Top of page

Manuscript/Mixed Material Ḥāshīyat al-Ḥifnī ʻalá al-Yāsamīnīyah حأشية الحفني على اليأسمينية

About this Item

Title

  • Ḥāshīyat al-Ḥifnī ʻalá al-Yāsamīnīyah

Other Title

  • حأشية الحفني على اليأسمينية

Summary

  • Commentary on Lumʻah al-Māridīnīyah fī sharḥ al-Yāsamīnīyah by Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Sibṭ al-Māridīni, which itself is an exposition of al-Yāsamīnīyah by ʻAbd Allāh ibn Ḥajjāj Ibn al-Yāsamīn. The colophon (fol. 14b) says that the author finished composing the work on 14 Shaʻbān 1167 H [6 June 1754].
  • The mathematical tradition that developed in North Africa during the Middle Ages continued to attract the interest of scholars in subsequent centuries. Medieval treatises were extensively read and made the subject of commentaries. In many cases, these commentaries became the object of other works--or supercommentaries--aimed at further clarifying the subject of the original treatises. This manuscript is an example of this phenomenon. In the 12th century, the North African mathematician 'Abdallāh ibn Hajjāj ibn al-Yāsamīn summarized his mathematical knowledge in a versified treatise known as Yāsamīnīyya (The treatise by al-Yāsamīn). Around the end of the 15th century, al-Yāsamīn's verses were the object of a prose commentary, Lum'a al-Mardinīyya fī Šarh al-Yāsamīnīyya (The shimmer of al-Mardinī in the explanation of the treatise by al-Yāsamīn), by Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abū 'Abdallāh Badr al-Dīn, also known as Sibt al-Mārdīnī. His main contribution was the description of the periodicity of sexagesimal fractions. Interest in this treatise was still alive in the 18th century, when the supercommentary preserved in this manuscript appeared. Its author, Muhammad ibn Sālim al-Hifnī, was born in 1689-90 into a very humble family in the Egyptian province of Šarqiyya. He moved to Cairo in his early teens, where he worked as a copyist of manuscripts, until a benefactor enabled him to completely devote himself to religious and juridical studies. His career as a jurist of the Šāfī'ī school and as an active member of the Sufi order of the Khalwatiyya led him to one of the most prestigious intellectual positions in the Islamic world: he was appointed head of Al-Azhar University in Cairo in 1757 and continued in this role until his death in 1767-68. World Digital Library.

Names

  • Ḥifnī, Muḥammad ibn Sālim, 1689 or 1690-1767 or 1768
  • Fayyūmī, Muḥammad Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Raḥīm al-Azhārī, associated name
  • Ibn al-Yāsamīn, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Ḥajjāj, -1204
  • Maḥallī, ʻUthmān ibn Yūsuf ibn Yūsuf ʻUthmān al-Ṣayyād, scribe
  • Manṣūrī, Maḥmūd al-Imām, former owner
  • Sibṭ al-Māridīnī, Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1423-
  • Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • [17--?]

Headings

  • -  Sibṭ al-Māridīnī, Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad,--1423---Lumʻah al-Māridīnīyah fī sharḥ al-Yāsamīnīyah
  • -  Algebra--Early works to 1800
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Mathematics, Arab--Early works to 1800

Notes

  • -  Binding: Modern loose cardboard covered with cloth; leather spine.
  • -  Endowment stamp of Muḥammad Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Raḥīm al-Azhārī al-Fayyūmī (dated 1325 H (?) [1907] on fol. 1a, 15a, and 18b.
  • -  Fol. 1a-14b; fol. 15a blank except for ownership stamp; 15a-17b blank; 18a has the names of Arabic months and some underlined numbers; 18b blank except for ownership stamps.
  • -  Library of Congress. Mansuri Collection, 5-731.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Naskhi script; 27 lines in written area, 19 x 13 cm.
  • -  Paper: yellowed cream, with watermarks, with untrimmed edges. Leaves loose from binding. Dark stains on some pages. Catchwords on rectos; marginal notes.
  • -  Transcribed by ʻUthmān ibn Yūsuf ibn Yūsuf ʻUthmān al-Ṣayyād al-Maḥallī.
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
  • -  Arabic.
  • -  Purchase of Mahmud al-Mansuri collection, 1945.
  • -  Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم نحمدك يا من بعفوك نظفر بالجبر يوم الحساب ونحشر بالمقابلة برضاك في زمرة الأحباب ونصلى ونسلم على أفضل قاسم لما أعطيت وأكمل جامع لما من فرايد الفضل أوليت وعلى أله الضاربين ببواتر الصدق أعناق الأوهام وصحبه أئمة الهدى ونجوم الإسلام ....

Medium

  • 14 leaves (27 lines), bound : paper ; 19 x 13 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • QA154.8 .S5334 1700z

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008401023

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ḥifnī, Muḥammad Ibn Sālim, 1689 Or Or 1768, Muḥammad Aḥmad ʻAbd Al-Raḥīm Al-Azhārī Fayyūmī, ʻAbd Allāh Ibn Ḥajjāj Ibn Al-Yāsamīn, ʻUthmān Ibn Yūsuf Ibn Yūsuf ʻUthmān Al-Ṣayyād Maḥallī, Maḥmūd Al-Imām Manṣūrī, Badr Al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Sibṭ Al-Māridīnī, and Mansuri Collection. Ḥāshīyat al-Ḥifnī ʻalá al-Yāsamīnīyah. [17--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401023/.

APA citation style:

Ḥifnī, M. I. S., Fayyūmī, M. A. ʻ. A. A., Ibn Al-Yāsamīn, ʻ. A. I. Ḥ., Maḥallī, ʻ. I. Y. I. Y. ʻ. A., Manṣūrī, M. A., Sibṭ Al-Māridīnī, B. A. M. I. M. & Mansuri Collection. Ḥāshīyat al-Ḥifnī ʻalá al-Yāsamīnīyah. [17--?] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401023/.

MLA citation style:

Ḥifnī, Muḥammad Ibn Sālim, 1689 Or Or 1768, et al. Ḥāshīyat al-Ḥifnī ʻalá al-Yāsamīnīyah. [17--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008401023/>.