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Kitāb istī‘āb al-wujūh al-mumkinah fī ṣan‘at al-asṭurlāb كتاب استيعاب الوجوه الممكنة في صنعة الأسطرلاب Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad بيروني، محمد بن أحمد [‎21v] (53/196)

The record is made up of Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. ii+89+iii. It was created in 700-800. It was written in Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: Oriental Manuscripts.

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One of only three recorded copies of an influential treatise on the construction and use of astrolabes by Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī (أبو الريحان محمد بن أحمد البيروني, ca 973-1048) containing 122 diagrams, 7 tables and 1 space for a diagram or table left blank and marked بياض صحيح ('correctly blank'; f. 20v).

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

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم رب يسر ولا تعسر

الأنفس الصافية ذوات نراع واشتناق إلى تصور الموجودات و

الإحاطة بها على الإطلاق فلذلك تلتفت إلى ما يزيدها روتفا (!) وبها

وتنبعث إلى ما يكسبها صفًا ونقًا كنفس الشيخ أيده الله التي صفت

من درن الطينة وخلصت عن كرر الطبيعة بل اتحدت بكلية النفوس

وأشغلت بالمعتول (!) عن المحسوس فلا يقصد من العلوم إلا ما يكون

معلومه أفضل معلوم

Ends (89v, lines 5-8):

ووصلنا كل واحدة من تلك بالفلس حتى يكون لعروض كثيرة ويكون

أحسن في الصورة بل لو ثمٮ (!)

الصفيحة باقطار بدل التربيع وفعل به ذلك

احتمل أفأما كثيرة وقاربت أن نعم العروض في العمل إن شاء الله وتمام

هذه الآلة تم إنجاز الوعد بما وعد به والوفاء بما صمته بعون الله وتوفيقه

The fore-edge and lower margins of f. 89v contain verses in Persian written by a hand other than that of the main scribe.

The diagram on for 83v shows the internal gears of an astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. . This diagram (although not this copy of it) is thought to be the earliest depiction of the internal gears of a hand-held device. See Hill, 'Al-Bīrūnī's Mechanical Calendar', 1985.

Extent and format
Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. ii+89+iii
Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 235 x 135 mm leaf [185 x 120 written]

Foliation: Museum foliation in pencil; Arabic numeral foliation in black ink in upper right-hand corners of versos

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 21 lines per page; vertical spacing 10 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh

Ink: Black; rubricated headings; tables and diagrams in red and black

Binding: British Museum binding

Condition: f. 3 damaged and some words missing from last two lines; light water damage towards foredge and head, re-inked in places

Marginalia: infrequent marginal corrections and headings added by later hands

Written in
Arabic in Arabic script
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Kitāb istī‘āb al-wujūh al-mumkinah fī ṣan‘at al-asṭurlāb كتاب استيعاب الوجوه الممكنة في صنعة الأسطرلاب Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad بيروني، محمد بن أحمد [‎21v] (53/196), British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Or 5593, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023419822.0x000031> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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