossignano), eminent physicians who were active around 1400.Physical description: 280 items
Abstract: Al-Kashshāf (Commentary) is among the most widely known tafsirs (explications or exegeses) of the Qurʼan. Written in 12th-century Persia by Mahmud ibn ʻUmar Zamakhshari, it remains the object of study and debate among exegetes, who argue against its Mu’tazilite rationalism, even as they recognize its deep learning and linguistic sophistication. The work is taught, if not admired, by all the Sunni and Shia schools of interpretation. Modern scholar Kifayat Ullah states that “no other work in the history of tafsir has been commented on in the forms of glosses, superglosses, supercommentaries, and mukhtasars [abridgements] more than al-Kashshaf.” The breadth and complexity of the arguments are summarized in the book’s subtitle: “On the mysteries of revelation, the perfection of locution, and comprehensive interpretation [of the Qurʼan].” Mu'tazilism’s rational approach to the nature of God and scripture passed from the mainstream of Muslim thought in much of the Islamic world, but it survived in the area of Khurasan (also seen as Khorasan), Iran, the home of Zamakhshari. The author’s challenge to orthodox philosophy, combined with his undisputed mastery of Arabic grammar and philology and his extensive travel to promote his ideas, provided the foundation for the enduring legacy of his tafsir. The work was printed in two volumes in 1864 at the Bulaq Press in Cairo, at the time under the administration of ‘Abd al-Rahman Rushdi and under the scholarly direction of Shaykh Muhammad Qutb al-‘Adawi. The work was edited by Muhammad al-Sabbagh, who may be the author of the notes in the margin of the main text. There is a biographical and critical afterward in rhymed prose, including panegyric poetry and the text of the inscription on the author’s grave in eastern Iran.Physical description: 482 pages ; 28 centimeters
Abstract: This volume contains Luminare Maius (The greater luminary), and an antidotarium (book of antidotes), by Joannes Jacobus de Manliis (1490). It is based on the works of the Nestorian Persian physician Yūḥannā Ibn Māsawayh (circa 777–857), known in the Latin West as Mesue, and “other distinguished physicians.” Also included is an edition of Pandectarum Medicinae (Encyclopedia of medicaments) by Matteo Silvatico (also known by his Latinized name, Mattheus Sylvaticus, circa 1280–circa 1342), which consists of an alphabetized list of medications, primarily of herbal origin. Sylvaticus relied and expanded on the work of Simon of Genoa (flourished end of 13th century), who provided a lexicon of Latin, Greek, and Arabic medical terms in his dictionary, Clavis Sanationis. Sylvaticus also drew on the works of earlier Greco-Roman authorities, such as Dioscorides, Galen, and Paul of Aegina (circa seventh century). Other important sources were scientists in the Islamic world, such as the Persian physicians Ibn Sīnā (known as Avicenna in the Latin West, circa 980–1037) and Rāzī (Rhazes in the Latin West, circa 865–circa 925), and the Andalusian scientist Ibn Rushd (Averroes in the Latin West, 1126–98). For each of the 702 entries in this work, Sylvaticus provides the Arabic and Greek names, in addition to information about the medicinal properties of the material or plant in question. As in his Clavis Sanationis, for each letter of the Latin alphabet, a short introduction provides notes on transliteration from the Greek and Arabic into Latin. This edition was commissioned by Octavianus Scotus of Modena and produced in Venice in 1498 by the printer Bonetus Locatellus (active 1486–1523). It is not the earliest extant printing of this work. Other early printings include those from Naples (1474), Vicenza (1480), and Venice (1480, 1492, and 1499). Sandwiched between Luminare Maius and the Pandectarum Medicinae is a short work, Lumen Apothecarium, also by Manliis, which consists primarily of a table of contents for Luminare Maius.Physical description: 253 pages : illustrations ; 30 centimeters
Abstract: Tanzīh al-Qurʼān ʻan al-maṭāʻin (Defending the Qurʼan against slander) is a detailed commentary on the Qurʼan from the viewpoint of the early philosophical wing of Islamic speculative theology known as Mu’tazilah, which emphasized the oneness of the Godhead (Allah) and the primacy of human reason in understanding his will. This view gave rise to intense debate, with alternate views expressed by the rationalist Asharites and mystical adepts (Sufis). In Islamic intellectual history, philosophical speculation of this sort is termed ‘ilm al-kalam (science of discourse). As with many such abstract arguments, the debate spilled over into politics and even bloodshed. Eventually, the theological views of Abu al-Hasan al-Asha’ari (died circa 935) prevailed as the basis of Sunni scholastic theology, and the Mu’tazilite school disappeared from the mainstream. The author of the main work in this volume, ‘Abd al-Jabbar al-Asadabadi (circa 937−1025), was a prominent figure in Mu’tazilism and Tanzīh al-Qurʼan has an important place in its history. ‘Abd al-Jabbar addresses issues of faith and morality in light of what he describes as the inherently rational injunctions of the Qurʼan. Questions and answers are arranged according to the suras (chapters) of the Qurʼan. Topics include marriage, gambling, drinking alcohol, death, and jihad. The author responds to questions by arguing that, whatever the injunction, God has created what is best for mankind and the believer is free to choose the right path. Abu al-Hasan ʻAbd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad ibn ʻAbd al-Jabbar al-Hamadhani (the full name of ‘Abd al-Jabbar’, who was nicknamed Qadhi al-Qudhat, meaning the Judge of the Judges) was born in Asadabad in present-day Iran. He was a prolific author and the leader of the Mu'tazilites of his time. His erudition was sought at court in Baghdad. He eventually moved to the Iranian provincial capital Rayy (Rey or Ray), where he died. His magnum opus is the al-Mughni (Summa), a compendium of Mu’tazilah thought. Tanzih al-Qurʼan is followed by a 20-page treatise attributed to judge-exegete Raghib al-Isfahani (died 1108), entitled Muqaddimat al-tafsir (Introduction to Qurʼan commentary), which appears to be a précis of his other, longer works on the subject. It has no connection to the main work of the volume. The book was printed in 1911 at the Jamaliyah Press in Cairo and was financed by Muhammad Saʿid al-Rafiʿ, owner of the Azhariyah Bookstore.Physical description: 432 pages ; 20 centimeters
Abstract: Tahdhib al-akhlaq (Refinement of character) is a guide to practical conduct by the famous Iranian polymath Ibn Miskawayh (died 1030). It is considered a primary contribution to the field of ethics. Its origins are firmly rooted in Greek philosophy rather than in Islamic texts and traditions. In his philosophical writings, Ibn Miskawayh presents rational rather than scriptural arguments. Often associated by scholars with Neo-Platonist methods, the author makes frequent reference to Aristotle in discussing human nature, requirements for happiness, and the virtuous life. Ibn Miskawayh is sometimes categorized with Shia medieval philosophers, but he is universally heralded throughout the Muslim world, as exemplified by this rendering of the work by Egyptian editor ‘Abd al-‘Alim Salih, who dedicates the work to Ottoman sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II and to Egyptian ruler ‘Abbas Hilmi Basha (1874−1944). The edition also includes a preface by a prominent jurist of al-Azhar, a further testament to the widespread appeal of Ibn Miskawayh’s writings in the Islamic world. The work was published in Cairo at al-Taraqqi Press. It is not a critical edition of the original. Rather, it gives the appearance of being a private endeavor, perhaps published to win favor at the Egyptian court. Ibn Miskawayh (also seen as Ibn Miskawah or Ibn Meskavayh) was a person of many accomplishments -- a librarian, court official, associate of princes, historian, physician, and philosopher. He was the correspondent or intellectual companion of many of the great thinkers of his time, such as Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (died 1023). Depending on the vicissitudes of politics or career opportunities, he lived in Abbasid Baghdad and at other times at courts in Persian cities. Tahdhib al-akhlaq is also known by its subtitle Tathir al-‘irq (Purity of disposition). Ibn Miskawayh’s historical and philosophical writings have received much attention from modern scholars.Physical description: 187 pages ; 25 centimeters
Abstract: This manuscript is a commentary on Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ṭūsi's al-Tadhkira fī al-‘ilm al-hay’a (Memoir on astronomy). Written in the second half of the 13th century, Ṭūsi's work was hugely influential for subsequent generations of astronomers in the Islamic world, and several of the commentaries on it became popular in their own right. This commentary is by Niẓām al-Dīn Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-A‘raj al-Nīsābūrī al-Qummī (died after 1311). In the introduction to his work, which the author himself entitles Tauḍīḥ al-Tadhkira (Elucidation of the Memoir), al-Nīsābūrī praises Ṭūsi's work as possessing a wealth of riches, including the most important thoughts of the moderns and a summary of the views of the ancients. He adds that in writing his commentary, he undertook to include the entire text of Ṭūsi's work, and that the figures in the original text would be rendered in black, whereas those of the commentary would be drawn in red in order to make it possible to “distinguish the [individual] viewpoints.” Al-Nīsābūrī could trace his intellectual lineage to Ṭūsi via his own teacher, Maḥmūd ibn Masʻūd Quṭb al-Shīrazī (1226–1311), who is often cited as the most outstanding student of Ṭūsi. In addition to this work, al-Nīsābūrī wrote commentaries on Ṭūsi's Taḥrīr al‐Majisṭī (Recension of the Almagest), his Sī faṣl dar ma‘rifat-i taqwīm (Thirty chapters on the science of the calendar), and his Zīj-i Ilkhāni (The Īlkhānid astronomical handbook). The colophon of the present manuscript lists the date of completion as the first day of Rabī‘ al-awwal of the year 711 AH (July 18, 1311), which was shortly after the death of Quṭb al-Shīrazī. Scholars have claimed that Tauḍīḥ al-Tadhkira Tauḍīḥ was the most important text at Ulugh Beg's madrasah in Samarkand for the study of al-Tadhkira fī al-‘ilm al-hay’a.Physical description: (Number of lines: 19) : drawings ; 19 x 13.5 centimeters
Abstract: Sirāj al-mulūk (Lamp of kings) is by Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd al-Ṭurṭūshī, a Maliki imam also known as Ibn Abū Zandaqa. Al-Ṭarṭūshī was born in Tortosa in Catalonia (in what was then al-Andalus, present-day Spain) in 1059 or 1060. He died in Alexandria, Egypt in 1126 or 1127. The topic of the Sirāj al-mulūk, his most famous work, is political theory. The present edition was published in 1888−89 by Maṭbaʻat al-khayrīyah in Cairo. According to Kitāb iktifā' al-qanūʻ bimā huwa matbuʻ min ashhar al-ta'ālīf al-arabīya fī al-maṭābiʻ al-sharqīya wa al-gharbīya (Contentment of the seeker regarding the most famous Arabic compositions printed by Eastern and Western printing presses), a bibliographic dictionary of Arabic literature published by Edward Van Dyck in 1896, an earlier print edition of this work was made in Alexandria in 1872 or 1873. Included in the margins of this work is the text of al-Tibr al-mabsuk fī naṣā'iḥ al-mulūk (The golden ingot of advice for kings), a translation from Persian into Arabic of al-Ghazzālī's Naṣīhat al-mulūk (Advice for kings). Born in Ṭūs, Persia (present-day Iran), in 1058, al-Ghazzālī was one of the foremost intellectual luminaries of the Islamic world. However, the authorship of a fair amount of the Naṣīhat al-mulūk has been called into question on stylistic and other grounds.Physical description: 168 pages ; 28 centimeters
Abstract: This work is a commentary in Latin by Italian professor and physician Giovanni Arcolani (died 1484, also known as Ioannis Arculani) on the ninth book of Kitāb al-ṭibb al-Manṣūrī (The book of medicine dedicated to Mansur) by the renowned Persian polymath Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā Rāzī (circa 865–circa 925). Known in the Latin West as Rhazes or Rasis, Rāzī was born in Rayy, just south of Tehran. He is generally considered one of the towering figures in medicine in the medieval period. His influence on the development of medicine in the Islamic world and in Europe was surpassed only by that of his fellow Persian scientist, Ibn Sinā (Avicenna in the Latin West). Rāzī studied alchemy, music, and philosophy early in life, before turning to medicine. He became the head of the hospital in Rayy and subsequently held the same post in Baghdad. Rāzī’s considerable clinical experience and the care with which he made and recorded clinical observations helped make him the preeminent clinical physician in the Islamic world. As one of the most important figures in medieval alchemy, he also gave detailed descriptions of many chemical processes such as distillation, calcination, and filtration. The scientist and scholar Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Bīrūnī (973–circa 1048), a collector of Rāzī’s works, listed 184 works by Rāzī, 56 of which are devoted to medicine and related subjects. Rāzī’s most important medical work is the immense encyclopaedia Kitāb al-Hāwī, which achieved great renown in the Latin West under the title Continens. In 25 volumes, the work is rich with observational and experimental information. It was translated into Latin by the Jewish physician Fara̲j̲ ibn Sālim (known as Farraguth in the Latin West) for King Charles of Anjou in 1274. It was first printed in Brescia, Italy in 1486 and repeatedly thereafter. The Kitāb al-ṭibb al-Manṣūrī is a shorter work that lists the diseases afflicting the body in order, from head to foot. This book was dedicated to Manṣūr ibn Isḥāq, the Sāmānid governor of Rayy (whence its title). It also was translated into Latin in the 13th century. The ninth part of the work, on therapeutics, was often issued on its own. This commentary was published in 1542 in Venice by the shop of Luca-Antonio Giunta (1457–1538) and has some engravings of the surgical instruments mentioned by Rāzī.Physical description: 522 pages : illustrations ; 32 centimeters
Abstract: Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (also known by Latinized versions of his name, Rhazes or Rasis, 865–925 AD) was a Persian polymath, physician, and philosopher. He was born in Rayy, south of present-day Tehran, Iran. After studying philosophy, at around the age of 30 he began studying medicine under the supervision of Abu Al-Hassan al-Tabari. He became the head of a Rayy hospital and later headed a hospital in Baghdad. Al-Razi was known in the fields of medicine and chemistry, which he combined to prescribe medications for numerous ailments. Al-Razi’s Kitab al-Mansouri (Book of medicine dedicated to Mansur) is a short, general textbook on medicine in ten chapters, which he dedicated in 903 to the Samanid prince Abu Salih al-Mansur ibn Ishaq, governor of Rayy. The work was rendered into Latin as Liber ad Almansorem by Gerard de Sabloneta, a 13th-century Italian, who specialized in translating Arab medical texts and who is said to have translated the work of the great Islamic scholar ibn Sīnā, or Avicenna (980–1037), into Latin by order of Emperor Frederick II. The first Latin printed edition of Al-Mansouri was produced in Italy in 1481. This edition from 1500, containing the translation of Al-Mansouri along with other medical tracts by various Arab, Greek, and Jewish authors, was printed in Venice by Johannes Hamman.Physical description: 234 items
Abstract: Jābir ibn Hayyan (also known by his Latinized name Geber, circa 721–815) was a contemporary of the first Abbasids, who ruled circa 750–800, and one of the principal proponents of alchemy in the early Islamic period. The earliest biography of Jābir, in al-Fihrist, was written in the tenth century by Ibn al-Nadīm, a scholar and bibliographer living in Baghdad. It contains a fair number of legendary elements, although the list of works attributed to Jābir in this work has been shown by external evidence to be generally correct. The entire body of literature attributed to Jābir, comprising works on alchemy, philosophy, astrology, mathematics, music, medicine, magic, and religion, could not, however, have been the work of a single person. Neither could it have been compiled prior to the end of the ninth century, as indicated by the fact that scientific terminology used in the Jābirean corpus was introduced by Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq al-ʻIbādī (circa 809–73). The Islamic Gnosticism present in the works of Jābir is of the type that was common at the end of the ninth century, another indication that some of the works attributed to him probably date from this period. These works provide a window into the Islamic Gnosticism of the late ninth century and shed light on classical Greek scientific texts, many of which do not survive in the original. Jābir’s alchemical works include descriptions of distillation, calcification, dissolution, crystallization, and other chemical operations that subsequently were used in the Islamic world and in Europe for centuries. Several works of the Jābirean corpus have been translated into Latin. The present work was written in three parts, covering the properties of metals, alchemical techniques, and the properties of the planets. It was printed in 1531 by Johann Grüninger, a German printer and publisher working in Strasbourg. The work starts with an esoteric poem (“Est fons in limis cuius anguis latet in imis…”) that forms the incipit for an alchemical work kept in the Bavarian State Library, Codex Latinus Monacensis 2848. (The latter manuscript is purportedly a Latin translation of a work on the philosopher’s stone by the Persian alchemist Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā Rāzī.)Physical description: 60 leaves : illustrations ; 28 centimeters
Abstract: Kamāl al-balāghah wa huwa rasāʼil Shams al-Maʻālī Qābūs ibn Washmakīr (The perfection of eloquence: The letters of Shams al-Maʻali Qabus ibn Washmakir) is a critical edition of a little-known collection of letters by Ibn Washmakir. The letters demonstrate the writer’s badi’ (virtuosity), especially in rhymed prose. They were transcribed by one ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Yazdadi, who gave the compilation the title Kamal al-balaghah. The current edition is based on two manuscripts discovered in Baghdad in the early 20th century by bookseller Nu’man al-A’zimi. The work was extensively annotated and provided with an introduction by the printer Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib. Ibn Washmakir (died 1012 or 1013) is well known in medieval history as the governor of Tabaristan, the area of Persia bordering the Caspian Sea, under the Abbasid caliphs. He was known by various names, including amir (prince) and Qabus al-Ziyari. The caliph in Baghdad conferred on him the nickname Shams al-Ma’ali (Noon-bright Sun). He ruled Tabaristan until he was deposed and assassinated. Although he is remembered by historians for his cruelty, he is nevertheless credited with mastery of Arabic and Persian prose and poetry as well as of philosophy and astronomy. Nothing has survived of his work, however, beyond Kamal al-balaghah and some scattered quotations in medieval anthologies. His court was home to outstanding literary and scientific personalities. Perhaps his most famous guest was Ibn Sina, or Avicenna (died 1037), who took refuge with him from persecution at the court of Mahmud of Ghazni (died 1030). Nothing is known about the compiler, other than that he was born into a learned family. He supplied admiring commentary on the style of the letters. The text is carefully printed, vowelled and footnoted, with occasional parenthetical explanations by the editor. The book was published (i.e., financed) by Nuʻman al-Aʻzami, proprietor of the Arabic Bookshop in Baghdad and was printed in Cairo by Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib at his Salafiyah Press. The volume includes short, unedited philosophical essays by Ibn Washmakir.Physical description: 112 pages ; 24 centimeters