Author
Muḥammad ‘Alī al-Rīyāḍī ibn Khayr Allāh Khān al-Muhandis ibn Luṭf Allāh Khān al-Muhandis
Publication Date
1185 (AH, Hijri)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
265 x 150 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Delhi Arabic 1927
Record ID
vdc_100042094982.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
1185 (AH, Hijri)
Notes
Treatise on cosmology by Muḥammad ‘Alī al-Rīyāḍī ibn Khayr Allāh Khān al-Muhandis ibn Luṭf Allāh Khān al-Muhandis (Muhammad Ali al-Riyadi ibn Khairullah Khan al-Muhandis ibn Lutfullah Khan al-Muhandis, fl. 18th century). The author's intention is to produce a condensed treatise that will allow Arabic-reading, beginner-level students access to the contents of the more advanced
Kit
āb al-tadhkirah fī al-hay’ah
(The Book of Remembrance in the Body) by Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (Naseer al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi, d. 1274), and of the Persian astronomical treastises of Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alā’ al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Qūshjī (Abu al-Qasim Ala al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad al-Qushji, d. 1474, see author's preface, ff. 1v-2r). The author dedicated the text to his son, Zayn al-‘Ābidīn (see f. 2r, line 14).
The treatises contains a preface, introduction, two
maqālah
s (two articles), and a conclusion (conclusion). The two
maqālah
s are each subdivided into chapters (sections), some of which are further subdivided into parts (chapters).
The treatise contains numerous diagrams. Folios 42-48 are of a different paper and contain astronomical diagrams by a hand other than that of the scribe.
The copy was completed on 25 Jumādá I 1185/5 September 1771 (see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 41v, line 6, transcribed below).
Contents:
Preface (ff. 1v-2v);
Introduction: (Introduction, ff. 2v-5r);
Maqālah
One: The Conditions of the Heavenly Bodies (The First Essay on the Conditions of the Heavenly Bodies, ff. 5r-);
[
Maqālah
Two] ([Article Two], ff. 27r-39v?);
Conclusion (Conclusion [fifth in text], ff. 39v?-41v)
Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-4):
Praise be to God, who guided us to know the dimensions of bodies in length and width and made us...
Those who contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth. Blessed be He who made constellations in the sky and placed them therein
As a shining lamp, He created seven heavens one by one...
Ends (f. 41v, lines 9-11):
...He knew
To the orbit of Venus, one third one hundred and one forty thousand and eight hundred and thirty and seven
And God knows best, let this be the last thing we wanted to mention in this message...
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 41v, lines 11-16):
Thamam is in the hands of (?) the love of garmash
A tribute to Ustad Azam Muhammad Khan Yakki Az Banu Fatima Mir Imam
Religion, may God prolong his life and grant him peace
Heads of boys and girls in
His shadow was completely shortened
25 Jumada al-Awwal in the year 1185
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Edinme Kaynağı
Purchased by the Government of India at sale organised by Delhi Prize Agents, 1859; administrative deposit
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
Library, 1876
Köken
The Government of India: its seal with central legend 'Delhi MSS' (ff. 1r, 41v and 48v)
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Studies:
Rahman, A., M.A. Alvi, S.A. Khan Ghori and K.V. Samba Murthy,
Science and Technology in Medieval India: a Bibliography of Source Materials in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian
(New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy, 1982), p. 325
Rosenfeld, B. A. and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu,
Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and Their Works (7th
-
19th c.)
, (Istanbul: IRCICA, 2003), no. 1273, pp. 393
