Ali Ibn Ridwan Abu Hasan Ali (Astrologer) ( 988 -1060 C.E.)
Abu'l Hasan Ali ibn Ridwan Al-Misri (c. 988 - c. 1061) was an Egyptian Muslim physician, astrologer and astronomer, born in Giza.
He was a commentator on ancient Greek medicine, and in particular on Galen; his commentary on
Galen's Ars Parva was translated byGerardo Cremonese. However, he is better known for providing the most detailed
description of the supernova now known as SN 1006, the brightest stellar
event in recorded history, which he observed in the year 1006.[1] This was written in a
commentary on Ptolemy's workTetrabiblos.
He was later cited by
European authors as Haly,
or Haly Abenrudian.
According to Alistair Cameron Crombie [2] he also contributed to
the theory of induction. He
engaged in a celebrated polemic against another physician, Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.[3]
Works
A
commentary on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (the pseudo-Ptolemaic Centiloquy and
its commentary, which is sometimes attributed to Ali, is actually the work of Ahmad
ibn Yusuf ibn al-Daya)
· De revolutionibus nativitatum (The Revolutions of
Nativities), edited by Luca Gaurico, printed in Venice (1524)
· Tractatus de cometarum
significationibus per xii signa zodiaci (Treatise on the Significations
of Comets in the twelve Signs of the Zodiac), printed in Nürnberg (1563)
· On the Prevention of Bodily
Ills in Egypt:
a treatise written to refute Ibn al-Jazzar's claim that Egypt was a very
unhealthy place. Ibn Ridwan also argues that air (together with other
environmental aspects) was fundamental to the health of a population.[4]
The
Brethren of Purity (Arabic: اخوانالصفا ikhwãn al-safã;
also The Brethren of Sincerity)
were a secret society[1] of Muslim philosophersin Basra, Iraq, in the 8th century CE.
The structure of this
mysterious organization and the identities of its members have never been
clear.[2][3] Their esoteric teachings and philosophy
are expounded in an epistolary style in the Encyclopedia of the
Brethren of Purity (Rasa'il Ikhwan
al-safa'), a giant compendium of 52 epistles that would greatly influence
later encyclopedias. A good deal of Muslim and Western scholarship has been
spent on just pinning down the identities of the Brethren and the century in
which they were active.
Name
The Arabic phrase Ikhwan al-Safa (short for, among many possible
transcriptions, Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ wa Khullān al-Wafā wa Ahl al-Ḥamd wa abnāʾ al-Majd,[4] meaning "Brethren of
Purity, Loyal Friends, People worthy of praise and Sons of Glory") can be
translated as either the "Brethren of Purity" or the "Brethren
of Sincerity"; various scholars such as Ian Netton prefer "of
Purity" because of the group's ascetic impulses towards purity and
salvation.
A suggestion made by
Goldziher, and later written about by Philip K. Hitti in his History of Arabs, is that the name is taken from a story in Kalilah wa-Dimnah, in which a group of animals, by acting as faithful friends (ikhwan
al-safa), escape the snares of the hunter. The story concerns a ring-dove and its companions who
get entangled in the net of a hunter seeking birds. Together, they leave
themselves and the ensnaring net to a nearby rat, who is gracious enough
to gnaw the birds free of the net; impressed by the rat's altruistic deed, a crow becomes the rat's friend. Soon a tortoise and gazelle also join the company of
animals. After some time, the gazelle is trapped by another net; with the aid
of the others and the good rat, the gazelle is soon freed, but the tortoise
fails to leave swiftly enough and is himself captured by the hunter. In the
final turn of events, the gazelle repays the tortoise by serving as a decoy and
distracting the hunter while the rat and the others free the tortoise. After
this, the animals are designated as the "Ikwhan al-Safa".
This story is mentioned
as an exemplum when the Brethren speak
of mutual aid in one rasa'il,
a crucial part of their system of ethics that has been summarized thus:
In this Brotherhood, self
is forgotten; all act by the help of each, all rely upon each for succour and
advice, and if a Brother sees it will be good for another that he should
sacrifice his life for him, he willingly gives it.[5]
Meetings
The Brethren regularly
met on a fixed schedule. The meetings apparently took place on three evenings
of each month: once near the beginning, in which speeches were given, another
towards the middle, apparently concerning astronomy and astrology, and the
third between the end of the month and the 25th of that month; during the third
one, they recited hymns with philosophical
content.[6] During their meetings and
possibly also during the three feasts they held, on the dates of the sun's entry
into the Zodiac signs "Ram, Cancer, and Balance"), besides the usual
lectures and discussions, they would engage in some manner of liturgy reminiscent of the Harranians.[7]
Ranks
Hierarchy was a major theme in
their Encyclopedia, and unsurprisingly, the Brethren loosely divided themselves
up into four ranks by age; the age guidelines would not have been firm, as for
example, such an exemplar of the fourth rank as Jesus would have been too young
if the age guidelines were absolute and fixed. Compare the similar division of
the Encyclopedia into four sections and the Jabirite symbolism of 4. The ranks
were:
1.
The "Craftsmen" – a craftsman had to be at least 15
years of age; their honorific was the "pious and compassionate" (al-abrār
wa 'l-ruhamā).
2.
The "Political Leaders" – a political leader had to be
at least 30 years of age; their honorific was the "good and
excellent" (al-akhyār wa 'l-fudalā)
3.
The "Kings" – a king had to be at least 40 years of
age; their honorific was the "excellent and noble" (al-fudalā'
al-kirām)
4.
The "Prophets and Philosophers" – the most aspired-to,
the final and highest rank of the Brethren; to become a Prophet or Philosopher
a man had to be at least 50 years old; their honorific compared them to historical
luminaries such as Jesus, Socrates, or Muhammad who were also classified as
Kings; this rank was the "angelic rank" (al-martabat al-malakiyya).[8]
Identities
There have been a number
of theories as to the authors of the Brethren. Though some members of the
Ikhwan are known, it is not easy to work out exactly who, or how many, were
part of this group of writers. The members referred to themselves as
"sleepers in the cave" (Rasail 4th, p. 18); a hidden
intellectual presence. In one passage they give as their reason for hiding
their secrets from the people, not as fear of earthly violence, but as desire
to protect their God-given gifts from the world (Rasail 4th, p. 166). Yet
they were well aware that their esoteric teachings might provoke unrest, and
the various calamities suffered by the successors of the Prophet may have
seemed good reason to remain hidden.
Since style of the text
is plain, and there are numerous ambiguities, due to language and vocabulary,
often of Persian origin, it is believed
the authors were of Persian descent and plausibly based in Basra.[9]
Ismaili
theories on the Ikhwan
Among the Isma'ili groups and missionaries
who favored the Encyclopedia,
authorship was sometimes ascribed to one or another "Hidden Imam";
this theory is recounted in Ibn al-Qifti's biographical compendium of
philosophers and doctors, the "Chronicle of the Learned" (Ahkbār
al-Hukamā or Tabaqāt-al-Hukamā).[10][11][12]
Some modern scholars have
argued for an Ismaili origin to the writings. Ian Richard Netton writes in
"Muslim Neoplatonists" (London, 1982, p. 80) that: "The
Ikhwan's concepts of exegesis of both Quran and Islamic tradition were tinged
with the esoterism of the Ismailis." Whilst according to Yves Marquet,
"It seems indisputable that the Epistles represent the state of Ismaili
doctrine at the time of their compositions" (vide, "Encyclopaedia of
Islam", 1960, p. 1071) Bernard Lewis in "The Origins of
Ismailism" (London, 1940, p. 44) was more cautious than Fyzee,
ranking the Epistles among books which, though "closely related to
Ismailism" may not actually have been Ismaili, despite their batini
inspiration. Ibn Qifti (d.646/1248), reporting in the 7th/13th century in
"Tarikh-i Hukama" (p. 82) that, "Opinions differed about
the authors of the Epistles. Some people attributed to an Alid Imam, proffering
various names, whereas other put forward as author some early Mutazalite
theologians."
Among the Syrian
Ismailis, the earliest reference of the Epistles and its relation with the
Ismailis is given in "Kitab Fusul wa'l Akhbar" by Nurudin bin Ahmad
(d. 233/849). Another important work, "al-Usul wa'l-Ahakam" by Abul
Ma'ali Hatim bin Imran bin Zuhra (d. 498/1104), quoted by Arif Tamir in
"Khams Rasa'il Ismailiyya" (Salamia, 1956, p. 120), writes that,
"These dais, and other dais with them, collaborated in composing long
Epistles, fifty-two in number, on various branches of learning." It
implies the Epistles being the product of the joint efforts of the Ismaili
dais.
Among the Yamenite
traces, the earliest reference of the Epistles is found in "Sirat-i Ibn
Hawshab" by Garar bin Mansur al-Yamen, who lived between 270/883 and
360/970, and writes, "He (Imam Taqi Muhammad) went through many a
difficulty and fear and the destruction of his family, whose description cannot
be lengthier, until he issued (ansa'a) the Epistles and was contacted by a man
called Abu Gafir from among his dais. He charged him with the mission as was
necessary and asked him to keep his identity concealed." This source not
only asserts the connection of the Epistles with the Ismailis, but also
indicates that the Imam himself was not the sole author (sahibor mu'allif), but
only the issuer or presenter (al-munsi). It suggests that the text of the
philosophical deliberations was given a final touching by the Imam, and the
approved text was delivered to Abu Gafir to be forwarded possibly to the Ikhwan
in Basra secretly. Since the orthodox circles and the ruling power had
portrayed a wrong image of Ismailism, the names of the compilers were
concealed. The prominent members of the secret association seem to be however,
Abul Hasan al-Tirmizi, Abdullah bin Mubarak, Abdullah bin Hamdan, Abdullah bin
Maymun, Sa'id bin Hussain etc. The other Yamenite source connecting the
Epistles with the Ismailis was the writing of Sayyadna Ibrahim bin al-Hussain
al-Hamidi (d. 557/1162), who wrote "Kanz ul-Walad." After him, there followed
"al-Anwar ul-Latifa" by Sayyadna Muhammad bin Tahir (d. 584/1188),
"Tanbih al-Ghafilin" by Sayyadna Hatim bin Ibrahim Al Hamidi (d.
596/1199), "Damigh al-Batil wa hatf ul-Munaazil" by Sayyadna Ali bin
Muhammad bin al-Walid al-Anf (d. 612/1215), "Risalat al-Waheeda" by
Sayyadna Hussain bin Ali al-Anf (d. 667/1268) and "Uyun'ul-Akhbar" by
Sayyadna Idris bin Hasan Imaduddin (d. 872/1468) etc.
According to "Ikhwan
as-Safa" (Rasail 21st., p. 166), "Know, that among us there are
kings, princes, khalifs, sultans, chiefs, ministers, administrators, tax
agents, treasurers, officers, chamberlains, notables, nobles, servants of kings
and their military supporters. Among us too there are merchants, artisans,
agriculturists and stock breeders. There are builders, landowners, the worthy
and wealthy, gentlefolk and possessors of all many virtues. We also have
persons of culture, of science, of piety and of virtue. We have orators, poets,
eloquent persons, theologians, grammarians, tellers of tales and purveyors of
lore, narrators of traditions, readers, scholars, jurists, judges, magistrates
and ecstatics. Among us too there are philosophers, sages, geometers,
astronomers, naturalists, physicians, diviners, soothsayers, casters of spells
and enchantments, interpreters of dreams, alchemists, astrologers, and many
other sorts, too many to mention."
al-Tawhīdī
Al-Qifti, however,
denigrates this account and instead turns to a comment he discovered, written
by Abū Hayyān al-Tawhīdī (d. 1023)[10] in his Kitāb al-Imtā' wa'l-Mu'ānasa(written
between 983 and 985),[13] a collection of 37 seances at the court of Ibn
Sa'dān, vizier of the Buyid ruler Samsam ad-Dawla.
Apparently, al-Tawhīdī was close to a certain Zaid b. Rifa'a, praising his
intellect, ability and deep knowledge – indeed, he had dedicated his Kitāb as-Sadiq was-Sadaqa to Zaid – but he was disappointed that
Zaid was not orthodox or consistent in his beliefs, and that he was, as Stern
puts it:
...frequenting the society
of the heretical authors of the Rasa'il
Ikhwan as-Safa, whose names are also recorded as follows: Abu Sulaiman
Muhammed b. Ma'shar al-Bisti al-Maqdisi, Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali b. Harun az-Zanjani
and Abu Ahmad al-Mihrajani, and al-'Aufi. At-Tauhidi also reports in this
connection the opinion expressed by Abu Sulaiman al-Mantiqi, his master, on the Rasa'il and an argument between a certain
al-Hariri, another pupil of al-Mantiqi, and Abu Sulaiman al-Maqdisi about the
respective roles of Revelation and Philosophy.[14]
For many years, this was
the only account of the authors' identities, but al-Tawhīdī's comments were
second-hand evidence and so unsatisfactory; further, the account is incomplete,
as Abu Hayyan mentions that there were others besides these 4.[15]
This situation lasted
until al-Tawhīdī's Kitāb
al-Imtā' wa'l-Mu'ānasa was
published in 1942.[14] This publication
substantially supported al-Qifti's work, although al-Qifti apparently toned
down the description and prominence of al-Tawhīdī's charges that the Brethren
were Batiniyya, an esoteric Ismaili
sect and thus heretics, possibly so as to not
tar his friend Zaid with the same brush.
Stern derives a further
result from the published text of the Kitāb
al-Imtā 'wal-Muanasa, pointing out that a story al-Tawhīdī ascribes to a
personal meeting with Qādī Abu'l-Hasan 'Alī b. Hārūn az-Zanjāni, the founder of
the group, appears in almost identical form in one of the epistles.[16] While neat, Stern's view
of things has been challenged by Tibawi, who points out some assumptions and
errors Stern has made, such as the relationship between the story in
al-Tawhīdī's work and the Epistles; Tibawi points out the possibility that the
story was instead taken from a third, independent and prior source.[17]
al-Tawhīdī's testimony
has also been described as thus:
The Ikhwan al-Safa'
remain an anonymous group of scholars, but when Abu Hayyan al-Tawhīdī was asked
about them, he identified some of them: Abu Sulayman al-Busti (known as
al-Muqaddasi), 'Ali b. Harun al-Zanjani, Muhammad al-Nahrajuri (or
al-Mihrajani), al-'Awfi, and Zayd ibn Rifa'i.[18]
The last contemporary
source comes from the surviving portions of the Kitāb Siwan al-Hikma (c. 950) by Abu Sulaiman al-Mantiqi
(al-Tawhīdī's teacher; 912-985),[19] which was a sort of
compendium of biographies; al-Mantiqi is primarily interested in the Brethren's
literary techniques of using parables and stories, and so he says only this
little before proceeding to give some extracts of the Encyclopedia:
Abū Sulaimān al-Maqdisī:
He is the author of the fifty-two Epistles inscribed The Epistles of the
Sincere Brethren; all of them are full with Ethics and the science of... They
are current among people, and are widely read. I wish to quote here a few
paragraphs in order to give an idea of the manner of their parables, thus
bringing my book to an end.[20]
al-Maqdisī was previously
listed in the Basra group of al-Tawhīdī; here Stern and Hamdani differ, with
Stern quoting Mantiqi as crediting Maqdisi with 52 epistles, but Hamdani says
"By the time of al-Manṭiqī, the Rasā'īl were almost complete (he mentions 51
tracts)."[21]
The second
near-contemporary record is another comment by Shahzúry or (Shahrazūrī) as
recorded in the Tawārikh
al-Hukamā or alternatively,
the Tawárykh al-Hokamá;
specifically, it is from the Nuzhat
al-arwah, which is contained in the Tawárykh,
which states:
Abū Solaymán Mah. b.
Mosh'ir b. Nasby, who is known by the name of Moqadisy, and Abú al-Hasan b.
Zahrún Ryhány, and Abú Ahmad Nahrajúry, and al-'Aufy, and Zayd b. Rofá'ah are
the philosophers who compiled the memoirs of the Ikhwán al-cafâ, which have
been recorded by Moqaddisy.[22]
Hamdani disputes the
general abovegoing identifications, pointing out that accounts differ in multiple
details, such as whether Zayd was an author or not, whether there was a
principal author, and who was in the group or not. He lays particular stress on
quotes from the Encyclopedia dating between 954 and 960 in the anonymous
(Pseudo-Majriti) work Ghāyat
al-Hakīm; al-Maqdisi and al-Zanjani are known to have been active in 983,
He finds it implausible they would have written or edited "so large an
encyclopedia at least twenty-five to thirty years earlier, that is, around
343/954 to 348/960, when they would have been very young."[21] He explains the
al-Tawhidi narrative as being motivated by contemporary politics and issues of
hereticism relating to the Qarmatians, and points out that
there is proof that Abu Hayyan has fabricated other messages and information.[23]
Since I wrote the first
part of this notice I found one of the authors of these memoirs mentioned in
the following terms: 'Zayd b. Rofa, one of the authors of the Ikhwan al safa,
was extremely ignorant in tradition, and he was a liar without shame.'"[24]
The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity
The Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’ (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity)
consist of fifty-two treatises in mathematics, natural sciences, psychology
(psychical sciences) and theology. The first part, which is on mathematics,
groups fourteen epistles that include treatises in arithmetic, geometry,
astronomy, geography, and music, along with tracts in elementary logic,
inclusive of: the Isagoge,
the Categories, De Interpretatione, the Prior Analytics and the Posterior Analytics. The second part,
which is on natural sciences, gathers seventeen epistles on matter and form,
generation and corruption, metallurgy, meteorology, a study of the essence of
nature, the classes of plants and animals, including a fable. The third part,
which is on psychology, comprises ten epistles on the psychical and
intellective sciences, dealing with the nature of the intellect and the
intelligible, the symbolism of temporal cycles, the mystical essence of love,
resurrection, causes and effects, definitions and descriptions. The fourth part
deals with theology in eleven epistles, investigating the varieties of religious
sects, the virtue of the companionship of the Brethren of Purity, the
properties of genuine belief, the nature of the Divine Law, the species of
politics, and the essence of magic.[25]
They define a perfect man in their Rasa'il as "of East Persian derivation,
of Arabic faith, of Iraqi, that is Babylonian, in education, Hebrew in
astuteness, a disciple of Christ in conduct, as pious as a Syrian monk, a Greek
in natural sciences, an Indian in the interpretation of mysteries and, above
all a Sufi or a mystic in his whole spiritual outlook". There are debates
on using this description and other materials of Rasa'il that could help with determination of
the identity, affiliation (with Ismaili, Sufism, ...), and other
characteristics of Ikhwan
al-Safa.[26]
The Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’ are available in print through a
variety of Arabic editions, starting from the version established in Calcutta
in 1812, then followed by the edition of Bombay of 1887–1889), then by the
edition of Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli in 1928 in Cairo, and the Beirut Sadir
edition by Butrus Bustani in 1957 and the versio
Abu'l Hasan Ali ibn Ridwan Al-Misri (c. 988 - c. 1061)
was an Egyptian Muslim physician, astrologer and astronomer, born in Giza.
Ali ibn Ridwan
He was a commentator on ancient Greek medicine, and in particular
on Galen; his commentary on Galen's Ars Parva was translated by Gerardo
Cremonese. However, he is better known for providing the most detailed
description of the supernova now known as SN 1006, the brightest stellar event
in recorded history, which he observed in the year 1006.[1] This was written in
a commentary on Ptolemy's work Tetrabiblos.
He was later cited by European authors as Haly, or Haly
Abenrudian. According to Alistair Cameron Crombie [2] he also contributed to
the theory of induction. He engaged in a celebrated polemic against another
physician, Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.[3]
A commentary on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (the
pseudo-Ptolemaic Centiloquy and its commentary, which is sometimes attributed
to Ali, is actually the work of Ahmad ibn Yusuf ibn al-Daya)
De revolutionibus nativitatum (The Revolutions of
Nativities), edited by Luca Gaurico, printed in Venice (1524)
Tractatus de cometarum significationibus per xii signa
zodiaci (Treatise on the Significations of Comets in the twelve Signs of the
Zodiac), printed in Nürnberg (1563)
On the Prevention of Bodily Ills in Egypt: a treatise
written to refute Ibn al-Jazzar's claim that Egypt was a very unhealthy place.
Ibn Ridwan also argues that air (together with other environmental aspects) was
fundamental to the health of a population.[4]
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