Chapter 13 Physicians Who Were Prominent in the Western Lands and Settled There

In: A Literary History of Medicine
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Ignacio Sánchez
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Geert Jan van Gelder
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13.1 Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān2

[13.1.1]

Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān was a well-known physician and a renowned scholar. He was known as ‘Instant Poison’ because, for all his knowledge, he was frequently unsuccessful in his treatment, and those who made use of his services died, whence his nickname.

[13.1.2]

Sulaymān ibn Ḥassān, known as Ibn Juljul, states:3

Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān was a Muslim native of Baghdad who went to Ifrīqiyah4 during the reign of Ziyādat Allāh ibn al-Aghlab al-Tamīmī.5 It was [Ziyādat Allāh] who summoned him, but [Isḥāq] imposed on him three conditions of which only one was left unfulfilled: upon his arrival, the Emir was to send a camel to transport him, provide one thousand dinars for his expenses, and write a safe-conduct in his own hand so that he could return to his homeland whenever he desired.6

Medicine in the Maghreb started with Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān, and also the study of philosophy. He was a skilful physician, distinguished for his skill in compounding drugs and proficient in the differentiation of diseases. He resembled the Ancients in his knowledge and in the excellence of his talent. Isḥāq settled in Kairouan for some time and composed a number of books, such as his book entitled The Recreation of the Soul (Nuzhat al-nafs), the book On Melancholia (K. Fī dāʾ al-mālankhūliyā) – nothing comparable had existed before – as well as On Bloodletting (K. Fī l-faṣd), and On the Pulse (K. Fī l-nabḍ).

Discord arose between him and Ziyādat Allāh ibn al-Aghlab, and they become increasingly distanced from each other, to such an extent that Ibn al-Aghlab had the physician crucified. Isḥāq had asked Ibn al-Aghlab for permission to travel to Baghdad, but the Emir did not grant his request. Isḥāq used to observe Ibn al-Aghlab eating, and would tell him: ‘Eat this, leave this.’ Then a young Jew from al-Andalus came before Ibn al-Aghlab. When Ibn al-Aghlab asked him to join them, he obeyed at once. One day Isḥāq was observing him while eating and said: ‘Leave that, do not eat it,’ but the Jew said: ‘He is very strict with you.’ Ibn al-Aghlab had a respiratory disease: he suffered from shortness of breath (ḍīq al-nafas). The steward had brought him some curdled milk, and he wanted to eat it, but Isḥāq told him not to do so, while the Jew held that there was nothing to be said against it. Ibn al-Aghlab agreed with [the Jew] and ate the curdled milk, but then during the night he suffered from such difficulty in breathing that it left him at the point of death. He had Isḥāq summoned. When asked whether he had a remedy, the physician replied: ‘I told him not [to eat the curdled milk], and he did not accept my advice. I do not have any [other] remedy’. The attendants said to Isḥāq: ‘Take five-hundred mithqāls7 and treat him.’ But he refused until the sum had been raised to one thousand mithqāls. This he accepted and asked the servants to bring ice, which he ordered Ibn al-Aghlab to eat until he was full. When Ibn al-Aghlab vomited it along with all the milk, which had turned into cheese due to the cold of the ice, Isḥāq said: ‘O Emir, had this milk entered the ducts of your lungs and stuck there, you would have died from constriction of breathing; but I exerted all my ability and extracted it before it reached there’. However, Ziyādat Allāh [Ibn al-Aghlab] said: ‘Isḥāq has sold my life at public auction. Discontinue his allowance!’

When his allowance was discontinued, Isḥāq went to a spacious place in one of the squares of Kairouan and installed himself there with a chair, an inkwell, and sheets of paper. There, he used to write prescriptions every day, thereby earning several dinars. But someone told Ziyādat Allāh [Ibn al-Aghlab]: ‘You have made Isḥāq rich.’ The Emir then ordered Isḥāq arrested and hauled off to prison, but the people followed him there. That night, Ibn al-Aghlab had the physician brought to the palace, where [Isḥāq] told some stories and made some critical remarks that infuriated the Emir because of his excessive unjustness and foolishness. He ordered Isḥāq’s forearms bled, and the blood flowed out until he died. Then the Emir ordered that the corpse should be crucified, and it remained on the cross for such a long time that a bird made its nest inside it.

One of the things Isḥāq said to Ziyādat Allāh [Ibn Aghlab] that night was: ‘By God, you claim to be the chief of the Arabs, but you are no chief for them,’ and also: ‘For a very long time, I have been giving you medicines that confuse your mind.’ Ziyādat Allāh, who was already insane, was seized by melancholy and died.

[13.1.3]

Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān is the author of the following works:

  1. Simple drugs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah).

  2. Elements and completion in medicine (K. al-ʿUnṣur wa-l-tamām fī l-ṭibb).

  3. On dropsy (Maqālah Fī l-istisqāʾ).

  4. A succinct treatise addressed to Saʿīd ibn Tawfīl,8 the physician, offering a clear exposition of items said to cure illnesses and to contain remedies, containing all the curiosities of medicine and the pleasantries of knowledge that he wanted to present to him.

  5. The Recreation of the Soul (K. Nuzhat al-nafs).

  6. On melancholia (K. Fī l-mālankhūliyā).9

  7. On bloodletting (K. Fī l-faṣd).

  8. On the pulse (K. Fī l-nabḍ).

  9. On the causes of colic and its various types, with an explanation of its remedies (K. ʿIlal al-qūlanj wa-anwāʿihi wa-sharḥ adwiyatihi). This is an epistle that he addressed to al-ʿAbbās, the commercial agent (wakīl) of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Aghlab.10

  10. On urine (K. Fī l-bawl), from the sayings of Hippocrates, Galen and others.

  11. A book in which he collected the sayings of Galen on beverages (sharāb).

  12. A compilation of his questions concerning beverages (sharāb), after the ideas of Galen and Hippocrates in the third chapter of Regimen in Acute Diseases, including a discussion of wine.11

  13. A discourse on the whiteness of purulent matter, the sediments in urine, and the whiteness of semen (Fī bayāḍ al-middah wa-rusūb al-bawl wa-bayāḍ al-maniyy).

13.2 Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān al-Isrāʾīlī12

[13.2.1]

Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān was a proficient, eloquent, and wise physician, well-known for his skilfulness and knowledge; he was a good writer and a high-minded person. His paedonymic was Abū Yaʿqūb, but he was widely referred to and known as al-Isrāʾilī [the Israelite].

He was originally from Egypt, and initially worked as an oculist. Then he moved to Kairouan following Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān, with whom he studied. He worked as physician for the Imam Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī, the ruler of Ifrīqiyah.13 In addition to his expert knowledge in the art of medicine, Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān was proficient in logic and also engaged in other disciplines.

Isḥāq lived a long life, over one hundred years, but he did not take any wife, nor did he beget any son. Once he was asked, ‘Wouldn’t you be happy if you had a child?’ And he said: ‘If ever I finish the book On Fevers (K. al-Ḥummayāt), then no!’ – by which he meant that the perpetuation of his memory was better achieved with the Book on Fevers than with a son.14 It is reported that he also said: ‘I have four books that will keep my memory alive better than any son, and they are: Fevers (K. al-Ḥummayāt), Foodstuffs and Medicaments (K. al-Adwiyah wa-l-aghdhiyah), Urine (K. al-Bawl), and Elements (K. al-Usṭuqussāt)’. He died around the year 320/932.15

[13.2.2.1]

Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Khālid, known as Ibn al-Jazzār,16 relates in his History of the [Fatimid] Dynasty (K. Akhbār al-dawlah)17 – that is, the beginning of the dynasty of the Imam Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh, the Mahdī, who appeared in the Maghreb:

Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān, the physician, said to me: When I came from Egypt to meet Ziyādat Allāh ibn al-Aghlab, I found him encamped with the army in Laribus.18 I travelled there and when he received notice of my coming – for he had dispatched someone to look for me and sent me five hundred dinars to encourage me on the journey – I was admitted to his presence at the very moment of my arrival. I greeted him as befitted his rank and performed the reverences due to kings. Then I saw that his assembly had little dignity, and that love for pleasantries and for everything that raises laughter was dominant there. Ibn Khanbash, known as ‘the Greek’ (al-Yūnānī)19 first addressed me by saying:

  • Would you say that saltiness purges?

  • Yes, I said.

  • And would you claim that sweetness purges?

  • Yes, I said.

  • Then saltiness is sweetness and sweetness is saltiness

  • But sweetness purges with pleasure and convenience, whilst saltiness purges with roughness, I replied.

He went on trying to get the better of me and indulging in sophistry, and when I realised what he was doing I said:

  • Would you say that you are a living being?

  • Yes, he replied.

  • And that the dog is a living being?

  • Yes, he said.

  • Then you are the dog and the dog is you.

Then Ziyādat Allāh [Ibn Aghlab] burst into great laughter and I realised that his love for jesting was greater that his love for earnestness.

[13.2.2.2]

Isḥāq also said:

When Abū ʿAbd Allāh the missionary (dāʿī) of the Mahdī arrived in Raqqādah,20 he took me into his service, and once came to my house. He had a stone in his kidneys, and I treated him with a remedy that contained burned scorpions. I was sitting that day with a group of Kutāmah Berbers; they asked me about different kinds of diseases, but every time I answered they were unable to understand my words. I said to them: ‘You are but a herd of beasts. None of you are human except in name only.’ Word of this reached Abū ʿAbd Allāh, and when I went to see him he said: ‘You have addressed our brothers the believers of the Kutāmah in an inappropriate way. By the Noble God, if you did not have an excuse due to your ignorance of their state and of the extent to which the knowledge of the truth and the truthful people has reached them, I would certainly have you beheaded.’

And Isḥāq told me: ‘And at that point I saw a man who was concerned with the seriousness of what befell him, and who had no place in him for jest.’

[13.2.3]

Isḥāq is the author of the following works:

  1. Fevers (K. al-Ḥummayāt), containing five treatises. No book on this matter is better than this one. I copy here what Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān21 wrote about it: ‘I, ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān, the physician, say that this book is useful and the work of a virtuous man; I have applied many of its contents and have found that there is nothing to add to it. In God is the victory and the help’.22

  2. Simple drugs and foodstuffs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah wa-l-aghdhiyah).23

  3. Urine (K. al-Bawl).

  4. Abridgement of Urine (Ikhtiṣār Kitāb fī l-bawl).

  5. The elements (K. al-Usṭuqussāt).

  6. Definitions and descriptions (K. al-Ḥudūd wa-l-rusūm).

  7. The Garden of Wisdom (K. Bustān al-ḥikmah), containing questions on metaphysics.

  8. Introduction to logic (K. al-Tadakhkhul ilā l-manṭiq).

  9. Introduction to the art of medicine (K. al-Tadakhkhul ilā ṣināʿat al-ṭibb).

  10. On the pulse (K. Fī l-nabḍ).

  11. On theriac (K. Fī l-tiryāq).

  12. On wisdom (K. Fī l-ḥikmah), in eleven parts.

13.3 Ibn al-Jazzār24

[13.3.1]

Abū Jaʿfar ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Khālid, known as Ibn al-Jazzār, was a native of Kairouan. He was a physician and son of a physician, and his uncle Abū Bakr was a physician as well. He was among those who frequented Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān and his colleagues and studied with him. Ibn al-Jazzār was a cultivated man, eager to learn and study medicine and other disciplines, and good at understanding them.

[13.3.2.1]

Sulaymān ibn Ḥassān, known as Ibn Juljul, says:25

Aḥmad ibn Abī Khālid adopted an admirable line of conduct with regard to his behaviour, his rightful aims, and his disposition. He observed this without committing a single mistake while he was in Kairouan, and he did not indulge himself in pleasures. He attended weddings and funerals, but never ate anything there, nor did he visit any men in Ifrīqiyah, not even the Sultan, with the exception of Abū Ṭālib, the uncle of ʿUmar ibn Maʿadd, who was an old friend of his, and whom he used to visit, but only on Fridays. He used to go every year to a rābiṭah26 by the sea at Monastir27 – the latter is a place for devout Muslims bound to God (murābiṭah), well-known for its blessings (barakah) and mentioned in the history books, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Ibn al-Jazzār used to stay the entire summer and then travel to Ifrīqiyah.

He installed a portico over the door of his house where he placed one of his servants named Rashīq to prepare, under his supervision, an array of medicinal pastes, potions, and medicines. After examining phials28 in the morning, he would order [the patients] to go through to the servant and obtain their medicine from him, thus ensuring that they would not obtain anything from anyone else.

[13.3.2.2]

Ibn Juljul also says:29

Someone trustworthy reported to me: ‘I was with Ibn al-Jazzār in the vestibule of his house. He was surrounded by people when he received the visit of the nephew of al-Nuʿmān al-Qāḍī.30 He was an important young man in Ifrīqiyah who used to replace [Nuʿmān] al-Qāḍī whenever something prevented him from attending the court. There was no other place to sit but in the vestibule of Abū Jaʿfar [Ibn al-Jazzār’s house]. When Abū Jaʿfar came out, the nephew of al-Qāḍī stood up, but Ibn al-Jazzār did not offer him a seat or a place to recline. The nephew of Nuʿmān showed him a flask with urine that he had with him from his cousin, the son of Ibn al-Nuʿmān, and he received a detailed answer about it, all the while remaining standing. Then he withdrew and mounted [his beast]. But he did not take this as a demeaning chore, and he regularly brought the urine to Ibn al-Jazzār every day until his cousin was cured of his illness.’

[13.3.2.3]

[Ibn Juljul] continues:31

The above source also stated: I was with him one day before noon when the messenger of al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān brought a letter thanking him for taking care of the treatment of his son, as well as a bundle containing a garment and three hundred mithqāls. Ibn al-Jazzār read the letter and replied to it gratefully, but he rejected the money and the garment. I told him: ‘Abū Jaʿfar ibn al-Jazzār, this is a gift that God has brought to you,’ and he replied to me: ‘By God, no man of the Maʿadd [i.e the Fatimids] shall have been privileged before me.’

Aḥmad ibn al-Jazzār lived more than eighty years and died of old age in Kairouan. They found in his possession twenty thousand dinars and twenty-five qinṭārs32 of books on medicine and other subjects. His desire was to travel to al-Andalus, but he could not accomplish that and remained with the Maʿadd family [i.e. the Fatimids].

[13.3.3]

Kushājim,33 praising Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn al-Jazzār and describing his book Provisions for the Traveller (Zād al-musāfir), said:34

Abū Jaʿfar, you have preserved, alive or dead,
great things to be proud of, for times to come.35
I have seen, with us, a crowd of expert people
studying The Traveller’s Provisions.
I am certain that if Yūḥannā36 lived at this time
he would not have called The Perfection ‘Perfection’.
I shall praise (sa-aḥmadu) deeds of Aḥmad that never cease
to be considered noble by noble people.

[13.3.4]

Ibn al-Jazzār is the author of the following works:

  1. A book on the treatment of the sick, known as The Traveller’s Provisions (Zād al-musāfir), in two volumes.37

  2. On simple drugs (K. Fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah), known as The Reliable (al-Iʿtimād).38

  3. On compound drugs (K. Fī l-adwiyah al-murakkabah), known as The Desirable (al-Bughyah).

  4. On the equipment for extending the lifespan (K. al-ʿUddah li-ṭūl al-muddah), which is the best of his books on medicine.

  5. Jamāl al-Dīn al-Qiftī reports that he saw in Qifṭ a large book written by him on medicine entitled Nourishment for the Sedentary (Qūt al-muqīm), which comprised twenty volumes.39

  6. Information about correct dates (K. al-Taʿrīf bi-ṣaḥīḥ al-taʾrīkh), which is a historical compendium containing obituaries of the wise men of his time, with entertaining anecdotes about them.

  7. On the soul (R. Fī l-nafs), with the different opinions of the Ancients.

  8. On the stomach, its diseases and treatments (K. Fī l-maʿidah wa-amrāḍihā wa-mudāwātihā).40

  9. Medicine for the poor (K. Ṭibb al-fuqarāʾ).41

  10. On the substitution of drugs (K. Fī ibdāl al-adwiyah).

  11. On the differentiation between diseases whose causes are similar while their symptoms differ (K. Fī l-farq bayna al-ʿilal allatī tashtabihu asbābuhā wa-takhtalifu aʿrāḍuhā).42

  12. Warning against bloodletting when it is not necessary (R. Fī l-taḥadhdhur min ikhrāj al-dam min ghayr ḥājah daʿat ilā ikhrājihi).

  13. On rheum, its causes and its treatment (R. Fī l-zukām wa-asbābihi wa-ʿilājihi)

  14. On sleep and wakefulness (K. Fī l-nawm wa-l-yaqaẓah).

  15. Medical experiences (Mujarrabāt fī l-ṭibb).

  16. Smallpox: causes and treatment (M. Fī l-judhām wa-asbābihi wa-ʿilājihi).

  17. On occult properties (K. al-Khawāṣṣ).43

  18. The advice of pious men (K. Naṣāʾiḥ al-abrār).

  19. The book of experiences (K. al-Mukhtabarāt).

  20. Description of the causes giving rise to the pestilence in Egypt, the method of protecting against it, and treating one’s fears of it (K. Fī naʿt al-asbāb al-muwalladah li-l-wabāʾ fī Miṣr wa-ṭarīq al-ḥīlah fī dafʿ dhālika wa-ʿilāj mā yutakhawwafa minhu).

  21. On disdain of death (R. Fī l-istihānah bi-l-mawt), addressed to some of his friends.

  22. On the buttocks and their pains (R. Fī l-maqʿadah wa-awjāʿihā).

  23. The Crowned Book of Adab (K. al-Mukallal fī l-adab).

  24. The Sufficient for maintaining good health (K. al-Bulghah fī ḥifẓ al-ṣiḥḥah).

  25. On steam baths (Maqālah fī l-ḥammāmāt).

  26. History of the [Fatimid] dynasty (K. Akhbār al-dawlah), in which he reports the advent of the Mahdī to the Maghreb.44

  27. Aphorisms on various fields of learning and eloquent sayings (K. al-Fuṣūl fī sāʾir al-ʿulūm wa-l-balāghāt).

Physicians from al-Andalus45

13.4 Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā, Known as Ibn al-Samīnah46

Ibn al-Samīnah was another Andalusī physician from Cordova. The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṣāʿid states in his book The Categories of Nations that he was expert in arithmetic, the science of the stars and medicine. He was also well versed in many other fields of knowledge and knowledgeable in various disciplines, having been excellent in grammar, language, prosody, and the themes of poetry, law, Hadith, history and dialectics. Ibn al-Samīnah was a Muʿtazilite. After having travelled to Damascus and subsequently returned, he died in 315/927.47

13.5 Abū al-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad, Known as al-Majrīṭī48

[13.5.1]

Al-Majrīṭī was born in Cordova and lived in the time of al-Ḥakam.49 The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid states in his book The Categories of Nations:50

He was the leading expert in mathematics in al-Andalus in his time, having been more knowledgeable than anyone before him in astronomy and the movement of the planets. He dedicated himself to the observation of the stars and studied with passion the book of Ptolemy known as the Almagest. He composed a fine book as a complement to the science of numbers, known among us as Applied Mathematics (K. al-Muʿāmalāt), and a book in which he summarized the planetary equations51 in the astronomical tables of al-Battānī.52 Al-Majrīṭī took an interest in the astronomical tables of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārazmī,53 having converted its Persian dates to Arabic dates, calculated the mean motions of the planets54 for the start of the Hijrah, and added to it some good tables, but he followed al-Khwārazmī’s book, despite its errors, and did not call attention to erroneous passages. I [Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī] have referred to this in the book I composed on the correction of planetary equations and the determination of the mistakes committed by the astronomers.

Abū l-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad died before the beginning of the civil war,55 in the year 398/1008. He left behind a number of excellent students, greater than those of any other Andalusian scholar; the most famous of them are Ibn al-Samḥ, Ibn al-Ṣaffār, al-Zahrāwī, al-Kirmānī, and Ibn Khaldūn.56

[13.5.2]

Some of the works composed by Abū al-Qāsim [Maslamah al-Majrīṭī] are:

  1. Applied Mathematics (K. al-Muʿāmalāt).57

  2. Summary of the planetary equations in the astronomical tables of al-Battānī (Ikhtiṣār taʿdīl al-kawākib min zīj al-Battānī).58

13.6 Ibn al-Samḥ59

[13.6.1.1]

Abū l-Qāsim Aṣbagh ibn Muḥammad Ibn al-Samḥ al-Muhandis (the geometer) al-Gharnāṭī lived in the time of al-Ḥakam.60 The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:61

Ibn al-Samḥ was well-versed in the science of numbers and geometry and was knowledgeable about astronomy and the movement of the planets. In addition, he was interested in medicine. He composed valuable treatises such as:

  1. Introduction to geometry (K. al-Mudkhal fī l-handasah), which is a commentary on the book of Euclid.

  2. The benefits of numbers (K. Thimār al-ʿadad), known as Applied Mathematics (al-Muʿāmalāt).

  3. The nature of numbers (K. Ṭabīʿat al-ʿadad).

  4. A lengthy book on geometry in which he deals with the divisions of the straight line, the arc, and the curve.

  5. Two books on the instrument called the astrolabe: the first of them deals with the determination of the design for its construction and is divided into two sections; the second deals with its use and the determination of all its applications and is divided into one hundred and thirty chapters.

  6. He also composed astronomical tables according to one of the schools of India called Sind. This is a long book divided into two parts, one with the tables and the other with a commentary on the tables.

[13.6.1.2]

The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid continues:62

His student Abū Marwān Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā ibn al-Nāshī al-Muhandis (the geometer)63 told me that he died in Granada during the rule of the emir Ḥabbūs ibn Māksin ibn Zīrī ibn Manād al-Ṣanhājī,64 on a Tuesday night, twelve nights before the end of the month of Rajab, in the year 426 [29 May 1035], being 56 years old in solar years.

[13.6.2]

The works composed by Ibn al-Samḥ are:

  1. Introduction to geometry (K. al-Mudkhal ilā l-handasah).65

  2. Applied Mathematics (K. al-Muʿāmalāt).66

  3. The nature of numbers (K. Ṭabīʿat al-ʿadad).67

  4. The large book on geometry (K. al-Kabīr fī l-handasah), in which he deals with the divisions of the straight line, the arc, and the curve.68

  5. Determination of the design for the construction of the astrolabe (K. al-Taʿrīf bi-ṣūrat ṣanʿat al-asṭurlāb), in two sections.69

  6. On the use of the astrolabe and the determination of its applications (K. al-ʿAmal bi-l-asṭurlāb wa-l-taʿrīf bi-jawāmiʿ thamaratihi).70

  7. Astronomical tables according to one of the schools in India called Sind′hind (Zīj ʿalā aḥad madhāhib al-Hind al-maʿrūf bi-l-Sind′hind), which is a long book divided into two parts: one of them with the tables, the other with a commentary on the tables.71

13.7 Ibn al-Ṣaffār72

Abū l-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar was also expert in the sciences of numbers, geometry, and the stars, and he settled in Cordova to teach them. He composed an abridged astronomical table following the school of Sind′hind, and a book on the use of the astrolabe that is concise, well written, and easy to understand. Abū l-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad, known as al-Majrīṭī,73 was one of his many pupils. Ibn al-Ṣaffār left Cordova after the beginning of the civil war74 and settled in Denia,75 on the eastern coast of the Sea of al-Andalus, during the rule of the emir Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī.76 He died there, God have mercy on him, leaving behind many students in Cordova. He had a brother called Muḥammad, who was known for his expertise in the use of the astrolabe; before him no one in al-Andalus had been more excellent in that art.77

The works of Ibn al-Ṣaffār are:

  1. Abridged astronomical table following the school of Sind′hind (K. Zīj mukhtaṣar ʿalā madhhab al-Sind′hind).78

  2. On the use of the astrolabe (K. Fī l-ʿamal bi-l-asṭurlāb).79

13.8 Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Sulaymān al-Zahrāwī80

Al-Zahrāwī was learned in arithmetic and geometry, and well versed in the science of medicine. He composed a noble work on applied mathematics following the method of demonstrative proof,81 namely, the book entitled On Principles. He learned much about the mathematical disciplines from Abū l-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad, known as al-Majrīṭī,82 and was associated with him for some time.

Al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Sulaymān al-Zahrāwī is the author of a book on applied mathematics (al-muʿāmalāt) following the method of demonstrative proof, entitled On Principles (K. al-Arkān).

13.9 al-Kirmānī83

Abū l-Ḥakam ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Kirmānī was born in Cordova. He was a scholar who was highly versed in the science of numbers and geometry.

The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:84

His student, al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Yaḥyā, the geometer and astronomer, told me, referring to al-Kirmānī, that he had never met anyone comparable to him in the science of geometry, and that no one measured up to him in solving its problems, clarifying its questions, and dealing fully with all its parts.

Al-Kirmānī travelled to the lands of the East and came to Ḥarrān, in Mesopotamia. There he dedicated himself to the study of geometry and medicine, subsequently returning to al-Andalus, where he settled in the city of Saragossa, on the frontier [of al-Andalus]. He brought with him the epistles known as the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ),85 and no one is known to have introduced them into al-Andalus before him. He took an interest in medicine and became a notable practitioner with remarkable insight into cauterisation, cutting, amputation, lancing and other medical techniques. However, he was not well versed either in astronomy86 or in the art of logic.

Abū l-Faḍl Ḥasdāy ibn Yūsuf ibn Ḥasdāy al-Isrāʾīlī,87 who knew him well, told me that his position in al-Andalus was unrivalled as regards knowledge of the speculative sciences (al-ʿulūm al-naẓariyyah). Abū l-Ḥakam al-Kirmānī, may God have mercy upon him, died in Saragossa in the year 458/1066, at the age of ninety years or a little less.88

13.10 Ibn Khaldūn89

Abū Muslim ʿUmar ibn Aḥmad ibn Khaldūn al-Ḥaḍramī belonged to one of the noblest families of Seville and was also among the students of Abū l-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad.90 He was an expert in philosophy, and was also famous for his knowledge of geometry, astronomy, and medicine. Like the philosophers, he sought ethical perfection, a balanced life, and right conduct. He died in his home town [i.e., Seville] in 449/1057. One of the most illustrious students of Abū Maslamah ibn Khaldūn was Abū Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd Allāh, known as Ibn al-Ṣaffār al-Mutaṭabbib (the physician).91

13.11 Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Khamīs ibn ʿĀmir ibn Duminj [Domingo?]92

Born in Toledo, he was an expert in geometry, astronomy, and medicine; he also engaged in the disciplines of language, and knew much poetry by heart. He was contemporary with the qadi Abū l-Walīd Hishām ibn Aḥmad ibn Hishām.93

13.12 Ḥamdīn ibn Ubbā94

Ḥamdīn ibn Ubbā lived in the days of the emir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Awsaṭ,95 and was a skilled and experienced physician. He was related to the Banū Khālid96 through his mother and had estates and revenue in Cordova. He never rode a mount that had not been raised in his estate, nor ate anything not produced in his own fields, nor wore any clothes not made with the linen of his land, nor appointed anyone to his service except the sons of his servants.

13.13 Jawād al-Ṭabīb al-Naṣrānī (the Christian Physician)97

Jawād also lived in the days of the emir Muḥammad.98 To him we owe the medicinal confection (laʿūq) named ‘al-Jawādī’, and the ‘Monk’s Remedy (dawāʾ al-rāhib)’. Other medical potions and powders, all of them of botanical origin (shajāriyyah), are ascribed to him, and also to Ḥamdīn and to all the Hamdīn family.

13.14 Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Rūmān al-Naṣrānī99

Ibn Rūmān, the Christian, was proficient in medicine and excelled in that domain in his time. He was from Cordova and lived close to the church of Saint Acisclo,100 in a house known as The House of Ibn al-Shaṭajayrī, the poet.101 Ibn Rūmān acquired considerable wealth and estates by practising medicine. He made [medicaments] with his own hands and was knowledgeable about remedies made from arboreal plants. Useful remedies made by him appeared [for the first time] in his land. Nasṭās ibn Jurayj, the Egyptian physician,102 wrote an epistle on urine addressed to him. Khālid was succeeded by his son, whom he called Yazīd, but he did not excel in medicine to the same degree as his father.

13.15 Ibn Mulūkah al-Naṣrānī103

Ibn Mulūkah, also a Christian, lived in the days of the emir ʿAbd Allāh104 and at the beginning of the reign of the emir ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir.105 He also made [medicines] with his own hands and performed bloodletting himself. At the door of his house there were thirty chairs for seating patients.

13.16 ʿImrān ibn Abī ʿAmr106

Ibn Abī ʿAmr was a noble physician who served the emir ʿAbd al-Raḥmān107 as physician and made pills of aniseed (ḥabb al-anīsūn) for him. He was learned and intelligent. Ibn Abī ʿAmr is the author of a compendium (kunnāsh).108

13.17 Muḥammad ibn Fatḥ Ṭumlūn109

Ibn Fatḥ Ṭumlūn was a client of ʿImrān ibn Abī ʿAmr.110 He excelled greatly in medicine, surpassing in it all other people of his time, but did not attend [at court]; when he was summoned to do so, he asked to be excused, appealing to the emir in person, and finally was excused. There was not a single person of note in his time who did not need his services.

Ibn Juljul says:111

Abū l-Aṣbagh ibn Ḥayyawayh112 told me: I was with the vizier ʿAbd Allāh ibn Badr at a time when his son Muḥammad was afflicted with ulcerations all over his body. There were many physicians present, including Ṭumlūn. Each one of them said something about the ulcers, but Ṭumlūn remained silent. The vizier said to him: ‘Don’t you have anything to say about it? Because I have seen that you remain silent.’ He replied: ‘I have an ointment that will heal these ulcers within a day’. The vizier was impressed and ordered him to bring the ointment. He brought it and spread it over the ulcers, and they healed that very night. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Badr gave him fifty dinars while the other physicians left empty-handed.

13.18 al-Ḥarrānī113

Al-Ḥarrānī arrived from the East in the days of the emir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.114 He had good experience in medicine and became well-known in Cordova, where he made a name for himself.115

Ibn Juljul says:116

I have seen a note in the possession of Abū l-Aṣbagh al-Rāzī117 that was in the handwriting of the caliph al-Mustanṣir.118 It stated that this al-Ḥarrānī brought to al-Andalus a medicinal paste and that he used to sell a syrup for abdominal pain made from it for fifty dinars, in order to make some money with it. Five physicians, including Ḥamdīn, Jawād, and others, gathered and collected fifty dinars to buy some of the syrup made from this medicament. Each one of them individually took a portion of it, smelled it and tasted it, and then recorded what they concluded it was by using their senses [of smell and taste]. Then they met, all of them having agreed in their conjectures regarding the [composition of] the syrup, and they wrote that down. They then went to meet al-Ḥarrānī and told him: ‘God has let you benefit from this remedy that you created on your own. We are doctors who bought some syrup from you, we did this and that, and we found this and that. If our conclusions are correct, then we are right; otherwise, share knowledge [of its composition] with us, because you have already gained profit from it.’ Then al-Ḥarrānī asked them to show him their notes, and he said: ‘You made the medicine with its [right] ingredients, but you were wrong in determining their proportions. This is the remedy known as the Great Helper (al-mughīth al-kabīr), and I will share its composition with you.’ And thus it has been known in al-Andalus ever since.

13.19 Aḥmad and ʿUmar, the Sons of Yūnus ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥarrānī119

[13.19.1]

Yūnus, the father of Aḥmad and ʿUmar, was a physician who came to al-Andalus and settled there. His two sons travelled to the East during the rule of al-Nāṣir120 in the year 330/941–942 and lived there for ten years. They went to Baghdad to study the books of Galen in extenso with Thābit ibn Sinān ibn Thābit ibn Qurrah al-Ḥarrānī al-Ṣābiʾ,121 and there they worked with Ibn al-Waṣīf122 treating diseases of the eye. They came back to al-Andalus during the rule of al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh, in the year 351/962,123 and fought by his side in his military campaigns until 352/963, when they left. Subsequently, however, he took them into his service and accommodated them in Madīnat al-Zahrāʾ124 as his own personal doctors, excluding [from his service] all other physicians of that time.

[13.19.2.1]

ʿUmar died as a consequence of a stomach disease (ʿillat al-maʿidah); he fell prey to exhaustion and died. Aḥmad remained thereafter as al-Mustanṣir’s only exclusive [physician], and the caliph installed him in a palace of his own in Madīnat al-Zahrāʾ. There he enjoyed a comfortable position as a trustworthy and loyal [servant], and the caliph allowed him to treat his sons and women. [Aḥmad] was a forbearing man of noble intellect. He was familiar with [the diseases] that he had seen himself and observed being treated in the East.125

[13.19.2.2]

Al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh had a great appetite, and one day he suffered from an attack of indigestion (tukhmah) due to the excessive amount of food he had eaten. [Aḥmad] prepared for him an excellent digestive (jawārshanāt) that was the appropriate one for this particular case, thereby earning a great sum of money. Although he spoke with a strong foreign accent and had horrible handwriting – he was incapable of writing the letters correctly – he was very clever at using simple drugs, and skilful at preparing potions (ashribah) and medicinal pastes (maʿjūnāt), which he employed for the appropriate treatments.126

[13.19.3]

Ibn Juljul says:127

I saw that Aḥmad had twelve young slaves who concocted the potions and prepared the medical pastes in his presence. He asked the Prince of the Believers al-Mustanṣir for permission to use [these medicines] for the treatment of poor and sick people who needed them, and the caliph authorized him to do so. There are stories about him in Cordova attesting to his practice of treating eyes with precious medicines. With his art he helped his friends and his neighbours, the poor and the needy.

Hishām al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh128 appointed Aḥmad administrator of the police and inspector of the public market. He died of a quartan fever (ḥummā l-ribʿ) and diarrhoea (ʿillat al-is′hāl), leaving a fortune that amounted to one hundred thousand dinars.

13.20 Isḥāq al-Ṭabīb (the Physician)129

Isḥāq al-Ṭabīb, the son of the vizier Ibn Isḥāq, was a Christian who lived in Cordova. He was skilful and experienced, and possessed great practical skill. Marvellous stories are told about him and about the great benefits of his achievements, and it is said that his judgement surpassed that of all the people of his time, that is, the years of the emir ʿAbd Allāh al-Umawī.130

13.21 Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq131

[13.21.1]

Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq was an intelligent and learned physician, clever at treating diseases, and possessed of great practical skill. He lived at the beginning of the reign of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh,132 who appointed him vizier. He was entrusted with the supervision of some provinces and the tax agencies and, for some time, he was also military commander of the city of Badajoz. Yaḥyā stood high in the estimation of the Commander of the Faithful al-Nāṣir, who granted him a position of trust and allowed him to treat the women of the harem and the household servants. He wrote a book on medicine in five volumes following the method of the Byzantines.133 Yaḥyā had embraced Islam, but his father was Christian, as previously mentioned.134

[13.21.2.1]

Ibn Juljul says:135

Someone trustworthy told me the following anecdote about Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq. On one occasion, my informant was with a servant of the chamberlain Mūsā136 or the vizier ʿAbd al-Malik,137 and the man said:

My master had sent me with a letter for [Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq]. I was sitting at the door of his house, in the Gate of the Walnut-tree,138 when a rustic man came riding toward me on a donkey, shouting as he approached, until finally he stopped at the door of the house. ‘I beseech you, go to the vizier,’ he said, ‘and tell him that I am here.’ Alerted by the man’s cries, [Yaḥyā] came out carrying with him the reply to [the messenger’s] letter. He asked the man: ‘What has happened to you?’ ‘O vizier,’ the man replied, ‘my penis is swollen, I have not been able to sleep139 for many days, and I feel that I am about to die.’ ‘Uncover it’, said [Yaḥyā]. The man did so, and it was certainly swollen. Then [Yaḥyā] said to a person who had accompanied the sick man: ‘Look for a smooth stone for me.’ The man looked for [a stone], found one, and brought it to him. Then [Yaḥyā] said: ‘Take it in your hand and place the penis over it.’

My informant [i.e. Ibn Juljul’s informant] continued:

And when his penis was firmly placed on the stone, [Yaḥyā] closed his fist and hit the penis with such force that the man swooned. Then the pus flowed out. As soon as the pus that had caused the inflammation had been evacuated, the man opened his eyes and then he urinated, for the urine flowed immediately. Then [Yaḥyā] said to him: ‘You can go, I have cured your disease. You are a wicked man who sodomized his beast. A grain from its fodder that was there obstructed the orifice of your penis and caused its inflammation, but [the grain] came out with the pus.’ And the man replied: ‘I must confess to you that I did that.’

This is a proof of Yaḥyā’s fine intuition and good and reliable nature.140

[13.21.2.2]

Ibn Juljul says:

He [i.e. Ibn Juljul’s informant] also treasured a curious anecdote about a case of treatment of [the caliph] al-Nāṣir. He said that al-Nāṣir suffered once from an earache when the vizier was still military commander of Badajoz. He received treatment, but [the pain] did not abate, and he sent a messenger to fetch [Yaḥyā ibn Isḥaq]. When the messenger arrived, he was asked why he had been sent, and he replied that the Prince of the Believers was suffering from an earache that had defied [the skills] of the physicians. [Yaḥyā] turned aside on his way [to the palace] and stopped by the Christian quarter, where he enquired about a learned man, and was directed to an elderly monk. When Yaḥyā asked him whether he had had any experience treating earache, the old monk replied: ‘[Use] warm pigeon blood.’ When he met the Prince of the Believers he treated him with warm pigeon blood; and as soon as the blood was poured into [his ear], the earache vanished. This was a prodigious accomplishment [that demonstrates] Yaḥyā’s careful examination and perseverance in acquiring knowledge.

13.22 Sulaymān Abū Bakr ibn Tāj141

Sulaymān Abū Bakr ibn Tāj lived during the rule of al-Nāṣir,142 whom he served as physician. He was a noble doctor who treated the Commander of the Believers al-Nāṣir for an eye disease with an eye-salve (shiyāf) [that cured him] on the very same day. He was asked for a copy [of his recipe], but he refused to put it into writing. He treated Shunayf, the postmaster, for shortness of breath (ḍīq al-nafas) with a confection (laʿūq) that cured him on the same day, after other physicians had failed to help him.

He used to treat the colic (wajaʿ al-khāṣirah) with a certain kind of pill he prepared, and the patient would feel better at once. However, he was niggardly as regards the sharing of his remedies. There are many anecdotes about his work as a physician. He was educated and virtuous, and a good companion and raconteur. Toward the end of his life he contracted an ulcerous disease (maraḍ al-qurūḥ) in his penis that he was unable to cure. God, the All-Powerful, made him recognise his inability and he cut it off. The Prince of the Believers appointed him judge of Sidonia.

13.23 Ibn Umm al-Banīn al-Aʿraf143

Ibn Umm al-Banīn, called al-Aʿraf, was a native of Cordova. He served the Commander of the Believers al-Nāṣir as his personal physician and was also his drinking companion. He was a clever physician, and there are many anecdotes that refer to his intelligence, but he was also conceited, and al-Nāṣir sometimes disliked him for that, though he sometimes needed him due to his great intelligence.144

13.24 Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih145

[13.24.1]

Abū ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Rabbih ibn Ḥabīb ibn Muḥammad ibn Sālim was a client of the [family of the] emir Hishām al-Riḍā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil, the one who emigrated to al-Andalus.146 He was also the son of the brother of Abū ʿAmr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, the poet and author of The Unique Necklace (K. al-ʿIqd [al-farīd]).147 His uncle, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, died in the month of Jumādah I in the year 328 [February 940] and was born in the year 246, 10 days before the end of Ramadan [8 December 860].148

Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was an excellent physician and a good poet. He wrote an excellent poem on medicine in rajaz meter, containing a fair part of the beauties of that art and demonstrating his expertise in the discipline and his excellent knowledge of the methods of the ancients. In addition, he was knowledgeable about the motions of the stars and their nature, the ways the winds blow, and the variations of the air.149 His method of treating febrile diseases was to mix some [white chalk]150 with cooling medicines (mubarridāt), and it was an elegant method indeed.

[Saʿīd] never served any ruler as physician. He had a good knowledge of prognosis (taqdimat al-maʿrifah),151 variations in the air, the direction of the winds, and the motions of the planets.152

[13.24.2]

Ibn Juljul says:153

Sulaymān ibn Ayyūb al-Faqīh154 told me the following anecdote about him:

Once I fell ill with a fever that affected me for a long time and had me at the point of death. [Saʿīd] happened to pass by my father on his way to meet Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā, the ruler of the city (ṣāḥib al-madīnah); he approached him, made the due salutations, and asked him about my disease. [Saʿīd] asked my father about the treatment that I had received and criticized what I was taking; then he sent to my father eighteen round pills and ordered me to take [lit. drink] one of those pills every day. As soon as I had finished them the fever disappeared and I was completely recovered.

Saʿīd, may God have mercy upon him, became blind at the end of his life.155

[13.24.3]

Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was to be bled one day. He wrote to his uncle Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, the poet and man of letters, asking him to come and keep him company, but his uncle did not respond and left him waiting, so Saʿīd sent him the following verses:156

Since I lacked a familiar friend to sit together with
I took Hippocrates and Galen as my boon companions,
And made their books the cure of my solitariness,
for they are the cure for every wound that has to be healed,
And I found that their knowledge, when I acquired it,
kindles and revives souls in their bodies.

When the poem reached his uncle, he replied with some verses, some of which run:157

You found that Hippocrates and Galen
would not eat and burden a host with expenses.
So you made them,158 rather than your relatives, your protection
and was happy to let them be a friend and a comrade.
I don’t think your miserliness will ever be seen to leave you
until, after them, you make the devil your boon companion.

Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih was virtuous in his conduct. Toward the end of his life, he wrote about keeping oneself away from kings:159

Should I, after having delved in the sciences of truths
and my lengthy delight in the ways of my Creator,
At a time I am about to see His Kingdom,
be seen as seeking sustenance from anyone but my Sustainer?
The days of a man’s life are the enjoyment of an hour
that comes fleetingly like a flash of lightning.
My soul has been informed160 of the collapse of its saddle
and my driver drives me hastily towards death.
Even were I to go far away or turn fleeing to the horizons
from death, death will overtake me.

[13.24.4]

Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih is the author of the following works:

  1. A medical formulary (Kitāb al-Aqrābādhīn).161

  2. Notes and case histories in medicine (Taʿālīq wa-mujarrabāt fī l-ṭibb).162

  3. A poem on medicine, in rajaz metre (Urjūzah fī l-ṭibb)163

13.25 ʿUmar Ibn Ḥafṣ ibn Barīq164

ʿUmar ibn Ḥafs ibn Barīq was a noble physician and a Qur’anic reciter of melodious voice. He travelled to Kairouan to [study] with Abū Jaʿfar ibn al-Jazzār,165 but stayed there for only six months. It was he who brought the Traveller’s Provisions (Kitāb Zād al-musāfir)166 to al-Andalus. He enjoyed great prestige in al-Andalus and served al-Nāṣir as physician. Najm ibn Ṭarafah, the master falconer, who also wanted ʿUmar as his private doctor, took him into his service and enriched him with a share of his own prosperity, but the physician did not live long.167

13.26 Aṣbagh ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṭabīb168

Aṣbagh ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṭabīb was experienced in the art of medicine and worked as physician for al-Nāṣir, for whom he made aniseed pills (ḥabb al-anīsūn).169 He was a noble, respectable, and private man who enjoyed the esteem of the elites, and his testimony was accepted as one of the court-assigned notary-witnesses.170

13.27 Muḥammad ibn Tamlīkh171

[13.27.1]

Muḥammad ibn Tamlīkh was a man endowed with gravity and composure who was knowledgeable in medicine, grammar, language, poetry and transmission.172 He served al-Nāṣir as physician when Aḥmad ibn Ilyās al-Qāʾid was governor.173 Al-Nāṣir assigned Ibn Tamlīkh the Court of Rejections (khuṭṭat al-radd)174 and appointed him judge of Sidonia. He composed works on medicine written in elegant form. Ibn Tamlīkh lived until the beginning of the rule of al-Ḥakam al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh.175 He lived happily at court and served the caliph as physician.

[13.27.2]

Al-Qāḍī Sāʿid says:176

The caliph entrusted Ibn Tamlīkh with the task of supervising the expansion works at the south face of the Mosque of Cordova; he accepted this commission, and [the annex] was completed under his supervision and with his approval. I have seen his name written in gold, inlaid in a mosaic on the wall of the miḥrāb, with an inscription stating that the construction was completed under his inspection by command of the caliph al-Ḥakam in the year 358/968–969.177

Muḥammad ibn Tamlīkh is the author of a book on medicine (Kitāb Fī l-ṭibb).178

13.28 Abū l-Walīd ibn al-Kattānī179

Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn, known as Ibn al-Kattānī, was a learned, venerable and noble-minded man. He had a sweet tongue and was beloved by commoners and nobles alike owing to his generosity, his knowledge, and his disposition to help others at his own expense, for he had no desire for money and never accumulated it. He administered treatments with gentleness.

Ibn al-Kattānī served al-Nāṣir and al-Mustanṣir as physician. He died of dropsy (al-istisqāʾ).

13.29 Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Kattānī180

[13.29.1]

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn, known as Ibn al-Kattānī, learnt medicine with his uncle Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn and others of his generation. Ibn al-Kattānī worked as physician for al-Manṣūr ibn Abī ʿĀmir and his son al-Muẓaffar.181 Then, with the beginning of the civil war, he moved to Saragossa and settled there.182 He had talent for medicine and was advanced in that art, and he also had some knowledge of logic, the stars and many philosophical disciplines.

[13.29.2]

The Qāḍī Sāʿid says:183

The vizier Abū l-Muṭarraf ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Kabīr ibn Wāfid al-Lakhmī told me that Ibn al-Kattānī had fine discernment, an intelligent spirit and good comprehension, was an original and logical thinker, and had a vast fortune and great wealth. He died about the year 420/1029, when he was nearly 80 years old.

I have also read in some of his writings that he learnt logic with Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jabalī,184 ʿUmar ibn Yūnus ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥarrānī,185 Aḥmad ibn Ḥafṣūn the philosopher,186 Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibrāhīm the judge and grammarian, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd al-Bajjānī,187 Muḥammad ibn Maymūn known as Markūsh,188 Abū l-Qāsim Fayd ibn Najm, Saʿīd ibn Fatḥūn al-Saraqusṭī known as al-Ḥammār,189 Abū l-Ḥārith al-Usquf [i.e. the Bishop] the student of Rabīʿ ibn Zayd al-Usquf the Philosopher,190 Abū Marīn al-Bajjānī, and Maslamah ibn Aḥmad al-Majrīṭī.191

13.30 Aḥmad ibn Ḥakīm ibn Ḥafṣūn192

Aḥmad ibn Ḥakīm ibn Ḥafṣūn was a physician and scholar gifted with talent, intelligence, and insight; he excelled in logic, and was learned in all the philosophical disciplines. Ibn Ḥafṣūn was a close associate of the chamberlain Jaʿfar al-Ṣaqlabī,193 and acquired influence over his entourage. Jaʿfar introduced him to al-Ḥakam al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh, the ruler of al-Andalus. Aḥmad served al-Ḥakam as his personal physician, but with the death of the chamberlain Jaʿfar he was removed from the registry of court physicians, and thereafter led an obscure life until he died from diarrhoea (ʿillat al-is′hāl).

13.31 Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Jābir194

Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Jābir was a venerable man; he excelled in medicine and was forbearing and chaste. Ibn Jābir served al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh195 as his personal physician, and he lived until the beginning of the reign of al-Muʾayyad.196 All the sons of al-Nāṣir revered and respected Aḥmad ibn Jābir, knowing what was due to him, and he enjoyed an honourable position as a trustworthy man both among them and among the high-ranking officials. He was learned and intelligent and left many books on medicine, philosophy and miscellaneous topics written in his own hand. He lived a long life.

13.32 Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Mālik al-Thaqafī197

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Malik al-Thaqafī was a scholar and a physician with a sound knowledge of the book of Euclid and of geometry. He served al-Nāṣir and al-Mustanṣir as their personal physician, lame though he was. There are anecdotes about his medical exploits. Al-Mustanṣir and al-Nāṣir appointed him as [supervisor] of the arsenal (khizānat al-silāḥ). He became blind at the end of his life, and his eyes suppurated.198 He died of dropsy (al-istisqāʾ).199

13.33 Hārūn ibn Mūsā al-Ushūnī200

Hārūn ibn Mūsā al-Ushūnī201 was a teacher of physicians (shaykh al-aṭibbāʾ) and one of the best of them.202 He was a trustworthy man, known for his practical skill. He served al-Nāṣir and al-Mustanṣir203 as physician.

13.34 Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jabalī al-ʿIdwī204

[13.34.1]

In the year 349/960–961,205 Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jabalī al-ʿIdwī travelled to the East, where he visited Basra but not Baghdad. Finally, he went to Fustat in Egypt, and there he assumed the direction of its hospital. He was experienced in medicine and excelled in that art, having mastered many of its principles. He devoted himself arduously to the study of logic, a discipline in which his master was Abū Sulaymān Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir ibn Bahrām al-Sijistānī al-Baghdādī.206 [Ibn ʿAbdūn] came back to al-Andalus in 370/ 980–981, and there he served al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh and al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh.207

Before working as a physician, Ibn ʿAbdūn was an instructor of arithmetic and geometry, and he wrote an admirable book on the calculation of area.

[13.34.2]

Al-Qāḍī Sāʿid says:208

Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Baghūnish al-Ṭulayṭulī209 told me that when he studied in Cordova, he had never known of anyone who surpassed Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jabalī in the art of medicine or was comparable to him in precision, skills, and knowledge of its mysteries.

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn is the author of a book on the calculation of area (K. Fī l-taksīr).210

13.35 ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq ibn al-Haytham211

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq ibn al-Haytham was among the luminaries of medicine in al-Andalus and was one of the most excellent of them. He was a native of Cordova.

Some of his works are:212

  1. The Culmination and Perfection of Purgative and Emetic Drugs (K. al-Kamāl wa-l-tamām fī l-adwiyah al-mus′hilah wa-l-muqayyiʾah).

  2. Brief compendium on the errors in Ibn al-Jazzār’s Reliable Book (K. al-iqtiṣār wa-l-ījāz fī khaṭaʾ Ibn al-Jazzār fī l-iʿtimād).213

  3. Sufficiency in [preparing] Remedies based on the Occult Properties of Things (K. al-Iktifāʾ bi-l-dawāʾ min khawāṣṣ al-ashyāʾ), which he composed for the chamberlain and military commander Abū ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿĀmir.214

  4. On hot winds (K. al-Samāʾim).

13.36 Ibn Juljul215

[13.36.1]

Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn Ḥassān, known as Ibn Juljul, was an excellent doctor with experience in treatment and great skill in the art of medicine. He lived in the days of Hishām al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh216 and served him as physician.

Ibn Juljul was clever. He was interested in the efficacy of simple drugs, and explained the names of these drugs in the book of Dioscorides of Anazarbus,217 making clear their secrets and shedding light on their obscure meanings.

[13.36.2.1]

At the beginning of his book he states:218

The book of Dioscorides was translated in Baghdad during the Abbasid caliphate in the days of Jaʿfar al-Mutawakkil.219 It was translated from Greek into Arabic by Iṣṭifan ibn Basīl the translator, and his work was examined by Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq the translator,220 who corrected and certified the translation. Those Greek names that Iṣṭifan knew how to translate, he translated into Arabic; and those for which he did not know of an Arabic equivalent, he left in Greek. He trusted that God Almighty would send someone after him who would know [the names] and render them into Arabic, for nomenclature is but the agreement of the people from each land to name the different classes of drugs as they consider appropriate, sometimes by [etymological] derivation, sometimes by other ways upon which they agree. Iṣṭifan was confident that among those who were to come after him some would know those classes of drugs for which he was unable to find a name in his time, and would name them according to what they had learned in their own time, so that the [drug names] would finally be known.

[13.36.2.2]

Ibn Juljul says:

This book came to al-Andalus in the translated version made by Iṣṭifan, containing those drug names that he knew how to translate into Arabic and those he did not know. The people profited from all that could be understood from it, both in the East and in al-Andalus, until the days of al-Nāṣir ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad, who at that time was the ruler of al-Andalus.221 Romanos, the Emperor of Constantinople, presented him with splendid gifts, in the year 337/948–949, I think.222 Among those presents there was a copy of the book of Dioscorides illuminated with marvelous Byzantine illustrations of plants; the book was written in Greek (al-ighrīqī), i.e. ancient Greek (yūnānī). Together with it, he sent the book of Orosius, the author of stories, which contains a wonderful history of the Romans, with information about the past, stories about the first kings, and many profitable things.223

Romanos wrote to al-Nāṣir: ‘You will not profit from the book of Dioscorides unless you have someone with knowledge of the Greek language, who will recognize the characteristics of those drugs. If there is someone able to do this in your land, then you will enjoy, O King, the benefits of the book. As for the book of Orosius, you have in your land, among the Latin Christians, some who can read it in Latin, and if you allow them, they will translate it for you from Latin into Arabic.’

[13.36.2.3]

Ibn Juljul says:

In that time, none of the Christians of Cordova was able to read Greek (ighrīqī), i.e. ancient Greek (yūnānī), and the book of Dioscorides was kept in the library of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir, in Greek, without being translated into Arabic. Thus, the book remained in al-Andalus while Iṣṭifan’s translation from Baghdad circulated among the people. In his answer to Romanos, al-Nāṣir asked him to send someone able to speak Greek and Latin to teach some slaves so that they would become translators, and the Emperor Romanos sent al-Nāṣir a monk called Niqūlā, who arrived in al-Andalus in 340/951–952.

At that time there were a number of physicians in Cordova who were interested in seeking, investigating and inquiring about the names of drugs in the book of Dioscorides for which the Arabic terms were still unknown. The physician who was most eager to investigate the matter was Ḥasdāy ibn Shaprūṭ al-Isrāʾīlī,224 who sought to be close to the king, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir. The monk Niqūlā won [Ibn Shaprūṭ]’s favour, preference, and high regard, and he explained to him the names of the drugs in the book of Dioscorides that had previously been unknown. [Ibn Shaprūṭ] was the first physician in Cordova to prepare the great theriac (tiryāq al-fārūq) following the precise explanation of the botanical information contained [in the book]. Other physicians of that time who embarked on the task of investigating the question of the names of the drugs in the book of Dioscorides and identifying their classes were: Muḥammad, known as al-Shajjār [‘the botanist’]; someone known as al-Shabānisī;225 Abū ʿUthmān al-Jazzār, who had the nickname of al-Yābisah;226 Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Ṭabīb; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq ibn Haytham;227 and Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣiqillī, who spoke Greek and recognized the characteristics228 of the drugs.

[13.36.2.4]

Ibn Juljul says:

This group [of physicians] and Niqūlā the Monk lived at the same time. I was able to meet [Ibn Shaprūṭ] and Niqūlā the Monk in the days of al-Mustanṣir, and fraternized with them at that time. Niqūlā the Monk died at the beginning of his reign of al-Mustanṣir al-Ḥakam. With the research of this group who investigated the names of drugs of the book of Dioscorides, he had made it possible for their characteristics to be known in Cordova, especially regarding [the plants] of al-Andalus, dispelling every doubt from our hearts; he provided knowledge of their characteristics, and explained the meaning of their names almost without mistakes, apart from a few of them – about ten drugs – with which he was not familiar and about which he had no knowledge.

I had longed to know the explanation of the Materia Medica (Hayūlā l-ṭibb), which is the basis for compound drugs, and I had sought it eagerly until God, in His Grace, vouchsafed me this gift, and with the power that he granted to me, I was able to [accomplish] my resolution of reviving what was poorly taught and from which the bodies of the people could not benefit.229 Since God created the cure and rendered it possible by means of what He caused to grow from the ground, and the animals He caused to appear upon it, and the [creatures] that live in the water and those which are lifted up in the air, and the minerals that lie in the depths of the Earth: in all this there is cure, and compassion and kindness.230

[13.36.3]

Ibn Juljul is the author of the following works:

  1. Explanation of the names of the simple drugs in the book of Dioscorides (K. Tafsīr asmāʾ al-adwiyah al-mufradah min kitāb Diyusqūrīdis), which he composed in Rabīʿ al-Ākhar of 372 [September-October 982] in Cordova, in the reign of Hishām ibn al-Ḥakam al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh.231

  2. Treatise on the drugs not mentioned by Dioscorides in his book, both the profitable drugs used in medicine and those not used in medicine, which was composed to avoid neglecting them (Maqālah fī dhikr al-adwiyah allatī lam yadhkurhā Dīsqūrīdis fī kitābihi mimmā yustaʿmalu fī ṣināʿat al-ṭibb wa-yuntafaʿu bihi wa-mā lā yustaʿmalu kaylā yughfala dhikruhu). Ibn Juljul says that Dioscorides neglected this and he did not mention them, either because he did not see or know them personally, or because they were not used in his time or among the people of his generation.232

  3. Explanation of the errors of some physicians (R. Fī tabyīn fīmā ghalaṭa fīhi baʿḍ al-mutaṭabbibīn).233

  4. Some stories of physicians and philosophers (Dhikr shayʾ min akhbār al-aṭibbāʾ wa-l-falāsifah), composed in the time of al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh.234

13.37 Abū l-ʿArab Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad235

Abū ʿArab Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad was one of the true cultivators of the art of medicine and a man deeply versed in knowledge of it.

The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:

The vizier Abū l-Muṭarraf ibn Wāfid236 and Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Baghūnish237 have told me that he was experienced in the principles of medicine, clever at applying them, and skilled in dealing with all medical specialities. And I have also heard from other people that, after Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn,238 no one rivalled Abū l-ʿArab in his achievements in the art of medicine or had his perspicacity. But toward the end of his life love for wine took hold of him, and he was never found sober or free from the effects of alcohol, and this prevented many people from benefiting from him and his knowledge.

He died when he was almost ninety years old, after the year 430/1038–1039.

13.38 Ibn al-Baghūnish239

[13.38.1]

His name was Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Baghūnish. Al-Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:240

He was born in Toledo, and then he moved to Cordova seeking for knowledge. There he studied arithmetic and geometry with Maslamah ibn Aḥmad, and medicine with Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jabalī,241 Sulaymān ibn Juljul,242 Ibn al-Shanāʿah243 and others. He then went back to Toledo and there he won the favour of the emir, al-Ẓāfir Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ʿĀmir ibn Muṭarraf ibn Dhī l-Nūn,244 enjoying his high regard and becoming one of the leading officials (mudīr) of his reign.

[13.38.2]

[Ṣāʿid continues:]

I met Ibn al-Baghūnish [in Toledo] later, at the beginning of the reign of al-Maʾmūn Dhū l-Majd Yaḥyā ibn al-Ẓāfir Ismāʿīl ibn Dhī l-Nūn,245 when he had abandoned the study of science for the study of the Qur’an, secluding himself in his house and avoiding contact with people. I found him to be an intelligent and conversable man who led a virtuous life; he wore clean clothes and had surrounded himself with notable books on the various domains of geometry and philosophy, and on all kinds of knowledge. He explained to me that he had studied geometry and understood it, and that he had also studied logic and comprehended much from it; but that he had then abandoned those subjects and devoted himself to the study of the works of Galen, which he had collected, supplemented with his emendations and explanations. In that way he had succeeded in understanding the greater part of their contents, but he did not have experience in the treatment of patients, nor was he naturally gifted in the understanding of diseases. He died at the time of the Morning Prayer on a Tuesday, the first day of the month of Rajab in the year 444 [27 October 1052]. He had told me that he had been born in 369/979–980, and thus he was 75 years old when he died [i.e., 72 solar years].’

13.39 Ibn Wāfid246

[13.39.1]

The vizier Abū l-Muṭarrif ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Kabīr ibn Yaḥyā ibn Wāfid ibn Muhannad al-Lakhmī belonged to one of the most distinguished families in al-Andalus, with noble ancestors of ancient lineage. He devoted himself intensively to the task of studying and understanding the works of Galen, and examining the works of Aristotle and other philosophers.

[13.39.2]

The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:247

He was an expert in the knowledge of simple drugs, and he was able to understand them better than anyone else in his time; he composed an excellent, matchless book on that subject, in which he masterfully compiled and classified what Dioscorides and Galen had written on simple drugs in their respective works. He once told me that he was eager to acquire [this knowledge], and to classify and explain the names and the characteristics of the drugs that these authors had compiled, and he classified them according to their [medical] efficacy, identifying various degrees. He worked on this for about twenty years, until he felt he had achieved his goal and attained what he desired. He had a delightful attitude and excellent practices.

He believed that one should not resort to treatments with medicaments as long as one is able to treat people with foodstuffs, and he thought that, when it was necessary to resort to treatment with drugs, one should not use compound drugs as long as a cure with simple drugs could be achieved. He considered that, if compound drugs were necessary, they should not be administered in large amounts, but in the smallest possible quantities. Many stories about him, and many famous anecdotes about his skill in curing grave diseases and dangerous maladies with the simplest and easiest treatments, have been preserved.

Ibn Wāfid took his residence in Toledo in the days of Ibn Dhī l-Nūn;248 he was born in the month of Dhū l-Ḥijjah of the year 387 [December 997] and lived at least until 470/1077–1078.

[13.39.3]

Ibn Wāfid is the author of the following works:

  1. On simple drugs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah).249

  2. The Pillow [Book] on Medicine (K. al-Wisād fī l-ṭibb).250

  3. Experiences in medicine (Mujarrabāt fī l-ṭibb).251

  4. Fine examination of the diseases affecting the sense of sight (Tadqīq al-naẓar fī ʿilal ḥāssat al-baṣar).252

  5. The Book of the Helper (K. al-Mughīth).253

13.40 al-Rumaylī254

Al-Rumaylī […]255 lived in Almeria in the days of Ibn Maʿn, known as Ibn Ṣumādiḥ, who adopted the title of al-Muʿtaṣim bi-Allāh.256 Abū Yaḥyā al-Yasaʿ ibn ʿĪsā ibn Ḥazm ibn al-Yasaʿ in The Book that Declares the Good Qualities of the People of the West (al-Muʿrib ʿan maḥāsin ahl al-Maghrib)257 states that al-Rumaylī was endowed with a grace that enabled him to achieve a position of privilege, skills to gain experience, which he did, and analytical acumen that impelled him to engage in discussion, which he was prone to do. Some began to follow his model, imitating him, and they competed in calling for his help, and in soliciting his aid to gain power. His soul did not indulge in the mundane, and he always followed the lawful path. Sometimes he treated the destitute, buying medicines and food with his own money; he was loved by both friends and strangers, and all he possessed used to go to acquaintances and friends until old age took him away and [the world] was bereft of his generosity, lamenting the void [he left behind].

Al-Rumaylī is the author of: The Garden of Medicine (K. al-Bustān fī l-ṭibb).258

13.41 Ibn al-Dhahabī259

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Azdī, known as Ibn al-Dhahabī, was well-versed in medicine and well acquainted with the books of the philosophers. He was passionate about alchemy (ṣināʿat al-kīmiyāʾ) and pursued the study of it arduously. He died in Valencia in Jumādā II of the year 456 [May-June 1064].

Ibn al-Dhahabī is the author of a treatise on the lack of nourishment in water (Maqālah fī anna l-māʾ lā yaghdhū).

13.42 Ibn al-Nabbāsh260

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥāmid al-Bijāʾī, known as Ibn al-Nabbāsh, took a keen interest in medicine and the treatment of the sick. He possessed a sound understanding of the natural sciences (al-ʿilm al-ṭabīʿī) and had good discernment; he was also acquainted with all other intellectual disciplines (al-ʿulūm al-ḥikmiyyah). He lived in the region of Murcia.

13.43 Abū Jaʿfar ibn Khamīs al-Ṭulayṭulī261

Ibn Khamīs al-Ṭulayṭulī read the books of Galen systematically and pursued the study of medicine, exploring all its methods. He was eager to learn the mathematical sciences (al-ʿulūm al-riyāḍiyyah) and devoted himself to that subject.

13.44 Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khalaf ibn ʿAsākir al-Dārimī262

Al-Dārimī acquired a solid knowledge of the books of Galen and studied many of them with Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Baghūnish.263 He also studied geometry, logic and other disciplines. He was solicitous in his language and by nature was generous in the help he gave. He had an admirable attitude towards treatment and was extremely well experienced in medical practices and the finer disciplines.

13.45 Ibn al-Khayyāṭ264

Abū Bakr Yaḥyā ibn Aḥmad, known as Ibn al-Khayyāṭ, studied arithmetic and geometry with al-Qāsim Maslamah ibn Aḥmad al-Majrīṭī.265 Subsequently he became interested in astrology; he excelled in that domain and became famous for his knowledge. During the civil war, he served Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh266 as astrologer, and he also served other emirs and servants of the emir al-Maʾmūn Yaḥyā ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Dhī l-Nūn.267 In addition, he was well versed in medicine and skilful in medical treatment. Ibn al-Khayyāṭ had fine judgement and was forbearing and mild-tempered. He led a righteous life, and his conduct was virtuous. His death occurred in the year 447/1055–1056, in Toledo, when he was almost 80 years old.

13.46 Munaḥḥim ibn al-Fawwāl268

Munaḥḥim ibn al-Fawwāl was a Jewish scholar who was a native of Saragossa. He excelled in the art of medicine, but he was also knowledgeable in logic and other philosophical disciplines. Munaḥḥim ibn al-Fawwāl is the author of Treasure of the Poor (Kanz al-muqill), which is a compilation of rules of logic and principles of natural philosophy written in the form of questions and answers.

13.47 Marwān ibn Janāḥ269

Marwān ibn Janāḥ, another Jewish scholar, was interested in logic and possessed an extensive knowledge of both Arabic and Hebrew. He was well versed in the art of medicine.

Marwān ibn Janāḥ is the author of the following works:

  1. The Epitome (K. al-Talkhīṣ), in which he presents a multilingual glossary of the [names of] simple drugs.270

  2. Register of scales employed in medicine for weights and volumes (Taḥdīd al-maqādīr al-mustaʿmalah fī ṣināʿat al-ṭibb min al-awzān wa-l-makāyīl).

13.48 Isḥāq ibn Qasṭār271

Isḥāq ibn Qasṭār was also Jewish. He served al-Muwaffaq Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī and his son Iqbāl al-Dawlah ʿAlī. Isḥāq ibn Qasṭār had mastered the principles of medicine, possessed an extensive knowledge of logic, and was well acquainted with the opinions of the philosophers. He had an acute mind and a noble character; he excelled in the domains of the Hebrew language and Jewish law and was one of their rabbis. He never took a wife. He died in Toledo in 448/1056–1057 at the age of 75.

13.49 Ḥasdāy ibn Isḥāq272

Ḥasdāy ibn Isḥāq excelled in medicine and served al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh.273 One of the rabbis of the Jews, he was outstanding in his knowledge of legal matters, and the first who opened the door for the Jews of al-Andalus to know their own laws, their history and other matters. Before him, they had depended on the Jews of Baghdad for their law and for the determination of the years of their history and the times of their festivals. It was from them that they learned how to calculate the number of years that had elapsed since their appearance in history and the beginning of their calendar. When Ḥasdāy entered the service of al-Ḥakam and finally reached a position that allowed him to bring from the East all the Jewish writings that he wished, the Jews of al-Andalus gained knowledge of matters of which they had formerly been unaware, and were thenceforth spared a good deal of trouble and inconvenience.

13.50 Abū l-Faḍl Ḥasdāy ibn Yūsuf ibn Ḥasdāy274

Ḥasdāy ibn Yūsuf was born in Saragossa to one of the noblest houses of the Andalusian Jews, belonging to the lineage of Moses the Prophet, peace be upon him.275 He learned the ins and outs of various disciplines and acquired knowledge of all their methods. He had a sound grasp of the Arabic language and possessed an extensive knowledge of poetry and rhetoric. Ḥasdāy ibn Yūsuf also excelled in arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. He understood the art of music and knew how to play, and furthermore he was proficient in logic and practised in research and inquiry. He also devoted himself to the natural sciences and had a theoretical knowledge of medicine. He was alive and still a youth in the year 458/1065–1066.

13.51 Abū Jaʿfar Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy276

[13.51.1]

Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy was gifted in the art of medicine, and also took an avid interest in studying and understanding the works of Hippocrates and Galen. From al-Andalus he travelled to Egypt, and his name become famous there. He distinguished himself in the days of al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh, one of the Egyptian caliphs,277 and became a close friend of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Nūr al-Dawlah Abū Shujāʿ al-Āmirī al-Maʾmūn, who at that time was in charge of the administration of the state. His term in office lasted three years and nine months, for al-Āmir appointed him vizier on the 5th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah in 515 [2 February 1122], and he was arrested in the palace on the night of Saturday, the 4th of Ramadan, in 519 [10 October 1125], after the evening prayer, and was killed afterwards in the month of Rajab in 522 [July 1128] and his body crucified outside Cairo.

[13.51.2]

While al-Maʾmūn held the office of vizier, he was very ambitious and had a great desire for knowledge. He used to ask Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy to explain the works of Hippocrates to him, since they were the most precious and important books in that discipline, but also the most abstruse. Ibn Ḥasdāy was equal to the task.

I – Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah – have found that he composed a commentary on the Hippocratic Oaths (Sharḥ K. al-Aymān li-Abuqrāṭ) in which he gives a fine explanation of that book, examining its contents thoroughly and clarifying them in the best possible way. And I have found that he also had composed a commentary on some sections of the Hippocratic Aphorisms (K. al-Fuṣūl). He was a friend of Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā, known as Ibn Bājjah,278 and maintained a correspondence with him from Cairo.

[13.51.3]

Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy was a heavy drinker, and there are jokes and anecdotes about him in that connection. I have heard that on one occasion, when he was returning to Cairo from Alexandria, he travelled with a Sufi with whom he fraternized and conversed along the way, until they reached Cairo. There the Sufi said: ‘Tell me where you are going to stay in Cairo, so that I can visit you.’ ‘I have no other intention but to stay with the wine merchants and drink,’ Yūsuf replied. ‘If this suits you and you come along, I will see you there.’ These words offended the Sufi, who disliked his companion’s conduct and left for the Sufi lodge. Some days later, Ibn Ḥasdāy went to the market and saw a group of people gathering around a Sufi who was being reprimanded after he had been found drunk in public. When Ibn Ḥasdāy came closer and looked at him, he realized that he was the very same Sufi whom he had met, and said to him: ‘By God, may the Nāmūs kill you’.279

[13.51.4]

Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy is the author of the following works:280

  1. The Maʾmūnian Commentary on the Hippocratic Oaths (al-Sharḥ al-maʾmūnī li-K. al-Aymān li-Abuqrāṭ), otherwise known as Hippocrates’ Covenant for Physicians,281 which he wrote for al-Maʾmūn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Āmirī.282

  2. Commentary on the Hippocratic Aphorisms, Part One (Sharḥ al-maqālah al-ūlā min K. al-Fuṣūl li-Abuqrāṭ).

  3. Some glosses I have found written in his own hand that he wrote when he arrived in Alexandria from al-Andalus.

  4. Useful extracts from ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān’s Commentary on Galen’s To Glaucon (Sharḥ K. Jālīnūs ilā Ighlawqun),283 which he selected and revised.

  5. A tract on the beginning of Galen’s Small Art (al-Ṣināʿah al-ṣaghīrah).284

  6. Summary of logic (K. al-Ijmāl fī l-manṭiq).

  7. Commentary on the summary (Sharḥ K. al-Ijmāl).

13.52 Ibn Samajūn285

Abū Bakr Ḥāmid ibn Samajūn was proficient in the art of medicine. He was particularly well-versed in the properties and effects of simple drugs; he acquired all the necessary knowledge in that domain, and his book on simple drugs is well known for its quality. He worked hard and devoted all his efforts to the task of composing it, and he rendered justice to the ancients by including in it many of their opinions on simple drugs. Abū Yaḥyā al-Yasaʿ ibn ʿĪsā ibn Ḥazm ibn al-Yasaʿ says in The Book that Declares the Good Qualities of the People of the West (al-Muʿrib ʿan maḥāsin ahl al-Maghrib)286 that Ibn Samajūn composed this treatise in the time of the chamberlain Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿĀmir al-Manṣūr, who died in 392/1001–1002.

Ibn Samajūn is the author of the following works:

  1. On simple drugs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah).287

  2. A medical formulary (K. al-Aqrābādhīn).288

13.53 al-Bakrī289

Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Bakrī was a native of Murcia and one of the luminaries of the people of al-Andalus. He possessed great expertise, and was one of the most knowledgeable men of his age in the domain of simple drugs, their efficacy, benefits, names, characteristics, and everything related to them. Al-Bakrī is the author of a book on the types of the plants and trees in al-Andalus (K. Aʿyān al-nabāt wa-l-shajāriyyāt al-andalusiyyah).290

13.54 al-Ghāfiqī291

Abū Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Sayyid al-Ghāfiqī was a model of virtue, wise and learned, and one of the noblest men in al-Andalus. He was the most knowledgeable scholar of his time as regards the efficacy, benefits, characteristics, qualities and nomenclature of simple drugs. His book on simple drugs has no equal either for its quality or for its contents. In it, he summarizes the opinions of Dioscorides and the excellent Galen concisely and intelligibly. He then adds new information on simple drugs collected by physicians who lived in more recent times, and anything else that each of them reported and knew about that topic. The book became a compendium of what the most virtuous men had said about simple drugs, and a vademecum to which anyone in need of using these drugs may resort.

Al-Ghāfiqī is the author of On Simple Drugs (K. Fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah).292

13.55 al-Sharīf Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥasanī293

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs al-Ḥasanī, called al-ʿĀlī bi-Allāh, was well-versed in the domain of the efficacy, benefits, origins and categories of simple drugs.

Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥasanī is the author of a book on simple drugs (K. Fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah).

13.56 Khalaf ibn ʿAbbās al-Zahrāwī294

Al-Zahrāwī was an excellent physician with experience in the use of simple and compound drugs, and good at applying treatments. He composed a number of well-known works on medicine, the most remarkable of which is his largest book, known as Al-Zahrāwī. Khalaf ibn ʿAbbās al-Zahrāwī is the author of On Provision for those Lacking Composition [of Books on Medicine] (K. al-Taṣrīf li-man ʿajiza ʿan al-taʾlīf). This was the largest and most famous of his writings, and a perfect book as regards its content.295

13.57 Ibn Bakkalārish (?)296

Ibn Bakkalārish was an experienced Jewish physician who was one of the leading scholars of al-Andalus in the domain of medicine, with a particular interest in simple drugs. He worked as a physician in the service of the Banū Hūd.297

Ibn Bakkalārish is the author of The Tabular Book on Simple Drugs (K. al-Mujadwal fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah), which is in tabular format. It was composed in Almeria for al-Mustaʿīn bi-Allāh Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn al-Muʾtamin bi-Allāh ibn Hūd.298

13.58 Abū l-Ṣalt299

[13.58.1]

Umayyah ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī l-Ṣalt was a native of Denia, in eastern al-Andalus, and one of the most outstanding scholars in the domain of medicine and in other disciplines. His well-known legacy includes a number of famous books. He excelled in medicine beyond anything attained by any other physician and acquired a knowledge of adab that few other educated persons have matched. His knowledge of mathematics was unique, and he was versed in both the theory and practice of music, for he was a good lute player himself. As a raconteur, he was witty, eloquent and profound. Moreover, he composed beautiful poetry.

[13.58.2.1]

Abū l-Ṣalt travelled from al-Andalus to Egypt and lived for some time in Cairo before going back to his homeland. He arrived in Egypt by the end of 510/1117. While in Alexandria he was imprisoned. Sadīd al-Dīn al-Manṭiqī300 told me in Cairo, in 632/1234–1235, the story behind Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’s imprisonment in Alexandria. A boat loaded with copper that had been sailing to Alexandria had sunk not far from there, and no way of raising it could be found, owing to the depth of the sea. Abū l-Ṣalt thought and pondered upon the matter until he came up with an idea. He went to al-Afḍal ibn Amīr al-Juyūsh301 and told him that if the necessary equipment could be procured, he would be able to raise the ship from the bottom of the sea to the surface, despite its weight. Al-Afḍal was delighted and asked him to proceed. He provided all the equipment that Abū l-Ṣalt had requested, investing a great sum of money. When the equipment was ready, Abū l-Ṣalt had it placed in a big boat with the same dimensions as the boat that had sunk; making her fast with twisted ropes made of ibrīsam silk [i.e., probably ‘raw silk’], he had a number of experienced divers swim down and tie the ropes to the submerged boat. He had used geometric shapes to design a device, worked from the boat in which they were standing, that would raise the wreck, and he instructed his crew what to do with it. When they operated it, the ropes of ibrīsam silk were drawn toward them little by little and rolled around the wheels that they had in their hands, and the submerged boat appeared before them and rose almost to the surface. But then the ropes broke, and the ship fell and sank back to the bottom of the sea.

[13.58.2.2]

Abū l-Ṣalt had acted in good faith when he designed his invention to raise the boat, but fate was not on his side. Al-Malik [i.e., al-Afḍal] became furious with him because of all the money that he had invested in the device, which was now lost, and, although he did not deserve it, the vizier had him arrested. He remained imprisoned for some time, until some notables interceded for him and he was released. This happened during the caliphate of al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh and the vizirate of al-Malik al-Afḍal ibn Amīr al-Juyūsh.302

[13.58.3.1]

I have copied from the letters of the shaykh Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn Sulaymān, known as Ibn al-Ṣayrafī,303 something concerning this matter:

I received a note that Abū l-Ṣalt wrote while he was in prison. At the end, he copied two poems to be presented at the majlis of al-Afḍal. The beginning of the first one runs:304

The sun is below you in status
and mentioning you is perfume – no, it is even more exalted.

The beginning of the second one runs:

The marvellous qualities of eulogizing you have abrogated love poetry:
they suffice for us as ghazal and nasīb.305

[13.58.3.2]

And I – Ibn al-Ṣayrafī – wrote to him:306

Walls may have hidden you from us, but often
we have seen the robes of the clouds on the sun.

I received a letter from my master and I kissed it before paying attention to its excellent contents or examining them, as if I had held the hand of its author and had taken it from the fingers of its own writer and composer. I saw the admirable and magnificent [words] there assembled, and the jewels set therein, which prompted a flow of feelings. And I saw something that captured my thoughts and my eyes, to which no eulogy or description could do justice. I then made haste to read it again and again from the beginning, to enjoy it in full measure:307

We repeat reading of (the letter’s) paragraphs308
and when we have completed reading it we do it again.
When we spread it (nasharnāhu) its fragrance (nashruhū) is like musk;
and we fold it, not because we are bored but in order to withhold it from others.

[13.58.3.3]

You [i.e., Abū l-Ṣalt] wrote [in your letter] that it is necessary to accept the vicissitudes of fate, and that this is only an accidental event that will come to a satisfactory end in the course of time, because you trust in the benevolence of the Sultan – may God extend his days – and in his protection, and you believe all that is known about his beneficence and noble gestures. These are the words of someone whose intention has been purified by God and whose faith He has preserved, someone whose heart and convictions are free from doubt and who finds in His grace a reason to believe in goodness and to be aware of it, someone whom He protects against temptation and sins:309

Do not let a misfortune make you despair of being relieved of a worry,
when cruel Time strikes you with it:
Be patient! For today will be followed by tomorrow
and no hand can vie with the hand of the Caliphate.

[13.58.3.4]

You also suggest [in your letter] that whoever undergoes tribulation expiates his past sins and curtails the faults that will come to pass. May God protect this man from faults and deliver him from sin and error! For this is but a test of his trust and confidence in Him, and a trial of his forbearance and clear conscience in adversity; so have the God-fearing endured tribulation, and so have the pure and the righteous been put to the test. And God Almighty guides them according to His plan, determines their share and facilitates their lives with His grace. I once met someone who told me that he was bound to a promise, and that he had vowed to accomplish and keep it, because he had faith in the noble gestures [of the Sultan] for his servant’s steadfast loyalty. He told me that with this in mind, he had waited to seize the opportunity and was watchful until he saw the right moment to step forward and address [the Sultan], and God Almighty helped him to keep his determination and to persevere, and He directed him towards that which he intended and desired.

As for the two poems that he presented to me, I have not seen anything better in its beginning, development, and end; nor anything more captivating to the heart and ear, nor a more amazing source of novelties, a better compendium of eloquence, expression and powerful rhymes; nothing more balanced despite the disparities and antitheses that abound in poetry. The more I read and repeat these two poems, the more beautiful I find them.310 I take as a good omen the placing of the poem on liberation [from prison] after the poem on imprisonment.311 May God – exalted be He – fulfil my hopes and expectations, and may He bring me the full happiness that I strove to achieve, if it be His will.

[13.58.4.1]

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: Abū l-Ṣalt – may God have mercy upon him – died on a Monday at the beginning of Muḥarram in the year 529 [October 1134] in the city of Mahdia, and was buried in Monastir. On his deathbed he composed some verses and ordered that they should be engraved on his tomb:312

I have dwelled in you, Abode of Transience, believing
that I would go to the Abode of Permanence.
The most overwhelming thing is that I am going
to One who is just in His judgement, not unfair.
Would that I knew how I shall meet Him then
when my provisions are scant and my sins many!
If I will be requited for my sin, then I
am deserving the worst punishment of sinners,
But if there be forgiveness for me there and mercy,
then there is lasting bliss and joy.

[13.58.4.2]

When Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was about to return to al-Andalus, Ẓāfir al-Ḥaddād al-Iskandarī313 wrote [the following verses] in Cairo and sent them to Abū l-Ṣalt, who was in Mahdia.314 In them he describes his affection for the physician and the days they had spent together in Alexandria:315

Is there no recovery from my illness after separation from you?
It is a poison, but the antidote lies in meeting you.
O sun of excellence that has set in the west, though its light
shines over every country in the east:
May the first spring rain (ʿahd) water a time (ʿahd) when I knew you, its memory (ʿahd)
restored in my heart by a promise (ʿahd) and a covenant that will not be lost,316
Renewed by a recollection that is sweet, as when
a little turtledove coos, hidden by leaves of the trees.
5You have a generous character, ‘haute couture’,
whereas most other people’s (khalīqah) characters (akhlāq) are shabby (akhlāq).
I have been weakened, Abū l-Ṣalt, since your abodes have become
remote from mine, by worries and yearnings.
When it is hard for me to extinguish them with my tears
they occur while they burn between my eyelids.
Clouds, urged onward by a sighing, that is drawn
through my collarbones and chest, by a gasping.317
Once I had an ample treasure of fortitude,
but I had to spend it for difficult misfortunes;
10And a sword that, when I drew its blade partly from its sheath
against a host of calamities, would parry them with heavy blows,
Until separation (bayn) made clear (abāna) that its blade (ghirār)
was an illusion (ghurūr) and the treasure poverty and destitution.
My brother, my lord, my master: a call from a devoted friend
who will not be freed from the bondage of your friendship!
Though the large distance moves us apart,
as does the incessantly turbulent sea with swelling crests,
And deserts where the reddish-white camels, if I charged them to cross them,
would fall short, tired, worn out by slow trot or quick pace,
15You have my affection that clings just as
rings cling to the necks of doves.
Ah, will the splendid days with you return as I knew them, and will
the mouth (thaghr) of the harbour town (thaghr) show its sparkling teeth?318
On nights that a reply will bring us near, one that brings us
closer again, like intertwisted trees joined by one trunk,
With a garden of your fine words between us,
where our eyes envy our ears,
Novel talk (ḥadīth ḥadīth), however long yet concise,
informative, readily speaking to the heart of the addressee,
20Spurred on by a brimful sea of your knowledge
to which every swollen, overflowing sea is mere shallow water.
Thoughts like towering mountains, sound,
containing delicate, sweet expressions,
In which there are wondrous discovered wisdoms,
philosophers being enamoured of their splendid virginal ideas.
If Aristotle were alive he would be in love
with them, his heart always pondering them longingly.
You, unique one in excellence, whose food is knowledge,
while other scholars merely yearn to smell and taste of it:
25If my letters fall short it will not be strange if it is because of some excuse that
is an obstacle-destined events are snares.
I have written them when the evils of the seas returned them,
or, if not returned to me, drowned them.
Seas ruled by winds: these are
keys as well as locks to their doors.
Who will help me obtain a look at you,
so that my restlessness is assuaged and outpoured tears stinted?

[13.58.4.3]

In one of his poems, Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz praises Abū l-Ṭāhir Yaḥyā ibn Tamīm ibn Muʿizz ibn Bādīs319 and describes the arrival of the Emperor of the Byzantines with gifts to express his desire to end the war in 505/1111–1112:320

He gives you presents who, if you wished, would himself receive them,
or, if not, guarantee to him the smooth, straightened lances
And every Surayjī321 sword that, robbed of its sheath,
finds itself a substitute in the skull of warriors!
He chose a single one among the Indian blades, whose custom it is,
when it is unsheathed on a day of battle, to be paired with another single;
Sword edges that thick necks are accustomed to meet,
just as their sheaths are accustomed to be shunned by them.
5You left in Constantine322 the lord of its realm
in terror, some of which he hid and some of which he showed.
You barred for him the west, where the sun sets, with sword-edges;
he would have liked, wary of you, to have overcome the barrier.
It was reluctantly that he obeyed you, showing
love and affection to you in these letters,
Because you, whether you threaten him or promise him,
are true to your word, not going back on threat or promise.
Indeed, if you wished you would dispatch at him
grey-haired noblemen as well as his beardless boys,
10Who would repel the bloody lance tips
that at their hands are imagined to be inflamed eyes.(?)
The kings of the earth would give their lives for you,
even the most remote, the highest in rank, the most ancient in glory.
While they are fond of a dark, languid eye (ṭarf),
you are fond of a thick-legged, sturdy highbred horse (ṭirf),
And any coat of mail323 well-woven by the blacksmith,
who made a double layer of interlocking ringlets,
And any quivering brown lance and cutting white sword,
the one embracing a body, the other kissing a cheek.
15These are qualities such that if the Nights324 were adorned
by the least of them, all that is black in them would turn white.
Therefore, command Fate whatever you choose, and it will obey
your command as a decree that cannot be opposed.

[13.58.4.4]

In another poem, which is dedicated to al-Afḍal, he describes how he led the armies against the Franks in Syria after the defeat of his army in a place known as al-Baṣṣah,325 that some members of the army and other people had conspired to kill him after that event, and that when this became known they were captured and executed:326

These are the resolutions that have the Divine Decree as one of their supporters;
these are the batallions that have Victory as one of their followers!
You dispatched, for the Religion (of Islam), when (other) swords were sheathed,
a sword by which the vicissitudes of time are blunted
And you stood up when all other kings sat down,
to defend it, protect it, and help it to gain victory,
With white (swords) (bīḍ) that make their stars327 fall on the helmets (bayḍ)
and with brown (spears) that are entangled under the shades of the dust.328
5White swords that, when their tongues preach victory,
do so from the pulpits of livers and necks;
And hardened spears of Khaṭṭ,329 drawn,
their length implying a shortening of the enemies’ lives:
With these the lions of al-Sharā330 come to the waters of death,
warriors who hasten to respond when asked for succour,
Clad in mail: when they draw their swords
one would compare these to canals stretching from ponds.
They are men whose arms are lengthened with white Indian swords;
it would not harm their swords if their tips were broken.
10When they unsheathe them, with a trail of dust above them,
like the sun that rises while the night is dark,
Their souls are at ease, elated to join the fight;
the blood is like wine, the sword-tips like flowers.
And if, once, they withdraw, it is no wonder:
a sword, even a sharp one made of steel, sometimes fails to cut.
Returning is more laudable, when final success in time
is guaranteed and God’s promise is expected.
Sometimes Fate is foul, but subsequently things that please you
occur in hours followed by other hours.
15God has adorned331 Time with you, a king
to whom are the fetlocks and blazes of Time.332
How wonderful is your strength when other hearts are flighty,
when horsemen perish and the fire of war is ablaze,
When the battle-dust forms canopies above the solid lances
which are smoke, while the lance-tips are sparks;
When a sword is retracted, its edge333 showing clotted blood
like the face of a virgin whose cheek blushes bashfully;
And when you stood fast as a sword, all alone,
held back by neither cowardice nor weakness:
20Were you not terrified by the numbers you confronted?
It was all equal to you, whether the foes were few or many.
This is magnanimity, though it is extravagance;
this is courage, though it is recklessness.
God,334 in religion and worldly matters: both have no one but you
as shelter, cornerstone, refuge.
Some people wanted to plot against you; but they did not know
that wishes are hazards, some of them dangerous.
No chance! How could one wish to seek Capella335
if one’s mind and his eyes were closed shut?
25Lions, in the middle of their den, scorn to be frightened
by a herd of brown gazelles.
A plot they hatched; had they been on the point of executing it they would
have stopped, like an onager336 that moves neither to nor from the waterhole.
So strike with your sword those who oppose you, wreaking vengeance:
swords are preserved for the iniquitous.
It does not always happen that one sees kings forgiving
crimes and pardon when they are able.
There are some criminals who cannot be overlooked;
there are some sins that cannot be forgiven.
30Lances are branches from which shade can be sought,
their only fruit being the heads of foes.
The state of the realm can only become in good order
when one sees heads rolling.
Your view is the right one in all you do
and you know best what to do and what to leave.
Shahanshāh337 has become an abundant shower of generosity,
by which every country needs to be watered;
One who stabs a thousand, all in a row,
and one who gives a thousand, that is purses;338
35A king whose seat has ascended above the Pleiades,
so how could human beings aspire to reach his goals?
His generosity is hoped for, the extent of his power is feared:
like Fate, benefit and harm are found in him.
I have never heard or have been told about anyone
before him who gives the world away and apologises!
And I have never seen, before I saw his splendour, a sun
revealing its radiance while rain showers pour down.
O exalted king, with whom Time is exulting
and with whom Bedouins and townspeople are delighted,
40Hereby comes to you an elegantly composed poem of my adorned speech,
so splendid that mantles and striped cloaks are folded up.339
They are pearls, but what strung them was
what the mind contained, and among its divers were thoughts.
It will last while patched-up poems will disappear,
made by those who had better remained dumb than composed them.
And I have not made it too long, because I am well aware
that whoever is long-winded falls short.
May you last for the religion and the world, and may the necks
of those lofty deeds not be devoid of these pearls!

[13.58.4.5]

He also wrote:340

A slender youth: the beauties of his face share341
what he pours from his pitcher into the cup:
Its effect from his eyes, its colour from
his cheeks, and its taste from his saliva.

And he composed, describing the Pleiades:342

I saw that the Pleiades have two states,
in which they offer a curious sight.
When they rise in the east they present an image
the reverse of which is presented when they set in the west:
They ascend like a wine cup when it is urged along343
and they set like a cup when one drinks it.

On a place known as Birkat al-Ḥabash (‘The Pond of the Abyssinians’) in Egypt,344 he wrote:345

Ah, what a day I had at Birkat al-Ḥabash!
The horizon was between light and dusk;
The Nile moved under the winds
like a sword drawn by the hand of a shivering man,
While we were in a variegated garden,
brocaded and embroidered with blossom,
Woven for us by the hand of Spring,
so we sat on carpets of its weaving.
The most boring of all people would be a man
who, invited by amorousness, would not now be frivolous.
So hand me the wine! He who leaves it alone
will not be restored from the onslaught of worry.
And give it me to drink in large cups filled to the brim,
for that is better for slaking a vehement thirst!

And also:346

I am amazed about your eyes, so languid,
how they can catch a proud hero!
They act on us, though sheathed in their lids,347
like swords when drawn.

And he wrote:348

His ears are deaf to reproachers,
he refuses to listen and will not consoled for his passion.
Woe the slave of love! He is always in torment,
by the flickering of lightning flashes or the visit of a nightly phantom.
When anxieties succeed one another in the evening
they send the pangs of distress inside his ribs.
Pity the tormented lover who complains
to a pampered one who complains of having nothing on his mind.
He is intoxicated with two kinds of wine: a wine from the glass
that has affected his eyes, and a wine of flirtation;
He is like a white antelope, save that this one is always
unadorned, while he on every occasion (ḥāl) is bejewelled (ḥālī).
He does not sober up; will someone become sober in whom
a choice claret wine has been poured?
My enemy, having learned what I have suffered, pities me;
envious people, seeing my plight, feel sorry for me.
You who have pared down my body with your long avoidance,
will you not grant me at least the promise of being together?
I have been longing for something from you; if only you punished me
avoiding me because you reproach me, rather than avoiding me being bored!

[13.58.4.6]

He described a grey horse with the following verses:349

A grey horse: like a shooting star in the morning it came,
moving in gold-woven horse-cloths.
Someone envying me, having seen it behind me
as a spare mount, on its way to battle, said:
‘Who has bridled dawn with the Pleiades
and has saddled the lightning with a crescent moon?’

He also said:350

To surround himself with intelligent people is the best way
for someone of authority to rule.
This is more fitting for him; though it will not harm him
to surround himself with entertaining people, on rare occasions.
Mercury is most of the time
closer to the sun than is Venus.351

And also:352

From a white antelope, one of the Byzantines, who has struck
my heart with an arrow from black-and-white eyes that hit the mark,353
I bear an arrow from its glance, shot from nearby
from a bow of its eyebrow.
Its eye feels inside me
like the sword of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.354

And also:355

You, who by shunning me lights within my ribs
a fire that cannot be extinguished except by being together:
If a meeting is not to be, promise me one!
I am content with a promise even though you do not keep it.

And also:356

You are in charge; matters are referred to you,
though I was not expecting you to be in charge (an talī).
Here I am between enemies, all against me;
now you, dear one,357 must be with me (anta lī)!

And also:358

I thought of their absence while they were still near
and I shed tears in streams (hummaʿī):
How will it be when they are absent
since I weep like this when they are with me (hum maʿī)?

And also:359

Whenever you find a noble man who is loyal
– but how could one find him? – then go ahead and seize the opportunity!
And if you become friends with someone of base stock
and he maltreats you, then do not blame him.

And also:360

I say, now that he is absent and far away,
and love has a cruel power over my soul:
Though he with whom I am in love has departed and gone far away,
so that my eye no longer has a share of seeing his person,
Yet in my innermost heart he has a place
where he is guarded by my care and protection.
I see him with imagination’s eye, and imagination perceives
various ideas that the eye cannot perceive.

And also:361

Many an aspiring student of learning strives hard,
but in his receptivity is like a rock.
He is like someone who is impotent yet full of lust,
or someone who has an appetite for food but is dyspeptic.

And also:362

You are always thinking about the dwindling of your wealth
and you are oblivious of the dwindling of your body and your lifetime;
Fear of poverty turns you away from everything desirable
and your fear of being poor is one of the worst kinds of poverty.
Can’t you see that the vicissitudes of Fate are numerous363
and that there is no thing that lasts forever?
So many joys have been swept away by grief,
and so many hardships have in the end turned into comfort!

[13.58.4.7]

On fleas, he wrote:364

Many a night of never-ending darkness,
Its evening distant from its dawn,
Like the night of a yearning slave of love,
Has lengthened, in its darkness, my sleeplessness.
5The creatures that best love to harm other creatures
Think my blood is more delicious than vintage wine.
They gulp it down without ever sobering up,
Not omitting a morning drink because they had an evening drink.
If I were to spend the night above the top of Capella365
10It would not stop them from visiting me,
Like lovers coming at night to their beloved.
They know more about veins than Hippocrates,
Such as the median arm vein and the basilic vein.
They cut the veins with a thin lancet
15Of their snout, sharpened and pointed,
Like a skilled and gentle physician.

He also said:366

I have forever applied myself, putting people to the test,
but I have never praised anyone, in earnest or in jest.
Often I wished I could meet someone
who could give solace from worry or help against calamities.
But I found nobody but people whose promises, even if they spoke sincerely,
were like a mirage in mendacity.
I had a relationship, thinking myself fortunate with it;
but it turned out that my illness was from that same relationship.367
What clipped (muqallim) my nails was nothing but my own pen (qalam);
my enemies batallions (katāʾib) were nothing but my own books (kutub).

He described the astrolabe with the following verses:368

As for the best thing a noble man can take as a companion,
don’t think anything can match it, whether resident or travelling!
It is a body such that if you sought its value
it would surpass that of gold, though it is made of brass.
Compact; but if you investigate it
it is not succinct in providing interesting bits of knowledge.
It has an eye that perceives what it observes
with a correct view, truthful in its vision.
5You carry it while it carries a celestial sphere
that will not turn unless you turn it with the tip of a finger.
It dwells on earth while it informs us
about almost all there is to report about heaven.
It was invented by a Master of thought369 far removed,
in its subtlety, from being compared with (ordinary) thoughts,
Which obliges every human being with insight
to thank and praise him;
For to someone with understanding it is a marvellous testimony
to the diversity of minds and inborn characters.
10These bodies370 are clearly visible
according to the pictures they are given.

And also, on a brazier:371

One that is heated inside372 who does not know what passion is
and does not know what ecstasy of love a lover feels:
When the lightning of wine appears you see how it
stirs up a cloud of perfumed incense (nadd) among the gathered people (nadī).
I have never seen such a Fire:373 the more its embers blazed
one sees the drinking friends in the Garden of Eternity.

And also:374

The wine was passed round by the hands
of a sun who illuminated the darkness when she stood up.375
When she advances her figure is a twig;
when she retreats her haunches are a sand-hill.
The fragrance from her lips is that of musk;
the flash of her front teeth is that of lightning.
A gazelle who obscured376 her namesake,377
so she should not be compared to it, far be it from her!
It may have her beauty and splendour,
but does it have her neck and her eyes?

[13.58.4.8]

And he wrote after buying a house from a black man:

Time has unjustly decreed that my house is to be sold
and to be made the property of the vilest buyer (mushtarī).
How miserable is what Time did with a mansion378
where Saturn became the replacement of Jupiter (al-Mushtarī)!379

And also:380

Youthful passion mixed the water of youth with its fire
from the roses of his cheeks and the myrtle of his cheek-down.
He is an idol who contains all the novelties of beauty,
so as to gain possession of my heart, in a chain of captivity.
The full moon is contained by his buttons; a twig is
in his belt,381 and a curved sand-dune fills his loin-cloth.

And also:382

If worldly fortune smiles on someone it will,
in its ambiguousness, obscure383 someone else’s good qualities.
Likewise, whenever it withdraws its favour from a virtuous man
it will rob him, wrongfully, of his own good qualities.384

And also:385

Don’t sit in a corner of your house, dejectedly,
while your time passes away between despair and hope,
And find for yourself, as a makeshift, something to do for a living;
for the living of most people is by means of makeshift.
Don’t say: My livelihood will reach me somehow,
even though I sit down! Livelihood is not like the appointed time of death.

And also:386

Do not hope for yourself Jupiter’s good fortune,
nor fear, when it escapes you, the ill fortune of Saturn,
But hope and fear the Lord of both, for He is the one
who does whatever good and ill He wants.

And also:387

Don’t reproach me for not visiting you
when you made yourselves inaccessible for me by means of doormen!
I am one of those people to whom death is sweeter
than waiting at some creature’s door.

[13.58.4.9]

He wrote the following verses on a physician named Shaʿbān:388

O doctor with whom the whole world
is annoyed, sick and tired:
There are two months in you
when a year has elapsed:
You are Shaʿbān, but
your killing people is Muḥarram.389

On his times of hardship, he wrote:390

They say to me, ‘Patience!’ and I am really patient
in the face of Time’s misfortunes, grievous as they are.
I shall be patient until God decrees whatever He decrees.
If am not patient, what else could I do?

And on renunciation:391

How heedless is man, and how oblivious!
he sins without thinking of his Lord.
His demon commands him to err,
while his reason (if only he would be guided!) forbids him.
This world has deluded him; he has not sobered up
from its intoxication, from one day to the next.
Woe to him, the poor wretch, woe,
if God is not merciful to him!

And also:392

Little people rule in our time:
may it not last, may it not be!
It is like a game of chess: however he intends to terminate,
a pawn will turn into a queen.393

And also:394

You, unique in flirtation and coquetry:
who has guided your eyes to kill me?
The full moon derives its light from the midday sun,
but the sun takes its light from yours.

When he saw that the seat left by a beautiful beardless boy had been occupied by a black man he said:395

The Heaven of refuge396 has gone and Hell has come:
I have become wretched after being in bliss,
Only because it was time for the sun to set,
to be followed by a dark portion of the night.397

And also:398

A woman said, ‘Why is it that you are such an unknown person?
Have you got a weak judgement, or are you incapable?’
I replied, ‘My sin against people is that I
have attained the glory that they did not attain.
The only thing that has escaped me is good fortune;
as for lofty qualities, these are instinctive in me.’

[13.58.5]

Abū l-Ṣalt is the author of the following works:

  1. A letter on Egypt (al-Risālah al-miṣriyyah), in which he describes the constructions and monuments that he saw in that country and the physicians, astronomers, poets and other cultivated people he met there. He addressed this letter to Abū l-Ṭāhir Yaḥyā ibn Tamīm ibn Muʿizz ibn Bādīs.399

  2. On simple drugs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah), organized according to homoeomerous parts of the body and the organs. This is a perfectly organized abridgement.400

  3. Defence of Ḥunayn [ibn Isḥāq] against Ibn Riḍwān (K. al-Intiṣār li-Ḥunayn ʿalā Ibn Riḍwān) in relation to Ḥunayn’s Questions (Masāʾil).401

  4. The garden of belles-lettres (Ḥadīqat al-adab).402

  5. Contemporary anecdotes on poets from al-Andalus and those who emigrated to it (K. al-mulaḥ al-ʿaṣriyyah min shuʿarāʾ ahl al-Andalus wa-l-ṭāriʾīn ʿalayhā)403

  6. Collected poetry (Dīwān shiʿrihi).404

  7. On music (Risālah Fī l-mūsīqī).405

  8. On geometry (K. Fī l-handasah).406

  9. On making an astrolabe (Risālah fī ʿamal al-asṭurlāb).407

  10. Correction of the logic of the intellect (K. Taqwīm manṭiq al-dhihn).408

13.59 Ibn Bājjah409

[13.59.1]

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Ṣāʾigh, known as Ibn Bājjah, was a native of al-Andalus. He was the foremost scholar of his age and the leading authority in all domains of knowledge. He suffered severe tribulation and opprobrium at the hands of the populace, who sought his death many times, but God saved him from them. He excelled in knowledge of Arabic language and literature and knew the Qur’an by heart. He is counted among those who excelled in the art of medicine. An excellent lute player himself, he was also well versed in the theory of music.

[13.59.2.1]

Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Imām, at the beginning of his compilation of the sayings of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣāʾigh ibn Bājjah, says in this connection:410

This is a compilation of the writings of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣāʾigh ibn Bājjah, may God have mercy upon him, on philosophical disciplines. For his sharp intellect and the eloquence with which he dealt with these delicate and noble themes he was a wonder of the firmament and unique in his time. Philosophical works had circulated in al-Andalus since the days of al-Ḥakam – may God brighten his face – who was the one who brought them, along with books on new matters composed in the East, and translated the books of the ancients and others. They were widely studied, but no one had travelled that path before, and what was understood from them was nothing but errors and misinterpretation. Such was the case of Ibn Ḥazm al-Ishbīlī,411 who was [often] mistaken, despite the fact that he was one of the most excellent scholars of a time in which few ventured to record any of their thoughts. Ibn Bājjah surpassed [Ibn Ḥazm] in capacity of reflection and was distinguished with a more penetrative soul.

Serious study of these disciplines was initiated by this learned man [i.e. Ibn Bājjah] and by Mālik ibn Wuhayb al-Ishbīlī,412 who were contemporaries. From Mālik, however, only a few [opinions] about the principles of logic (al-ṣināʿah al-dhihniyyah) have been recorded. He abandoned the study and public discussion of those disciplines when he received death threats on that account, for he was obsessed with gaining the upper hand in his discussions about the importance of the [various kinds] of knowledge. He approached instead the study of the revealed law, and he achieved excellence in that domain, or at least he became competent in it, because from what we know of his opinions, he shed light on these disciplines, but nothing of what he wrote privately could be found after his death.

[13.59.2.2]

As for Abū Bakr [Ibn Bājjah], his superior talent is evident. He never ceased to apply his capacity for reflection, drawing conclusions, and writing down all that appeared to him to be true, despite the conditions [in which he lived], and the way in which he was treated in his time. He studied philosophy and various aspects of physics; this shows that he had mastered both disciplines, which he conceived of as a single form, of which he spoke and which he surmounted in the way of one who seeks to reach the heights. He left writings on geometry and astronomy that show his excellence in those arts as well.

With regard to metaphysics, there is not much in his writings that focuses particularly on this theme, apart from some opinions that can be read in his treatise entitled the Farewell Epistle (Risālat al-wadāʿ) and The Conjunction of Man with the Active Intellect (Ittiṣāl al-insān bi-l-ʿaql al-faʿʿāl), and some scattered commentaries elsewhere in his works.413 These, however, are of extreme value, as they show his inclination toward this noble discipline, which is the most important and the ultimate goal of them all: all knowledge that comes before [this discipline] is but an introduction to it and is intended to perfect it. It is impossible to feel attracted to the introductory disciplines that keep the several aspects of existence separated, without [seeking] the completion of all of them, and thus falling short in a discipline [i.e. metaphysics] that is the ultimate goal. Every man of sound mind who has been endowed by God with a talent that raises him above the people of his time and takes him out of the darkness into the light is driven by nature to seek [this knowledge], as [Ibn Bājjah] did, may God have mercy upon him.

[13.59.2.3]

We begin this compilation with his The Goal of Being Human (Qawl fī l-ghāyah al-insāniyyah), which is extremely concise but speaks clearly about his grasp of metaphysics (al-ʿilm al-ilāhī), as we have pointed out, and about the introductory disciplines that he had learned previously. Perhaps he ascribed to this [discipline] some things that are not proper to it, but it seems that after Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī there was no one like [Ibn Bājjah] in the domains that he cultivated. If you were to compare his opinions on this topic with those of Ibn Sīnā and al-Ghazālī, for whom these disciplines were already accessible in the East, thanks to Abū Naṣr [al-Farābī], and who wrote about them, the superiority of his opinions and his better understanding of the ideas of Aristotle would be apparent to you. There is no doubt, however, that all three of them were authorities and that they transmitted the most excellent wisdom to which they were the heirs with notable accuracy, for their opinions agreed with those of their noble predecessors.

[13.59.3]

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn al-Imām was a native of Granada. He was a distinguished secretary who excelled in various disciplines; he was a close friend of Abū Bakr ibn Bājjah for a time and studied with him. Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn al-Imām travelled away from the West and died in Qūṣ.414 Among the students of Ibn Bājjah there was also the qadi Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Rushd.415 Ibn Bājjah died at an early age in Fez and was buried there. The qadi Abū Marwān al-Ishbīlī416 told me that he had seen the tomb of Ibn Bājjah and next to his tomb that of the jurist Abū Bakr Ibn al-ʿArabī, author of several works.417

Among Ibn Bājjah’s maxims are: ‘Things that take a long time to learn are not forgotten’, and ‘Do good deeds and you will gain good things from God, praised be He.’

[13.59.4]

Ibn Bājjah is the author of the following works:418

  1. Commentary on Aristotle’s Book on Physics (Sharḥ kitāb al-samāʿ al-ṭabīʿī li-Arisṭūṭālīs).419

  2. Discussion of parts of Aristotle’s book on meteorology (Qawl ʿalā baʿḍ kitāb al-āthār al-ʿulwiyyah li-Arisṭūṭālīs).420

  3. Discussion of parts of Aristotle’s book On Generation and Corruption (Qawl ʿalā baʿḍ kitāb al-kawn wa-l-fasād li-Arisṭūṭālīs).421

  4. Discussion of parts of the last sections of Aristotle’s Book of Animals (Qawl ʿalā baʿḍ al-maqālāt al-akhīrah min kitāb al-ḥayawān li-Arisṭūṭālīs).422

  5. Disquisition on part of Aristotle’s Book of Plants (Kalām ʿalā baʿḍ kitāb al-nabāt li-Arisṭūṭālīs).423

  6. Discussion of natural desire and its essence (Qawl dhakara fīhi al-tashawwuq al-ṭabīʿī wa-māhiyyatahu), which he begins by providing a rational demonstration of its causes.424

  7. The Farewell Letter (Risālat al-wadāʿ).425

  8. The treatise that follows the previous letter [i.e., the Risālat al-wadāʿ].426

  9. The Conjunction of Man with the Active Intellect (Ittiṣāl al-insān bi-l-ʿaql al-faʿʿāl).427

  10. Discussion of the desiderative faculty (Qawl ʿalā l-quwwah al-nuzūʿiyyah).428

  11. Extracts of his discussion on the conjunction between reason and the human being (Fuṣūl tataḍammanu qawl ʿalā ttiṣāl al-ʿaql bi-l-insān).429

  12. Regimen for the Solitary (K. Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid).430

  13. The soul (K. al-Nafs).431

  14. Notes on Abū Naṣr [al-Fārābī’s] treatise on the principles of logic (Taʿālīq ʿalā kitāb Abī Naṣr fī l-ṣināʿah al-dhihniyyah).432

  15. A few extracts on the political regime, the qualities of the cities and the state of the solitary who lives in them (Fuṣūl qalīlah fī l-siyāsah al-madanīyyah wa-kayfiyyat al-mudun wa-ḥāl al-mutawaḥḥid fīhā).433

  16. Short items on geometry and astronomy (Nubadh yasīrah ʿalā l-handasah wa-l-hayʾah).434

  17. Letter addressed to his friend Abū Jaʿfar Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy after his arrival in Egypt (Risālah kataba bihā ilā ṣadīqihi Abū Jaʿfar Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥasdāy baʿd qudūmihi ilā Miṣr).435

  18. Fragmentary philosophical notes (Taʿālīq ḥikmiyyah wujidat mutafarriqah).436

  19. Answer to questions on Ibn Sayyid al-Muhandis’ Geometry and its methods (Jawābuhu limā suʾila ʿan handasat Ibn Sayyid al-Muhandis wa-ṭuruqihi).437

  20. Discourse on parts of Galen’s On Simple Drugs (Kalām ʿalā shayʾ min kitāb al-adwiyah al-mufradah li-Jālīnūs).438

  21. On two experiences concerning the drugs of Ibn Wāfid439 (K. al-Tajribatayn ʿalā adwiyat Ibn Wāfid) – in the composition of this book Abū Bakr Ibn Bājjah collaborated with Abū l-Ḥasan Sufyān.

  22. Abridgement of al-Rāzī’s Comprehensive Book [on Medicine] (K. ikhtiṣār al-ḥāwī li-l-Rāzī).

  23. On the goal of the human being (Kalām fī l-ghāyah al-insāniyyah).440

  24. On the things through which it is possible to comprehend the active intellect (Kalām fī l-umūr allatī bihā yumkin al-wuqūf ʿalā al-ʿaql al-faʿʿāl).

  25. On the name and the named (Kalām fī l-ism wa-l-musammā).441

  26. On demonstration (Kalām fī l-burhān).442

  27. On elements (Kalām fī l-usṭuqussāt).443

  28. Enquiries into the desiderative mind: How it is, and why and how it experiences desire (Kalām fī l-faḥṣ ʿan al-nafs al-nuzūʿiyyah wa-kayfa hiya wa-lima tanziʿ wa-bimādhā tanziʿ).444

  29. Discourse on the medical aspects of temperament (Kalām fī l-mizāj bimā huwa ṭibbī).445

13.60 Abū Marwān Ibn Zuhr446

[13.60.1]

Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik was the son of the jurist Muḥammad ibn Marwān Ibn Zuhr al-Iyādī al-Ishbīlī. He excelled in the art of medicine, was experienced in its practical aspects and became well-known for his dexterity. His father, the jurist Muḥammad, was one of the jurists and experts in Hadith in Seville.

[13.60.2]

The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid says:447

Abū Marwān Ibn Zuhr travelled to the East and lived in Kairouan and Egypt, where he practised medicine for a long time. He then returned to al-Andalus and went to the city of Denia. Mujāhid was its emir at that time, and when Ibn Zuhr presented himself at court, Mujāhid showed him great honour and invited the physician to enter his service, which he did, enjoying the ruler’s favour during his reign. Ibn Zuhr made a name for himself in Denia for his preeminence in medicine, and his fame reached all corners of al-Andalus. He had unique ideas in the field of medicine. One of them was his rejection of steam-baths, because he was convinced that they decomposed the body and corrupted the humours.

[The Qāḍī Ṣāʿid] says:

This is a view that contradicts ancient and modern opinions and was considered a mistake by both the experts and non-experts; what is more, when the bath is administered as it is required and gradually,448 it is an excellent exercise and a beneficial practice because it opens the pores, removes impurities and reduces the excess of chyme.

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: Abū Marwān Ibn Zuhr moved from Denia to Seville and remained there until his death. He left behind impressive wealth in Seville and other places, including both urban properties and rural estates.

13.61 Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr449

[13.61.1]

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr ibn Abī Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn Zuhr was well known for his skills and knowledge, and for the precision of his treatments, which proved his excellence in the art of medicine and his vast knowledge of its particularities. There are anecdotes about the remedies he administered to the sick, and about his ability to determine their states and the pain they suffered without hearing it from them, but merely by inspecting the [urine] vials and feeling their pulse. Abū l-ʿAlāʾ lived in the time of the ‘Veiled Men’, also known as Almoravids.450 He prospered under their rule, acquiring great prestige and enjoying a good reputation, but he had begun to practise as a physician when he was young, in the days of al-Muʿtaḍid bi-Allāh Abū ʿAmr ʿAbbād ibn ʿAbbād.451 He also applied himself to the study of literature and was an excellent writer.452

[13.61.2.1]

It was in his time that Avicenna’s Canon (K. al-Qānūn) arrived in the West. Ibn Jumayʿ al-Miṣrī453 says in his Making Explicit what is Concealed: On Examining the Canon (Taṣrīḥ al-maknūn fī tanqīḥ al-Qānūn):

A certain merchant brought a copy of [Ibn Sīnā’s] book from Iraq to al-Andalus. It had been executed extremely beautifully, and he presented it as a gift to Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr as a way of ingratiating himself with him because he had never seen the book before. But when Ibn Zuhr examined the Canon (al-Qānūn) he criticized and rejected it. He did not deposit it in his library, but decided instead to cut it into strips and to use them to write prescriptions for his patients.454

[13.61.2.2]

Abū Yaḥyā al-Yasaʿ ibn Ḥazm ibn al-Yasaʿ in The Book that Declares the Good Qualities of the People of the West (al-Muʿrib ʿan Maḥāsin Ahl al-Maghrib):455

Despite his young age, the name of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr was a byword for excellence, and he was praised as a master of knowledge. He never ceased to study the books of the ancients, and it was his constant habit to sit and learn with the masters. Good fortune paved his path towards success, and Fate was not content with bestowing on him merely a lowly standing. He excelled in medicine to a formidable extent, far beyond the reach of those who had pursued it before without being able to understand its complexities; and he took the art beyond the usual limits, with his great expertise and accuracy, for he mastered all the disciplines he studied and was ahead of his time. Ibn Zuhr surpassed all virtuous men in knowledge and purity of descent, and he was also the most magnanimous and liberal of persons. His only fault was being impulsive and prone to use obscene language, but is there anyone with all the qualities of the perfect man in complete harmony?

[13.61.3.1]

I – Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah – have copied the following from a manuscript in the handwriting of Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿAbdī,456 who was an intelligent westerner with knowledge of medicine:

Abū l-ʿAynāʾ al-Miṣrī, one of the teachers of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr, who left Baghdad before his pupil and shared many conversations with him, said: ‘It was Abū al-Qāsim Hishām ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Ibn Ṣāḥib al-Ṣalāh,457 the very skilled physician, who told me about this in his home in Seville, may God protect it.’

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: One of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr’s many medical students was Abū ʿĀmir ibn Yannaq al-Shāṭibī, the poet.458

[13.61.3.2]

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr died in 525/1130–1131459 and was buried in Seville outside the Gate of Victory (Bāb al-fatḥ). He was the author of the following poems.

On love he wrote:460

You whom I am besotted with and who has humbled my pride,
because of my passion for him, while he is the mighty and victorious one:461
I intended to be patient when I encountered unfriendliness,
but that beauty says: ‘You have no one to help you!’
The only honour is the honour of him who controls his faculties
and who is obeyed by a mighty and powerful heart.

He also said:462

You who shoot at me with arrows that have no aim
but my heart, and have no substitute for it;
Who makes me ill with eyelids that are filled with sickness,463
yet are healthy (it is their nature to nurse and be sick):
Grant me if only with an apparition from you that will visit me at night;
for sometimes an accident may fill the place of a substance.

After hearing that Ibn Manẓūr, the chief qadi of Seville,464 said, mockingly, ‘Is Ibn Zuhr ill?’, he wrote:465

They said that Ibn Manẓūr expressed, tirelessly, his surprise
at my being ill. I said, someone who walks may stumble.
Galen was ill all the time;
‘eating’ bribes is something the esteemed466 jurist does.

And also:467

I heard people describe Hind; I never stopped
longing for her until I looked at Hind.
When God let me see Hind and her appearance468
I wished I469 would be as far away as could be.

[13.61.4]

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr is the author of the following works:470

  1. On occult properties (K. al-Khawāṣṣ).471

  2. On simple drugs (K. al-Adwiyah al-mufradah).472

  3. Explanation of an infamy, with examples: Rebuttal of Ibn Riḍwān’s refutation of Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq in his Introduction to Medicine (K. al-īḍāḥ bi-shawāhid al-iftiḍāḥ fī l-radd ʿalā Ibn Riḍwān fīmā raddahu ʿalā Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq fī K. al-mudkhal ilā l-ṭibb).473

  4. Dissipation of the doubts of al-Rāzī concerning the books of Galen (K. Ḥall shukūk al-Rāzī ʿalā kutub Jālīnūs).474

  5. Medical experiences (Mujarrabāt).475

  6. Refutation of some points in Abū ʿAlī Ibn Sīnā’s book on simple drugs (Maqālah fī radd ʿalā Abī l-ʿAlī Ibn Sīnā fī mawāḍiʿ min kitābihi fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah), which he composed for his son Marwān.476

  7. Medical anecdotes (K. al-Nukat al-ṭibbiyyah), composed for his son Marwān.

  8. Explanation of the epistle of Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī on the composition of drugs (Maqālah fī basṭihi li-risālat Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī fī tarkīb al-adwiyah), and other similar works copied for him.477

  9. Medical experiences (Mujarrabāt), which ʿAlī ibn Yūsuf Ibn Tāshfīn had compiled after the death of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ; they were compiled in Marrakesh and other places in North Africa and al-Andalus and copied in Jumādā al-Ākhirah 526 [April-May 1132].478

13.62 Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr479

[13.62.1]

Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr ibn Abī Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn Zuhr followed in the footsteps of his father in medicine. He acquired an extensive knowledge of simple and compound drugs, and was skilled in treatment. His fame spread throughout al-Andalus and other lands, and their physicians studied his works. None in his time matched his skills in the varied tasks of the art of medicine. There are many stories about the way in which he had come to know of diseases and treatments of which no other physician had been aware before.

Ibn Zuhr served the Almoravids, and he enjoyed his lot of luxury and wealth from his attendance on them for some time, until the appearance of the Mahdī Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Tūmart, who sent ʿAbd al-Muʾmin to al-Andalus to spread the [Almohad] creed (daʿwah) and to clear the way for the propagation of [Ibn Tūmart’s] message and the extension of his empire, taking over al-Andalus and gaining the obedience of the people.

The story of the advent of the Mahdī and his ascension to power is well known, as is that of ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, who conquered the kingdom and was recognized as caliph (amīr al-muʾminīn). He then came into possession of all the state revenues in the Western Lands, dispensed justice, and summoned scholars and men of learning and showed them great honour. He engaged Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Mālik ibn Zuhr as his personal physician, and gratified him with luxuries and stipends that surpassed all his desires. He held a respected and powerful position in the caliph’s establishment, and in that time he was distinguished above all his peers. Abū Marwān ibn Zuhr created for ʿAbd al-Muʾmīn the ‘Theriac of Seventy [Drugs]’ (al-tiryāq al-sabʿīnī), but then he reduced its components to ten, and then to seven; this last one was known as the ‘Theriac of Anthora’ (al-tiryāq al-antulah).480

[13.62.2.1]

Abū l-Qāsim al-Maʿājīnī al-Andalusī481 told me that the caliph ʿAbd al-Muʾmin needed to take purgatives (dawāʾ mus′hil), and that he hated to drink medicines of that kind. But Ibn Zuhr made it bearable for him: he went to his garden and watered a vine with water into which he had poured the medicine. The water had thus acquired the strength of the purgative with which it had been infused or boiled. As a result, the vine absorbed the strength of the needed purgative and the grapes that grew from it contained the efficacy of the medicine. Ibn Zuhr then helped the caliph by giving him a bunch of those grapes and telling him to eat them. The caliph, who trusted his physician, ate them. Ibn Zuhr observed the caliph as he ate, and then said: ‘O Commander of the Faithful, that is enough; you have eaten ten grapes and they will help you to sit on the toilet ten times.’ Ibn Zuhr then explained to him the reason for his words, and the caliph went to the toilet the said number of times, finding relief and getting better. In that way Ibn Zuhr enhanced his status at court.

[13.62.2.2]

The shaykh Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿArabī al-Ṭāʾī al-Ḥātimī,482 who was originally from Murcia, told me that when he was on his way to the palace of the Caliph in Seville, he met Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr in the ḥammām of Ibn Khayr, close to the estate of Ibn Muʾammal.483 There was a man there who was sick with an intestinal disease (sūʾ qitbihi); his abdomen had swollen and his skin had turned yellow. He was in great pain, and asked for someone who could examine him. Some days later, when Ibn Zuhr was there, the man asked again, and he examined him. Ibn Zuhr observed that the man had an old jug by his head from which he used to drink water. ‘Break this jug,’ the physician said, ‘it is the cause of your disease’. ‘No sir, by God,’ the man replied, ‘for I have no other.’ But Ibn Zuhr ordered one of his servants to break it, and out of the broken jug came a frog that had grown to a great size inside it. ‘That is the end of your disease,’ said Ibn Zuhr. ‘Look: that is what you were drinking!’ And thereafter the man recovered.

[13.62.2.3]

The qadi Abū Marwān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Lakhmī al-Bājī,484 said to me:

A trustworthy person told me that there was a wise man in Seville known as the Mouse485 who was versed in medicine and the author of a valuable book on simple drugs in two volumes. Abū Marwān ibn Zuhr, who used to eat green figs very often, once offered some of them to this physician called the Mouse, but he would not eat any figs, and if he ever had any it was no more than one every year.

He told Ibn Zuhr that he feared he would develop a suppurating ulcer – they call it naghlah486 in their dialect – if he ate figs so frequently. To which Ibn Zuhr replied: ‘There is no reason for such apprehension. And if you do not eat figs, you might suffer from convulsions (al-shanāj)’.

In the event, the Mouse did die from convulsions (al-tashannuj), and Ibn Zuhr also developed an ulcer (dubaylah) in his side and died because of that. This shows how accurate their predictions were. When Ibn Zuhr noticed his disease, he treated it with ointments (marāhim) and drugs, but this did not produce any noticeable improvement.

His son, Abū Bakr, used to tell him: ‘Father, why do not you replace this drug with such-and-such another, or you increase that drug, or use this and that …?’. To which Ibn Zuhr would reply: ‘Son, if it is God’s will that my state of health shall be altered, no drug will help me other than those that conform with His will’.

[13.62.3]

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: Some of the students who learnt medicine under Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr were the following Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Asdūn, known as al-Maṣdūm;487 Abū Bakr ibn al-Faqīh, the son of the qadi of Seville Abū l-Ḥasan;488 Abū Muḥammad al-Shadhūnī;489 and the jurist and ascetic Abū ʿImrān ibn Abī ʿImrān.490

Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr died in 557/1161491 in Seville and was buried outside the Gate of Victory.

[13.62.4]

Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr is the author of the following works:

  1. Facilitation of Therapeutics and Regimen (K. al-Taysīr fī l-mudāwāh wa-l-tadbīr), which he composed for the qadi Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd.492

  2. Foodstuffs (K. al-Aghdhiyah), composed for Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Muʾmin.493

  3. Embellishment [cosmetics] (K. al-Zīnah).494

  4. An aide-mémoire, addressed to his son Abū Bakr, on purgatives and their administration (Tadhkīrah fī amr al-dawāʾ al-mus′hil wa-kayfiyyat akhdhihi) written in youth on the first journey he made; he took it over from his father.495

  5. On renal diseases (Maqālah fī ʿilal al-kulā).496

  6. On leprosy and related skin disorders497 (Risālah fī ʿillatay al-baraṣ wa-l-bahaq), addressed to some physicians of Seville.498

  7. An aide-mémoire for his son Abū Bakr, with his earliest notes on treatment.

13.63 al-Ḥafīd (the Grandson) Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr499

[13.63.1]

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abī Marwān ibn Abī al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr, the vizier, was a respectable, wise, cultured and noble man born and raised in Seville. He distinguished himself in the study of various disciplines and learned medicine with his father, acquiring direct knowledge of its practical aspects. He was of middle height, with a healthy complexion and strong limbs, and even in old age he retained an excellent colour and could move with the same vitality, only he became hard of hearing at the end of his life. Abū Bakr memorized the Qur’an and studied Hadith and also Arabic literature and language. No one in his time was better versed in the Arabic language, and it is said that he mastered both medicine and literature. He also excelled at composing poetry and wrote a number of famous muwashshaḥāt that are still sung and are among the best poems in that style. He also applied himself to legal studies. With his solid religious convictions, his determination, and his love for the good, Abū Bakr was respected, and he used to speak boldly. No one in his time matched him in the art of medicine, and his fame reached all the corners of al-Andalus and also other lands.

[13.63.2]

The qadi Abū Marwān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Bājī,500 who was originally from Seville, told me (Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah):

The venerable and wise vizier Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr said to me once that he was associated with my grandfather ʿAbd al-Malik al-Bājī. For seven years, he worked with him, studying the Mudawwanah of Saḥnūn, the Mālikī scholar;501 and also the Musnad of Ibn Abī Shaybah.502

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī also said that Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr was strong enough to shoot a bow of 150 Sevillian raṭl – the raṭl used in Seville equals 16 ūqiyah and each ūqiyah to 10 dirhams503 – and that he was an excellent chess player.

[13.63.3]

None in his time matched him in the art of medicine. Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr served two dynasties: he worked for the last Almoravids, assisting his father; and then he served the Almohads, the people of ʿAbd al-Muʾmin. Abū Bakr began to work for ʿAbd al-Muʾmin in partnership with his father, and when his father died during ʿAbd al-Muʾmin’s reign he remained in the ruler’s service. Subsequently, he served the son of ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf; then his son, Yaʿqūb Abū Yūsuf, known as al-Manṣūr; and, finally, al-Manṣūr’s son, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Nāṣir. Abū Bakr passed away at the beginning of al-Nāṣir’s reign, in the year 596/1199.504 He died in Marrakesh, where he had gone for a visit, and was buried there in a place known as the Cemetery of the Venerable Men (maqābir al-shuyūkh). He lived approximately 90 years.

Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr possessed keen discernment and was excellent at applying treatment and administering care. This was so to such an extent that one day, when Abū Bakr was still a youth, his father Abū Marwān prescribed a laxative for the caliph ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, and when they met later Abū Bakr said: ‘It would be advisable to use this simple drug in place of that other one.’ ʿAbd al-Muʾmin did not take his medicine just then, and when his father met the caliph he said: ‘O Prince of the Believers, he was right.’ He substituted a different simple drug for the original one, to good effect. Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr also created the ‘Theriac of the Fifty Ingredients’ (al-tiryāq al-khamsīnī) for al-Manṣūr Abī Yūsuf Yaʿqūb.

[13.63.4]

Someone trustworthy told me that a man from the al-Yanāqī family505 was a friend of al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr and that they used to meet often to play chess together. One day while they were playing chess, al-Ḥafīḍ Abū Bakr felt that his friend was not as cheerful as usual and said to him: ‘What is on your mind? It seems that you are distracted with something; tell me about it’. ‘Yes,’ replied al-Yanāqī, ‘I have a daughter, and I am marrying her to a man who has asked for her hand, but I need three hundred dinars [for the dowry].’ ‘Play, and forget about that,’ said al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr, ‘for I have three hundred dinars less five dinars that you may have.’ They played for a while, and then al-Yanāqī took his leave, and Ibn Zuhr gave him the money. But he soon returned and put the three hundred dinars less five dinars in al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr’s hands.: ‘What is this?’ he exclaimed. ‘I have sold some olive trees,’ replied the man, ‘for seven hundred dinars, and I am giving you three hundred less five dinars in return for that which you kindly gave me: you receive this from me, and I still keep four hundred dinars.’ ‘Keep it all for yourself and put it to good use,’ said al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr, ‘I did not give you that money so that you would return it to me some day.’ But the man refused. ‘By God,’ he said, ‘at this moment I have no need to take it, or to take anything from anyone, either as a gift or as a loan.’ ‘But are you my friend or my enemy?’ asked al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr. ‘I am your friend,’ the man answered, ‘and the one who loves you the most.’ To which al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr replied: ‘True friends do not have anything that they would not share if one of them is in need.’ But the man would not accept it, until al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr exclaimed: ‘By God, if you do not accept it we will became enemies, and I will not speak to you ever again.’ And the man finally took the money and thanked his friend.

[13.63.5]

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī said:

Al-Manṣūr decided that no book of logic and philosophy should remain in his lands, and many were burnt. He was adamant that no one should engage in those disciplines any more, and that if anyone were to be found studying those arts or in possession of any book dealing with them, he would be severely punished. When he ruled concerning this matter he dispatched an agent to investigate al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr. The caliph wanted to know whether Ibn Zuhr had any hidden books of logic or philosophy and was studying them without mentioning anything about it to avoid falling into disgrace.

Ibn Zuhr was investigated, and the orders of al-Manṣūr were applied to all the books held by booksellers and others, so that no philosophical work would survive, and all those who studied them would be humiliated. But one of the notables of Seville, full of malice and envy against al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr, wrote a letter claiming that Ibn Zuhr had always occupied himself with those disciplines and studied them, and declaring that he had many books of philosophy in his house. He sent his letter, accompanied by attestations and oaths, to al-Manṣūr, who was then at the Castle of Deliverance (Ḥiṣn al-Faraj),506 a place only two miles away from Seville, with healthy, pure air, where wheat will last for eighty years without losing its good properties. It was Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr who had advised al-Manṣūr to build his palace in that place and to spend some time at it. Al-Manṣūr was there when he received the letter, and he ordered Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr seized and imprisoned and all the witnesses who had signed the letter convened. But then al-Manṣūr said: ‘I will not hold Ibn Zuhr accountable unless someone brings proof of his culpability. Nothing has been proven, and by God, even if all the people of al-Andalus were to come before me to bear witness against Ibn Zuhr attesting what this letter says, I would not accept their testimony, knowing what I know about the rightness of his religious convictions and his intelligence.’

[13.63.6]

Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ishbīlī507 said:

Al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr had taken two pupils to practise medicine with him; they worked together and were affiliated with him for some time, studying some medical works. One day when they met Ibn Zuhr, one of them happened to have a small book of logic with him, and Abū l-Ḥusayn, known as al-Maṣdūm, had joined them because he wanted to study that book. When he saw it, al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr exclaimed: ‘What is this?’ Then he took the book and inspected it, and when he realized that it was a book on logic, he threw it away. Even though he was barefoot, he stormed towards his pupils, intending to beat them. They fled, but al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr rushed after them despite his state,508 not sparing any insult, while they ran off before him – and they certainly ran a long distance.

Afterwards, the pupils avoided al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr for some time, not daring to approach him at all. Subsequently, however, they went to visit him, and on that occasion they excused themselves, claiming that the book had not been theirs and that they had had no reason to possess it: they had seen a young man in the street with the book in question, and they had only wanted to take hold of the book in order to subject him to scorn and ridicule. They had taken the book from him, and, forgetting that they had it with them, had gone to meet their master.

Al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr pretended to be deceived by all this, but before forgiving them and allowing them to carry on their studies in medicine with him, he ordered them to memorize the Qur’an, to study Qur’anic commentary (tafsīr), Hadith, and Sharia; and to commit themselves to abide by the requirements of the Sharia and live according to them, without exception. The pupils obeyed his orders, acquired the knowledge he had demanded of them, and respected the rules of the Sharia of their own accord and making them their habit, as they had been instructed. However, one day when they were with al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr, he presented to them that book on logic they had brought and said: ‘Now you are free to read this book and others of that kind with me, and to study them.’ They were greatly surprised, but this incident demonstrates his great intelligence and virtue.

[13.63.7]

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me:

Abū Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yūjān,509 the vizier of al-Manṣūr, was an enemy of al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr and envied him. When he saw the prestige and excellence of the physician’s position and the high regard that his work commanded, he conspired against him, intending to poison him with the help of one of his associates, putting the poison into some eggs. Al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr was then working with his sister and his niece, both of whom possessed a sound practical knowledge of medicine and knew how to administer remedies. They were especially experienced in the treatment of women and used to take care of the women of al-Manṣūr; in fact, al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr’s sister and her daughter delivered all the sons of al-Manṣūr and his family.510 Al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr did not eat any of the poisoned eggs, but his sister died, and his niece passed away with her mother, since no treatment was effective.

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī adds: Abū Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yūjān was subsequently murdered by members of his own family.

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah continues: One of Ibn Zuhr’s most excellent medical students was Abū Jaʿfar ibn al-Ghazāl.511

[13.63.8.1]

One of the poems of al-Ḥafīd Ibn Zuhr was recited to me [i.e., IAU] by Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī,512 who heard it from al-Ḥafīd himself when he had composed a poem about his love for his son:513

I have someone like a sandgrouse chick,
a young one, with whom my heart has been left behind.
My house is far from him; how lonely I am
without that dear little person and that dear face!
He yearns for me and I yearn for him;
he weeps for me and I weep for him.
Yearning has become tired between us two,
from him to me and from me to him!

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me that Abū ʿImrān ibn ʿImrān al-Zāhid al-Martalī, who lived in Seville, heard these verses from Ibn Zuhr himself, toward the end of his life:514

I looked into the mirror when it had been polished
and my eyes could not believe all they saw.
I saw a little old man whom I did not know,
while I used to know, before that, a young man.
‘Where is he’, I asked, ‘who once dwelled here?
When did he depart from this place, when?’
The mirror, thinking me stupid, replied to me, without speaking:
‘That one was here once; this one came afterwards.
Take it easy! This one will not last forever.
Don’t you see how grass withers after it has grown?’
Pretty women used to say, ‘Dear brother!’ but now
pretty women say, ‘Dear father!’

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī recited to me from a longer poem:515

Repeat what we spoke of to me, from all sides,
for speaking of the beloved is beloved.

Our teacher ʿAlam al-Dīn Qayṣar ibn Abī al-Qāsim ibn ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Musāfir al-Ḥanafī al-Muhandis516 recited to me these verses by Ibn Zuhr, which are eloquent and profound and display excellent use of paronomasia (tajnīs):517

Ah, what has passion done to his heart!
It has destroyed it when it alighted (alabba) on its core (bi-lubbihī).
It responded to it (labbāhu) when called upon: thus
someone called by the call of passion responds to it (yulabbihī).
How dear to me518 is he who, in his arrogance (ʿujbihī), is unable
to return a greeting. If you doubt it, just visit him (ʿuj bihī)!
A gazelle (ẓaby) from among the Turks (atrāk),519 the arrow-tips (ẓubā)
of whose glances have left (taraka) no solace for his lover.
5If you cannot believe what he with his looks has reaped with his
despoiling (salbihī) at the battle of al-Ghuwayr,520 then ask about him (sal bihī);
Or, if you wish to meet a lissom gazelle in whose herd (sirbihī)
there are lions521 in their den, then pass along him (sir bihī).
Ah, how pretty he is, how sweet his saliva;522
how proud he is and how humble I am in his love!
Or how gentle he is, with the rose on his cheek,
so delicate, but so strong the hardness of his heart!
So many veils (khimār)523 there are between me and the wine (khamra) of his saliva,
and heart’s torment (ʿadhāb) standing in the way of its pure sweetness (ʿadhb)!
10The violets of his cheeks524 proclaimed, intentionally:
‘O lovers, refrain yourselves from approaching!’

[13.63.8.2]

One of Ibn Zuhr’s muwashshaḥahs was recited to me by Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad the grandson of al-Ḥakīm Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr. The father of Abū ʿAbd Allāh was Abū Marwān Aḥmad the son of the qadi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Bājī, who married the daughter of Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr. And from her was born Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad. Abū Marwān Aḥmad was regent in Seville for nine months and then he was treacherously killed by Ibn al-Aḥmar in the year 630/1232, when he was 37 years old.525 About that Ibn Zuhr said, and it is one of his first compositions:526

My deep sighs assert
That the joys of passion are trouble.
My heart is madly in love with its tormentor,
While I complain because I seek him;
If I hide my love I while die because of it.
And if I cry out, ‘O my heart!’
The enemies rejoice and disapprove.
You who cry over abandoned remains
And who hands round the wine, hoping:
I am preoccupied by your eyes.
So leave off your useless outpour of tears
When the fire of yearning is blazing.
An eye that was generous with what it possesses
Knew the humiliation of passion and wept,
And complained about what it suffers and lamented.
My heart is forever madly in love,
Powerless to attain consolation.
I do not put the blame on my eyes;
They wore out my heart so now I wear them out,
Watching the stars at night.
I wanted to count their number,
Though they are countless.
To a gazelle who vanquishes a lion
I came, asking to fulfil what he had promised,
But he slunk away from me and said, ‘Tomorrow’.
Do you think, people, what about tomorrow?
Where will he dwell or be found?527

He also said:528

A sun that is paired with a full moon:
Wine and a drinking companion.
Pass round the cups
With the fragrance of ambergris!
The garden is full of joy
And the river has been clothed with a coat of mail529
By the blowing of the gentle breeze,
And the hand of the west and the east
Has unsheathed over the horizon
Swords of lightning.
The flowers have been made to laugh
By the weeping of the clouds.
Ah, I have a master
Who has acted arbitrarily and overpowered me.
Were it not
For the tears that betray my secret
I would have concealed it.
But how could I conceal it
When my tears are a flood
In which fires have been kindled?
Who has ever seen burning embers
That swim in a deep sea?
When I am blamed because of him
By someone who has seen his accusation
I sing a song to him:
‘Perhaps he has an excuse
Though you blame him.’530

He also said:531

O cupbearer, the complaint is addressed to you!
We called upon you but you did not listen.
There was a drinking companion I fell in love with;
I drank wine (rāḥ) from his hand (rāḥah).
Whenever he woke up from his inebriation
He drew the wineskin toward him, leaned back,
And poured me four in four.532
A willow branch, inclining from where he had been straight:
He who loves him spends the night, from excess of passion,
With pounding heart and weakened strength.
Whenever he thinks of separation he weeps;
But why should he weep for something that has not happened?
I have no patience nor fortitude;
O people! They have reproached me, doing their utmost;
They rejected my complaint about what I suffer.
One is entitled to complain about a state such as I am in:
The distress of despair and the humiliation of desire.
Why533 have my eyes become dim-sighted534 by a glance?
After seeing you they dislike the light of the moon.
If you wish, listen to my story.
My eyes have become wretched535 from long weeping;
One part of me wept with me for another part of me.536
A hot heart537 and tears that flow –
He knows his sin yet does not acknowledge it.
O you who turns away from what I describe:
The love in me for you has grown and thrived.
Let the beloved not think I am pretending!

He also said:538

O my two friends, listen to the call of one who is delighted with a friend!
How I suffer from the loss of loved ones!
A heart that is surrounded by passion from all sides,
Any heart that is madly in love,
Will have no rest from reviling women.
You whom I embrace with all my heart,539
And whom I make dwell there instead of a broken heart:
I belong to passion, you to unprecedented beauty.
The speech of a reproacher
Is something that will pass with the winds.
My proper conduct has been brushed aside, I am deprived of my right behaviour
By an open mouth that turned eyes away from camomile flowers540
That are watered by a mixture of musk and wine
Like bubbles floating
On the surface of pure water.
Who can help me when he, like a full moon, reveals himself in the dark?
I have fallen in love, because of his cheeks, with the moon when it is full,
And I have fallen in love, because of his body, with lissom figures.
Like a tender bough
His is unable to carry a sash.
He has burdened me in love with what cannot be endured:
A longing that if it were mentioned would daunt the undaunted.
No, you are the most unjust of those whose command must be obeyed.
But even though you are unjust
You are my desire and all I demand.

He also said:541

Greet these pretty faces
And greet those kohl-black eyes!
Is there anything wrong in loving?
In a drinking-companion, in wine?
A sincere well-wisher wants to correct me;
But how could I hope to be corrected,
Being between love and libertinism?
You absent one who is not absent:
You are far though near.
How often did hearts complain of you!
You have weakened them with wounds.
And ask the arrows of the eyelids!
The eyes of those who cry have been made to cry
By the remembrance of the sister of Arcturus.542
Even the doves on the arak trees543
Cried plaintively and wailed
On boughs and branches.
She has been handed the reins
By a lover who tries to cure his passion
And who cannot endure blame.
He is yearning in the morning, and in the evening
He is torn between several544 doubts.
You who left without saying farewell,
You have left together with all intimacy:
Pride(?)545 gives and withholds.
They passed and concealed546 their going in the morning,547
At daybreak548 and they did not say farewell to me.

He also said:549

Will passion avail or be helpful,
Or is it wrong for someone to weep?
O my heart’s desire, you have gone away from me
And now night has no morn for me.
I’d give my life for the one who shunned me and left;
‘Not an eye from him, nor a trace’.550
He tormented me with love for him; no!
He has not spared or left anything of me.
O eye, away!551 For I can only
Endure, with tears and sleeplessness.
Longing does what it wants
In a heart552 that is all wounds.
You who puts the full moon to shame, don’t ask me
About the wrongdoing of your sweet glances!
He is more radiant than the morning sun,
Time increases in beauty through his beauty.
His glance has the power of wine,
Doing with the mind what it wishes.
His cheeks are like roses in splendour,
To be plucked553 with the eye, or almost
And that cool mouth:
Its pebbly teeth are pearls and unmixed wine,
Or, as one says, water of a rain cloud
By which the grown camomile is watered.
You who have the most wonderful qualities,
O twig, O sand-dune, O moon!
You have gone and have not come again;
Ears and eyes are left desolate.
But for the east wind that blows from those regions
My heart would melt from pondering.
You who are far away,
The winds have brought news from you:
The east wind has told me about you
Whenever the meadow of the hills quivers and spreads it fragrance.
O magician above all magicians,
One whose beauty I describe:
A face he has, splendid like the morning;
In clothes of beauty he wraps himself.
Like a meadow surrounded by flowers,
That can be plucked by the eye, or have been plucked;
Like the full moon in whose night rise lucky stars,
Its light glittering and shining;
Like a supple branch in his swaying gait,
While the winds rock his sides.
Who will bring me the girl with henna’d finger-tips,
With slender figure and flirtation,
Whose avoidance resembles time:
Past, future, present!
He who blames me pities me because of her;
Then he turns away, laughing, and says:
‘A lover, poor one! God may …554
Be pleased with someone who loves pretty people!
Let him avoid me or be united with me:
One cannot demand555 anything from a magician.’

13.64 Abū Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥafīd Abī Bakr ibn Zuhr556

[13.64.1]

Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abī Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr ibn Marwān ibn Zuhr was a handsome and clever man with sound judgment, and extraordinary intelligence. His way of life was virtuous, although he liked luxurious clothes. He took a keen interest in medicine, having been dedicated to the study of all its aspects. Abū Muḥammad worked with his father, who helped him to discover the theoretical and practical secrets of that art, and with whom he read Abū Ḥanīfah al-Dīnawarī’s Book of Plants (K. al-Nabāt)557 and mastered its contents. The caliph Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Nāṣir ibn al-Manṣūr Abī Yaʿqūb held Abū Muḥammad in high regard and bestowed great honours upon him, aware as he was of the physician’s vast knowledge and the high rank of his family.

[13.64.2.1]

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me:

When Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd went to the capital [i.e., Marrakesh] the caliph ensured that he would have all that he needed for his travel and personal expenses with a purse of 10,000 dinars. And when he met the caliph al-Nāṣir in Mahdia, which al-Nāṣir had just conquered, Abū Muḥammad paid him homage in the customary fashion, with the words, ‘O Prince of the Believers by the grace of God, my ancestors and I have enjoyed your grace and benevolence, and the honour that you bestowed on my father has been passed on to me with riches that I will not spend in my lifetime. I have come only to be at your service, as my father did, and to take the place he used to hold next to the Prince of the Believers.’ Al-Nāṣir covered him with honours and gave him wealth and riches beyond description; he sat close to the caliph in the place that had been occupied by his father al-Ḥafīd.

Those who had a place next to the caliph were [in this order]: al-Khaṭīb Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Yūsuf Ḥajjāj al-Qāḍī, al-Qāḍī al-Sharīf Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī,558 Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd Abī Bakr ibn Zuhr, and, at his side, Abū Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Jazūlī, the author of the famous Introduction to Grammar known as al-Jazūliyyah.559 Abū Muḥammad Ibn Zuhr was also interested in grammar, which he studied with [al-Jazūlī] and learned from him.

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥafīd was born in Seville in 577/1181–1182, and [later] was poisoned and died, may God have mercy upon him, in Salé560 in 602/1205–1206, in the district named Ribāṭ al-Fatḥ, where he was buried. He was on his way to Marrakesh, but fate struck him down before he had arrived. His corpse was subsequently taken from there and brought to Seville to be buried next to his ancestors in the Bāb al-Fatḥ. He lived twenty-five years.

[13.64.2.2]

This is one of the most amazing stories that the qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me about Abū Muḥammad:

One day I was with him and he said to me: I dreamt of my sister last night – she had already died. It was as if I asked her: ‘Sister, by God, would you tell me how long will I live?’ She replied: ‘Two tapias (ṭābiyahs) and a half’ – the tapia (ṭābiyah) is a wooden frame used in construction and is known in the Maghrib by that name. Its length is ten spans.561 And I said to her, ‘I asked you a serious question, and you have answered with a joke.’ But she replied, ‘No, by God, I spoke in earnest; but you did not understand. Is not a tapia ten spans, and two tapias and a half twenty-five? Then you will live for twenty-five years.’

[13.64.2.3]

The qadi Abū Marwān continued:

When he told me about this dream, I said: ‘Do not interpret anything from that, because it is probably a confused dream.’ But he died before the end of that year, being, as he had been told, twenty-five years old, no more or less. He left two sons, both with noble personal virtues and good family background; one was named Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik and the other Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Muḥammad. This latter, who was the younger, took an interest in the art of medicine and became an expert in the books of Galen. They both lived in Seville.

13.65 Abū Jaʿfar ibn Hārūn al-Turjālī562

Al-Turjālī was born into one of the noblest families of Seville. He studied philosophy and excelled in it, especially with respect to knowledge of the works of Aristotle and other philosophers of antiquity. He was also well versed in medicine, and he specialized in that art, having had experience in its principles and its various branches, and being good at treating diseases. Abū Jaʿfar’s way of life was virtuous. He served Abū Yaʿqūb, the father of al-Manṣūr.563

Abū Jaʿfar was one of the pupils of the jurist Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī,564 with whom he associated for some time and with whom he studied Hadith. Abū Jaʿfar also transmitted Hadith himself. He was the teacher of Abū l-Walīd ibn Rushd in various disciplines, including medicine.

Abū Jaʿfar was originally from Trujillo,565 a city on the frontier region of al-Andalus. Trujillo was attacked by al-Manṣūr and abandoned by its [Christian] inhabitants; he subsequently repopulated it with Muslims.

Abū Jaʿfar ibn Hārūn was also an expert oculist and many anecdotes have survived about his skill in preparing medicines. The qadi Abū Marwān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Lakhmī al-Bājī told me that his brother, the qadi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, had injured his eye with a stick when he was a boy: his eyeball was pierced in such a way that no healing was expected. But his father summoned Abū Jaʿfar ibn Hārūn, showed him his son’s eye, and told him: ‘I will pay you three hundred dinars if you cure him’. ‘By God, that will not be necessary,’ replied the physician, ‘I will give him some medicine and he will recover, God willing’. And the boy took his medicine until his eye was healed and he could see with it.

Abū Jaʿfar came to be affected by numbness (khadar) and his limbs were enfeebled, so that he had to remain in his house in Seville, where he attended his patients. It was in Seville that he died.

13.66 Abū l-Walīd ibn Rushd566

[13.66.1]

The qadi Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Rushd was born and raised in Cordova. His virtue is well known, as is his engagement with various disciplines. He excelled in law and in the analysis of discordant hadiths, and worked together with the jurist al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Muḥammad ibn Rizq. Ibn Rushd also devoted himself to medicine. He was an excellent writer with regard both form and content. His medical Book of Generalities (K. al-Kulliyyāt) is the best of his works. Ibn Rushd and Abū Marwān ibn Zuhr567 were close friends, and when Ibn Rushd wrote his book on medical generalities (kulliyyah) Ibn Zuhr asked him to write a book on particularities (juzʾiyyah) as well, so that the two treatises would complement each other and form a perfect compendium on medicine.

[13.66.2]

That is why Ibn Rushd, at the end of the Book of Generalities (K. al-Kulliyyāt) wrote:

This is the section on treatment (muʿālajah), comprising all the kinds of diseases in as succinct and clear a form as possible. We still need to add to this a further section on treatment, detailing each of the external symptoms for each of the parts of the body. Even if this is not necessary, because it is implicit in the previous sections on generalities, it will be a practical complement, because we shall include in it the treatment of diseases according to the parts of the body – which is the method followed by authors of handbooks (aṣḥāb al-kanānīsh) – and we shall add this section on particularities to our previous sections on generalities because medicine above all is a discipline to be approached according to its particularities whenever possible.

However, we have postponed this owing to our current commitments elsewhere until such time as we are able to bring it to completion. This book [i.e. the Book on Generalities] has been published, then, without those sections, for anyone will want to look at the handbooks (kanānīsh) alongside it because they will serve to supplement it. I asked Abū Marwān ibn Zuhr for the book that he composed recently, entitled Facilitation (al-Taysīr); I have taken it as a model and this is the way [my Book on Particularities] is being written. As mentioned, it will be a book with sections on particularities in which I shall discuss them in strict accordance with the sections on generalities, with the difference that those sections [of our future book] will deal with the treatment of signs and the occurrence of causes, as is customary in handbooks. There would be no utility in that for the reader of our present book, who will find sufficient the plain discussion of treatment, which, along with the sections on generalities that we have written, will enable him to draw comparisons with the achievements and mistakes in the use of drugs discussed in the handbooks that explain the treatment and care of patients.568

[13.66.3]

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me:

The qadi Abū l-Walīd ibn Rushd had a sound intellect, wore shabby clothes, and possessed a strong spirit. He devoted himself to the study of various disciplines, including medicine, with Abū Jaʿfar ibn Hārūn [al-Turjālī],569 with whom he associated for some time, acquiring a profound understanding of philosophy. Ibn Rushd held the position of qadi in Seville for a time before moving to Cordova to serve al-Manṣūr at the beginning of his reign; later, al-Manṣūr’s son al-Nāṣir also held him in high regard. Al-Manṣūr sent for Ibn Rushd when he left Cordova to fight King Alfonso in the year 591/1195.570 When Ibn Rushd met the caliph, al-Manṣūr covered him with honours and placed him by his side, giving him the seat that had previously been occupied by Abū Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid, son of the shaykh Abū Ḥafṣ al-Hintātī, a friend of the caliph ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, who held the third or fourth position among The Ten [followers of Ibn Tūmart].571 Al-Manṣūr had become related by marriage with this Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wāḥid by giving him his daughter’s hand, owing to the caliph’s high regard for him. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid had a son with her named ʿAlī, who is now governor of Ifrīqiyah (ṣāḥib Ifrīqiyah).572

When al-Manṣūr invited Ibn Rushd to sit by his side and they conversed together, many of his friends and students were waiting as he came out of the court to congratulate him on having achieved such a position at the caliph’s side. But he said: ‘By God, no congratulations are due, for it was the Commander of the Faithful who gave me more than I had hoped or expected’.

Some of his enemies spread calumnies claiming that the Commander of the Faithful had had him killed. When he came out safe and sound, he sent some of his servants to his house to tell them to prepare a stew with sand-grouses and squabs and to have it ready for him upon his return. By this means he intended to reassure them that he was in good health.

Later, however, al-Manṣūr punished Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd by having him exiled to Lucena – a city not far from Seville once populated by Jews – and ordering him not to leave it.573 The caliph also acted against other people of rank and virtue having them exiled to various places. It seems that the reason behind this was their alleged engagement with philosophy and the disciplines of the ancients. Those who suffered such persecution were: Abū l-Walīd ibn Rushd, Abū Jaʿfar al-Dhahabī,574 the jurist Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, qadi of Bougie;575 Abū l-Rabīʿ al-Kafīf,576 and Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Qarrābī, the ḥāfiẓ577 and poet.578 They lived in exile for some time, until a group of notables from Seville testified in favour of Ibn Rushd, swearing that he had been innocent of his alleged offence, and the caliph al-Manṣūr had mercy on him and on the others. This took place in the year 505/1198. Abū Jaʿfar al-Dhahabī, for his part, was made head of the students and physicians.579 Al-Manṣūr described Abū Jaʿfar in generous terms, saying that he was like the pure gold that does not leave any impurity when melted down.

[13.66.4]

The qadi Abū Marwān said:

One of the things that al-Manṣūr resented about Ibn Rushd is that, while sitting in one of his assemblies, Ibn Rushd, on his own initiative or perhaps talking to him or discussing some scientific issue, addressed al-Manṣūr as ‘Listen, brother’. Also, Ibn Rushd once described a book on animals, commenting on the various species and depicting each of them, and when he came to the giraffe, he described it and then said: ‘I have seen a giraffe [in the palace] of the King of the Berbers – i.e., al-Manṣūr.’ These words reached al-Manṣūr, who found them offensive, and that was one of the reasons why he took revenge against Ibn Rushd and send him into exile. It is also said that Ibn Rushd apologized, claiming that he had meant to say ‘the King of the two Continents’ (malik al-barrayn),580 but had misspelled it, and the reader had said ‘King of the Berbers’.581

[13.66.5]

The qadi Ibn Rushd, may God have mercy upon him, died in Marrakesh at the beginning of the year 595 [early November of 1198], just when the reign of al-Nāṣir was beginning. Ibn Rushd lived a long life and left a son who was also a physician, named Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh. He, in turn, left several sons who dedicated themselves to law and worked as provincial qadis.

One of the sayings of Ibn Rushd is: ‘The study of anatomy increases faith in God’.582

[13.66.6]

Ibn Rushd is the author of the following works:583

  1. On attainment (K. al-Taḥṣīl). In it, the author has compiled the divergences in the opinions of Companions, Followers, and those who came after them, and the establishment of their doctrines, and explained the instances susceptible of different interpretation that were sources of disagreement.584

  2. Introduction to law (K. al-Muqaddimāt fī l-fiqh).585

  3. The Finishing Point of the Juridical Interpreter (K. Nihāyat al-mujtahid fī l-fiqh).586

  4. The Book of Generalities [on medicine] (K. al-Kulliyyāt).587

  5. Commentary on the poem in rajaz metre on medicine (Urjūzah fī l-ṭibb) attributed to al-Shaykh al-Raʾīs Ibn Sīnā.588

  6. On animals (K. al-Ḥayawān)589

  7. Compendium of the books of Aristotle on natural philosophy and metaphysics.

  8. The Necessary (Book): on logic (K. al-Ḍarūrī fī l-manṭiq), containing the author’s epitome of the books of Aristotle, which he summarizes completely and exhaustively.590

  9. Middle commentary591 on Nicolaus [Damascenus’] Metaphysics (Talkhīṣ al-ilāhiyyāt li-Nīqūlās).592

  10. Middle commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Talkhīṣ K. mā baʿd al-ṭabīʿah li-Aristūtālīs).593

  11. Middle commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (Talkhīṣ K. al-akhlāq li-Arisṭūṭālis).594

  12. Middle commentary on Aristotle’s Analytica Posteriora (Talkhīṣ K. al-burhān li-Arisṭūṭālis).595

  13. Middle commentary on Aristotle’s Physics (Talkhīṣ K. al-samāʿ al-ṭabīʿī li-Arisṭūṭālis).596

  14. Commentary on Aristotle’s De Caelo (Sharḥ K. al-samāʾ wa-l-ʿālam li-Arisṭūṭālis).597

  15. Commentary on Aristotle’s De Anima (Sharḥ K. al-nafs li-Arisṭūṭālis).598

  16. Commentary on Galen’s Elements (Sharḥ K. al-usṭuqussāt li-Jālīnūs).599

  17. Commentary on Galen’s Mixtures (Sharḥ K. al-mizāj li-Jālīnūs).600

  18. Commentary on Galen’s Natural Faculties (Sharḥ K. al-quwā al-ṭabīʿiyyah li-Jālīnūs).601

  19. Commentary on Galen’s Causes and Symptoms (Sharḥ K. al-ʿilal wa-l-aʿrāḍ li-Jālīnūs).602

  20. Commentary on Galen’s Classification (Sharḥ K. al-taʿarruf li-Jālīnūs).603

  21. Commentary on Galen’s Book on Fevers (Sharḥ K. al-ḥummayāt li-Jālīnūs).604

  22. Middle commentary on the first book of Galen’s Simple Drugs (Talkhīṣ Awwal kitāb al-adwiyah al-mufradah li-Jālīnūs).605

  23. Commentary on the second section of Galen’s Method of Healing (Talkhīṣ al-niṣf al-thānī min K. Ḥīlat al-burʾ li-Jālīnūs).606

  24. The Incoherence of the Incoherence (K. Tahāfut al-tahāfut), which is a refutation of al-Ghazālī’s The Incoherence [of the Philosophers].607

  25. Exposition of religious arguments concerning the principles of law (K. Minhāj al-adillah fī uṣūl al-fiqh).608

  26. A small book entitled The Decisive Treatise on the Relationship between Philosophy and the Sharia (Faṣl al-maqāl fīmā bayna al-ḥikmah wa-l-sharīʿah min al-ittiṣāl).609

  27. Important questions on Aristotle’s Analytica Posteriora (al-Masāʾil al-muhimmah ʿalā K. al-Burhān li-Arisṭūṭālīs).610

  28. Commentary on Aristotle’s Analytica Priora (Sharḥ K. al-Qiyās li-Arisṭūṭālīs).611

  29. On the intellect (Maqālah fī l-ʿaql).612

  30. On syllogism (Maqālah fī l-qiyās).613

  31. Examination of whether our intellect – called material – conceives of forms separate from itself [i.e., in the Abstract Intellect] or not (K. Fī l-faḥṣ hal yumkin al-ʿaql alladhī fīnā wa-huwa al-musammā bi-l-hayūlānī an yaʿqil al-ṣuwar al-mufāriqah bi-ākharihi aw lā yumkin dhālika). This is the question that Aristotle promised us that he would examine in On the Soul (K. al-Nafs).614

  32. That the beliefs of the Peripatetics and the dialectic theologians of our religion concerning the quality of the world’s existence are related conceptually (Maqālah fī anna mā yaʿtaqiduhu al-mashshāʾūn wa-mā yaʿtaqiduhu al-mutakallimūn min ahl millatinā fī kayfiyyat wujūd al-ʿālam mutaqārib fī l-maʿnā).

  33. Treatise discussing the definition of the deductive method used by Abū Naṣr [al-Fārābī] in his books on logic that are in general circulation, and the deductive method applied by Aristotle, to what extent each of his books on this discipline borrows from the books of Aristotle, and to what extent their respective deductive methods differ.615

  34. On the conjunction of the separate intellect with man (Maqālah fī ittiṣāl al-ʿaql al-mufāriq bi-l-insān).616

  35. Second treatise on the conjunction of the separate intellect with man (Maqālah fī ittiṣāl al-ʿaql al-mufāriq bi-l-insān).617

  36. Consultations and discussions between Abū Bakr Ibn Ṭufayl and Ibn Rushd concerning his description of drugs in his book entitled The Generalities.618

  37. On the examination of metaphysical questions raised in Ibn Sīnā’s Book of Healing (K. Fī al-faḥṣ ʿan masāʾil waqaʿat fī l-ʿilm al-ilāhī fī K. al-Shifāʾ li-Ibn Sīnā).619

  38. A question on time (Masʾalah fī l-zamān).620

  39. Dissipation of the doubts of those who oppose the sage and his proof of the creation of the First Matter, explaining that Aristotle’s proof is the evident truth (Maqālah fī faskh shubhat man iʿtaraḍa ʿalā al-Ḥakīm wa-burhānihi fī wujūd al-māddah al-ūlā wa-tabyīn anna burhān Arisṭūṭālīs huwa al-ḥaqq al-mubīn).621

  40. Treatise refuting Abū ʿAlī Ibn Sīnā’s division of existent beings into contingent without restriction, contingent due to their essence, necessary due to exterior [causes], or due to their own essence (Maqālah fī l-radd ʿalā Abī ʿAlī Ibn Sīnā fī taqsīmihi al-mawjūdāt ilā mumkin ʿalā l-iṭlāq wa-mumkin bi-dhātihi wājib bi-ghayrihi wa-ilā wājib bi-dhātihi).622

  41. Mixture (Maqālah fī l-mizāj).623

  42. A question regarding bouts of fever (Masʾalah fī nawāʾib al-ḥummā).624

  43. On fevers causing putridity (Maqālah fī ḥummayāt al-ʿafan).625

  44. A question on philosophy (Masʾalah fī l-ḥikmah).626

  45. On the movement of the sphere (Maqālah fī ḥarakat al-falak).627

  46. On Abū Naṣr [al-Farābī’s] differences with Aristotle’s Analytica Posteriora concerning its organisation, deductive rules and definitions (K. fīmā khālafa Abū Naṣr li-Arisṭūṭālīs fī K. al-Burhān min tartībihi wa-qawānīn al-barāhīn wa-l-ḥudūd).628

  47. On theriac (Maqālah fī l-tiryāq).629

13.67 Abū Muḥammad Ibn Rushd630

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Ibn Rushd was well versed in the art of medicine and excelled in it, being known for his practical skills. He used to travel to the court of al-Nāṣir and serve him as his physician.

Abū Muḥammad Ibn Rushd is the author of On the Method of Healing (Maqālah fī ḥīlat al-burʾ).

13.68 Abū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn Mūrāṭīr631

[13.68.1]

Abū l-Ḥajjāj from Mūrāṭīr [i.e. Murviedro] in eastern al-Andalus, a town close to Valencia.632 He excelled in the art of medicine and acquired extensive experience in that domain, having been particularly interested in its practical aspects. Abū l-Ḥajjāj led a virtuous life and possessed good judgement. He knew about legal disciplines, studying Hadith and the Mudawwanah.633 In addition, he was a man of letters and a poet, and he loved licentious literature. Many stories circulated about him.

[13.68.2]

The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me:

We were once in Tunis with al-Nāṣir.634 The army was suffering as a result of high prices and a shortage of barley. Abū l-Ḥajjāj composed a muwashshaḥah on al-Nāṣir in which he altered a verse that al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr usually included in some of his muwashshaḥahs. Ibn Zuhr’s verse ran:635

A feast does not consist in wearing a fine robe and a suit636
Or smelling perfume:
Rather, a feast consists in a meeting
With one’s beloved.

While Ibn Mūrāṭīr’s version was as follows:

A feast does not consist in wearing a fine robe and a suit
Made of silk:
Rather, a feast consists in a meeting
With barley.

And then al-Nāṣir gave him ten dry measures (amdād) of barley, the price of which at that time was fifty dinars.

[13.68.3]

Abū l-Ḥajjāj Ibn Mūrāṭīr served the caliph al-Manṣūr Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb as his personal physician; when the caliph died, he served his son Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥmmad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Nāṣir; and afterwards he also served al-Nāṣir’s son Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Mustanṣir ibn al-Nāṣir. Abū l-Ḥajjāj lived a long life; he enjoyed the estimation of al-Manṣūr and held a position of honour by his side: he used to sit in the private assembly together with the notables to discuss language and other matters. Abū l-Ḥajjāj died of gout in Marrakesh during the reign of al-Mustanṣir.637

13.69 Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd638

Ibn Yazīd was the son of Abū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn Mūrāṭīr’s sister. He was an outstanding physician, a man of letters and a poet. His poetry is considered excellent.

13.70 Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Qablāl639

Ibn Qablāl was born and raised in Granada. He possessed an extensive knowledge of the art of medicine, and was skilled in treating patients. Ibn Qablāl served al-Manṣūr and his son, al-Nāṣir, as physician. He died in Marrakesh during al-Nāṣir’s reign.

13.71 Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Dānī640

Al-Dānī took an extraordinary interest in medicine. He was originally from Pechina, but moved to the capital [i.e., Marrakesh], where he became the senior physician and director of the hospital (amīn al-bīmāristān). He had two sons, of whom the elder, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad, was killed while with al-Nāṣir at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in al-Andalus.641 Al-Dānī died in Marrakesh during the reign of al-Mustanṣir ibn al-Nāṣir.

13.72 Abū Yaḥyā ibn Qāsim al-Ishbīlī642

Abū Yaḥyā excelled in the art of medicine, and had great experience with simple and compound drugs and extensive knowledge of their efficacy. He was in charge of the dispensary of potions and electuaries (khizānat al-ashribah wa-l-maʿājīn) that the caliph al-Manṣūr had established, following his advice. His father had also been in the service of Abū Yaʿqūb, the father of al-Manṣūr.

Abū Yaḥyā died in Marrakesh during the reign of al-Mustanṣir. He left a son, who took his place in the dispensary.

13.73 Abū l-Ḥakam ibn Ghalindū643

Born and raised in Seville, Ibn Ghalindū [i.e., the son of Galindo] was a man of letters and a gifted poet, although he specialized in medicine. He led a virtuous life and was an expert in his domain. Ibn Ghalindū served al-Manṣūr as his personal physician and held a high position at his court. Al-Manṣūr took him into his service when he succeeded to the caliphate in 580/1184–1185. Ibn Ghalindū was the author of many books, and used to write using the two Andalusian calligraphic styles.644 He died in Marrakesh and was buried there.

13.74 Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Ḥassān645

The Ḥājj Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Ḥassān al-Gharnāṭī was born and raised in Granada. He studied medicine, mastering both theory and practice. Abū Jaʿfar served al-Manṣūr as his personal physician. He performed the pilgrimage in the company of Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Jubayr al-Gharnāṭī, the man of letters and author of the Book of Travels (Riḥlah), in which Abū Jaʿfar is mentioned.646

Abū Jaʿfar ibn Ḥassān died in Fez. He is the author of On the Preservation of Health (K. Tadbīr al-ṣiḥḥah), which was composed for al-Manṣūr.

13.75 Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Abī Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Ḥassān647

Originally from Granada and born into one of its most illustrious families, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ had sound judgement and great intelligence. He devoted himself to literature and was superbly gifted. He worked as a physician and as a secretary. He served al-Mustanṣir as his personal physician and enjoyed a privileged position at his court. He was among the most excellent physicians of Seville, where he resided.

13.76 Abū Muḥammad al-Shadhūnī648

Born and raised in Seville, al-Shadhūnī649 was an intelligent scholar with an extensive knowledge of astronomy and philosophy. He also studied medicine with Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr, with whom he worked for some time to acquire practical skills. Al-Shadhūnī was famous for his knowledge and was skilled in applying treatments. He served al-Nāṣir as his personal physician, ultimately dying in Seville during the reign of al-Mustanṣir.

13.77 al-Maṣdūm650

Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Asdūn, widely known as al-Maṣdūm, was a student of Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr. He was intelligent and experienced. Devoting himself to the study of medicine, he became celebrated for his skill as a physician. He was also a man of letters and a poet. Al-Maṣdūm lived in Seville, where he had been born and raised. He used to attend al-Manṣūr whenever the caliph required his professional services. Al-Maṣdūm died in Seville in 588/1192.

13.78 ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Maslamah al-Bājī651

Originally from Beja, in the West, al-Bājī was born into one of the most prominent families of al-Andalus and was known as Ibn al-Ḥafīd. He excelled in the art of medicine, but was also an extraordinary man of letters and an author of good poetry. Al-Bājī was a student of al-Maṣdūm. He served al-Mustanṣir as his personal physician, and died in Marrakesh during his reign.

13.79 Abū Jaʿfar ibn al-Ghazāl652

Abū Jaʿfar was born in Canjáyar in the region of Almeria, but left his native place to study with al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr, with whom he had a very close relationship.653 He studied medicine with him and others until he mastered the art and was able to enter the service of al-Manṣūr as his personal physician. Abū Jaʿfar had extensive experience in the preparation of compound drugs and possessed a thorough knowledge of their components. Al-Manṣūr relied on Abū Jaʿfar for the preparation of the compound drugs and electuaries with which he treated the caliph.

Al-Manṣūr had banned wine and was adamant that none should be brought to the capital and that no one should have any in his possession. Some time later al-Manṣūr told Abū Jaʿfar: ‘I want you to collect the ingredients needed to make the ‘great theriac’ (al-tiryāq al-kabīr) for me.’ The physician obeyed and collected the ingredients, but he lacked the wine, which was required to mix the drugs of the antidote into a paste. He told al-Manṣūr about it and the caliph replied: ‘Search for it in every corner, and look to see if anyone has any wine, even if only a little bit, so that we can complete the antidote.’ Abū Jaʿfar asked everyone, but to no avail: he could not find any wine at all. ‘By God,’ exclaimed al-Manṣūr, ‘I really wanted to make the antidote, not to find out whether anyone had wine in his possession.’654

Abū Jaʿfar ibn al-Ghazāl died during the caliphate of al-Nāṣir.

13.80 Abū Bakr the Son of al-Qāḍī Abū l-Ḥasan al-Zuhrī655

[13.80.1]

Abū Bakr, the son of Abū l-Ḥasan al-Zuhrī al-Qurashī, the jurist and qadi of Seville, was born and raised in Seville. He was generous and gentle, with a good character and a noble soul. Abū Bakr studied literature, mastered the religious sciences (al-ʿilm), and was one of the most virtuous scholars in the art of medicine and one of its most excellent practitioners. He served Abū ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, the governor (ṣāḥib) of Seville, as his personal physician, and used to attend sick people and write prescriptions for them without asking anything in return.

[13.80.2]

At the beginning of his career Abū Bakr was passionate about chess, and was such an excellent player that he came to be known as ‘The Chess-player’. The qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī told me:

I once asked the qadi Abū Bakr ibn Abī l-Ḥasan al-Zuhrī about the reasons that had led him to study medicine, and he replied: ‘I used to play chess constantly. Few others in Seville played as well as I used to do, to such an extent that I was called Abū Bakr al-Zuhrī the Chess-player (al-shaṭranjī). I became furious when I heard that, and I told myself that I had to turn away from chess and cultivate some other discipline, so that it, instead of chess, would be associated with my name. But I knew that, even if I were to devote my entire life to study law or other humanistic disciplines, I would not reach the required degree of excellence to be nicknamed after them. So I decided to approach Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr and study medicine with him. I listened to his lectures and wrote prescriptions for the sick people who came to consult him, and after that I became famous for my medical skills, and the former nickname that I had hated was forgotten.’

Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Ḥasan al-Zuhrī lived eighty-five years. He died during the caliphate of al-Mustanṣir656 and was buried in Seville.

13.81 Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Nadrūmī657

[13.81.1]

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saḥnūn, known as al-Nadrūmī owing to his family’s being originally from Nedroma, near the city of Tlemcen, belonged to the Berber tribe of Kūmiyah.658 Al-Nadrūmī had great ability and a noble soul, was loved for his virtues, and possessed a keen, acute intelligence. He was born in Cordova around 580/1184–1185 and raised there. Then he moved to Seville, where he met the qadi Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd and studied medicine with him, and also with Abū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn Mūrāṭīr.

[13.81.2]

Al-Nadrūmī also excelled in literature and language, and studied Hadith. He served al-Nāṣir as his personal physician at the end of his caliphate and, after him, he served his son al-Mustanṣir. Later, however, he settled in Seville, where he entered the service of Abū l-Najāʾ Sālim ibn Hūd and his brother Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hūd, the ruler (ṣāḥib) of al-Andalus.659

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Nadrūmī is the author of an abridgement of al-Ghazālī‘s The Clear [Book on the Principles of Law] (Ikhtiṣār K. al-Mustaṣfā li-l-Ghazālī).

13.82 Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Sābiq660

Abū Jaʿfar was originally from Cordova. He was virtuous, clever and sharp-witted, skilful at applying treatment, and well known for his knowledge. He was one of the pupils of the qadi Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd, with whom he studied medicine. After having served al-Nāṣir as his personal physician, he died during the caliphate of al-Mustanṣir.

13.83 Ibn al-Ḥallāʾ al-Mursī661

Ibn al-Ḥallāʾ, a native of Murcia, was known for his excellent medical knowledge. He occasionally worked for al-Manṣūr whenever he travelled [to Murcia]. He died in the city of his birth.

13.84 Abū Isḥāq ibn Ṭumlūs662

Ibn Ṭumlūs was a native of Alzira,663 in the province of Valencia. He was one of a number of distinguished medical practioners there. After having served al-Nāṣir as his personal physician, he died in the city of his birth.

13.85 Abū Jaʿfar al-Dhahabī664

Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Jurayj al-Dhahabī was virtuous and skilled in the art of medicine; his theoretical knowledge was sound, and he was gentle as a practitioner. He served al-Manṣūr as his personal physician and, after him, his son al-Nāṣir, whose literary assemblies he used to attend. Abū Jaʿfar died in Tlemcen in the course of a razzia of al-Nāṣir into Ifrīqiyah in the year 600/1203–1204.

13.86 Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn al-Rūmiyyah665

[13.86.1]

Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mufarrij al-Nabātī (‘the Botanist’), known as Ibn al-Rūmiyyah, was originally from Seville and was one of that city’s most illustrious and virtuous scholars. He was an expert in botany and knew all the classes of drugs, their properties and benefits, their various attributes and habitats. He was widely renowned and had a good reputation for his religious principles and his research in medicine, and he made himself known by his many virtues.

After having studied Hadith for a considerable time with Ibn Ḥazm and others, he travelled to Egypt in 613/1215–1216, where he resided for some time, and then to Syria and Iraq for two years. The people there profited from his [knowledge], and besides pursuing his studies of Hadith, he investigated many of the plants of those lands that are not found in the West, observing the various kinds in their habitats and the places where they grew.

[13.86.2]

Hardly had Ibn al-Rūmiyyah arrived in Alexandria after his journey from the Maghrib when the Sultan al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Abū Bakr ibn Ayyūb,666 may God have mercy upon him, heard about him, with his virtue and his exceptional botanical knowledge, and summoned him to Cairo, where he was at that time. The Sultan covered Ibn al-Rūmiyyah with honours and promised that he should be given a stipend and allowances if he would remain with him, but the physician did not stay. He excused himself saying: ‘I only left my land to perform the pilgrimage – God willing – and then return to my family’. He remained for some time with the Sultan, collecting the ingredients of the ‘great theriac’ (al-tiryāq al-kabīr) and preparing that remedy for him, and then he departed for the Hijaz. Once the pilgrimage was finished, he returned to the Maghrib and settled in Seville.

[13.86.3]

Ibn al-Rūmiyyah is the author of the following works:

  1. Commentary on the names of simple drugs in the book of Dioscorides (Tafsīr asmāʾ al-adwiyah al-mufradah min K. Diyusqūrīdis).667

  2. On the composition of drugs (Maqālah fī tarkīb al-adwiyah).668

13.87 Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Kanbanārī669

Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad was originally from Seville, and was one of the most knowledgeable and distinguished of that city’s people in the domain of medicine. He studied medicine at the beginning of his career with ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Maslamah al-Bājī, and then with Abū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn Mūrāṭīr in Marrakesh. Finally, he settled in Seville, where he served as personal physician to Abū l-Najāʾ ibn Hūd, the ruler (ṣāḥib) of Seville, and also for his brother Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hūd.670

13.88 Ibn al-Aṣamm671

[13.88.1]

Ibn al-Aṣamm was one of the most renowned physicians of Seville. He was greatly experienced in the art of medicine and had excellent observation skills to detect the symptoms of diseases and determine remedies. There are well-known stories and numerous anecdotes about his knowledge and his ability to know the state of patients, from what kind of afflictions they were suffering, and what they had eaten simply by examining their phials [of urine].

[13.88.2]

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Maghribī672 told me:

I was with Ibn al-Aṣamm one day when we saw a group of people who were calling him. Among them there was a man on a beast, and when we approached them, we saw that he had a snake in his mouth: its head had gone down his throat, and the part of it that was outside had been knotted with a hemp string to the man’s arm. ‘What has happened here?’ asked Ibn al-Aṣamm, and they replied: ‘He always sleeps with his mouth open. [Last night] he had eaten cheese before going to bed and then this snake came along, licked his mouth and entered it while he was asleep. When the snake felt that someone else was coming it panicked and part of it went down his throat, but we grabbed the snake and tied it with this string to prevent it from descending any further. Them we brought him to you.’ When Ibn al-Aṣamm looked at the man he found him about to die of fear, and said to him: ‘Don’t worry!’; and [addressing the others]: ‘You almost killed him.’ He then cut the string, and the snake descended down the man’s throat into his stomach. At this point, Ibn al-Aṣamm said to the man: ‘Now you will heal.’ Ordering him not to move, he took some drugs and infused them in boiling water. Then he put that water in a jar and made the man drink from it. Although it was very hot, he drank it, and then Ibn al-Aṣamm examined his stomach and exclaimed: ‘The snake is dead.’ Then he made the man drink from another jar of water in which he had boiled some stuff and explained: ‘This will tear the snake to bits with the movements of the stomach.’ After two hours he made him drink some water in which he had boiled emetic drugs: the man’s stomach heaved and he almost choked on his vomit, but Ibn al-Aṣamm covered his eyes and he kept on vomiting into a basin until we saw the snake, which had been torn to bits. Ibn al-Aṣamm ordered him to keep on vomiting until he had expelled all the remains of the snake and his stomach was empty, and then he said: ‘Cheer up, for you have been cured.’ And the man went away healthy and content after having been at death’s door.

1

There is a previous translation of this chapter into French: Jahier & Noureddine, Ibn Abi Uçaibiʿa.

2

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See Sezgin, GAS III, 266–267. Ullmann, Medizin, 125–126; EI Three art. ‘Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān’ (I. Sánchez).

3

See Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 84–86.

4

In Ibn Juljul, ‘Kairouan’, see Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 84.

5

Abū Muḍar Ziyādat Allāh III ibn ʿAbd Allāh was the last Aghlabid emir, he ruled in Ifrīqiyah in 290–296/903–907, see, in EI2 art. ‘Ag̲h̲labids’ (G. Marçais and J. Schacht) no. 11.

6

This last condition, as explained below, was the one that Ziyādat Allāh did not fulfil.

7

In this context, a mithqāl is used in the sense of a monetary payment. Perhaps it means that this weight of local coinage was to be given in payment.

8

See biography in Ch. 14.4.

9

This work has been edited and translated, see Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān, Maqālah fī l-mālīkhūliyā, further Pormann, ‘Isḥāq ibn ʿImrān’.

10

Unidentified.

11

I.e. Galen’s De diaeta in morbis acutis secundum Hippocratem. See Ch. 5.1.37 no. 78.

12

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See Sezgin, GAS III, 295–297; Ullmann, Medizin, 137–138; EI2 art. ‘Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān al-Isrāʾīlī’ (A. Altmann); Altmann and Stern, Isaac Israeli.

13

He was the founder of the Fatimid Caliphate and ruled in 297–322/909–934.

14

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 87.

15

Although Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān was a Jew, the Muslim readers would associate this anecdote with a famous ḥadīth: ‘When a man dies, his good deeds come to an end, except for three things: everlasting charity [i.e. pious endowments], the knowledge he has left behind and from which people benefit, and a pious descendant who prays for him’, cf. Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, i:1255 (no. 1631).

16

See biography in Ch. 13.3.

17

This work by Ibn al-Jazzār has not come down to us.

18

Laribus or Lorbeus (al-Arīs in Arabic) is a city in Libya where the army of Ziyādat Allāh III had encamped in 292/905 to fight the Fatimids. The Aghlabids were defeated there in 296/907 and Ziyādat Allāh fled to Egypt. This anecdote should be placed between 292/905 and 296/907. See Brett, The Rise of the Fatimids, 96–99.

19

A commander of the Fatimid army whose name occurs in different forms in the sources: Ibn al-Khanbash (in IAU’s manuscripts), Ibrāhīm Ibn al-Ḥanbash (al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat al-arab (Beirut), xxviii:58), Ibrāhīm Ibn al-Ḥabashī (the Ethiopian) (al-Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, 168), Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥubaysh (Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, iv:260). No other source refers to him as Greek; this epithet might be inspired by his use of sophistic argumentations as shown in this anecdote.

20

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad ibn Zakariyyā al-Shīʿī (d. 298/911) was the missionary for the Fatimid Mahdī in Yemen and North Africa, where he recruited the Kutāmah Berbers for the cause of the Mahdī. Raqqādah was the palace city of the Aghlabids, located approximately 10 km southwest of Kairaouan. Raqqādah surrendered to the Fatimid armies after the defeat at Laribus, in 294/909; see Brett, The Rise of the Fatimids, 98.

21

See Ch. 14.25.

22

See the edition and translation in Latham & Isaacs, Isaac Judaeus; also Latham, Isaac Israeli’s Kitāb al-Ḥummayāt.

23

The title given above in Ch. 13.2.1 is K. al-Adwiyah wa-l-aghdhiyah.

24

Sezgin, GAS III, 304–307. Ullmann, Medizin, 147–149. This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

25

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 89.

26

A rābiṭah or ribāt is a place of retirement for ascetic Muslims, though might also refer to frontier fortresses for the voluntary fighters in the jihād, see EI2 art. ‘Ribāṭ’ (N. Rabbat & J. Chabbi.)

27

Monastir is a city on the coast of Tunisia, famous for its medieval rābiṭah.

28

These are probably urine flasks brought to him for inspection.

29

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 89.

30

Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (d. 363/974) is the famous Ismāʿilī qadi of the Fatimid caliph al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, well-known for his works on theology, law and history. See EI2 art. ‘al-Nuʿmān’ (F. Dachraoui).

31

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 89.

32

A qinṭār is a unit of weight.

33

Kushājim (d. ca. 350/961) was a poet native of al-Ramlah who served the Hamdanid court in Mosul, and Sayf al-Dawlah in Aleppo; see EI2 art. ‘Kus̲h̲ād̲j̲im’ (Ch. Pellat).

34

Metre: ṭawīl. Kushājim, Dīwān, 429 (taken from IAU); al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, vi:209.

35

Translation of fī ẓahri l-zamāni (A, Wāfī) uncertain, but it seems better than fī ṭuhri l-zamāni, ‘in the purity of time’ (B, Dīwān).

36

Yūḥannā ibn Māsawayh, here spelled in the Arabic with short u because of the metre. His book was entitled al-Kamāl wa-l-tamām, ‘The Completion and Perfection.’ See Ch. 8.26 for his biography.

37

More commonly known by its full title Zād al-musāfir wa-qūt al-ḥāḍir (Provisions for the Traveller and Nourishment for the Sedentary). Some chapters have been translated: see Ibn al-Jazzār & Bos, Sexual Diseases, and Ibn al-Jazzār & Bos, Fevers.

38

For an edition published in 1998, see Ibn al-Jazzār, al-Iʿtimād fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah (Qashsh).

39

This reference does not appear in Ibn al-Qifṭī’s Taʾrīkh al-ḥukamāʾ (or in his Inbāh) and seems to be a personal communication.

40

There is an edition of this work: Ibn al-Jazzār, K. fī l-maʿidah.

41

This work has been edited several times; see Ibn al-Jazzār, Ṭibb al-fuqarāʾ, and Ibn al-Jazzār, Mujarrabāt al-ʿaṭṭārīn.

42

For an edition, see Ibn al-Jazzār, al-Furūq.

43

For an edition and German translation, see Ibn al-Jazzār, Die Risāla fī l-Ḫawāṣṣ.

44

This work has not survived. IAU used it in his biography of Isḥāq al-Isrāʾīlī; see above, biography Ch. 13.2.

45

Marginal note in MS A: ‘The southern limit of al-Andalus is the Mediterranean channel that goes through a place called “the strait (al-zuqāq)” in front of Tangier; its width is 12 miles. [From there] this sea [i.e. the Mediterranean] extends up to Tyre, one of the cities of Syria. The northern and western limits of al-Andalus are the Great Sea known as Ocean, and also the Sea of Darkness (baḥr al-ẓulmah) [i.e., the Atlantic]. Its eastern limit is the mountains in which Port-Vendres (haykal al-Zuharah, the temple of Venus) is located, which go from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic [i.e., the Pyrenees], the distance between both seas following this mountain is 3 days’ journey; this is the shortest of all al-Andalus frontiers, the longest are the southern and the northern ones, each of which extends through about 30 days’ journey; its western frontier is about 20 days’ journey long.’ This is most likely a paraphrase of al-Marrākushī, Muʿjib, 5–6.

46

This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

47

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 65.

48

I.e. ‘of Madrid’. This biography is included in all three versions of the work. For Maslama al-Majrīṭī (d. 398/1007), see EI2 art. ‘al-Mad̲j̲rīṭī’ (J. Vernet); EI Three art. ‘al-Majrīṭī, Maslama’ (J. Casulleras); and Biblioteca de Al-Andalus art. ‘al-Maŷrīṭī’ (F. Rius).

49

Al-Ḥakam II, son of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the second caliph of Cordova; he ruled in al-Andalus in 350–366/961–976. See EI2 art. ‘al-Ḥakam II’ (A. Huici Miranda).

50

Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 69.

51

Taʿdīl is a technical term in planetary astronomy designating the correction or equation applied to mean positions of the Sun, Moon and planets to derive their true positions. See EI2 art. ‘al-Taʿdīl’ (D.A. King).

52

Al-Battānī (d. 317/929), known as Albategni or Albatenius in Medieval Europe, is one of the most famous Arab astronomers. The book to which the text refers is his astronomical treatise with tables known in Arabic as Kitāb al-Zīj. See EI2 art. ‘al-Battānī’ (C. Nallino).

53

Al-Khwārazmī (fl. ca. 232/847) is also a renowned mathematician and astronomer; the work mentioned in the text is presumably the Zīj al-Sind′hind, a treatise with astronomical tables. See EI2 art. ‘K̲h̲wārazmī’ (J. Vernet).

54

Awsāṭ al-kawākib are the mean motions of planets and a topic in most astronomical tables. See EI2 art. ‘Zīd̲j̲’ (D.A. King); King & Samsó, ‘Astronomical Handbooks’.

55

The civil war (fitnah) that followed the demise of the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus took place in 399–422/1009–1031.

56

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 69. On these students, see below the biographies nos. 13.6, 13.7, 13.8, 13.9, and 13.10 respectively.

57

This work has not survived, but it is possible that the Liber mahamaleth ascribed to Juan of Seville (12th c.) might have been a translation of this treatise or of the homonymous works written by Ibn al-Samḥ (see below, Ch. 13.6) and Ibn al-Ṣaffār (Ch. 13.7); see Biblioteca de Al-Andalus, art. ‘al-Maŷrīṭī’ (F. Rius). Muʿāmalāt treatises encompassed practical uses of arithmetic for commercial purposes.

58

This work has not survived.

59

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See EI2 art. ‘Ibn al-Samḥ’ (D. Pingree); EI Three art. ‘Ibn al-Samḥ’ (J. Samsó); Biblioteca de Al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Samḥ, Abū l-Qāsim’ (M. Comes); Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (ed. T. Hockey) art. ‘Ibn al-Samḥ’ (M. Ruis); Sezgin, GAS VI, 249.

60

That is, between 350/961 and 366/976, when al-Ḥakam II ruled in al-Andalus.

61

Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 69–70.

62

Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 70.

63

Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā ibn al-Nāshī was a disciple of Ibn al-Samḥ versed in arithmetic, geometry, medicine and astronomy, see Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 72.

64

Ḥabbūs ibn Māksin (or Maksān) was the first emir of the Zirid dynasty in Granada and ruled in 410–429/1019–1038. See EI2 art. ‘Zirids’ (A. Tibi).

65

This work has not survived.

66

This work, cf. above, has not survived.

67

This work has not survived.

68

It is possible that a fragment of this work has survived in a Hebrew translation of a previous translation of the work into Greek, see Biblioteca de Al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Samḥ, Abū l-Qāsim’, 228.

69

The second part of the work has come down to us in a unique copy, London, British Library MS Add. 9602, and was translated into Catalan and commented on by Viladrich, El “Kitāb al-ʿamal bi-l-asṭurlāb”. Two chapters of the part dealing with the construction of the instrument have survived in Escorial MS 972: see Viladrich, ‘Dos capítulos’.

70

This title refers presumably to the second section of the K. al-taʿrīf bi-ṣūrat ṣanʿat al-asṭurlāb; see previous note.

71

This work has not survived.

72

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. For Abū l-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUmar al-Ghāfiqī, known as Ibn al-Ṣaffār (d. 426/1035), see EI2 art. ‘Ibn Ṣaffār’ (B.R. Goldstein); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Ṣaffār’ (J. Casulleras); Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (ed. T. Hockey) art. ‘Ibn al-Ṣaffar’ (M. Ruis); and Sezgin, GAS V, 356–357, GAS VI, 250–251.

73

See above biography 13.5.

74

That is, before 399/1009.

75

The city of Denia (Dāniyah in Arabic), a coastal town in the north-eastern district of Alicante, become an important petty kingdom (ṭāʾifah) after the civil war, see EI2 art. ‘Dāniya’ (C.F. Seybold and A. Huici Miranda).

76

Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī, a manumitted slave of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Manṣūr, became the first petty king of the ṭāʾifah of Denia after the fall of the caliphate in 403/1013. He ruled there in 405–436/1014–1045. See EI2 art. ‘Mud̲j̲āhid’ (D.J. Wasserstein).

77

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 70.

78

Some fragments of this work have survived in a Judaeo-Arabic manuscript and have been edited by Castells & Samsó, ‘Seven Chapters’. It is the earliest preserved Arabic source related to the Sind′hind and deals with lunar and solar eclipses, the determination of the longitude of a place, lunar parallax, and the division of the houses of the horoscope.

79

This popular work has survived in several manuscripts containing different versions. There is an edition and Spanish translation based on the manuscript kept in the Escorial Library: Millás Vallicrosa, ‘Los primeros tratados de astrolabio en la España árabe’. See EI Three art. ‘Ibn Ṣaffar’ (Casulleras) for Latin and Hebrew versions.

80

This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

81

These first sentences are taken from Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 70.

82

See above biography no. 13.5.

83

This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

84

Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 70–71.

85

The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ) were a coterie of anonymous – and most likely Ismāʿīlī – scholars active at the end of the 4th/10th cent.; they composed an encyclopedic work known as the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. On these authors and their work see El-Bizrī, Epistles. On the introduction of the Epistles to al-Andalus, see Fierro, ‘Bāṭinism in al-Andalus’, and de Callataÿ, ‘Again on Maslama Ibn Qāsim al-Qurṭubī’.

86

Lit. ʿilm al-nujūm al-taʿlīmī. Al-Fārābī differentiates between two kinds of science of stars, the ʿilm aḥkām al-nujūm, which deals with the signs of the planets and the prediction of the future; and the ʿilm al-nujūm al-taʿlīmī, focused on the physical interaction between the planets and stars and the earth and on the calculation of their movements, see al-Fārābī, Iḥṣāʾ, 84.

87

See Ch. 13.50.

88

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 70–71.

89

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 71.

90

That is, al-Majrīṭī, see above biography 13.5.

91

This last sentence is unintelligible and was presumably miscopied by IAU. The corresponding passage in Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī’s Ṭabaqāt al-umam, which introduces the six following biographies in that work, states: ‘Some of the most illustrious disciples of Abū l-Qasim Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ṣaffār were: Ibn al-Barghūth, al-Wāsiṭī, Ibn Shahr, al-Qurashī, al-Afṭash al-Marwānī, and Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār’, see Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 71.

92

See Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 74. This biography is missing in Version 2.

93

Abū l-Walīd Hishām ibn Aḥmad ibn Hishām, known as Ibn al-Waqashī, was the qadi of Talavera (Toledo). He was an outstanding scholar knowledgeable in many disciplines, and a poet; see his biography in Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 74.

94

This biography is present in all three versions. The manuscripts render this name as Ḥamdīn ibn Uththā or Abbān. The correct form is given by Fuʾād Sayyid in his edition of Ibn Juljul’s Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 93. With exception of the opening reference to the ruler, this biography is a verbatim quotation from Ibn Juljul.

95

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, known as Muḥammad I was the fifth Umayyad emir of al-Andalus; he ruled in 238–272/852–886. See EI2 art. ‘al-Andalus’ (E. Lévi-Provençal).

96

The Banū Khālid were a family of clients of the Umayyads who achieved great power and prestige in al-Andalus during the emirate and the caliphate, see Puertas, Linajes de poder, Ch. 4.

97

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 93–94. See also Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Abī Ŷawād’ (A. López y López), esp. p. 754 for Jawād al-Ṭabīb.

98

I.e., Muḥammad I, see above Ch. 13.12 and the corresponding note.

99

See Sezgin, GAS III, 303; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Rumān’ (A.C. López y López). This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

100

Transcribed in Arabic as sh-n-t a-kh-l-j. On this church see Arjona Castro, ‘Iglesia de San Acisclo’.

101

On the poet Ḥabīb ibn Aḥmad al-Shaṭajayrī (d. ca. 430/1038), see al-Ziriklī, al-Aʿlām (2002), ii:164–165.

102

His biography is found at Ch. 14.6.

103

This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

104

ʿAbd Allāh I was the seventh emir of Cordova, he governed in 275–300/888–912.

105

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, last emir and first caliph of Cordova, governed as emir in 300–316/912–929, and as caliph until 350/961.

106

This biography is included in all three versions of the work. See Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 98 (as Ibn Abī ʿUmar); Sezgin, GAS III, 301 (as Ibn Abī ʿAmr); Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Abī ʿUmar’ (Documentación).

107

See above, Ch. 13.15.

108

Ibn Juljul refers to this work as taʾlīf ka-l-kunnāsh, cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 98.

109

This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

110

See above, biography 13.16.

111

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 99.

112

The manuscripts read ḥ-n-w-y or ḥ-t-w-y. Fuʾād Sayyid states that this might refer to ʿĪsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Abī l-Aṣbagh ibn al-Khayawayh (d. 378/988), who was contemporary with Ibn Juljul; see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 99, n. 2. The correct form of the name is given in Ibn al-Faraḍī’s Taʾrīkh as ʿĪsā ibn Ḥayyawayh Abū l-Aṣbagh, see Taʾrīkh ʿulamāʾ al-Andalus i:378 n. 989 [= ʿAwwād Maʿrūf, 431 no. 987].

113

Sezgin, GAS III, 258. This biography is included in all three versions of the work.

114

Muḥammad I Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Awsaṭ was the emir of Cordova in 238–273/852–886.

115

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 78.

116

Ibn Juljul Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 94–95.

117

He is Abū l-Aṣbagh ʿĪsā ibn Aḥmad al-Rāzī (d. 379/989), the historian, who worked as secretary for al-Ḥakam II and al-Manṣūr ibn ʿAbī ʿĀmir; see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Al-Rāzī, ʿĪsā’ (Molina).

118

This is the Umayyad caliph al-Ḥakam II, who reigned in 350–366/961–976, see above note to section 13.5.1.

119

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 112–113; Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 80–81.

120

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir governed as emir in 300–316/912–929, and as caliph until 350/961.

121

See Ch. 10.5.

122

See Ch. 10.9.

123

That is, the Umayyad caliph al-Ḥakam II, who reigned in al-Andalus in 350–366/961–976.

124

Madīnat al-Zahrāʾ is the fortified palace-city built by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III in Cordova at the beginning of his caliphate; see, EI2 art. ‘Madīnat al-Zahrāʾ’ (M. Ocáña Jiménez).

125

Paragraphs 1 and 2.1 are a quotation from Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 112–113.

126

This anecdote is not included in the accounts of Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī and Ibn Juljul.

127

This last paragraph is a paraphrased quotation of Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 113 (last paragraph of the biography).

128

Hishām II al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh governed as caliph in al-Andalus in 365–399/976–1009 and 400–403/1010–1013.

129

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 97–98.

130

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad governed as emir in al-Andalus during 275–300/888–912.

131

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Isḥaq al-Wazīr/al-Ṭabīb, Yaḥyà’ (A.C. López y López). Cf. also Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 100–101.

132

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III became emir in 300/912 and proclaimed himself caliph in 316/929.

133

Ibn Juljul adds that the method of the Byzantines ‘is called aphorism (al-aburīshm)’, see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 101.

134

For this first paragraph cf. with Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 78.

135

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 100–101.

136

Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd ibn Mūsā ibn Ḥudayr (d. 320/932) was appointed vizier in 300/912, taking care of the City Administration (khuṭṭat al-madīnah), at the beginning of the caliphate of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir, see Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān al-mughrib, ii:144; al-Bayān al-mughrib (Tunis), ii:167.

137

Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Jahwar, was also vizier of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, in 300/912 he was entrusted with the supervision of the arsenal, and in 305/917 he was appointed vizier, see Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān al-mughrib, ii:144, 171; al-Bayān al-mughrib (Tunis), ii:168, 210.

138

The Gate of the Walnut-tree (Bāb al-jawz) was one of the seven gates of Cordova’s city wall. This is the only one that has survived and is now known in Spanish as Puerta de Almodóvar.

139

Instead of sleep (al-nawm), which is the reading in all IAU’s manuscripts, Ibn Juljul has ‘I have not been able to urinate (al-bawl)’; see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 100.

140

Variants of this anecdote can be found in al-Tanūkhī’s Faraj baʿd al-shiddah and Ibn al-Jawzī’s K. al-Adhkiyāʾ; see Ghersetti, ‘Medici sagaci’, 123.

141

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 102–103; and Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 78–79.

142

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir governed as emir in 300–316/912–929, and as caliph until 350/961.

143

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 103–104.

144

IAU, who usually records all the information compiled in the Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, did not copy the story that closes the account in Ibn Juljul’s book: ‘[Ibn Umm al-Banīn] was a great admirer of young boys. An amusing anecdote that took place in one of the military campaigns of the Prince of the Believers [i.e. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III] is told about him: “One midday, he was in his tent; he had approached a young servant of his and was mounting him when a violent wind arose and blew the tents off. His tent was also blown away and fell down, leaving him exposed to the people when he was on top of the youth”.’ See Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 104. We cannot know whether the manuscripts available to IAU contained this anecdote or not, but its omission might have been aimed at offering a respectable – and idealized – image of physicians.

145

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Sezgin, GAS, III, 300–301; Ullmann, Medizin, 303; Biblioteca de Al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn ʿAbd Rabbihi, Abū ʿUṯmān’ (R. Khune Brabant); EI Three art. ‘Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, Abū ʿUthman’ (I. Sánchez). Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 104–106.

146

Hishām I, the son of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I, was emir in 172–180/788–796.

147

Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih is the author of The Unique Necklace (Kitāb al-ʿiqd al-farīd), a famous encyclopaedic and literary anthology, see EI2 art. ‘Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih’ (C. Brockelmann).

148

This first paragraph is not present in Ibn Juljul’s Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ and was taken from Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 78.

149

This sentence, which is repeated below in almost the same terms, was not present in the text of the second version of the work, and was added by IAU to the third version. He was probably following the biography in Ibn Juljul’s text without realising that he had already included this information.

150

The manuscripts leave a blank space in this passage or rephrase it, but this ingredient is not mentioned by IAU. The reading in Ibn Juljul’s manuscripts is also unclear, but according to Fuʾād Sayyid, the editor of the Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, it is plausible to read al-ḥawār, i.e., white chalk. See, Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 104, and 105 n. 4.

151

Perhaps the Hippocratic Taqdimat al-Maʿrifah, the title of the Arabic translation of the Prognosis (Ch. 4.1.9.1 title no. 5); on this translation, made by Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq, see Dietrich, Medicinalia Arabica, 221–224 (n. 112).

152

For the last two paragraphs, cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 104.

153

Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 104.

154

On Sulaymān ibn Ayyūb al-Faqīh al-Qurṭubī (d. 377/987–988) see al-Ḍabbī, Bughyat al-multamis, no. 766.

155

For this sentence cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 105 (end of biography); it was inserted by IAU – quite abruptly – in the middle of his quotation.

156

Metre: kāmil. The first two lines also in Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 105; al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmah, ii:64; Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt al-umam, 188; Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:120; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xv:238.

157

Metre: kāmil. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 105; Ṣāʿid, Ṭabaqāt, 188; Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:120–121; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xv:238.

158

Plural (-hum), instead of the expected dual (-humā, which would not fit the metre); the same with ‘them’ in the second hemistich and the following line.

159

Metre: ṭawīl. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 105; al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmah, ii:64 (lines 1–2, 4–5); Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:121 (lines 1–2); Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt, 188–189; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xv:238.

160

Reading udhinat; a possible alternative is ādhanat, ‘announces, shows signs of’ (Ibn Juljul, Ṣāʿid, Yatīmah, Wāfī).

161

This treatise was also known as the Book of the Drugstore (Kitāb al-dukkān); see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn ʿAbd Rabbihi, Abū ʿUṯmān’ (R. Khune Brabant). It remains unedited.

162

This work has not survived. On this genre of case histories (mujarrabāt); see Álvarez Millán, ‘The Case History’.

163

Edition and Spanish translation in Brabant, ‘La urŷūza’.

164

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 107.

165

See biography in Ch. 13.3.

166

Ibn al-Jazzār’s famous treatise.

167

Ibn Juljul adds the following information: ‘Abū Muḥammad ibn al-Aʿmā told me: “In the morning, when Abī Ḥafṣ ibn Barīq sat at the door of his house to act as jurisconsult (li-l-futyā), I saw at his side sixteen boys, all of them ṣaqālibah [slaves or Slavs]”.’; Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 107. On the ambiguity of the term referring to slaves/Slavs see EI2 art. ‘Ṣaḳālibah’, esp. section 3, ‘In the Muslim West’.

168

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 108.

169

As Ibn Juljul states, he ascribed the creation of this remedy to ʿImrān ibn Abī ʿAmr, see above biography 13.16, and Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 98.

170

On these notary-witnesses (ʿudūl) see Tyan, Organisation judiciaire, i:349–372.

171

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 108–109, and Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 80.

172

In Arabic, riwāyah; this term refers to the transmission of poems, narratives, and Hadith, and might also be applied to the authorised transmission of scholarly works; see EI2, art. ‘Riwāya’ (S. Leder).

173

Aḥmad ibn Ilyās was one of the viziers and qadis of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir.

174

All the manuscripts of the ʿUyūn al-anbāʾ read “the sermon of rejection” (khuṭbat al-radd) instead of Court of Rejections (khuṭṭat al-radd), which is the reading in Ibn Juljul’s Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, (108). The Court of Rejections was a judicial magistracy that existed only in Western Islam, whence probably IAU’s confusion. The exact competences of the magistrate in charge of this office remain obscure and often overlap with those of the so-called Court of Appeal or Court of Injustices (khuṭṭat al-maẓālim), esp. after the 5th/11th cent. According to Ibn Sahl, the ṣāḥib al-radd did not issue his own sentences but rather dealt with cases that other judges had rejected because they found them dubious. See Ibn Sahl, Dīwān al-aḥkām al-kubrā, 28.

175

Al-Ḥakam II reigned in al-Andalus between 350/961 and 366/976.

176

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 80.

177

Ibn Juljul adds that ‘his name was also engraved on coins (al-mithqāl), as he was supervisor of the Mint and Verifications’ (dār al-sikkah wa-l-amānāt; on this word, see Dozy, Supplément, i:39 ‘des poids et mesures … fonction d’ intendant, etc.’); see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 109.

178

Ibn Juljul gives the title Book of the Forms (Kitāb al-ashkāl), see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 109.

179

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Sezgin, GAS III, 320. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 109, and Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 80.

180

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. For Ibn al-Kattānī, see Sezgin, GAS III, 317, 319–320; Ullmann, Medizin, 270; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Kattānī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh’ (Sabih Sadiq & Jorge Lirola Delgado). Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 82.

181

Both Ibn Abī ʿĀmir al-Manṣūr and his son ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī ʿĀmir al-Muẓaffar were chamberlains of al-Ḥakam II, but they ruled de facto during 356–392/967–1002 and 392–399/1002–1008 respectively.

182

The civil war (fitnah) in al-Andalus took place in 399–422/1009–1031.

183

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 82.

184

See Ch. 13.34.

185

See Ch. 13.19.

186

See Ch. 13.30.

187

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd al-Bajjānī (d. ca. 400/1009–1010) was a poet who lived in Cordova, Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Masʿūd al-Gassānī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh’ (J. Lirola).

188

Muḥammad ibn Maymūn, Markūsh, was a grammarian and a poet; see the brief entry in al-Ḍabbī, Bughyat al-multamis, no. 284.

189

Saʿīd ibn Fatḥūn was a logician; see the brief entry in al-Ḍabbī, Bughyat al-multamis, no. 813.

190

Rabīʿ ibn Zayd, Recemundus in Latinized form, was the Mozarabic bishop of Elvira, author of the Calendar of Cordova. Al-Kattānī was the author of a book entitled Kitāb al-anwāʾ, the content of which is very similar to that of the Calendar of Cordova, see Christys, Christians, 131–132.

191

On al-Majrīṭī see above, biography 13.5.

192

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 110, and Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 80.

193

Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣaqlabī was chamberlain of the caliph al-Ḥakam II.

194

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 110–111.

195

Al-Ḥakam II, al-Mustanṣir bi-Allāh, was caliph in al-Andalus in 350–366/961–967.

196

Hishām II, al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh, was caliph in al-Andalus in 365–399/976–1009 and 400–403/1010–1013.

197

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 111.

198

Ibn Juljul includes the following anecdote in this biography: ‘He himself [i.e. al-Thaqafī] told me about something that happened to him: “Najm, the master falconer, used to join me every ʿīd, and once he appeared with twenty sheep, a hundred chickens, and geese, and uncountable marvellous things”.’ Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 111.

199

In Ibn Juljul, ‘diarrhoea’ (ʿillat al-is′hāl), Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 111.

200

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 112.

201

I.e., from Osuna, a city in the province of Seville.

202

Ibn Juljul adds: ‘he was attached to the harem and the women’; see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 112.

203

That is, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III and al-Ḥakam II.

204

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Sezgin, GAS III, 303 (sub Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbdūn al-ʿUdhrī); Ullmann, Medizin, 274, n. 2 (referred to as Ibn ʿAbdūn al-ʿUdhrī al-Qurṭubī); Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn ʿAbdūn’ (A. Djebbar); EI Three art. ‘Ibn ʿAbdūn’ (A. Djebbar). Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 81. All the manuscripts of IAU read the nisbah al-ʿ-d-w-y. Fuʾād Sayyid’s reading is al-ʿAdadī (‘Numberman’), which connects it with the following information about the man’s activity as ‘instructor of arithmetic and geometry’ (Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 115.) Al-Maqqarī also has al-ʿAdadī (Nafḥ al-ṭīb, ii:151), even though it is al-ʿUdhrī in ii:244. Al-Ṣafadī renders his name as Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn al-Jīlī al-ʿAdawī (Wāfī, iii:207). The nisbah, however, must be connected with the expression ʿidwat al-Andalus (or ʿudwat al-Andalus), referring to ‘the other side’ of the Strait of Gibraltar from an Andalusian point of view; see Dozy, Suppl.: ‘al-ʿIdwī d’ outre-mer, qui vient du nord de l’ Afrique’. This fits Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdūn, who came back to al-Andalus.

205

Ibn Juljul gives the date 347/958–959, see Ibn Juljul, Ṭabaqāṭ al-aṭibbāʾ, 115.

206

See Ch. 11.7.

207

That is, al-Ḥakam II and Hishām II.

208

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 81.

209

See Ch. 13.38.

210

Edited by Djebbar, ‘al-Risālah fī al-taksīr’. See also Djebbar, ‘La géometrie’.

211

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Sezgin, GAS III, 309–310; Ullmann, Medizin, 269; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Hayṯam, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’ (A.M. Cabo González); EI Three art. ‘Ibn al-Haytham, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Isḥāq’ (A.M. Cabo-González).

212

None has survived.

213

A critique of Ibn al-Jazzār’s The Reliable Book on Simple Drugs (al-Iʿtimād fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah); see above Ch. 13.3.

214

Abū ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿĀmir al-Manṣūr (d. 392/1002) was chamberlain of the caliph al-Ḥakam II, a role similar to that of vizier in Eastern Islam.

215

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Sezgin, GAS III 309–310; Ullmann, Medizin, 66, 229–230, 268, 333; Gayangos, History, appendix xxiii–xxvii; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Ŷulŷul’ (I. Garijo Galán); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Juljul’ (I. Sánchez).

216

Hishām II al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh governed as caliph in al-Andalus during 365–399/976–1009 and 400–403/1010–1013.

217

On the reception and influence of Dioscorides’ Materia Medica in Islamic science, see Ullmann, Untersuchungen; and EI2 art. ‘Diyusḳuridīs’ (C.E. Dubler).

218

This is presumably a quotation from the prologue of the book listed below sub no. 1.

219

The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil ruled during 232–247/847–861.

220

See Ch. 8.29.

221

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir governed between 300/912 and 316/929, and as caliph until 350/961.

222

The date given by IAU does not correspond to the dates of the rule of the Byzantine emperor Romanos II, who occupied the throne during 959–963. The emperor of Byzantium in 948–949 was Constantine VII, but it is also likely that Romanos II might have been associated with his father, as they are sometimes shown together in some imperial seals as co-regents; see Signes Codoñer, ‘La diplomacia del libro en Bizancio’. There is also evidence of a box sent to the Umayyad caliph in 949 with a portrait of Constantine VII; see Walker, The Emperor and the World, 90.

223

This work is Paulus Orosius’ Historia Adversus Paganos, mentioned by Ibn Juljul in the introduction to his collection of medical biographies as one of his sources (Ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ, 2); it was translated into Arabic in al-Andalus in the 4th/10th century. For editions of the Arabic Orosius see Badawī, Orosius; Penelas, Kitāb Hurūsiyūs; on its translation see Sahner, ‘From Augustine to Islam’.

224

Ḥasdāy ibn Shaprūṭ (spelled Shabrūṭ in Arabic), d. ca. 360/970–971, was a Jewish physician at the court of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III. As a member of one of the most important Jewish families in al-Andalus, he was also a patron of sciences and a diplomat; see his biography in Ch. 13.49.

225

All the manuscripts of the ʿUyūn al-anbāʾ read al-Basbāsī, which is most likely a misspelling for al-Shabānisī. Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Qurashī al-Marwānī al-Shabānisī was a physician and a poet. Ibn al-Abbār states that he was a learned man (min al-udabāʾ), and one of the teachers of Saʿīd ibn Fatḥūn al-Saraqusṭī al-Ḥammār, see Ibn al-Abbār, al-Takmilah li-kitāb al-ṣilah, ii:194. Al-Shabānisī was imprisoned by al-Manṣūr (d. 392/1008) and a qaṣīdah asking for his forgiveness has been preserved by al-Ḍabbī (Bughyat, no. 1296).

226

This is likely a misreading of al-Yābisī, ‘native of Ibiza’.

227

See Ch. 13.35.

228

The term ashkāl might also refer to the figures or drawings of the plants, as interpreted by Dozy; see Supplément, s.v. sh-k-l.

229

Ibn Juljul is referring to the composition of his book on the names of simple drugs (title no. 1 below).

230

Despite the religious tenor of this last sentence, its vocabulary is surprisingly not Qur’anic and has clear Aristotelian overtones. In the Arabic translation of Aristotle’s Categories the animals are divided into ‘the animal that walks (al-mashshāʾ), the one that flies (al-ṭāʾir), and the one that lives in the water (al-sābiḥ)’, see Badawī, Manṭiq Arisṭū, i:51.

231

A reconstruction of the text has been made and translated into Spanish in Ibn Juljul, Libro de la explicación de los nombres. An independent edition and German translation was published the following year; see Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung Ibn Ğulğuls zur Materia medica.

232

The only extant manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library. MS Hyde 34 (item 3), bears the title: Maqālah fī dhikr mā qaṣara ʿan dhikrihi fī kitābihi fī l-adwiyah wa-l-aghdhiyah wa-l-ḥashāʾish (see Savage-Smith, NCAM-1, 68–70 entry no. 15). It was first edited and studied by Johnstone, Arabic Botany and Pharmacology and then twenty years later edited with a Spanish translation (see Ibn Juljul, Tratado Octavo). The Oxford manuscript was also employed in the two editions of the first item in this list (Ibn Juljul, Libro de la explicación de los nombres, and Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung Ibn Ğulğuls zur Materia medica), and there has been considerable confusion between the two texts.

233

This work has not survived.

234

This work, usually known as Kitāb ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʾ wa-l-ḥukamāʾ, is the source from which IAU so often quotes. Ibn al-Abbār states that Ibn Juljul finished the book by the beginning of 377/987; see Takmilah, iv:85. This work has been edited by Fuʾād Sayyid. There is a Spanish translation by Llavero Ruiz, Generaciones de médicos y sabios and a partial translation of the chapter on al-Andalus in Vernet, ‘Los médicos andaluces’. On the selection criteria – and biases – of this work see Balty-Guesdon, ‘Les Ṭabaqāt al-Aṭibbāʾ’.

235

This biography is present is all three versions of the work. Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 82–83.

236

See Ch. 13.39.

237

See Ch. 13.38.

238

See Ch. 13.34.

239

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

240

Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 83.

241

See Ch. 13.34.

242

See Ch. 13.36.

243

Unidentified.

244

Ismāʿīl al-Ẓāfir ibn Dhī l-Nūn was the first emir of the ṭāʾifah of Toledo in 423–435/1032–1043.

245

Al-Maʾmūn ibn Dhī l-Nūn was the second emir of the ṭāʾifah of Toledo in 435–467/1043–1075.

246

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Ullmann, Medizin, 210, 273; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Wafīd, Abū l-Muṭarrif’ (C. Álvarez de Morales & J.M. Carabaza); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Wafīd al-Lakhmī’ (J.M. Carabaza Bravo).

247

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 83.

248

That is, al-Maʾmūn ibn Dhī l-Nūn.

249

The surviving fragments of this work have been edited and translated into Spanish; see Ibn Wāfid, Kitāb al-adwiya al-mufrada. The work was translated into Catalan in the 14th century and several times into Latin in the 16th and 17th. The Latinized name of the author was Albenguefit. On these translations see, Biblioteca de al-Andalus, art. ‘Ibn Wafīd, Abū l-Muṭarrif’ (C. Álvarez de Morales & J.M. Carabaza).

250

Edition and Spanish translation in Ibn Wāfid, Kitāb al-wisād fī l-ṭibb.

251

This work has not survived.

252

This work has not survived intact. An ophthalmological treatise under the title Kitāb Tadqīq al-naẓar fī ʿilal ḥāssat al-baṣar by Abū l-Muṭarrif ibn Wāfid was cited by the 7th/13th-century oculist Khalīfa ibn Abī al-Maḥāsin, but thought to be lost; see Hirschberg, Geschichte, 61–64. However, a recently discovered fragment of a treatise of the same title and subject matter, now in National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, (NLM MS A 3/II, item 3) is possibly a unique fragment of the treatise, though its title varies by one word, with ʿilm rather than ʿilal (Kitāb Tadqīq al-nazar fī ʿilm ḥāssat al-baṣar).

253

This work has not survived.

254

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘al-Rumaylī’ (Documentación).

255

All manuscripts consulted have a blank space.

256

Al-Muʿtaṣim bi-Allāh was emir in Almeria during 443–484/1052–1091.

257

See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Yasaʿ, Abū Yaḥyà’ (M. Fierro). The work mentioned by IAU is now lost.

258

This work has not survived.

259

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Ḏahabī, Abū Muḥammad’ (Consejo de Redacción). Biographies 13.41 to 13.49 are an unacknowledged paraprase of Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī. For this one cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 85.

260

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 85.

261

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 85.

262

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 85–86.

263

See Ch. 13.38. The MSS read in this case Baghūnish, without article.

264

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 86.

265

See Ch. 13.5.

266

The Umayyad caliph Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥakam governed in Cordova in 400/1009–1010 and 403–407/1013–1016.

267

Al-Maʾmūn was the emir of the ṭāʾifah of Toledo in 435–467/1043–1075.

268

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Fawwāl, Manaḥīm’ (M. Rius). Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 89. The name of this physician is also transcribed as Manaḥīm, which is a very un-Arabic form, since the common Arabic transcription of the Hebrew name ‮מְנַחֵם‬‎ is Manāḥīm. MS A adds a shaddah to the ḥāʾ: Munaḥḥim would make it morphologically identical with the Hebrew form (active participle of Form II).

269

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Ullmann, Medizin, 272; Bacher, Vier Abhandlungen über Abulwalîd ibn Ganâh; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Ŷanāḥ, Marwān’ (J. Martínez Delgado); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Janāh’ (I. Sánchez). Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt al-Umam, 89.

270

This work has survived in Istanbul MS Ayasofya 3603 (fols. 1a–90b) and is currently being edited. It contains a glossary of drug names with around 1100 entries distributed into 27 chapters corresponding to the letters of the Arabic alphabet (except the letter ẓāʾ that does not have any entry). Each chapter is divided into three sections: the first one lists names of medicinal drugs, the second section deals with weights and measurements, and the third one contains explanations of difficult medical and philosophical terms. See Bos & Käs, ‘Arabic Pharmacognostic Literature’.

271

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Qasṭār, Abū Ibrāhīm’ (M.A. El Bazi). Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 89.

272

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3 and lacking in Version 2. Abū Yūsuf Ḥasdāy (or Ḥisdāy) ibn Isḥāq ha-Nasī (d. ca. 970) is the famous Ḥasdāy ibn Shaprūt who appears above in the biography of Ibn Juljul, when telling the story of the translation of Dioscorides’ Materia Medica (Ch. 13.36.2.3–4). On Ḥasdāy ibn Shaprūt, see Encyclopedia Judaica2 art. ‘Ḥisdāy ibn Shaprut’ (E. Ashtor); EI Three art. ‘Ḥasdāy b. Shaprūṭ’ (D. Wasserstein); and Alfonso, Islamic Culture, s.v. Ibn Shaprut. See also Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī, Ṭabaqāt, 88–89.

273

I.e. al-Ḥakam II.

274

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 2, and lacking in Version 2. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Ḥasdāy, Abū l-Faḍl’ (A.C. López y López); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Ḥasdāy, Abū l-Faḍl’ (I. Sanchez).

275

He was the grandson of Ḥasdāy ibn Shaprūṭ.

276

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Ḥasdāy, Abū Ŷaʿfar’ (A.C. López y López); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Ḥasdāy, Abū Jaʿfar’ (I. Sánchez).

277

I.e. Manṣūr al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh, the tenth Fatimid caliph, who reigned in 494–524/1101–1130.

278

See Ch. 13.59.

279

Although not a Qur’anic term, the Greek borrowing nāmūs (νόμος) has been used since early Islamic times with the meaning of ‘revealed law’. Eventually it was also interpreted as a reference to the angel who conveyed the revelation, Gabriel, which seems to be the meaning intended in this anecdote. On this term see EI2 art. ‘Nāmūs’ (M. Plessner & F. Viré), and Encycl. Qur’ān, art. ‘Nāmūs’ (H. Motzki).

280

None of these books seems to have survived.

281

Cf. Ch. 4.1.9.1 no. 26.

282

I.e. the vizier, not to be confused with the caliph.

283

For ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān’s commentary, see Ch. 14.25.9 title no. 4; for Galen’s treatise, see Ch. 5.1.37 no. 6. Ibn Ḥasdāy’s commentary has not survived nor has that by ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān.

284

For Galen’s treatise see Ch. 5.1.37 no. 4.

285

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Ullmann, Medizin, 267; Sezgin, GAS III, 316–317; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Samaŷūn, Abū Bakr’ (F. Benfeghoul); EI2, art. ‘Ibn Samad̲j̲ūn’ (J. Vernet).

286

See Ch. 13.40.

287

Also known with the title al-Jāmiʿ li-aqwāl al-qudamāʾ wa-l-muḥdathīn min al-aṭibbāʾ wa-l-mutafalsifīn fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah (Compendium of the Sayings of the Ancient Physicians and Philosophers on Simple Drugs). A facsimile edition has been published by in Frankfurt am Main, in 1990 by Fuat Sezgin. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī composed an abridgement of this work, see below Ch. 15.40. A selection of texts from this treatise has been published and translated into German in Kahle, ‘Ibn Samaǧūn und sein Drogenbuch’.

288

Some fragments have survived in Bethesda, National Library of Medicine, MS A 3/II, fols. 4b–7a [old 3b–6a].

289

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See EI2 art. ‘Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī’ (E. Lévi-Provençal); Ullmann, Medizin, 273. He is famous for several non-medical writings, such as his geographical works al-Masālik wa-l-mamālik and Muʿjam mā staʿjam, his commentary on al-Qālī’s Amālī, entitled Simṭ al-laʾālī, and his work on proverbs, Faṣl al-maqāl, all published.

290

This work has not survived. It was a descriptive work of botany arranged in alphabetical order, and seems to have been one of the main sources for the medical glossary entitled ʿUmdat al-ṭabīb fī maʿrifat al-nabāt written by Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī. On this author see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘al-Išbīlī, Abū l-Jayr’ (J.M. Carabaza Bravo), and EI Three art. ‘Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī’ (J.M. Carabaza Bravo); for the edition of this glossary, see bibliography under Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī, Kitāb ʿumdat al-ṭabīb.

291

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Sezgin, GAS III, 20, 168, 225, 258, 286, 303, 309, 3170, 320; Ullmann, Medizin, 276; EI 2 art. ‘al-G̲h̲āfiḳī, Abū D̲j̲aʿfar Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad Ibn al-Sayyid’ (A. Dietrich); EI Three art. ‘Ghāfiqī, Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Sayyid’ (L. Chipman). Six major essays on the author and his treatise are to be found in Ragep & Wallis, The Herbal of al-Ghāfiqī.

292

Seven manuscripts are known to be preserved, none complete. At McGill University, MS 7508 in the Osler Library, although representing only the first half of the original work, is the oldest illustrated witness in existence; for a facsimile and study, see Ragep & Wallis, The Herbal of al-Ghāfiqī. Within a century of its composition, al-Ghāfiqī’s work was abridged by Bar Hebraeus (Gregorius Abū l-Faraj, Ibn al-ʿIbrī; d. 685/1286); this was later translated into Latin of which three MSS have survived; see Meyerhof & Sobhī, The Abridged Version for an edition of this abridgement. Another abridgement of al-Ghāfiqī’s work was made by Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Aḥsāʾī (d. 880/1475) and a copy with the title Tartīb al-Ghāfiqī (‘The rearrangement of al-Ghāfiqī’), dated 974/1567, has survived and is now preserved in Oxford; see Savage-Smith, NCAM-1, 661–665 entry no. 182.

293

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

294

This biography is present in Version 2 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 1. On Albulcasis and his famous book, see EI2 art. ‘al-Zahrāwī’ (E. Savage-Smith); Sezgin, GAS III, 323–325, 414; Ullmann, Medizin, 149–151, 271; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Abū l-Qāsim al-Zahrawī’ (E. Llavero Ruiz); Sezgin, al-Zahrāwī: Texte und Studien.

295

There is no critical edition or translation of the entire work. For a facsimile of Istanbul, Suleymaniyya Beşir Aǧa MS 502, containing the entire treatise, see Sezgin, Presentation. For the contents of the treatise, see Hamarneh & Sonnedecker, A Pharmaceutical View. See also the long list of partial editions and translations in Llavero Ruiz, ‘al-Zahrāwī, Abū l-Qāsim’, 690–693; and Savage-Smith, ‘Sources for editing a medieval Arabic surgical tract’.

296

This biography is present in Version 2 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 1. See Ullmann, Medizin, 275–276 (vocalized Biklāriš); EI2 art. ‘Ibn Biklārish’ (A. Dietrich); various essays in Burnett, Ibn Baklarish’s Book of Simples. The origin of the shuhrah of this physician, rendered in manuscripts as Ibn B-klār-sh or B-qlār-sh, is uncertain and it has been recently discussed in Labarta, ‘Ibn Baklārish’s Kitāb al-Mustaʿīnī’, 20–21. It is, however, possible that it derives from the Latin baccalarius, which could have been the nickname of the physician’s father. The term baccalarius had various meanings in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages: it could refer to a ‘bachelor’ associated to the Church, which is unlikely since this physician was of Jewish origin, or, as in southern France and Catalonia, to a peasant without land, a middle-class peasant, or even a soldier; see Le Robert Dictionnaire Historique, art. ‘Bachelier’.

297

The Banū Hūd were an Arab family who ruled the ṭāʾifah of Saragossa in 431–503/1039–1110, see EI2 art. ‘Hūdids’ (D.M. Dunlop).

298

This book was also known as the K. al-Mustaʿīnī. On this work see Burnett, Ibn Baklarish’s Book of Simples.

299

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. Ullmann, Medizin, 276; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Abī l-Ṣalt al-Dānī’ (M. Comes); EI Three art. ‘Abū l-Ṣalt Umayya b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’ (M. Comes) and EI2 art. ‘Abū ʾl-Ṣalt Umayya’ (S.M. Stern & J.M. Millás).

300

Sadīd al-Dīn al-Manṭiqī (the Logician) was one of the teachers of IAU’s uncle Rashīd al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Khalīfah, see biography in Ch. 15.51.

301

That is al-Malik al-Afḍal Shahanshāh ibn Amīr al-Juyūsh (d. 515/1121). His father Badr al-Jamālī (d. 486/1094) was the Commander of the Armies (amīr al-juyūsh) of the Fatimid caliph al-Mustanṣir. Some manuscripts refer in this passage to al-Afḍal as the ‘King of Alexandria’, omitting his name, and he is also called al-Malik afterwards.

302

The story of his imprisonment is quite different in other sources. Al-Maqqarī states that he was imprisoned for ten years in the library of Alexandria after he was captured in al-Mahdia when he travelled as part of a Zirid embassy (Nafḥ al-ṭīb, ii:105). Yāqūt, on his part, interprets that Abū l-Ṣalt’s imprisonment was related with the fate of his patron Mukhtār Tāj al-Maʿālī, who had lost the favour of the emir (Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, ii:61–66).

303

Abū l-Qāsim Ibn Sulaymān al-Ṣayrafī (d. 542/1147) was an Egyptian author who worked for the Fatimid chancellery. He wrote a treatise on chancellery practises entitled Qānūn dīwān al-rasāʾil. This might have been the source referred to by IAU, but the extant fragments do not contain this information.

304

Metres: kāmil (both lines). Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:325. Al-Iṣfahanī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:191–193 has 31 lines of the second poem, which is said to have been composed in 514/1120–1121 for al-Afḍal, the all-powerful Fatimid vizier al-Afḍal ibn Badr al-Jamālī, on whom see EI Three art. ‘al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī’ (P.E. Walker).

305

Both ghazal and nasīb means love poetry, the latter specifically when it introduces a polythematic qaṣīdah.

306

Metre: ṭawīl. Attributed to Muḥammad ibn Hārūn ibn Makhlad, known as Kubbah al-Kātib (3rd/9th cent.), in al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 388; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, v:144.

307

Metre: ṭawīl. Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:325. Attributed in al-Thaʿālibī, Muntaḥal, 10, to al-Maryamī, probably the 3rd/9th cent. Egyptian poet al-Qāsim ibn Yaḥyā al-Maryamī.

308

Instead of qirāti fuṣūlihī (qirāti being a licence for qirāʾati), Muntaḥal has qirāʾati faṣlihī; but the plural (‘paragraphs, passages’) sounds more natural than the singular.

309

Metre: kāmil. Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:326. The lines are by ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm, see ps.-Jāḥiẓ, Maḥāsin, 55, al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam, 141 (line 1).

310

This last sentence can be also understood as: ‘I found that their beauty increases with the use of anaphora (takrīr) and the repetition of words and ideas (tardīd)’.

311

Another play on words: a rhyme that ends on a consonant is called a qāfiyah muqayyadah, ‘a fettered, or shackled, rhyme’, and one that ends in a vowel is a qāfiyah muṭlaqah, ‘a freed rhyme’. The first of the two poems, it will be remembered, rhymed on -l, the second on -.

312

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (Maghrib), i:269–270; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, i:246; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, ix:405.

313

Abū Naṣr Ẓāfir al-Ḥaddād al-Iskandarī (d. 529/1134) was an Egyptian poet. Abū l-Ṣalt quotes some of his verses in al-Risālah al-Miṣriyyah, 53 f. On al-Ḥaddād al-Iskandarī see Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, ii:540–543, al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (Miṣr), ii:1–17.

314

Mahdia (al-Mahdiyyah), in present-day Tunisia, was founded by ʿUbayd Allāh al-Mahdī (r. 297–322/909–934), the founder of the Fatimid dynasty; see EI2 art. ‘al-Mahdiyya’ (M. Talbi).

315

Metre: ṭawīl. Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, xii:29–31 (lines 1–15).

316

A virtually untranslatable line exploiting some of the many meanings of the word ʿahd. Invoking rain is a traditional way of expressing a blessing.

317

Reading yajurruhū (Muʿjam al-udabāʾ); AR: li-ḥarrihī, ‘its heat (has)’; L: li-ḥaddihī, all of which seems less appropriate.

318

The town is Alexandria.

319

Abū l-Ṭāhir Yaḥyā ibn Tamīm ibn al-Muʿizz ibn Bādīs was the Zīrid emir of Mahdia in 509–515/1116–1121.

320

Metre: ṭawīl.

321

An old epithet of swords of uncertain origin, said by some to derive from a legendary sword-maker called Surayj. In line 3, ‘Indian’ is another common epithet of excellent swords.

322

Qusṭanṭīnah, in present-day Algeria; not Qusṭanṭīniyyah (Constantinople) as wrongly (and unmetrical) in MSS A and R.

323

The Arabic aḍāh literally means ‘pond’; a coat of mail is very often compared to the rippling surface of water.

324

I.e., Time.

325

Al-Baṣṣah is a small town Northern Palestine that was sometimes used as a Crusader encampment.

326

Metre: basīṭ. Al-Afḍal is the Fatimid vizier al-Afḍal ibn Badr al-Jamālī, who had taken Jerusalem from the Seljuqs but then lost it to the Franks on their first Crusade. Lines 1–14, 16–18, 20–21, 27–31, 33–37, 40–43 in al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:218–220, lines 3, 8, 1, 15, 17–18, 20, 27–29, 34–38, 43 in Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:328–329.

327

Reading anjumahā. Instead of an accusative one could read a nominative (anjumuhā) if instead of tusqiṭu one reads tasquṭu, ‘(whose stars) fall’.

328

Probably a reference to an often-quoted line by Bashshār ibn Burd in which swords descending in the stirred-up dust of the battle are compared to stars in the night (Ibn Abī ʿAwn, Tashbīhāt, 153); cf. also line 10.

329

See above, Ch. 10.68.2.2, vs. 65.

330

See above, Ch. 10.64.17.2, vs. 26. Here the article al- is omitted in the Arabic for the sake of the metre.

331

An optative is also possible: ‘May God adorn’, but one must assume the poet thinks that it is already the case.

332

A horse’s white fetlocks and blaze are a traditional image of splendour. Addressing al-Afḍal as ‘king’ is not far-fetched since he was the factual ruler of the Fatimid realm.

333

Reading ḥadduhū with Gc and Kharīdah, which seems better than khadduhū (A, L, B, R, H); but it is just possible that the unusual metaphor (‘then sword’s cheek’) is intended, despite the awkward repetition in the line. R has ‘its cheek is moist (yandā) with clotted blood’.

334

The sentence looks incomplete.

335

Capella, a bright star near the north celestial pole, is proverbial for being distant.

336

Reading ʿayr (as vowelled in A) rather than ʿīr, ‘caravan’.

337

Shāhanshāh (from Persian shāhān-shāh, ‘King of kings’) was al-Afḍal’s personal name. Its first vowel is sometimes shortened (as here, on account of the metre).

338

A badrah (‘purse’) contained a large sum of money (often said to be 10,000 dirhams but other amounts are mentioned).

339

Meaning not wholly clear. There is a play on words (muḥabbarah, ḥibar).

340

Metre: kāmil. Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, i:245; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:328; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, ii:107.

341

Nafḥ: ‘have drunk’ (sharibat).

342

Metre: mutaqārib. Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:326. For a German translation, see Kunitzsch & Ullmann, Die Plejaden, 73 (with several similar epigrams by other poets including Ibn al-Muʿtazz).

343

A wine cup or glass is normally passed round in a circle of drinking companions.

344

A pool or lake on the southern fringes of Fustat, from which an aqueduct conveyed water to the city.

345

Metre: munsariḥ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:229–230; Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, vii:65–66; Ibn Ẓāfir al-Azdī, Badāʾiʿ, 381; idem, Gharāʾib al-tanbīhāt, 64 (lines 1–2); Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:326–327 (lines 1, 3–7); al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:322–323. On Birkat al-Ḥabash see Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, i:401–402 (including the poem) and al-Suyūṭī, Ḥusn al-muḥāḍarah, ii:390 (with lines 1–4 of the poem). Umayyah Abū l-Ṣalt quotes it in his al-Risālah al-Miṣriyyah, 21, attributing it to ‘one of us’ (meaning himself).

346

Metre: sarīʿ. Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, i:245, Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:325.

347

The Arabic jafn means both ‘eyelid’ and ‘sheath’.

348

Metre: kāmil. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:246–247, Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:327 (lines 4–5, 7–8).

349

Metre: mukhallaʿ al-basīṭ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:247; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ iii:483; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:327. For a German translation, see Kunitzsch & Ullmann, Die Plejaden, 41.

350

Metre: sarīʿ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:222, al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:481.

351

Mercury stands for intelligence and science, Venus (here al-Zuhrah, as a poetic licence for al-Zuharah) for pleasure.

352

Metre: sarīʿ. This epigram is found in Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah’s al-Risālah al-Miṣriyyah (Nawādir al-makhṭūṭāt, i:47), attributed to ‘a contemporary’ (baʿḍ ahl al-ʿaṣr), but it is quite possible that he means himself (Ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī repeatedly used the same expression in this sense in his Kitāb al-Zahrah).

353

The colour theme of this line is strengthened by the traditional designation of the Byzantines as Banū l-Aṣfar, literally ‘Sons of Paleface (or Yellowface)’; there are several explanations of this name.

354

The sword of ʿAlī (the fourth caliph), called Dhū l-Faqār, is one of the celebrated swords in the history of Islam.

355

Metre: sarīʿ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:239 (preceded by six lines, said on ‘a young man, a preacher with a handsome face’).

356

Metre: mutaqārib.

357

bi-abī anta, literally ‘with my father (I would ransom) you’.

358

Metre: mutaqārib. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:235–236.

359

Metre: wāfir.

360

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:234.

361

Metre: munsariḥ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i: 214, al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:480.

362

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:222, al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:481 (lines 1–2).

363

Instead of the adjective jammun (A) one could also read the verb jamma (L).

364

Metre: rajaz. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:240–241.

365

See above, Ch. 13.58.4.4, vs. 24.

366

Metre: basīṭ. Ibn al-Qifṭī, Taʾrīkh al-ḥukamāʾ, 81 (lines 2–5); Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, vii:68 (lines 4–5), 70 (lines 2–3); al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, ix:405 (lines 4–5).

367

As is explained in Yāqūt, one of Umayyah’s pupils had denounced him to al-Afḍal; the poem was uttered to a visitor while he was detained in the ‘Aristotelian Library’ (Dār kutub al-Ḥakīm Arisṭaṭālīs) in Alexandria.

368

Metre: munsariḥ. Ibn al-Qifṭī, Taʾrīkh al-ḥukamāʾ, 81; al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:222–223; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:297.

369

Reading rabbu fikratin; A’s vowelling (rubba fikratin, ‘many a thought’) does not make syntactical sense. It is not wholly clear (perhaps intentionally) whether this ‘master’ is the human inventor of the astrolabe or God.

370

Kharīdah has hādhī l-nujūm (‘these stars’).

371

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:214.

372

Since the word mijmarah (‘brazier’) is feminine, one could also translate ‘A woman with ardent heart’.

373

The word al-nār (‘the fire’) often refers to hell (contrasting here with the Garden, or Paradise, in the same line).

374

Metre: munsariḥ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:262.

375

The Arabic for ‘sun’ (shams) is feminine.

376

Instead of akhmalat, Khārīdah has the equally possible akhjalat (‘put to shame’).

377

Ghazālah does not only mean ‘gazelle’ but is also a poetic word for ‘sun’.

378

Manzil means ‘dwelling-place, mansion’ but also ‘mansion’ in the astrological sense.

379

Jupiter is the luckiest planet, Saturn the most unlucky.

380

Metre: kāmil.

381

The word used (zunnār) shows that the boy is a Christian.

382

Metre: kāmil.

383

This may be the meaning of tathnī (‘turns away’) here.

384

A marginal comment in R states: ‘The source for this is a saying of Socrates the Ascetic [al-Suqrāṭ al-Zāhid]: When worldly fortune is on some people’s side it lends them the good qualities of others; when it turns against them, it robs them of their own good qualities.’ Socrates is often confused in Arabic sources with Diogenes, whence the epithet ‘the Ascetic’; this is also the case in IAU’s account, cf. Ch. 4.4.2.1.

385

Metre: basīṭ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:248.

386

Metre: rajaz. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:248.

387

Metre: basīṭ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:254.

388

Metre: ramal. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:254, Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:327.

389

An untranslatable play on the name Shaʿbān, also the name of the eighth month of the Islamic year, and al-Muḥarram, the first month, here taken as an adjective: ‘taboo, forbidden’.

390

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:236; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:327–328; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:482.

391

Metre: sarīʿ.

392

Metre: sarīʿ. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:260; Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, xi:18; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:328.

393

In Arabic and Persian, the equivalent of the western ‘queen’, firzān, means ‘counsellor’.

394

Metre: sarīʿ. The verses are in fact by Ibn al-Muʿtazz (Dīwān, i:411).

395

Metre: ṭawīl. Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:328.

396

The phrase is Qur’anic (Q al-Najm 53:15).

397

For the expression ‘a portion of the night’ see Q Hūd 11:81 and al-Ḥijr 15:65.

398

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Iṣfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:226; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, i:244; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:328; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:356–357, iv:19 (lines 1–2).

399

For an edition, see Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah, al-Risālah al-Miṣriyyah; for a partial translation of this work see de Prémare, ‘Un Andalou en Égypte’.

400

This work has been edited by Ibrāhīm ibn Murād, Buḥūth fī taʾrīkh al-ṭibb. There is a Spanish translation by Vernia, Tratado de los medicamentos simples; for a French edition and translation, see Graille, Le Livre des simples. A second edition and Spanish translation by Ana Labarta was published as part of the large Arnaldus de Villanova project; see Arnaldus de Villanova, Opera medica omnia, v. 17.

401

This work has not survived, but this probably contained a defence of Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq’s al-Masāʾil fī l-ṭibb li-l-mutaʿallimīn from the critiques that the Egyptian Ibn Riḍwān wrote in works such as the Maqālah fī sharaf al-ṭibb and the K. al-Nāfiʿ. See the respective biographies of these physicians in Chs 8.29 and 14.25.

402

This poetic anthology has not come down to us, despite the popularity it enjoyed in the 6th/12th cent. Some poems have survived in al-Isfahānī, Kharīdah (al-Maghrib), i:189–270.

403

This work has not survived.

404

A partial copy of this Dīwān has survived in the Tunis National Library MS 15.777/2 and has been edited: Abū l-Ṣalt Umayyah, Dīwān Umayyah Ibn Abī l-Ṣalt. There is a compilation of poems and verses of Abū l-Ṣalt quoted in different sources in al-Marzūqī, Dīwān al-ḥakīm Abī l-Ṣalt.

405

This work has survived only in its Hebrew translation, see Avenary, ‘The Hebrew Version’.

406

Nothing is known about this work, which in only mentioned by IAU.

407

This work, still unedited, has survived in several manuscripts, among them Berlin, Staatsbibliothek MS 5798, and Fez, Zāwiyah Ḥamziyyah MS 80. See the study of the Berlin manuscript in Millás Vallicrosa, Assaig d’ història, 75–81.

408

The title of this work in other sources is Taqwīm al-dhihn fī l-manṭiq. This is a compendium of Porphyry’s Isagoge and the first four books of the Aristotelian Organon; for its edition and Spanish translation see González Palencia, Rectificación.

409

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Gayangos, History, appendix xii–xvii; EI2 art. ‘Ibn Bād̲j̲d̲j̲a’ (D.M. Dunlop); Sezgin, GAS III, 351; Ullmann, Medizin, 276; Ullmann, Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften, 80–81; Daiber, Bibliography, i:436–441, Supplement, 144–145; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Bāŷŷa, Abū Bakr’ (J. Lomba Fuentes & J.M. Puerta Vílchez); Forcada, ‘Ibn Bājja on medicine’.

410

Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Imām al-Anṣārī was a vizier of the Almoravid ruler of Granada Ibn Tāshfīn, who reigned in 453–449/1061–1106. He was a close friend of Ibn Bājjah and the addressee of his Farewell Epistle (Risālat al-wadāʿ), but little is known about his role as compiler of Ibn Bājjah’s works; see Dunlop, ‘Philosophical Predecessors’. Part of the introduction to his compilation has been edited in Al-Maʿṣūmī, ‘Ibn al-Imām’.

411

Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456/1064) was a Ẓāhirī theologian, jurist, historian and poet; see EI2 art. ‘Ibn Ḥazm’ (R. Arnaldez).

412

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Mālik ibn Wuhayb (d. 525/1130), a native of Seville, was a polymath learned in various sciences; see Dunlop, ‘Philosophical Predecessors’, 102–103.

413

This statement seems to recall Ibn Bājjah’s own words at the end of The Conjunction of Man with the Active Intellect, apologizing for not having been able to provide a demonstrative argument (burhān), see Ibn Bājjah, Risālah fī ittiṣāl al-insān bi-l-ʿaql al-faʿʿāl, in Fakhry, Rasāʾil.

414

Qūṣ is a town in Upper Egypt not far from modern Luxor, on the east bank of the Nile.

415

See Ch. 13.66.

416

Abū Marwān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Lakhmī al-Bājī (d. 635/1237–1238) was a jurist of Andalusi origins and the most important informant of IAU. The history of his family is told below, see Ch. 13.63.2.3 and 13.63.8.2.

417

Abū Bakr Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 543/1148) was an Andalusī traditionist author of varied works on legal topics, history and literature.

418

Bibliographical entries may be found s.v. Ibn Bājjah or the names of editors/translators. See also Daiber, Bibliography, i:436–441.

419

For editions of this work see Fakhry, Paraphrase; and Lettinck, Aristotle’s Physics, 383–480.

420

This seems to correspond with the treatise also entitled ‘First treatise from the Meteorology’ (al-Maqālah al-ūlā min al-āthār) and his ‘Discussion on the commentary of the Meteorology’ (wa-min qawlihi fī sharḥ al-āthār al-ʿulwiyyah). The extant text is incomplete and has been edited in Moussaid, ‘Qawluhu fī sharḥ al-āthār’.

421

There is a critical edition with a Spanish translation: Puig, Libro de la Generación y la Corrupción.

422

This work seems to correspond with the unedited tract preserved in an Oxford MS with the title Min qawlihi ʿalā baʿḍ maqālāt kitāb al-ḥayawān al-akhīrah; see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Bāŷŷa, Abū Bakr’ (J. Lomba Fuentes & J.M. Puerta Vílchez). Cf. Kruk, ‘La zoologie aristotélicienne’, 329.

423

This work seems to correspond with the botanical treatise preserved in Berlin and Oxford MSS with the titles Min qawl Abī Bakr fī l-nabāt and Kalām al-wazīr Abī Bakr fī l-nabāt respectively. There is an edition of this treatise accompanied by Spanish translation: Asín Palacios, ‘Avempace botánico’. However, rather than a commentary on Aristotle’s Book on Plants, it is an original work, see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Bāŷŷa, Abū Bakr’ (J. Lomba Fuentes & J.M. Puerta Vílchez). Cf. Hugonnard-Roche, ‘Aristote de Stagire – Pseudo-Aristote, De Plantis’.

424

This work has been edited as Ibn Bājjah, Min kalāmihi fī māhiyyat al-shawq al-ṭabīʿī, in ʿAlawī, Rasāʾil, 97–102.

425

This work has been edited in Fakhry, Rasāʾil, 145–152.

426

This work has been edited by Asín Palacios, ‘Carta del Adios’ (with a Spanish translation) and a second time by Fakhry, Rasāʾil, 113–143.

427

There are two editions of this work: Asín Palacios (based on the Berlin MS), ‘Un texto de Avempace’; and Fakhry, Rasāʾil, 153–169. The treatise has also been translated into French (see Lagardère, ‘L’ épitre d’ Ibn Bājja’) and Spanish (see Lomba Fuentes, ‘Avempace Tratado de la unión’).

428

This work has been edited by Badawī; see Badawī, Rasāʾil falsafiyyah, 157–167. For a Spanish translation, see Tornero, ‘Dos epístolas de Avempace’.

429

This work has not survived.

430

There are several editions of this work; see Ibn Bājjah, K. tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid (Asín Palacios), (Ziyādah); and Fakhrī, Rasāʾil, 155–173. For translations, see Ibn Bājjah, K. tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid (tr. Lomba Fuentes), (tr. Companini & Illuminati).

431

For an edition and a translation, see Ibn al-Bājjah, K. al-nafs (ed. Maʿṣūmī), (tr. Maʿṣūmī).

432

This work has not survived. The title of al-Fārābī’s work might refer to the K. mukhtaṣar jamīʿ al-kutub al-manṭiqiyyah, on which see Ch. 15.1.5 title no. 76.

433

Unknown.

434

Nothing is known about this. The Berlin Staatsbibliothek MS 5060 WE 87 (now Kraków, Biblioteka Jagiellonska MS Wetzstein I 87) contains a short fragment on astronomy that might be part of this work.

435

This epistle, with has survived in fragmentary form, has been edited by ʿAlawī as ‘Min kalāmihi mā baʿatha bihi li-Abī Jaʿfar Yūsuf ibn Ḥasdāy’, in ʿAlawī, Rasāʾil, 77–81.

436

We do not know anything about these fragments. This title might correspond with the work mentioned in other sources with the title ‘Notes on Abū Naṣr [al-Fārābi’s Book] on [Aristotle’s] Peri Hermeneias’ (Taʿlīqāt ʿalā kitāb Abī Naṣr fī barī armīniyās), which has not survived.

437

This work has been edited by ʿAlawī as ‘Min kalāmihi ʿalā ibānat faḍl ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sayyid al-Muhandis’, in ʿAlawī, Rasāʾil, 84–87.

438

This treatise might correspond to the unedited fragment of the Berlin MS entitled Taʿālīq fī l-adwiyah al-mufradah.

439

On Ibn Wāfid, see Ch. 13.39.

440

There are two editions of this work; see Maʿṣūmī, ‘On Human End’, and Fakhry, Rasāʾil, 98–104. For translations, see Lomba Fuentes, ‘Sobre el fin del hombre’ and Druart, ‘La fin humaine selon Ibn Bajjah’.

441

Nothing is known about this work, which is not present in any of the extant manuscripts.

442

This work, a commentary on al-Fārābī’s Kitāb fī l-Burhān, seems to correspond to the unedited treatise preserved in the Escorial MS 602 with the title: Qawl Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā fī kitāb al-burhān. A Berlin MS contains also a fragment on the same topic entitled Kalām ʿalā awwal kitāb al-burhān; for an edition, see Ibn Bājjah, Burhān (Fakhrī).

443

This treatise remains unedited. It has survived in the Berlin MS.

444

For an edition of this work, see Badawī, Rasāʾil falsafiyyah, 147–156.

445

This work has not survived in its entirety, but the Berlin MS contains two unedited fragments on temperaments (fī l-mizāj) that might have been part of this work.

446

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Gayangos, History, appendix iii–vii; EI2 art. ‘Ibn Zuhr’ (R. Arnaldez), with sections on the several members of the family; EI Three art. ‘Ibn Zuhr family’ (C. Álvarez Millán).

447

Cf. Ṣāʿid al-Andalusi, Ṭabaqāt (Cheikho), 74–75.

448

I.e., from cold to lukewarm to hot and vice versa.

449

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. See Ullmann, Medizin, 162; Gayangos, History, appendix viii–xii; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ’ (C. Álvarez Millán); EI2 art. ‘Ibn Zuhr’ (R. Arnaldez), with sections on the several members of the family; EI Three art. ‘Ibn Zuhr family’ (C. Álvarez Millán).

450

The Veiled Men (al-Mulaththamūn) was a denomination given to the Almoravid Berbers in al-Andalus because their men used to cover their faces. The Almoravids ruled Morocco and al-Andalus from the beginning of the 5th/11th cent. to the middle of the 6th/12th cent.

451

Al-Muʿtamid ibn ʿAbbād was the third and last king of the ṭāʾifah of Seville, where he reigned from 461–484/1069–1091.

452

MS R adds some verses by Ibn Zuhr as a marginal note, see appendix AII.10.

453

See biography in Ch. 14.32.

454

IAU reproduces verbatim this passage; see the copy of Ibn Jumayʿ’s Taṣrīḥ in Princeton University Library MS New Series 2017, 1b [this work remains unedited].

455

See Ch. 13.40 n.

456

Unidentified.

457

Unidentified.

458

He is Abū ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Yannaq al-Shāṭibī (d. 547/1153), a poet and historian originally from Játiva (Valencia) and author of a Ḥamāsah and a biographical work on Andalusī personalities; see al-Dhahabī, Taʾrikh al-Islām (Beirut 2003 edn), 11:914 (no. 402), and al-Ziriklī, al-Aʿlām, 7:137.

459

The date of death has not been preserved in any of the manuscripts. The year 525/1130–1131 is given in Ibn Khāllikān, Wafayāt, 4:436, and al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, 2:245.

460

Metre: kāmil. Al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xiv:226.

461

These two epithets, al-ʿazīz and al-qāhir, are counted among the ‘beautiful names’ of God, as are the words nāṣir (in some lists at least) and qādir in the following lines.

462

Metre: basīṭ. Al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:433, Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:331 (lines 1 and 3).

463

‘Sick’, i.e., languid, eyelids or eyes are a common trait of the beloved in Arabic poetry.

464

That is, Abū l-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Qāḍī Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Manẓūr al-Qaysī al-Mālikī al-Ishbīlī (d. 520/1126); see al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 518.

465

Metre: kāmil. For another English translation, see Azar, The Sage of Seville, 19.

466

The word al-murtaḍā (‘of whom [God] may be pleased’) may be an honorific title of the qadi.

467

Metre: ṭawīl. Al-Thaʿālibī, Muntaḥal, 157 (anonymously), al-Irbilī, Tadhkirah, 75 (anonymously). For another English translation, see Azar, The Sage of Seville, 19.

468

Muntaḥal: ‘and her character’ (wa-khulquhā); Tadhkirah: ‘and I visited her’ (wa-zurtuhā).

469

Tadhkirah: ‘she’ (tazdāda).

470

For a discussion of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr’s works see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ’ (C. Álvarez Millán); and Kuhne Brabant, ‘Revisión de la bibliografía de Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr’.

471

This work has survived in several manuscripts, the most complete being Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Marsh 520; but an edition of the entire treatise is wanting. For a list of the manuscripts and the partial editions and translation of some of its chapters, see: Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ’ (C. Álvarez Millán).

472

This work has not survived and, according to Ibn al-Abbār, it was never finished.

473

This work has not survived.

474

Other sources refer to this work as K. al-Tabyīn fī qaṭʿ al-shakk bi-l-yaqīn intiṣāran li-Jālīnūs ʿan al-shukūk al-mansūbah li-Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī. Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr’s treatise remains unedited, although it has survived in several manuscripts, see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr’ (C. Álvarez Millán).

475

Cf. title no. 9.

476

This work has not survived.

477

This work has not survived.

478

This work has survived in several manuscripts and has been edited and translated into Spanish, see: Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ, Mujarrabāt.

479

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. This is Ibn Zuhr who was the Avenzoar of the Latin West. On him see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān’ (R. Kuhne Brabant, C. Álvarez Millán & E. García Sánchez); EI Three art. ‘Ibn Zuhr family’ (C. Álvarez Millán).

480

That is, a theriac elaborated from aconite. The word is Andalusī and the basis of Spanish antora (cf. Dozy, Supplément, s.v. antulah), yellow monkshood or wolfsbane and anglicized as ‘anthora’. IAU’s attribution of this antidote to Abū Marwān Ibn Zuhr seems to be the result of a confusion since the case histories collected by the pupils of his father, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ ibn Zuhr, include a recipe to work up the ‘Theriac of Anthora’, which in this case contains seventy ingredients, see ibn Zuhr, Mujarrabāt, 60 (137 of the Spanish translation).

481

Unidentified. The nisbah al-Maʿājīnī means ‘the salvemaker’.

482

That is, the famous Sufi author Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240).

483

This vocalization is conjectural, it could be either Ibn Muʾmil or Ibn Muʾammal.

484

On Abū Marwān and his family, see Ch. 13.63.8.2 and the corresponding footnote.

485

The manuscripts read al-faʾr (the mouse) or al-fār, which might be a rendition of the Romance name Alvar. The copyists and readers of IAU most likely read ‘the mouse’, and the fact that he eats at most one fig per annum seems to say that he ate as little as a mouse.

486

The term naghlah refers to a suppurating ulcer, probably in this context a form of spreading inflammatory ulcer; see Avar, Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), 137 nt 16. In several sources this is the cause of the death not of Abū Marwān, but of his father, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr ibn Zuhr; see: Ibn Khāllikān, Wafayāt, 6:436; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, 2:245; and Ibn Zuhr, Taysīr, 382. See also Biblioteca de al-Andalus ‘Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ (C. Álvarez Millán).

487

See Ch. 13.77.

488

See Ch. 13.80.

489

See Ch. 13.76.

490

Unidentified, although mentioned below in Ch. 13.63.8.1. He is perhaps Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khalaf al-ʿAbdarī (see al-Dhahabī, Siyar, xix:516 no. 299).

491

There is a blank space in all the manuscripts, which only state “five-hundred and …”.

492

This work has survived in several manuscript and has been edited several times and also translated into French: see Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān, Kitāb al-taysīr (Khūrī); Kitāb al-taysīr (Rūdānī); Kitâb al-Taysîr (tr. Bouamrane).

493

This work has been edited several times, see Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān, al-Aghdhiyah (al-Khaṭṭābī), Kitāb al-agdiya (García Sánchez).

494

No work with this title has survived, although it has been suggested that it is identical with the K. al-Iqtiṣād fī iṣlāḥ al-anfus wa-l-ajsād (‘The Golden Mean regarding the treatment of souls and bodies’), not listed by IAU, for the K. al-Iqtiṣād is one of the few medieval Islamic treatises to deal extensively with cosmetics, including the use of perfumes, skin and hair treatments, and dental and sexual procedures to improve a person’s external appearance. The K. al-Iqtiṣād has been preserved in several manuscripts and edited by Kuhne Brabant, see Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān, El Kitāb al-iqtiṣād.

495

The authorship of this work is disputed. The first edition of the treatise, based on the manuscripts of Paris and the Escorial, was attributed to Abū Marwān’s father, see Ibn Zuhr, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ, La Teḏkirà (Colin); another edition, based on two Moroccan manuscripts, appeared under the name of Abū Marwān, see Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān Tadhkirah.

496

This work has not survived.

497

Bahaq is often defined as a mild form of leprosy (baraṣ), but the term is not restricted to leprosy and may encompass other skin disorders; see EI2 art. ‘D̲j̲ud̲h̲ām’ (M. Dols).

498

This work has not survived.

499

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

500

Abū Marwān al-Bājī (d. 635/1238) was an Andalusī religious scholar who belonged to one of the oldest and most noble families of Seville. Abū Marwān decided to perform the pilgrimage propted by the political instability in al-Andalus and following the assassination of his nephew Abū Marwān Aḥmad, who had seized power in Seville and adopted the title of al-Muʿtaḍid bi-Allāh [see below IAU’s account in Ch. 13.63.8.2]. According to the report of his travel, which has survived in several Arabic sources, Abū Marwān arrived in Damascus on the 7th of the month of Ramadan in 634 [4th May 1237] and left the city by the middle of Shawwāl of the same year [June 1237]. It was during this time that he met IAU, becoming the most important oral source for his chapter on al-Andalus. Abū Marwān provided unique information about Andalusian physicians (especially Sevillians) whose biographies were not included in the sources available to IAU. The dates of his stay in Damascus also show that IAU had already started to collect biographical information about physicians by this time. On the Bājī family, see Vizcaíno, ‘Los al-Bāŷī al-Lajmī’; on Abū Marwān’s travel to the East see Marín, ‘El viaje a oriente de Abū Marwān al-Bājī’, with references to the Arabic sources that have preserved information about this scholar.

501

The Mudawwanah of Saḥnūn ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥabīb al-Tanūkhī (d. 240/855), a compendium of the legal opinions of Ibn Mālik and his successors in Medina, was the most important handbook of Andalusian Mālikism. See EI2 art. ‘Saḥnūn’ (M. Talbi).

502

Abū Bakr Ibn Abī Shaybah was a Mālikī traditionist and historian; the K. al-Musnad, also known as K. al-Muṣannaf was one of the canonical collections of ḥadīths in Almohad al-Andalus. See EI2 art. ‘Ibn Abī Shayba’ (Ch. Pellat).

503

See EI2 art. ‘Makāyil’ (E. Ashtor & J. Burton-Page): ‘In Muslim Spain, a raṭl of 503.68 g was commonly used’. It is unlikely that the weight of the bow could have been 75 kg; what is meant here is the force needed to draw the string.

504

Cf. Ibn Diḥyah, Muṭrib, 207, and Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, iv:434, which report his death ‘at the end of 595’.

505

This particular individual cannot be identified with certainty, but the Banū Yanāqī were a prominent family of Seville and IAU’s informant, the qadi Abū Marwān al-Bājī, also transmitted information about the jurist al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Yanāqī; see Ibn al-Faraḍī, Taʾrīkh ʿulamāʾ al-Andalus, i:128, no. 339 [= ʿAwwād Maʿrūf, i:164 no. 337].

506

Aznalfarache in Spanish.

507

That is, the botanist Ibn al-Rūmiyyah, see Ch. 13.86.

508

I.e., barefoot.

509

Abū Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mūsā ibn Yūjān al-Hintātī was vizier during the last years of the reign of the Almohad caliph Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Manṣūr (d. 595/1199) and was deposed after his death, see EI2 art. ‘Hintāta’ (G. Deverdun).

510

This is one of the few mentions of Andalusian midwives in medical literature, see Giladi, Muslim Midwives, 81–82.

511

See Ch. 13.79.

512

The famous Sufi Muḥyī l-Dīn ibn al-ʿArabī, who died in Damascus in 638/1240.

513

Metre: mutaqārib. Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, iv:435; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, iv:40; Ibn Faḍl Allāh, Masālik, ix:153; al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, ii:248–249.

514

Metre: basīṭ. Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, xviii:218 (line 5 lacking), Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, iv:435 (line 5 lacking), al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, ii:249–250 (lines 1–3, with some other lines).

515

Metre: kāmil. Al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ, iii:468 (with three other verses).

516

Usually known as ʿAlam al-Dīn Qayṣar Taʿāsīf al-Ḥanafī (d. 649/1251), he was an Egyptian mathematician, instrument maker, secretary, polymath and engineer who resided in Syria and worked for several Ayyubid kings. He was reportedly sent by al-Kāmil to the court of Frederick II to solve some geometrical problems sent by the Norman king as a challenge. See: al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xxiv:304; Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists, 80–81.

517

Metre: kāmil. Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, xviii:223–224, al-Dhahabī, Tārīkh al-Islām (591–600), 203 (lines 1–8).

518

bi-abī, literally ‘with my father (I would ransom)’.

519

Muʿjam al-udabāʾ: ‘the Bedouins’ (al-Aʿrāb), spoiling the paronomasia, even though it goes better with line 5 (which, however, should not be taken literally).

520

A ‘battle of al-Ghuwayr’ (yawm al-Ghuwayr) is mentioned (al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, xxiv:24) as having taken place between Arab tribes in early Islamic times; al-Ghuwayr (‘the little cave’) is said to be the name of several locations in Arabia (Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v.). It is not clear why it is mentioned here; perhaps it alludes to an ancient proverb (‘Perhaps ill luck will come from al-Ghuwayr’, see al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, ii:21).

521

One could read a singular (asad) or a plural (usd); MS A seems to have the latter.

522

There is an implied antithesis between umayliḥ (cognate with milḥ, ‘salt’) and aʿdhab (‘sweet’).

523

MS A vowels it as khumār (‘hangover’).

524

This shows the beloved to be a boy whose beard has begun to sprout.

525

According to Ibn ʿIdārī, Abū Marwān Aḥmad’s death took place in 632/1234–1235 (al-Bayān al-mughrib (Muwaḥḥidūn), 330; al-Bayān al-mughrib (Tunis), iii:457); al-Marrākushī dates it in Jumādā I of 631/February 1234 (al-Marrākushī, Dhayl, iii:581). This paragraph offers precious information about the history of the family of IAU’s principal informant, Abū Marwān al-Bājī. On the one hand IAU mentions their relationship with the prestigious family of the Banū Zuhr, some of whose members are treated in biographies 13.60 to 13.64. On the other hand, the author informs us about the relationship of al-Bājī’s family with the Banū Hūd, who were petty kings in the ṭāʾifah of Saragossa and, from 1228 until the Christian conquest, rulers of Murcia and Seville, where Abū Marwān Aḥmad was regent. Abū Marwān al-Bājī left al-Andalus due to the political instability in Seville that Ibn Zuhr addresses in this poem. See above Ch. 13.62.2 and the corresponding footnote.

526

Muwashshaḥah; rhyme scheme: AB ccc AB ddd AB eee AB fff AB ggg AB (capitals stand for the recurrent rhyme); metre: XSLLLSLSSL.

527

As is common in the muwashshaḥ genre, the last line is in a kind of vernacular (ash for ayyu shayʾin, hu for huwa). To fit the metre the last sentence has to be pronounced perhaps as f-ay makānin yaskun-aw yujadū (the spelling in B and Gc of the last word as y.j.d, without w, may reflect this).

528

Muwashshaḥah. Rhyme scheme: the same as in the preceding poem; metre: irregular (many but not all segments apart from the B segments have the metrical structure XLLSLLL). Ibn Sanāʾ al-Mulk, Dār al-ṭirāz, 45–46, al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, iv:41–43, Monroe, Hispano-Arabic Poetry, 302–303 (with English translation). Another English translation in Compton, Andalusian Lyrical Poetry, 12. Monroe and Compton attribute the poem to Ḥātim ibn Saʿīd, on unclear grounds.

529

A common image for rippling surfaces.

530

A quotation, often cited as a proverb, see e.g. al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, i:23, Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, ii:142, iii:86 (anonymous); attributed to Muslim ibn al-Walīd in al-Jāḥiẓ, Bayān, ii:363, see Muslim ibn al-Walīd, Dīwān, 340, but to Manṣūr al-Namarī in Ibn al-Muʿtazz, Ṭabaqāt, 247.

531

Muwashshaḥah; rhyme scheme: the same as in the preceding poems; metre: XSLLXSLLXSL. A famous poem; see Ibn Sanāʾ al-Mulk, Dār al-ṭirāz, 73–74, Ibn Bishrī, ʿUddat al-jalīs, 426–427, Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:267–268, Ibn Diḥyah, Muṭrib, 205–206, Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Jaysh al-tawshīḥ, 248–249, al-Ṣafadī, Tawshīʿ, 126–129, idem, Wāfī, iv:40–41, Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, xviii: 219–220, Monroe, Hispano-Arabic Poetry, 288–289 (with English translation), Liu & Monroe, Ten Hispano-Arabic Strophic Songs, 66–69, 77–80, 101, Compton, Andalusian Lyrical Poetry, 35. Several modern performances could be heard on Youtube in November 2018.

532

Four drinks in four cups, presumably.

533

This strophe is the third instead of the fourth in some versions.

534

Reading ʿashiyat with L and most other sources; A and R have ghashiyat, ʿUddat al-jalīs has shaqiyat.

535

Reading shaqiyat (MSS A, L); most other sources have ʿashiyat.

536

His eyes wept for his heart (or liver, see the next note).

537

Literally, ‘liver’ (seat of passions).

538

Muwashshaḥah; rhyme scheme: aaaBCdddBCcccBCeeeBCfff, metre: in most segments, a form of kāmil. Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:268–269, Ibn Bishrī, ʿUddat al-jalīs, 78, Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Jaysh al-tawshīḥ, 249–250.

539

Literally, ‘with the curves of (my) ribs’, which sounds even stranger in English than in Arabic.

540

I.e., his teeth are whiter than camomile flowers.

541

Muwashshaḥah; rhyme scheme: ABcccABdddABeeeABfffABgggAB; metre: mujtathth. Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, i:273–274; Ibn Bishrī, ʿUddat al-jalīs, 356–357; Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Jaysh al-tawshīḥ; 246–247; al-Ṣafadī, Tawshīʿ al-tawshīḥ, 101–103.

542

A star that is an image for the unattainably high.

543

The tree called arāk (Salvadora persica) has fragrant wood; its twigs are often used as toothbrushes.

544

Reading shattā (A, Mughrib, ʿUddah, Jaysh) rather than saby ‘captivity’ (L, R, Tawshīʿ), since the preposition bayna implies a plurality.

545

Reading wa-l-fakhr, since it is difficult to make sense of wa-l-ʿajz (‘and impotence’). The reading of Mughrib, wa-l-fajr (‘and daybreak’), if correct, could refer to the time of the beloved’s departure.

546

The metre requires wa-akhfū l-rawāḥā (instead of the standard Arabic wa-akhfawu l-rawāḥā), apparently a vernacular trait in this kharjah.

547

For this sense of rawāḥ (rather than ‘going in the evening’, as in standard Arabic), see Corriente, A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic, 422.

548

Reading saḥar, thus vowelled in A, which fits the metre if read without inflectional ending, as is common in a kharjah (see also Corriente, A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic, s.v.). Mughrib reads saḥaran (unmetrical), Tawshīʿ has ʿannī, ‘away from me’. Very different versions of this kharjah are found in ʿUddah and Jaysh; see also the kharjah of a muwashshaḥah by Ibn Ḥazmūn (ʿUddah, 358).

549

Muwashshaḥah; rhyme scheme: ABCBcdcdcdABCBefefefABCBghghghABCBijijijABCBklklklABCB; metre: mukhallaʿ al-basīṭ (with the last syllable truncated in every other member). Ibn Bishrī, ʿUddat al-jalīs, 56–57 (anonymously).

550

The idiom is found e.g. in Labīd (Dīwān, 58, 79); the word ʿayn (‘eye’) also means ‘person’.

551

Assuming one should read ʿ.n.y rather than ʿaynī, it is not wholly clear whether it is ʿannī, ‘away from me’, or an imperative fem. sing. such as ʿinnī/ʿunnī, ‘turn aside!’ (from ʿNN) or ʿannī, ‘torment!’ (from ʿNY).

552

Literally, ‘liver’.

553

ʿUddah: ‘that are wounded’ (yuklamu), a common conceit.

554

It is not easy to understand allah yurīdū (‘may God want him’?); perhaps read, with MSS GcR, ʿUddah, allah yazīdū (‘may God increase him’).

555

For this sense of iqtirāḥ, see Corriente, A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic, 421 (where this sentence is quoted).

556

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

557

Abū Ḥanīfah al-Dīnawarī (d. 283/896), was an Abbasid polymath who wrote on varied topics; he is considered the founding father of Arabic botany due to the influence of his Book of Plants (K. al-Nabāt), although the content of this treatise is mainly lexicographical; see EI2 art. ‘al-Dīnawarī’ (B. Lewin).

558

The only source mentioning these two qadis appears to be al-Ṣafadī, quoting IAU, Wāfī bi-l-wafayāt, xvii:311.

559

I.e., al-Muqaddimah al-Jazūliyyah fī l-naḥw. Al-Jazūlī, who according to the sources died between 606/1209 and 616/1219, owed his fame as grammarian mainly to this short introduction, see EI2 art. ‘al-D̲j̲azūlī’ (M. Ben Cheneb).

560

The Arabic Salā, a coastal town in Morocco at the mouth of the river Buragrag, see EI2 art. ‘Salā’ (H. Ferhat).

561

Tapia is, in fact, a Romance word that refers to a piece of wall made with mud pressed and dried in a wooden frame, but not to the frame itself as IAU states. Metonymically, the term was also used as a measure unit with varied values, and in this IAU is correct. See Graciani García, ‘Consideraciones … tapia’.

562

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

563

Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf, known as Yūsuf I, was an Almohad caliph who ruled in 558–580/1163–1184.

564

Abū Bakr Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 543/1148) was an Andalusī traditionist author of varied works on legal topics, history and literature.

565

Turjālah: the name of this city appears in different forms in Arab sources, the most common of which seems to be Turjīlah; on this toponym see Viguera Molins, ‘Trujillo en las crónicas árabes’, 189–190.

566

This biography is present in all three versions of the work. On Ibn Rushd, known in the West as Averroes, see Gayangos, History, appendix xvii–xxiii; EI2 art. ‘Ibn Rus̲h̲d’ (R. Arnaldez); Ullmann, Medizin, 166–167; Sezgin, GAS III, see index s.v. b. Rušd; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Rushd, al-Ḥafīd Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.); Cruz Hernández, Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd.

567

See Ch. 13.62.

568

Cf. Ibn Rushd, K. al-Kulliyyāt (al-Jābrī), 583.

569

See Ch. 13.65.

570

This refers to the Battle of Alarcos, where al-Manṣūr defeated the Castilian king Alfonso VIII.

571

The Council of the Ten was formed by the first and closest followers of Ibn Tūmart. Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Yaḥyā al-Hintātī or Īntī (d. 571/1176) was the last of Ibn Tūmart companions and eponym of the Ḥafsids, see EI2, art. ‘Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. Yaḥyā al-Hintātī’ (E. Lévi-Provençal). Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wāḥid, Abū Ḥafṣ’ son, governed Ifrīqiyah from 603/1207 to 618/1221.

572

IAU’s reference to a son named ʿAlī is mistaken. Abū Ḥafṣ’ grandson, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid governed Ifrīqiyah from 623/1226 to 625/1228, when he was deposed by his brother Abū Zakariyyāʾ Yaḥyā, see EI2 art. ‘Ḥafṣids’ (H.R. Idris).

573

On this episode see Serrano, ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd (Averroes) and his exile’.

574

Abū Jaʿfar al-Dhahabī (d. 601/1204–1205) was a philosopher and physician who worked for al-Manṣūr. He fled to Castro del Río, although he regained the favour of the caliph shortly afterwards. See Puig, ‘Materials on Averroes’, 247.

575

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Mahrī al-Uṣūlī (d. 612/1219) belonged to the Sevilian family of the Banū Marzuqān. He was deported from Marrakesh to Āghmāt; when he received the pardon of the caliph he was appointed qadi of Bougie and later on of Murcia. See Puig, ‘Materials on Averroes’, 248.

576

Unidentified.

577

It should be noted that in Almohad al-Andalus the title of ḥāfiẓ could refer either to someone who had memorized the Qur’an – as in the rest of the Islamic world – or to someone who had embraced Almohadism and pronounced the Almohad profession of faith.

578

There is no record of this name in other Arabic sources. It has been suggested that the nisbah al-Qarrābī might had been mistaken for al-Jurāwī, and this would refer to Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Jurāwī (d. 609/1212), who was a poet and ḥāfiẓ of the Berber tribe of the Banī Gafjūm. He was originally from Tādlā, lived in Marrakesh and died in Seville. See Biblioteca de al-Andalus, art. ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd, Abū l-Walīd’, (Lirola et al.), iv:528.

579

The term used to describe this office is a word of Berber origin, mizwār. On this word, which could refer to various positions in the Almohad administration, see Mougin, ‘Amawar (ou Mizwar)’.

580

I.e. the territories in the Iberian Peninsula and in North Africa. In Arabic script barbar and barrayn are easily confused.

581

For a different – Easterner – version of this story see al-Dhahabī, Siyar, xxi:317, where this episode is linked to the Almohad persecution of philosophy (and, according to the Mamluk historian, also medicine and geometry).

582

A reference to the realization of God’s design in nature, not unusual in medical literature. The maxim ‘Whoever does not know astronomy and anatomy is therefore deficient in the knowledge of God’ appears as exergo in many astronomical and medical works, see Savage-Smith, ‘The Universality and Neutrality of Science’. And in allegorical works such as Ibn al-Nafīs’ al-Risālah al-Kāmiliyyah the hero is able to deduce God’s existence while living in isolation after examining the anatomy of animals and plants, see Meyerhof & Schacht, Theologus Autodidactus, 42–43. On this argument see Gibb, ‘Argument from Design’.

583

A detailed analysis of Ibn Rushd’s corpus can be found in: Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd, Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.); and Cruz Hernández, Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd, 431–463. For a bibliography of his philosophical works, see also Endress, ‘Averrois Opera’; Daiber, Bibliography, i:449–468, and ii:231–262.

584

This treatise does not appear in other lists of Averroes’ works. M. Forcada states that it was written by his grandfather Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, and wrongly attributed to his grandson by IAU; see ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd, Abū l-Walīd’ (Lirola Delgado et al.), iv:56. However, none of the sources containing information about the works of Ibn Rushd al-Jadd seem to mention this title either.

585

According to M. Forcada, this might also be the result of a confusion between the works of Averroes and those of his grandfather, who was the author of a treatise entitled al-Muqaddimāt li-awāʾil kutub al-Mudawwanah; see ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd, Abū l-Walīd’ (Lirola Delgado et al.), iv:564. On Ibn Rushd al-Jadd’s treatise, see Biblioteca de al-Andalus, art. ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ŷadd, Abū l-Walīd’ (D. Serrano Ruano), iv:624 (title no. 13).

586

This title refers to the second part of The Starting Point of the Juridical Interpreter (K. Bidāyat al-mujtahid fī l-fiqh). There are several editions of this work, always printed together with the first part; see Ibn Rushd, Bidāyat al-mujtahid (1914) and Bidāyat al-mujtahid (ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm & Maḥmūd). The treatise has also been fully translated into English; see Ibn Rushd, The Distinguished Jurists’ Primer.

587

This treatise is the most famous of Ibn Rushd’s works on medicine. It has survived in several manuscripts and has been edited several times. For critical editions, see Ibn Rushd, K. al-Kulliyyāt (Fórneas Besteiro & Álvarez de Morales) and K. al-Kulliyyāt (al-Jābirī). For a complete translation into Spanish, see Ibn Rushd, El libro de las generalidades.

588

This work has survived in several manuscripts and was very popular in Europe since the 12th century, when Armengaud de Blasii published a Latin translation of the Urjūzah of Ibn Sīnā (the Canticum in Latin) and Averroes’ commentary with the general title Avicennae cantica. The Arabic text has been published together with the Latin version and the Spanish translation, see Bibliography. IAU does not list this poem under Ibn Sīnā’s works.

589

This treatise is also referred to as Talkhīṣ tisʿ maqālāt min Kitāb al-Ḥayawān (Middle Commentary on the Nine Treatises of the Book of Animals of Aristotle), and was known in Europe by its Latin title De Animalibus. This work is a commentary on several sections of Aristotles’ De Generatione Animalium, De Partibus, and Historia Animalium. It has only survived in its Hebrew translation made in 1302/3 by Yaʿaqob ben Makhir Ibn Tibbon, which in turn was translated into Latin by Jacob Martino in the early 16th cent. See ‘Ibn Rushd al-Ḥafīd, Abū l-Walīd’ (Lirola Delgado et al.), iv:608 (no. 92).

590

This work has survived in two Judeo-Arabic manuscripts. For partial editions of its contents, edited by Butterworth, see Ibn Rushd, Jawāmiʿ li-kutub Arisṭūṭālīs.

591

The term talkhīṣ is usually translated as summary or epitome. Ibn Rushd wrote abridged or minor commentaries referred to as talkhīṣ, and conventionally translated as ‘middle commentaries’, in contrast with his major or long commentaries (sharḥ).

592

There are no references to this work, but Ibn Rushd quoted from Nicolaus Damascenus’ compendium of Aristotle’s philosophy, see Daiber, Bibliography, 2 no. 2489.

593

Ibn Rushd wrote two commentaries on Aristotle’s Metaphysics: this middle commentary (talkhīṣ) and the Sharḥ or Tafsīr mā baʿd al-ṭabīʿah (Major Commentary on [Aristotle’s] Metaphysics), not included in the list provided by IAU. There are several editions of the Talkhīṣ; see Ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ (Qabbānī); Talkhīṣ (ed. tr. Quirós Rodríguez); Talkhīṣ (Amīn); and Ibn Rushd, Rasāʾil. In addition to the Spanish translation of Quirós Rodríguez, there are versions in German and English; see Ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ (tr. Horten); Talkhīṣ (tr. van den Bergh); Talkhīṣ (tr. Arnzen).

594

Only some fragments have survived; see Berman, ‘Lost Arabic Original of Ibn Rushd’s Middle Commentary’; Aouad & Woerther, ‘Le commentaire par Averroès’.

595

This work has been edited, together with the major commentary (sharḥ) not mentioned by IAU, see Ibn Rushd, Sharḥ wa-talkhīṣ Kitāb al-Burhān.

596

This work has survived in several manuscripts and has been edited several times; see Ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ K. al-samāʿ al-ṭabīʿī (Hyderabad), (Beirut), (Madrid). There is a translation into Spanish: Ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ K. al-samāʿ al-ṭabīʿī (ed. tr. Puig).

597

Ibn Rushd wrote a compendium (jāmiʿ), a middle commentary (talkhīṣ), and a major commentary (sharḥ) on Aristotle’s De Caelo. The Arabic text of the major commentary listed by IAU has survived only in part, although we have a Latin version. There are two editions of this work; see Ibn Rushd, Commentary on Aristotle’s Book on the Heaven (facs.) and Sharḥ Kitāb al-Samāʾ wa-l-ʿĀlam (Jumʿah).

598

The Arabic text of the treatise has not come down to us, but the Latin translation acquired great popularity in the Middle Ages. For a critical edition of it, see Ibn Rushd, Averrois … in Aristotelis de Anima (Crawford).

599

Also known as Talkhīṣ usṭuqussāt li-Jālīnūs. See Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 9–24, and Anawati and Zāyid, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 29–72. For a Spanish translation see Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 43–66.

600

For editions, see Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 237–245; and Anawati and Zāyid, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 371–386. For a Spanish translation see Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 67–120.

601

See Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 95–183; and Anawati and Zāyid, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 163–296. There is a Spanish translation in Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 121–194.

602

No work with this title has come down to us, but it is likely that this corresponds with a treatise entitled Kalām fī ikhtiṣār al-ʿilal wa-l-aʿrāḍ, edited by Vázquez de Benito in Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum, 200–235, and translated into Spanish by Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 209–238.

603

No work bearing this title has survived, but it has been correctly suggested that this might be the treatise otherwise known as Talkhīṣ al-aʿḍāʾ al-āliyah or Fī l-aʿḍāʾ al-ālimah, see Cruz Hernández, Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd, 364. See also Ch. 5.1.37 title no. 15 K. taʿarruf ʿilal al-aʿḍāʾ al-bāṭinah/al-mawāḍiʿ al-ālimah (De locis affectis). Titles 16–21 in this list follow the order of Ch. 5.1.37, i.e. the order in Ḥunayn’s Risālah.

604

See Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 187–199; and Anawati and Zāyid, Ibn Rushd, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 297–316. There is a Spanish translation by Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 197–207.

605

No work with this title has survived.

606

See Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 271–275; and Anawati and Zāyid, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 431–438. There is also a Spanish translation by Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 269–272.

607

For critical texts, see Ibn Rushd, Tahāfut al-tahāfut (Bouyges), (Dunyā), (al-Jābirī). There are numerous translations in modern languages, including Ibn Rushd, Tahāfut al-tahāfut (tr. Horten), (tr. 1954), (tr. Companini), (tr. Puig). For extracts in French, see Geoffroy, Averroès, l’ Islam et la raison.

608

Usually referred to as Kashf ʿan manāhij al-adillah. For editions, see Ibn Rushd, Kashf ʿan manāhij (Qāsim) and (al-Jābirī). For an English translation, see Ibn Rushd, Kashf ʿan manāhij (tr. Najjar); for a partial French translation, Geoffroy, Averroès, L’ Islam et la raison.

609

Despite its brevity, this treatise was one of the most influential works of Ibn Rushd and has been edited several times. Müller’s 1859 text was the basis of all editions till Hourani’s; see Ibn Rushd, Faṣl al-maqāl (Müller) and Faṣl al-maqāl (ed. Hourani). For a detailed list of editions and re-editions, see Cruz Hernández, Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd, 452–453. It has been translated several times, including: Ibn Rushd, Faṣl al-maqāl (Müller) into Latin; Faṣl al-maqāl (tr. Gauthier), French; Faṣl al-maqāl (tr. Hourani), English; Faṣl al-maqāl (tr. Alonso), Spanish; and Faṣl al-maqāl (tr. Lucchetta), Italian.

610

These questions might correspond with the collection of short treatises preserved in El Escorial MS 632, and edited by ʿAlawī, Maqālāt, 75–221. For a description of these treatises see Cruz Hernández, Abū l-Walīd Ibn Rushd, 360–303; and ‘Ibn Rushd, al-Ḥafīd Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.), iv:553 (no. 49.1).

611

It seems in fact that Ibn Rushd never wrote a major commentary (sharḥ) on Aristotle’s Analytica Priora, but he dealt with this work in his middle commentary (talkhīṣ), which might correspond with title no. 29 in IAU’s list, the Maqālah fī l-qiyās. The Talkhīṣ K. al-Qiyās li-Arisṭūṭālīs has been edited several times; see Ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ K. al-Qiyās (Butterworth et al.); Talkhīṣ K. al-Qiyās (Badawī.); Talkhīṣ K. al-Qiyās (Jihāmī).

612

This work might correspond either with the commentary known as Sharḥ maqālat al-Iskandar fī l-ʿaql (Commentary on Alexander of Aphrodisias’ Treatise on the Intellect), which has not come down to us; or with the Talkhīṣ mā baʿd al-ṭabīʿah li-l-Iskandar (Minor commentary on Alexander of Aphrodisias’ Methaphysics), of which some fragments have survived in Leiden MS 2821.

613

No work of Ibn Rushd has come down to us with such a general title. This might refer to the Talkhīṣ K. al-Qiyās, which is plausibly identified with the treatise referred to by IAU as Sharḥ K. al-Qiyās (title no. 28 above).

614

This treatise has not survived in its Arabic version, but it was translated into Hebrew and Latin. The Latin version bears the title Tractatus Averroys qualiter intellectus materialis conjugatur intelligentiae abstractae and Epistola de intellectu. This work should not be mistaken for the treatise written by Ibn Rushd’s son, Abū Muḥammad, with the title Maqālah hal yattaṣil bi-l-ʿaql al-hayūlānī al-ʿaql al-faʿʿāl wa-huwa multabis bi-l-jism, on which see Abī l-Walīd ibn Rushd, Talkhīṣ K. al-nafs.

615

This work, only mentioned by IAU and, after him, by al-Dhahabī and al-Ṣafadī, seems to have been lost.

616

This work has not survived.

617

This work has not survived.

618

This work has not survived.

619

This work has not survived.

620

No work with such title has survived. Puerta Vílchez suggests that this might correspond with the Maqālah fī l-zamān included in the fourth book of Ibn Rushd’s Sharḥ al-samāʿ al-ṭabīʿī (Commentary on Physics), see ‘Ibn Rushd, al-Ḥafīd Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.), iv:569 (no. 69).

621

No work with this title has survived. This might correspond with a lost treatise on the same topic mentioned by Ibn Rushd in his Sharḥ K. al-Burhān entitled Maqālah fī tabyīn fasād al-ṭarīq al-kullī alladhī ẓanna ibn Sīnā anna bihi yumkin ṣāḥib al-ʿilm al-ilāhī an yuthbita wujūd al-mabdaʾ al-awwal. See ‘Ibn Rushd, al-Ḥafīd Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.), iv:551 (no. 45).

622

No treatise with this title has come down to us, although a Hebrew version that might correspond to this title has survived in Paris, BnF MS 356. Puerta Vílchez suggests that this title refers to the 10th question discussed in the Tahāfut al-tahāfut (Incoherence of the Incoherence), see ‘Ibn Rushd, al-Ḥafīd Abū l-Walīd’ (J. Lirola et al.), iv:548 (no. 34).

623

Also known as Maqālah fī l-mizāj al-muʿtadil (Balanced Mixture), this work has been edited by ʿAlawī, Maqālāt, 55–78 and Jumʿah, K. al-Muqaddimāt fī l-falsafah, 278–294.

624

Also called Maqālah fī nawbat al-ḥummā. No work with this title has survived, but it is likely that it corresponds with the Kalām fī l-iʿtiqād anna zamān al-nawbah huwa fiʿl al-ḥarārah al-gharīziyyah fī juzʾ min al-khilāṭ al-fāʿil li-l-ḥummā, see Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 247–248. There is a Spanish version in Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes.

625

This work, mentioned only by IAU, has not survived.

626

No treatise by Ibn Rushd with such title has survived. Only IAU and al-Ṣafadī (who relies in IAU’s work) list this title, and its vagueness renders the identification of the treatise impossible.

627

This work, mentioned uniquely by IAU, has not survived.

628

This work has not survived.

629

See Ibn Rushd, Commentaria Averrois in Galenum (Vázquez de Benito), 249–266, and Anawati and Zāyid, Rasāʾil Ibn Rushd al-ṭibbiyyah, 249–264. There is also a Spanish translation by Vázquez de Benito, La medicina de Averroes, 249–264.

630

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

631

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

632

This is the city known today as Sagunto. The fact that the place name takes the place of a nisbah, instead of al-Mūrāṭīrī, is an oddity.

633

I.e., Ibn Ṣaḥnūn’s Mudawwanah, one of the most important Mālikī texts.

634

Muḥammad al-Nāṣir (r. 595–610/1099–1213) was the fourth Almohad ruler, see EI2 art. ‘al-Nāṣir’ (E. Levi-Provençal).

635

Part of a muwashshaḥah; attributed in fact to a certain Ibn Muʾahhal (or Mūhal?) in Ibn Khaldūn, Muqaddimah, tr. Rosenthal, iii:445, al-Maqqarī, Nafḥ vii:8; not identified but probably identical with ‘Ibn Mūhad al-Shāṭibī’, a muwashshaḥah of whose is quoted in Ibn Saʿīd, Mughrib, ii:390.

636

On the word ṭāq, see Dozy, Supplement, ii:70 (where these lines are quoted).

637

Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Mustanṣir, known as Yūsuf II, reigned in 610–621/1213–1224.

638

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

639

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. The manuscripts are undotted and read: q-b-l-ā-n, q-b-l-ā-l, and q-y-l-ā-l. Müller and Riḍā have Qablāl.

640

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

641

The Battle of the Navas de Tolosa (Maʿrakat al-ʿIqāb in Arabic) took place in 609/1212. This was one of the most decisive battles in the Christian war against the Muslims; the joint armies of Alfonso VIII of Castile, Peter II of Aragon, Sancho VII of Navarre and Alfonso II of Portugal defeated the Almohad army under al-Nāṣir. See EI2 art. ‘ʿIḳāb’ (H. Monés).

642

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

643

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Ibn Ghalindū was a student of Ibn Zuhr; see Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Galinduh, Abū l-Ḥakam’ (A.C. López y López). See also Ibn al-Abbār, Takmilah, ii: 616, no. 1717; Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, x:245–236 (which dates his death in 587/1991).

644

According to Yāqūt, ‘he used to write in the two hands, Andalusi and Eastern’. This most likely refers to the Western and Eastern calligraphic styles.

645

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

646

Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Jubayr (d. 614/1217) is the famous traveller and author of the first Andalusī travel account (riḥlah); on Ibn Jubayr and this work, see EI2 art. ‘Ibn D̲j̲ubayr’ (Ch. Pellat) and EI Three art. ‘Ibn Jubayr’ (Y. Dejugnat). Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Ḥassān is mentioned several times in the travel account; see Ibn Jubayr, Riḥlah, 3, 13, 34, 39, 142–143.

647

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

648

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

649

I.e., from Shadūnah, modern Medina Sidonia; see EI2 art. ‘S̲h̲adūna’ (F. Roldan-Castro).

650

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. In al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xix:162 (entry ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr) he is called Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Asad al-Maṣdūm.

651

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

652

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

653

Abū Jaʿfar might have travelled to Seville, where al-Ḥafīd Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr lived most of his life, see biography in Ch. 13.63.

654

The Mamluk historian al-Dhahabī (d. 748/1348) brings up this story when reporting Saladin’s petition of military aid to the Almohads in 587/1191; in his version the Almohad ruler is ʿAbd al-Muʾmin and he says: ‘I do not need the antidote, I only wanted to test [the people] in my country’ (al-Dhahabī, Siyar xxi, 318; and al-Dhahabī, Tārīkh al-Islam xlii:225). Almohad caliphs enjoyed a reputation of piety among the Mamluks, but they appeared in a very positive light already in Ayyubid sources, which praise their religious zeal; see, for instance the biography of the Almohad caliph al-Manṣūr, in al-Manṣūr Muḥammad, Miḍmār, 201.

655

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

656

Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Mustanṣir, the fifth Almohad ruler known as Yūsuf II, reigned in 610–621/1213–1224.

657

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. Ullmann, Medizin, 254.

658

On this tribe see EI2 art. ‘Kūmiya’ (R. Basset); on the town, see art. ‘Nadrūma’ (A. Bel and Dj. Sari).

659

The brothers Abū al-Najāʾ Sālim and Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hūd were descendants of Abū ʿAbdallāh Ibn Yūsuf ibn Hūd (d. 635/1238), who rebelled against Almohad rule in 625/1228 and became ruler of a petty kingdom that extended from Seville to Murcia, see Kennedy, Muslim Spain and Portugal, 265–266.

660

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

661

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

662

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. On Ibn Tumlūs (d. 620/1223–1224), see EI Three art. ‘Ibn Ṭumlūs’ (F. Woerther); Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn Tumlūs, Abū l-Ḥaŷŷāŷ’ (J. Puig). Al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, xxix:297, gives his full name as Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṭumlūs; the same in Ibn Shākir, Fawāt, iv:357–358, where also some poetry by him is given. In al-Fīrūzābādī, al-Bulghah, 245 and al-Suyūṭī, Bughyah, ii:354 (no. 2170) he appears as Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭāwūs [sic] Abū l-Ḥajjāj al-Naḥwī. Ben Ahmed, in his introduction to the edition of Ibn Ṭumlūs’ al-Mukhtaṣar fī l-manṭiq, also notes the variants Ibn Ṭuḥlūs, Ibn Ṭāwus, Ibn Baṭlīmūs, and the Latinized version Alhagiag Bin Thalmus; for these variants and, in general, the biography and works of this author see Ben Ahmed, Compendium on Logic.

663

In Arabic Jazīrat al-shuqar, the Island or Peninsula of the River Júcar.

664

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2.

665

This biography is present in all three version of the work. See Ullmann, Medizin, 279–280; Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Rūmīya, Abū l-ʿAbbās’ (F. Velázquez Basanta).

666

The Ayyubid Sultan al-ʿĀdil was sultan of Egypt and Syria during 596–615/1200–1218.

667

This work remains unedited. According to Albert Dietrich (Medicinalia Arabica, 185–186 no. 87), it has survived in Istanbul MS Nurusmaniye 3589, fols. 80b–129b. See also Biblioteca de al-Andalus art. ‘Ibn al-Rūmīya, Abū l-ʿAbbās’ (F. Velázquez Basanta).

668

This work has not survived.

669

This biography is present in Version 1 and Version 3, but lacking in Version 2. The nisbah al-Kanbanārī might derive from the toponyms Campanario (a town in the provice of Badajoz) or Campanar (a town by the river Turia, located north-west of Valencia).

670

The descendants of the Banū Hūd of Zaragoza became rulers of Murcia and Seville after the demise of the Almohads, see EI2 art. ‘Hūdids’ (D.M. Dunlop). IAU’s information seems to be wrong. After the Muslim defeat at Navas de Tolosa (al-ʿIqāb) in 609/1212, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf ibn Hūd al-Judhāmī, known as al-Mutawakkil (d. 635/1237–1238), successfully rebelled against the Almohads in 625/1227–1228 and became the ruler of Murcia. Al-Mutawakkil had three sons: Abū l-Najāʾ Sālim ibn Hūd, mentioned by IAU and known as ʿImād al-Dawlah, who had been governor (wālī) of Seville and became the Sevillian ruler (ṣāḥib); Abū l-Ḥasan, known as ʿAḍūd al-Dawlah, and Abū Isḥāq, known as Sharaf al-Dawlah (Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān al-mughrib (Tunis) iii:457). IAU might have confused the name of Abū l-Najāʾ’s brother, or perhaps referred to his father, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Hūd al-Mutawakkil.

671

This biography is present in all three versions of the work.

672

Unidentified.

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