Manuscript/Mixed Material Kitāb al-jadwal al-mubārak fī ʻilm al-zamān wa-al-falak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhūr al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah كتلب الجدول المبارك في علم الزمان و الفلك في حساب مداخل الأشهور العربية و الرومية / / Binder's title : Kitāb al-jadwāl al-mubārak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhur al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah li-ibn Jaḥḥāf / Kitāb al-jadwāl al-mubārak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhur al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah li-ibn Jaḥḥāf
About this Item
Title
- Kitāb al-jadwal al-mubārak fī ʻilm al-zamān wa-al-falak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhūr al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah
Other Title
- كتلب الجدول المبارك في علم الزمان و الفلك في حساب مداخل الأشهور العربية و الرومية /
- Binder's title : Kitāb al-jadwāl al-mubārak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhur al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah li-ibn Jaḥḥāf
- Kitāb al-jadwāl al-mubārak fī ḥisāb madākhil al-ashhur al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-Rūmīyah li-ibn Jaḥḥāf
Summary
- Because of the religious obligation to perform canonical prayers at set times of the day and the sanctity attributed to particular times of the year, such as the month of Ramaḍān, Muslim scientists have studied questions relating to the calendar and the reckoning of time almost since the beginning of Islam. The present manuscript presents tables for the comparison of the Hijrī and Christian years. Little is known of the author of these tables, al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn 'Alī ibn Jaḥḥāf, beyond a marginal note, which states that Ibn Jaḥḥāf was a famous astronomer under the caliphate of al-Ḥākim bi-ʼAmr Allāh, who ruled over Fatimid Egypt in 996-1021. The calendrical tables that constitute the main part of the work are preceded by an explanation of how to read the tables. In particular, the author notes his use of the Arabic alphabet according to a peculiar traditional arrangement known as abjad. The introductory essay touches upon the particular features of leap years as opposed to regular years and defines the concept of the solstice. The tables are followed by short scientific poems that deal with the times of sunrise and sunset and the description of the 28 lunar mansions. The manuscript was transcribed by Maḥrūs al-Ḥidyah in 1729. The text is Naskhī script, principally written in black ink with titles in red and green, and is framed by a double red line. The last folio of the manuscript seems to have been written at a later time, in a less neat handwriting, probably by the same person who added the biographical note on Ibn Jaḥḥāf at the opening of the work. The manuscript previously was owned by a scholar active in the first half of the 18th century, Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Ẓāhir Watarī, and was later in the collection of Shaykh Maḥmūd al-Imām al-Manṣūrī, professor of religion at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which was purchased by the Library of Congress in 1945. World Digital Library.
- The text is a popular exposition on the study of the order of events in time, and the order in which they occur, especially in those related to astronomical movements and the measurement of time. Note on fol. 2a in another hand says that the author was a famous astronomer during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Ḥākim bi-ʼAmr Allāh (d. 411 AH/1021 AD). Fol. 1b and 12b contain instructions (in the same hand) on calculating dates in the past (pages missing after fol. 12b).
Names
- Ibn Jaḥḥāf, al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʻAlī
- Ḥarrāzī, Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Sahl, associated name
- Ḥidyah, Maḥrūs, scribe
- Manṣūrī, Maḥmūd al-Imām, former owner
- Walīdī, Aḥmad ibn ʻĪsá, associated name
- Watarī, Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Ẓāhir, former owner
- Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)
Created / Published
- 12 Muḥarram [?] 1142 [?] H [7 August 1729].
Headings
- - Astronomy, Arab--Early works to 1800
- - Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
- - Time measurements--Early works to 1800
Notes
- - al-Jaʻfarīyah, Egypt.
- - Binding: modern cardbard covered with cloth; leather spine.
- - Fol. 1a-12b. Some leaves missing from the end.
- - Library of Congress. Mansuri Collection, 5-775.
- - Ms.
- - Naskhī script; 35 lines in written area, 17 x 9 cm.
- - Ownership inscription of Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Ẓāhir al-Watarī on fol. 1a.
- - Paper: yellowed cream, with watermarks (tre lune), in bad condition due to damage from humidity; edges of some leaves repaired. Black and red ink on title page, text is principally in black ink, with titles in red and green. Text is framed by a double red line and ends at p. 16; the last 5 pages are poems and notes. Occasional diacritics. Title page is full of notes; some marginal notes. Catchwords on rectos.
- - Tables fol. 5a-10a.
- - The manuscript was copied from a book transcribed by Aḥmad ibn ʻĪsá al-Walīdī, corrected by Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Sahl al-Ḥarrāzī.
- - Transcribed by Maḥrūs al-Ḥidyah on 12 Muḥarram [?] 1142 H [7 August 1729].
- - Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
- - Arabic.
- - Purchase of Mahmud al-Mansuri collection, 1945.
- - Incipit: الحمد لله الذي جعل الشمس والقمر أيه من أيات ملكه وقدر سيرهما بحكمته وكل واحد منهما يجرى بأمره في فلكه ... وبعد فإن الجدول الذي وضعه الشيخ الصديق العلامة الوثيق أبو محمد الخاص رحمه الله تعالى في تعريف مداخل الشهور الرومية وسنيها في الأشهر العربية وسنيها وابتداء الجدول من أول المئة السنة بعد الألف والمئة انقطع عمله وبطل حسابه. . . .
Medium
- 12 leaves (35 lines), bound : paper ; 20 x 15 cm.
Call Number/Physical Location
- QB23 .I264 1729
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2008427057
Online Format
- image
LCCN Permalink
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Format
Contributor
- Ibn Jaḥḥāf, Al-Ḥusayn Ibn Zayd Ibn ʻalī
- Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)
- Manṣūrī, Maḥmūd Al-Imām
- Walīdī, Aḥmad Ibn ʻīsá
- Watarī, Muḥammad ʻalī Ibn Ẓāhir
- Ḥarrāzī, Ibrāhīm Ibn Muḥammad Al-Sahl
- Ḥidyah, Maḥrūs