Maqālat khalq al-insān مقالة خلق الإنسان Saʿīd ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn سعيد بن هبة الله بن الحسين

Content

Treatise on embryology, obstetrics, paediatrics and psychology by Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn (أبو الحسن بن هبة الله بن الحسين; d. 1101), personal physician to the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadī (المقتدي, reg. 1056-1094).

The text is divided into fifty chapters (أبواب), and ff. 1r-4v contain a table listing their contents.

The copy was completed in Jerusalem on 16 Rajab 611/21 November 1214 by Mūsá ibn ‘Imrān al-Isrā’īlī (موسى بن عمران الإسرايلي; see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 121v, lines 10-14, transcribed below). It is defective at the beginning, missing some brief introductory material before the table of contents.

There is a short unfoliated note bound into the volume between ff. 104 and 105.

Begins (f. 1r, lines 3-7):

وعدد هذه المقالة [...]

خمسون بابًا

الباب الأول

في العلة التي من أجلها جعلت الطبيعة نوع

الإنسان مقسوم بالذكر والأنثى

Ends (f. 121v, lines 4-7):

وإذ قد بيّنا على عرض هذه المقالة لنقلع (؟)

الكلام فيها في هذا الموقع ونقلع (؟) ذلك

بحمد لله و الثنا عليه كما ابتدائها في افتتاحها

وهو حسبنا ونعم الوكيل

Colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. (f. 121v, lines 8-14):

تمت المقالة وأحمد لله وحده كثيرًا

المسماة خلق الإنسان

وكتب بالقدس الشريف عرسـ[ ... ]

وكتبها العبد الفقير إلى رحمة الله تعالى

موسى بن عمران الإسرايلي ببيت المقدس

وكان الفراغ منها يوم الأربعة سادس عشر شهر

رجب سنة أحد عشر وستمائة الحمد لله وصلوة صلعم

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. ii+121+iv

Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 237 x 163 mm leaf [193 x 125 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; three further sets of foliations in eastern Arabic numerals in ink

Ruling: No ruling visible; 18 lines per page; vertical spacing 9 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh ; the scribe is Mūsá ibn ‘Imrān al-Isrā’īlī (موسى بن عمران الإسرايلي; see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 121v, line 12)

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings

Binding: British Museum binding

Condition: Insect damage, water stains, heavely repaired, many leaves covered in netting

Marginalia: Short corrections and annotations by many hands

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IO Islamic 3811

History of this record

Date(s)

16 Rajab 611 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Context of creation

Jerusalem

Provenance

Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Abū Rayyūn (?), physician (محمد بن محمد أبو ريون [؟] الطبيب): his inscription, undated (f. 1r)

Related material

Related primary sources

Other copies:

• Cambridge Browne Or. MS P. 4
• Oxford Bodleian MS Pococke 66
• Tübingen MS M a VI 73

Select Bibliography

Edition:

• Saʿīd ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn, Kitāb khalq al-insān , ed. by Kamāl al-Sāmarā’ī (Baghdād: Dār al-shu’ūn al-thaqāfīyah al-‘āmah, 1990)

Study:

• Ullmann, Manfred, Die Medizin im Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1970), pp. 160-61

Subjects

Medicine, ArabMedicine, MedievalMedicine--Early works to 1800

People & organisations

Sa'īd ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn

Share this record

• Share on twitter
• Share on facebook

Cite this record in your research

Maqālat khalq al-insān مقالة خلق الإنسان Saʿīd ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn سعيد بن هبة الله بن الحسين, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, IO Islamic 3811, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023384118.0x000001> [accessed 13 May 2024]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023384118.0x000001

IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100023384118.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Copyright: How to use this content