Author
‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá al-Kaḥḥāl
Publication Date
690 (CE, Gregorian)
Publication Place
Balkh, Baghdad -
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
181 x 143 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Or 5856
Record ID
vdc_100000006524.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
690 (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
A treatise on diseases of the eye by ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá al-Kaḥḥāl (Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal; d. AD 1038/9), the leading oculist of his time at the Abbasid capital, Baghdad.
The text is divided into three books (articles):
First article (‘Book 1’; ff. 3v-16r);
The second article mentions perceptible eye diseases (‘Book 2, in which I discuss perceptible eye diseases’; ff. 16r-120v);
The third article mentions eye diseases hidden from the senses (‘Book 3, in which I mention imperceptible eye diseases’; ff. 120v-162v).
The copy was completed on 20 Ṣafar 690 (22 February 1291) in the Baghdad suburb of Balkh by Muḥamad ibn ‘Alī ibn Quddāmah al-Baghdādī (see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 162r, lines 3-8, transcribed below).
Folio 1r contains notes by various hands, including some lines of verse and erroneous speculations about the meaning of Galen's name and the inscription supposedly found on his ring.
Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-7):
A letter to Ali bin Issa Al-Kahhal in response to what he asked
Some of his brothers define eye diseases
Its treatments and medications
Your letter has arrived, dear brother, may God protect you with His mercy and guide you
To the truth, with His mercy, you will be asked about all of Galen’s books on diseases
The eye and the treatment of every disease...
Ends (ff. 161v, line 11-162r, line 2):
...and I have reached it
That is what I asked Wendalt Al-Mahmoud in brief, and Amal Astwalat (?)
That it will benefit everyone who reads it, and I ask you, may God isolate Iqbal then
[f. 162r] Reading it is to think carefully about it, and if there is an oversight, then it is from the transmission
And the difference in versions distorts the mention of the two narrators, and praise be to God alone (?)
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 162r, lines 3-9):
The gap in twenty zero years is six hundred and ninety
In Baghdad, praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds
And his prayers be upon the best of his creation, Muhammad
The Prophet and his good family
The pure ones
It was written by the weak slave Muhammad bin Ali bin Qudamah Al-Baghdadi in the town of Balkh
So God blessed those who forgave him and prayed for forgiveness for him and the believers
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Edinme Kaynağı
Purchased from Messrs Hannan and Watson, October 15, 1900
