Author
Kraus
Publication Date
14th century (CE, Gregorian)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
190 x 120 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Or 4041
Record ID
vdc_100032090042.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
14th century (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
Treatise attributed to the alchemist Abū Musa Jabir ibn Hayan, concerning the occult properties (Khwas) of animals, plants and stones, chemistry and other related subjects. For a summary of the diverse subject matter see Kraus,
Jabir ibn Ḥayyān. Contribution to the history of id
és scientists in Islam,
vol. 1.
The Corpus of Jābirian Writings
(Cairo: Press of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, 1943), pp. 149-52 and al-Hassan 'Industrial Chemistry in Kitab al-Khawass al-Kabir (The Great Book of Properties) of Jabir ibn Hayyan', in
Studies in al-Kimya'
(Hildesheim, Zurich, New York: Olms, 2009).
The text is divided into seventy-one books (كتب), six of which (as well as short extracts of others) have been edited by Kraus (
Jabir ibn Ḥayyan. Essay on the history of id
és scientists in Islam,
vol. 1.
Selected texts
[Paris: Maisonneuve, 1935], pp. 224-332). This copy is defective at the end, but it may be presumed that only a small number of folios are missing, since the text on the last surviving folio ends abruptly in the seventy-first and final book of the work.
The manuscript was collected by Eduard Glaser (1855-1908) during his third visit to Yemen in 1887-88 (see Rieu,
Supplement to the Catalog of the Arabic Manuscripts
[London: The British Museum, 1894], p. vii).
Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-5):
The first article from the book Al-Khawas al-Kabir by Jabir ibn Hayyan al-Sufi
Praise be to Allah that he is the rightful owner of the noble brave active whom Allah calls the heroes
Most of me can memorize the rules of our books this order and I know about the subject
I am sure I promise to mention in the whole of our books some singular things in the science of the particles
Ends (f. 99v, lines 23-25 [damaged and semi-legible; conjectural transcription]):
... Do you know that you know the place from which you leave the woman [?] And I call you from the losers
[... أر]بعة ومن خمسة ومن سته ومن سبعة ولا يكون أكبر من ذلك في الـ[
[...] أقل من نير [؟] Fa'lm ذلك و [...] من
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Bulma Yardımcıları
Rieu, Charles,
Supplement to the Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Museum
(London: The British Museum, 1894), Item 782, p. 534
Edinme Kaynağı
Purchased from Eduard Glaser (1855-1908), 13 July 1889
Köken
Many owners' inscriptions, crossed out and illegible (f. 1r);
Inscription in Hebrew characters, without name or date (f. 1r, upper right side).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Partial edition:
Jabir ibn Ḥayyan.
Essai sur l'histoire des id
ées scientifiques dans l'Islam,
vol. 1.
Textes choisis
= مختار رسائل جابر بن حيان, ed. by Paul Kraus (Paris: Maisonneuve and Cairo: El-Khandgi, 1935), pp. 224-332
Studies:
al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., 'Industrial Chemistry in Kitab al-Khawass al-Kabir (The Great Book of Properties) of Jabir ibn Hayyan', in Ahmad Y. al-Hassan,
Studies in al-Kimya'. Critical Issues in Latin and Arabic Alchemy and Chemistry
(Hildesheim, Zürich, New York: Olms, 2009), pp. 145-90
Kraus, Paul,
Jābir ibn Ḥayyān. Contribution à l'histoire des id
ées scientifiques dans l'Islam,
vol. 1.
Le corpus des écrits Jābiriens
(Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1943), pp. 148-52, nos. 1900-1970
Kraus, Paul,
Jābir ibn Ḥayyān. Contribution à l'histoire des id
ées scientifiques dans l'Islam,
vol. 2.
Jābir et la science grecque
(Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1942), pp. 64-91
Sezgin, Fuat,
Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums
, vol. 4 (Leiden: Brill, 1971), p. 264
Ullmann, Manfred,
Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam
(Leiden: Brill, 1972), p. 207
