Orfali and Pomerantz, "A Lost Maqāma of al-Hamadhānī?"

7/28/2019 Orfali and Pomerantz, "A Lost Maqma of al-Hamadhn?"

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Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013 DOI: 10.1163/15700585-12341234

Arabica 60 (2013) 245-271 brill.com/arab

A LostMaqmaof Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn?

Bilal W. Orfali and Maurice A. PomerantzAmerican University o BeirutNew York University

AbstractTis article provides the editio princepso a previously unknown maqmaattributed to Badal-Zamn al-Hamadn (d. 398/1008). It begins with a review o the scholarship on the manu-scripts o HamadnsMaqmtand discusses how the text o this lost maqmawas uniquelypreserved in one manuscript, Yale University, Beinecke Library, Salisbury collection no. 63. Tismanuscript, copied in 603/1206, was well-known to European scholarship, having been in thepossession o Everard Scheidius (1742-1794), Silvestre de Sacy (1775-1838), and EdwardEldridge Salisbury (1814-1901). Te maqma,preserved therein, describes a raudulent doctorssale o medicinal compounds allegedly composed o rare materia medica. Te text o this maqma,which the editors have entitled al-Maqma l- ibbiyya, is then provided in acsimile,a criticaledition, and a ully-annotated English translation. A detailed analysis o the maqmaollows, inwhich the orm, subject matter, language, and style o this maqmaare discussed in relation tothe known corpus o Hamadns other maqmt. Te article concludes with several hypothesesabout the possible authenticity o this lost work.

KeywordsMaqmt,Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn, Manuscripts, Arabic literature, Medicine

RsumCet article propose ldition originale dune maqmajusqualors inconnue et attribue Badal-Zamn al-Hamadn (m. 398/1008). Il tablit dans un premier temps un tat de la recherchesur les manuscrits desMaqmtdal-Hamadn puis examine les raisons pour lesquelles le textede cette maqmane se trouva prserv que dans un seul manuscrit [Yale University, Beinecke

Library, Salisbury collection no. 63]. Celui-ci, copi en 603/1206, tait au demeurant bienconnu des chercheurs europens, pour stre trouv entre les mains dEverard Scheidius (1742-1794), Silvestre de Sacy (1775-1838) et Edward Eldridge Salisbury (1814-1901). La maqmaqui y est insre narre la vente malhonnte par un mdecin dingrdients mdicinaux censs avoirt labors partir de substances pharmacologiques rares. Nous aisons gurer en acsimil letexte de cette maqma que les auteurs de la prsente contribution ont intitule al-Maqmal- ibbiyya, ainsi quune dition critique et une traduction annote en langue anglaise. Suit uneanalyse dtaille de ladite maqma,qui en examine la orme, le sujet, la langue et le style, enrelation avec le corpus des autres maqmtdal-Hamadn. En conclusion, nous avanons uncertain nombre dhypothses sur la possible authenticit de cette uvre perdue.

Mots-cls

Maqmt,Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn, manuscrits, littrature arabe, mdecine


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246 B. W. Orali, M. A. Pomerantz / Arabica 60 (2013) 245-271

For Everett K. Rowson: scholar, colleague, mentor

I. Studies of theMaqmtof Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn

TeMaqmto Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn has been the subject o a largenumber o articles and monographs in the eld o Arabic literature.1 GivenHamadns role as the originator o the maqmt,a genre o Middle Easternnarrative ction that has been inuential within and outside o the Arabiclanguage or more than one thousand years, his maqmtcertainly merits thisdegree o scholarly attention. From the standpoint o literary history, the

Maqmto Hamadn is, without question, one o the most important workso Middle Eastern literature.In spite o the recognized importance o HamadnsMaqmt, basic ques-

tions about the circumstances o the texts authorship, collection, and trans-mission remain to be answered. Indeed, it is still the regrettable commonpractice in studies o Hamadns Maqmtto reer to the seriously awedstandard editions o the late 19th century.

Tis practice not only compromises the results o modern scholars investi-gations o Hamadns text, but also prevents them rom appreciating the liter-

ary culture that created this work. How were the individual maqmtcomposed? How were they perormed? How were they recorded, lost, ound,collected, and transmitted?

We will not be able to answer all o these questions in this brie article.However we hope to demonstrate that there is still much important philo-logical work to be done.

II. Manuscripts of theMaqmtof Hamadn

In a 1991 article entitled TeMaqmto al-Hamadhn: General Remarksand Consideration o the Manuscripts, Donald S. Richards called attentionto the problematic state o the tradition o the manuscripts o HamadnsMaqmt.2 Comparing the contents o nine manuscripts collected rom vari-ous European and Middle Eastern libraries, Richards demonstrated signicant

1 For a comprehensive bibliography, see the works cited in Jaakko Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama:A History o a Genre, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2002.

2 D.S. Richards, TeMaqmto al-Hamadhn: General Remarks and a Consideration othe Manuscripts,Journal o Arabic Literature, 22 (1991), p. 89-99.


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B. W. Orali, M. A. Pomerantz / Arabica 60 (2013) 245-271 247

variation in the order o maqmt, leading him tentatively to divide thesemanuscripts into two main groups:

1. Te Ottoman period group dating rom the 9th/15th c., representedby six manuscripts, each putatively containing 50 maqmtall in thesame order.3

2. Te earlier group dating rom the 6th/12th c. to the 8th/14th c., rep-resented by three manuscripts, containing 19, 33, and 40 maqmt,invarious orders diering rom the Ottoman-period manuscripts.4

III. Te Yale Manuscript

One early and extremely important manuscript o HamadnsMaqmtthatRichards did not consider is Yale University, Beinecke Library, Salisbury col-lection no. 63. In comparison to the available published editions, the Yalemanuscript provides ar better readings. It should be included in the prepara-tion o any critical edition o Hamadns text.

Te Yale manuscript contains 38 olios and measures 25.5 11.5 cm with26 lines on a page. It is written in a good nashscript in black and red ink and

was copied in the year 603/1206. Te name o the copyist is not provided inthe text.5

Te Yale manuscript has been known since the 18th century. Prior to itsacquisition by Yale University Library in 1870, it was in the private collectionso several distinguished Arabists. Te rst European owner o this manuscriptwas Everard Scheidius (1742-1794), Proessor o Oriental Languages at theUniversity o Harderwijk in the Netherlands. Scheidius studied with AlbertSchultens (1686-1750), who published a Latin translation o theMaqmtoal-H arr (d. 516/1122) and whose inuence may account or Scheidius inter-est in the Maqmto Hamadn.6 It is likely that Scheidius acquired thismanuscript o Hamadns Maqmtwith the aid o the Dutch legation atConstantinople.7

3 Richards, TeMaqmt, p. 94 lists the ollowing manuscripts rom the Ottoman period:B.M. [British Library] Or. 5635 (16th c.); Cambridge 1096 (=Qq. 118) (964/1557); Ftih 4098(1116/1704); ir Eendi 912 (1130/1718); Copenhagen (or Havn.), 224.

4 Richards, TeMaqmt, p. 94-5 includes the ollowing manuscripts in the earlier group:Ftih 4097 (520/1126); Aya Soya 4283 (622/1225); Paris BN 3923 (7th/14th c.).

5 Leon Nemoy, Arabic Manuscripts in the Yale University Library, ransactions o the Con-necticut Academy o Arts and Sciences,40 (1956), p. 58.

6 D.S. Margoliouth and Ch. Pellat, al-H arr, EI2.7 Personal communication, Dr. Arnoud Vrolijk, Curator o Oriental Manuscripts & Rare

Books, Special Collections Department, Leiden University Library, July 19, 2011.


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Everard Scheidius began the preparation o a published edition o theMaqmto Hamadn based on this manuscript. Scheidius notes identiying

the tymaqmtwith roman numerals and variant readings rom Paris ms1591 are in the margins o the Yale manuscript.8 However Schedius appearsnot to have progressed beyond the transcription o the initial seven maqmt.Scheidius brother Jacobus published the rst three maqmtand part o theourth maqma under the title Consessus Hamadensis vulgo dicti Bedi. Al.Zamaan. e codice ms. Bibliothecae ratris sui.9

Te distinguished French Orientalist Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy (1775-1838) purchased this manuscript at an auction o Scheidius estate. In thesecond edition o his Chrestomathie Arabepublished in 1827, de Sacy included

French translations o ve o the maqmto Hamadn.10 Although de Sacyollowed the numbering o the Scheidius manuscript, and generally appears tohave preerred its text, he supplied the titles o the maqmtound in Paris

Arabe 1591.11 In the notes ollowing his translation, de Sacy stated that inorder to prepare a complete edition o HamadnsMaqmtit would be nec-essary to procure urther manuscripts.12

Edward Eldridge Salisbury (1814-1901), Proessor o Arabic at Yale rom1841-1856, purchased the Scheidius manuscript rom the private collectiono Silvestre de Sacy.13 In 1870, Salisbury presented this manuscript to Yale

University where the manuscript is currently housed in the Beinecke RareBook and Manuscript library.

Folios 1r-32v o the codex represent 50 numbered maqmt. Similar tomany manuscripts o the maqmto Hamadn, the individual maqmtareuntitled.14 O the ty numbered maqmt, seven [nos. 37-43] are the so-calledamusing anecdotes (mulah ) o Hamadn.15 One o the maqmt, no. 50, isin the orm o a letter that is also described as amulhain the Istanbul edition.16Five o the maqmt[Basriyya, Fazriyya, Balhiyya, Kyya, andArmaniyya]

8 Paul de Jong, Catalogus codicum Orientalium Bibliothecae Academiae Regiae Scientiarum,Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1862, p. 106.

9 Brockelmann, GAL,I, p. 93.10 Silvestre de Sacy, Chrestomathie arabe, ou, Extraits de divers crivains arabes, tant en prose

quen vers, avec une traduction ranaise et des notes, lusage des lves de lcole royale et spciale deslangues orientales vivantes,Paris, Imprimerie royale, 18272, III, p. 243-58.

11 De Sacy, Chrestomathie arabe, III, p. 261.12 Ibid., III, p. 262.13 Nemoy, Arabic Manuscripts in the Yale University Library, p. 6.14 Richards, TeMaqmt, p. 97.15

Ibid., p. 95; see Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 77-80.16 Al-Hamadn, Maqmt Ab l-Fadl Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn, Istanbul, Matbaatal-gawib, 1298 [1881], p. 98. Signicantly, in the ms. Aya Soya 4283 [. 59v-60r], the sameletter is titled as maqma wa-risla.


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are ollowed by a commentary that varies in both size and content.17 Onemaqma, no. 48, is not attested in any other manuscript.

Folios 33r-36v, 38r-38v o the codex contain a series o prayers composedin artistic prose that vary in length. Folio 37r-37v appears to have been mis-placed, as it contains unrelated inormation. Te misplaced olio consists othree parts. Te rst part, which bears no heading, collects statements on thesubject oadab by early scribes, littrateursand philologists such as Ahmad b.

Ysu al-Ktib, al-Asma, al-H all b. Ahmad, al-G hiz and Al b. Ab lib.Te second part is entitled l-hatt wa-l-qalam wa-l-balga(On handwriting,penmanship, and eloquence) and contains Greek and Arabic and anonymousmaxims on the subject o writing. Te third and last group o statements in

this olio assembles Greek, Persian and Arabic maxims on h ilm (orbearance)and ends with two lines by Ab Firs al-H amdn ollowed by two lines overse by Muwiya b. Ab Suyn. Tis olio ends with two statements on pen-manship, which seem to have been incorrectly placed there by the copyist.

IV. Maqm48: al-Maqma l-T ibbiyya

Maqma48 o the Yale codex begins towards the middle o . 30r. Te maqma

starts with the usual isnd:

:

s b. Him has related [the ollowing] to us: He said: It occurred to me totravel through the lands o Ahwz, with noble companions, brothers, andriends until we alighted in Dawnaq . . .

Arriving at the village o Dawnaq, s and his ellow-travelers encounter aman who is selling medicines. Te man begins to address his audience elo-quently, inorming them o his great knowledge and skills as a healer. He thenproceeds to read a series o medical prescriptions, detailing the rare substancesin his medications and their various uses. Having thus impressed his audience,his son then takes his turn addressing the onlookers and urging them to pur-

17 De Sacy, Chrestomathie arabe, III, p. 262, notes the existence o glosses on the text o a

small number o the maqmt, which he believed to have been authored by Hamadn. Whilethese glosses do not provide a comprehensive exegesis o the maqmtsuch as that authored byal-ar on al-H arr, they do attest to the existence o a commentary tradition on the works oHamadn; c. Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 369.


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chase his medicines. Tey respond by oering the man and his son the con-tents o their purses. Impressed with the mans talent, s then approaches the

man and asks him how he came up with this trick. Te man replies with versessuggesting that these ruses are his proession and the manner in which heprovides or his children.

Maqma 48 begins on line 19 o olio 30r and it ends on line 14 oolio 30v. However as a result o a copyists error, there appears to be a majorlacuna in the text in the middle o olio 30r line 28 [ollowing the wordAtn]. Fortunately, the missing section o the text appears within the textomaqma34, starting rom the last two words o line 29 o olio 24v. Tissection o approximately 47 lines in length ends on line 11 o olio 25v. 18

Once the text has been restored, the maqmaappears to be complete.Te subject matter o this maqmais medicine. Tereore we have decided

to title maqma48: al-Maqma l- ibbiyya.

18

Tis copyists error has also aected the text o several other maqmt. However, usingthe standard edition, al-Hamadn, Maqmt Ab l-Fadl Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn, ed.M. Abduh, Beirut, al-Matbaa l-ktlkiyya, 1889, we have been able to reconstruct the state othe exemplar rom which this manuscript was copied.


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VI. Reproduction oMaqma48 in MS. Salisbury 63

MS Salisbury 63, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library o YaleUniversity 24v-25r.


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MS Salisbury 63, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library o YaleUniversity 25v-26r.


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MS Salisbury 63, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library o Yale

University 29v-30r.


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MS Salisbury 63, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library o YaleUniversity 30v.


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V. ranslation

s b. Him has related [the ollowing] to us:

He said:

It occurred to me to travel through the lands o Ahwz, with noble compan-ions, brothers, and riends until we alighted in Dawnaq,35 a wide area andcomorting and successul at meeting desires, in need o satisying desire.

When, all o a sudden, a man appeared beore us, his tent having been staked,his carpet having been unurled, and his bundle unloosed. In ront o him

were papers lled with charts, and to the side o them were clay pots brim-ming with medicinal pastes.36 Te man was seated on a chair made o palmbranches and attendants and slaves arrayed beore him.

And he was saying, Oh you people o Ahwz! I am the skillul man whoalways hits the mark, the noble practitioner o the medicinal art, the won-drous hospital man! For he who looks at me sees the Aristotle o the Age andthe Plato. I am the interpreter o orms, the illnesses o men and women,children and babes. In what I treat, my aim is true, I do not err. I have solvedEuclid and the Almagest. And I have delved into temperaments and mixed

humors,37 and have recognized internal illnesses through the art o deduction.I see them in the same way as did the doctor, Hippocrates. I plumb anxi-etys depth and remove it rom the one who is anxious. I extract the vexingsorrow rom the home [?] o the aggrieved one, and I uproot both the heatand the chills38 rom the one whose temperature runs high. My art is to deducethe quantity o the migraine and the headache39 and the cure o the root o

35 Dawnaq; Yqt al-H amaw, Mugam al-buldn, Beirut, Dr Sdir, 1977, II, p. 489,describes Dawnaqas a village in the vicinity o Nihwand possessing gardens (dt bastn).

Dr. Devin Stuart kindly suggested that the place name is Dawraq. Dawraq is a town in south-western H zistn, see Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, II, p. 483.36Magnt; Eraim Lev and Zohar Amar, PracticalMateria Medicao the Medieval Eastern

Mediterranean according to the Cairo Geniza, Leiden, Brill, 2008, p. 563-4, state that this is thegeneral name or medical cream, spread, paste or ointment.

37Al-mizgt wa-l-ahlt; or al-amziga, see Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, ed. I. al-Qa andA. Zayr, Beirut, Muassasat Izz al-Dn, 1987, III, p. 1249.

38Al-humm l-slib wa-l-nd; or al-slib see al-H all b. Ahmad al-Farhd, Kitb al-Ayn,ed. M. al-Mahzm and I. al-Smarr, Baghdad, Dr al-Rad li-l-nar, 1985, IX, p. 128; AbMansr al-Azhar, ahdb al-luga,ed. M. Murab, Beirut, Dr ihy al-turt al-arab, 2001, XII,p. 138; Ibn Manzr, Lisn al-arab,Beirut, Dr lisn al-arab, s.r. s.l.b; or the meaning oal-nd,

see al-H all b. Ahmad, Kitb al-Ayn, VII, p. 47; al-Azhar, ahdb al-luga, XII, p. 133; IbnManzr, Lisn al-arab, s.r. n..d; or a description oal-humm l-nd, see Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, IV, p. 767.

39Al-aqqa wa-l-sud; Ab Bakr al-Rz, Kitb al-H w l-tibb, ed. H. aaym, Beirut, Drihy al-turt al-arab, 2002, I, p. 44; Ab Bakr al-Rz, al-aqsm wa-l-tagr, Aleppo, Mahad


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the persistent maladies and pains. And I explore them thoroughly with thesemedicinal powders40 and types, these pastes and other instruments. Aristotle

the philosopher said, Tere is no disguring illness or which a plant does notexist [as a cure]. Galen said, No known disease exists or which there is nota owering plant [to cure it]. Our revered one,Al b. Ab lib said, Tereis no strangling illness, without some corresponding plant [that will relieveit]. So beholdoh you magnanimous menthese excellent skills that I havewrested rom the loty heights and towering peaks, the highlands and the low,the barren lands and the settled. I amassed them through great eort!

Ten he took a plate that was engraved as i it were silk brocade, and aspoon made rom silver and ivory, and he turned to the rst sheet o paper,

and said, Oh good men: H ursn Wormwood,41 Kirmn cumin,42 pellitory43rom Zryn44 mixed into a paste with vinegar dried in the shade. It is eectivein purgatives or colic45 and internal obstructions,46 and in corrupt tempera-ments and in the moist solids. It covers the liver and spleen, and sotens thelimbs and joints. Ten he proceeded to another sheet and said, Tis one is

al-turt al-ilm l-arab, 1992, p. 68-9; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III, p. 861, describes aqqa

as a pain arising in one o the sides o the head.40 Sat; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica,p. 556, describe saas Solid medica-tion, usually nely ground or powdered.

41 Wahzak,Artemisia judaica; ibid., p. 319-22; Ibn al-Baytr, Abd Allh b. Ahmad, Kitbal-mi li-muradt al-adwiya wa-l-agdiya, Cairo, Blq, 1875 [Reprint: Baghdad, Maktabatal-mutann, 1964], IV, p. 188, provides the variant spelling as wahzaq; Dwd b. Umaral-Antk, adkirat l l-albb wa-l-gmi li-l-agab al-ugb, Beirut, al-Maktaba l-taqyya, n.d.,p. 339.

42 Kammn kirmn, Cuminum cyminum (Apiaceae); ibid., p. 159, mention Kirman cumin;Frederico Corriente,A Dictionary o Andalusi Arabic, Leiden, Brill, p. 461; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 562, mentions kammn kirmn.

43

qir qarh,Anacylcus Pyrethrum; ibid., p. 464-5 provide the name pellitory o Spain orthis perennial herb [see below], however they do not mention a variety rom Eastern Iran; Ibnal-azzr, Ahmad b. Ibrhm, Kitb al-Itimd l-adwiya l-murada,Frankurt, Mahad tarhal-ulm al-arabiyya wa-l-islmiyya, 1985/1305, p. 147; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana l-tibb,Karachi, Muassasat Hamdard, 1973, I, p. 261, states that qir qarhis al-tarahn (taragon) andis ound in the mountains o Bmiyn.

44 Zryn; Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, III, p. 126, states that Zryn is a village (qarya) at thedistance o one parasang rom Marw.

45Al-iyrag al-qawlangiyya; or iyrag,seeLev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 561describe this compound as a medicinal cream, however see Ab Bakr al-Rz, Kitb al-H w,III,p. 82, who describes al-iyrag li-l-qawlang; or colic (qawlang), see H unayn b. Ishq, Kitb

lns il Galawqan l-taatt li-i al-amrd, Cairo, al-Haya l-mma li-l-kitb, 1982,p. 248;al-Rz, Kitb al-Qawlang, Aleppo, Mahad al-turt al-ilm l-arab, 1983; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III, p. 1468.

46Al-sudad al-btiniyya; H unayn b. Ishq, Kitb lns il Galawqan, p. 248.


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even more excellent and benecial: Indian myrobolan,47 Rawand pill,48 Jerusa-lem aniseed,49 Burgumn [?]50 ennel,51 Lentisk52 rom al-n,53 Frankincense

rom Oman,54

Golden Pyrite,55

Pellitory rom North Arica,56

Lapis lazuli57

and azrd58 crushed and sited through a silk cloth, made into a paste withrose water, and dried in the sun. It is eective in the treatment o urine and its

47 Ihllag , erminalia sp. (Combrotaceae); Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd, p. 6-7; Lev andAmar, Practical Materia Medica, p. 218-21, mention the variety ihllag hind [erminaliaarjuana]; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniyaan haqiqal-adwiya, ehran, Intirt-i bunyd-i

arhang-i rn, 1344 [1965], I, p. 20; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 377; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 482, mentions the Indian variety; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 62 and p. 335(hallag).

48 Qurs rwand, Rheum sp. (Polygonaceae); al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, 257 describes qursal-rwandas a compound with rhubarb (rwand) as its main ingredient; Rwand is also city inthe vicinity o Qn and Isahn, see Yqt,Mugam al-buldn,III, p. 19.

49Ansn, Pimpinella anisum (Apiaceae); Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd, p. 147;Lev andAmar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 102-4.

50 Burgumn; a village in the vicinity o Balh;Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, I, p. 374.51 Rzaynag,oenieulum vulgare;Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 77; Lev and Amar, Practi-

calMateria Medica, p. 166-8; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 724; al-Antk, adkirat l

l-albb, p. 165.52Mastak, Pisctacia lentiscus; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 40-1; Lev and Amar, Practi-calMateria Medica, p. 203-5; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniyaan haqiqal-adwiya, II, 62;al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 248; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 593; Ibn al-Baytr, Abd

Allh b. Ahmad, asr Kitb Diysqrds,ed. I. Bin Mrad, Beirut, Dr al-garb al-islm, 1989,p. 127 and 288; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 299.

53 Al-n; Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, I, p. 245, incorrectly supplies the name as al-Ln; orthe city o al-n, see Canard et al., Armniya, EI2.

54 Kundur, Olibanum, Bowellia carteri; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd, p. 46-7; Lev andAmar, Practical Materia Medica, p. 168-71; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 324-5; Ibnal-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, IV, p. 83; id., asr Kitb Diysqrds,p.125.

55

Marqat, Marcasite; Lev and Amar, Practical Materia Medica, p. 470-1; Ab Mansral-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiqal-adwiya, II, p. 67; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 339; IbnSn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 604; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, IV, p. 152.

56 qir qarh, Pyrethra, Anacyclus pyrethrum; ibid., p. 464-5; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I,p. 261; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 662.

57 Lzhvard, NaAlSiO4 CaSO4; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 70-1; Lev and Amar, Prac-ticalMateria Medica, p. 195-6; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiq al-adwiya, II,p. 94; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 578; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 277.

58Azrd, Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, I, p. 23 states that it is the same as handaqq,see Levand Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 31, state that handaqqis a general name or a similarspecies o Fabaceae (= Papilionaceae) however note that local varieties dier; anzart,Astragalus

sarcocolla (Fabaceae); Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 24;Lev and Amar, Practical MateriaMedica, p. 278-9; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniyaan haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 50; al-Brn,Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 70; Ibn al-Baytr, asr Kitb Diysqrds, p. 241; al-Antk, adkiratl l-albb, p. 60.


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ow,59 mixing the blood and in painul urination,60 apparent and concealedhemorrhoids,61 an ulcer that occurs in the intestines, and a hidden blockage in

the bowels, and the build up o uids in the limbs. It treats pulsations in thenerves and palpitations o the heart, it is eective against throbbing in thetemples, and against headache, as well as overwhelming nausea62 and persis-tent ever.

Ten he proceeded to another sheet, Tis one is even more excellent andbenecial: Byzantine (rm) agaric,63 Chinese Rhubarb,64 Cretan65 doddero thyme,66 Meccan Cassia,67 Arabian Aloe wood,68 Lemon Grass rom theShrine [o Mecca],69 Sedge70 rom Qus,71 black dates,72 the leaves o Aloe

59Al-bawl wa-l-taqtr; al-Rz, Kitb al-H w, IV, p. 48; al-Rz, Kitb m l-riq aw al-urqaw kalm l-urq bayna l-amrd, ed. S. Katya, Aleppo, Matbaat G miat H alab, 1987,p. 15-6; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III, p. 1575.

60Al-zah r; Ab Bakr al-Rz, Kitb m l-riq, p. 12.61Al-btina wa-l-zhira min al-bawsr; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III, p. 1509, discusses

the types o hemorrhoids using the terms al-ntia wa-l-gira likely reerring to the samephenomenon.

62 Gatayn; ibid., III, p. 1309.63 Grqn,Agaricus sp. (Agaricaceae); Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 89-91; Ab

Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiq al-adwiya, I, p. 27; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I,p. 280-1; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 243; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 8.64 Rwand sn, Rheum; ibid., p. 259-60 cite -S AS. 179.283 or Chinese Rhubarb.65 Iqrt; Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, I, p. 236, provides the name o Crete as Aqrt i; al-H imyar,

al-Rawd al-mitr habar al-aqtr, p. 51, states that on Crete there is dodder o thyme (at imn),which has no equal or replacement; see M. Canard and R. Mantran, Ikrt ish, EI2.

66At imn, Cuscuta epithymum (Convolvulaceae); Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 95-6;Lev and Amar, Practical Materia Medica, p. 161, cite -S Ar. 30.65 or at imn iqrt; AbMansr al-Haraw, al-Abniyaan haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 25; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 54;Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 391-2; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 59.

67 San makk, Cassia (Senna) esp. Cassia acutiolia(Fabaceae); Lev and Amar, PracticalMate-

ria Medica, p. 129, cite -S AS 155.277 or san makk; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 238;al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 201.68 darab,Aquilaria agallocha; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 43; Lev and Amar, Prac-

ticalMateria Medica, p. 97-8, do not mention this variety o aloe; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb,II, p. 665, notes that there variety that comes rom the Arab lands (bild al-Arab).

69 Idhar,Andropogon schoenanthus; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 434-5, do notmention the haramvariety; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniyaan haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 34;al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 39.

70 Sud, Cyperus longus; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd, p. 72-3; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 284-5; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 220; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II,p. 628; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, III, p. 15; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 188.

71

Al-Qus ; Yqt, Mugam al-buldn, VII, p. 382, states that al-Qus is a village betweenBaghdad and Ukbar.72 amart, Phoenix dactyliera(Arecaceae); Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 397-

8; Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 105.


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tree,73 immortelle74 rom Nabk,75 pills made rom Sukk,76 purging Cassia,77root o sedge78 and liquorice.79 It works to increase sexual potency and to lit

the uvula,80

[and is eective against] pains o the spleen and throbbing in thetemples. And or the man whose saliva runs onto his pillow, and complainso a pain in his stomach, scratching in the corner o his eye, and urine drib-bling rom his bladder; or the one who eats ood and then hurls it up, andthe one who drinks wine and it wears him down; or the one whose illnesseshave increased, whose pains have lasted, and who hates his ood. Tis is orthose o oul temperaments among those who are ill and those who suerrom abscesses.81

Ten he proceeded to another sheet. He said, Tis one is more excel-

lent and eective. Tis is the treasure o compound medicines! [Bile] roma partridge82 o Nristn83 and herb o Arragn,84 pounded and strained, andwith it, a habb al-iyrag,85 root o polypody,86 seed o myrobalan,87 roasted

73 Waraqd,Aquilaria agallocha; ibid., p. 97-8, do not mention the use o aloe wood leaves.74 Nuhla, Paronychia Arabica; ibid., p. 555; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 622.75 Al-Nabk; Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, V, p. 258, describes al-Nabk as a village between H ims

and Damascus.76 Sukk; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 568, describe sukkas a conection, ori-

ental aromatic remedy composed o date juice, gallnut, and Indian astringent drugs; Ibnal-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, III, p. 24; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 196.77 H iyr anbar uls, Cassia Fistula;Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 10-1; Lev and Amar,

PracticalMateria Medica, p. 130-2. al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 173; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitbal-mi, II, p. 83; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 148.

78 Irq sudsee above, note 66.79 Irq ss, Glycyrrhiza glabra (Fabaceae); ibid.,p. 12-3; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Med-

ica, p. 205, note the use o the liquorice root (irq).80 aqym al-laht; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III, p. 1110 describes the problem o the

descent o the uvula (suqt al-laht).81 H urgt; H unayn b. Ishq, Kitb lns il Galawqan,p. 446.82

Qabga, Perdix sp. or Alectoris sp.; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 551, mentionthe use o partridge bile in -S Ar. 43.155.83 Nristn; Ibn H awqal, Kitb al-Maslik wa-l-mamlik, Leiden, Brill, 1873, p. 357, locates

Nristn 10 parasangs rom Hamadn.84 Arragn; see Yqt,Mugam al-buldn, I, p. 142; al-H imyar, al-Rawd al-mitr, p. 25.85 H abb al-iyrag; see Lev and Amar, Practical Material Medica, p. 90, or the translation o

iyragas purgative cream citing Cam. -S. Ar. 41.72; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 115.86 Irq baspyag, Polypodium vulgare; Ibn al-azzr, Kitb al-Itimd,p. 96-7; Lev and Amar,

PracticalMateria Medica,p. 246-7, note that the root o polypody serves as a stimulant, a rem-edy or problems o the chest, an expectorant, and a purgative; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II,p. 440; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, I, p. 92; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb, p. 74.

87

H abb al-amlag, erminalia emblica; Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica,p. 218-21;Ab Mansr al-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 23; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I,p. 65; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, I, p. 388; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, I, p. 54; al-Antk,adkirat l l-albb, p. 59.


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locust,88 and with it Nigella seeds,89 and Moroccan [North Arican] Sumac,90silver cadmium,91 Basr Cannabis seeds,92 mixed with the leaves o the

anemone,93

and the seeds o the lemon balm plant.94

Tis medicine is goodor one whose eyes have been veiled by the vapors o his stomach, and thepangs o hunger have torn his sides, and or the one whose heart is aictedwith a growth, and whose dreams are cut short in his bed, and this is a resulto spoiled oods, and melancholic vapors. Its eect in diseases and tumors95 islike the eect o soap on cotton and linen.

Ten he said, No one should look into these clay pots and the multi-purpose medicines and sublime medicaments, save a man who has been testedby the treatment o grave illnesses and serious maladies. Where are my

riends, the suppurating hemorrhoids, thescars o scroula sores,96 the con-cealed dental rots97 and spheroidal malignancies?

Ten he ell silent.He said to his boy, Now it is your turn.Te boy stood up and said, Oh you men o noble intentions and sublime

excellencies o character, why are you looking at one another concerning thesemulti-purpose medicaments and benecial pastes? I they are too ancy oryou, we will simpliy them! And i they are too expensive then we will makethem cheaper! Indicate the way to usmay God have mercy upon youto

the crazed man who suers many epileptic ts98 or one who has become delu-

88 Gard al-buhtag, Schistocerca gregaria; or the medicinal use o the locust, see Ab Mansral-Haraw, al-Abniya an haqiqal-adwiya, I, p. 134; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, II, p. 461.

89 Kammn barr, Nigella sativa;Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica,p. 362-4.90 Summq, Rhus coriara(Anacardiaceae); ibid., p. 490-1.91 Iqlmiy, Cadmia; ibid., p. 122.92 hdnag, Cannabis sativa; al-Brn, Kitb al-Saydana, I, p. 387; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn

l-tibb, II, p. 733; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, III, p. 50; al-Antk, adkirat l l-albb,p. 208.93 Waraq aqiq al-Numn, Anemone coronaria(Ranunculaceae); Lev and Amar, Practical

Materia Medica, p. 334-5.94 Bizr al-turungn, Melissa ocinalis; Ibn al-Baytr, Kitb al-mi, I, p. 137; al-Antk,

adkirat l l-albb, p. 92.95Adrn; Ibn Manzr, Lisn al-arab, XIII, p. 1368, states that according to doctors, daran

[sing. oadrn] is a small protuberance ormed in the body.96Al-hanzr al-muqarraha; or a description oscroula(hanzr), see al-Rz, Kitb al-H w,

IV, p. 48; Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, IV, p. 1940.97Al-awkil al-mastra; al-Rz, Kitb al-H w, I, p. 408 and Ibn Sn, al-Qnn l-tibb, III,

p. 1080, reer to al-awkilas a orm o tooth and gum disease.98Magnn kat r al-suqt; see Michael W. Dols, Majnn: Te Madman in Medieval IslamicSociety, ed. by D. Immisch, Oxord, Clarendon Press, 1992, p. 59, on al-Rzs attempts to di-erentiate between epilepsy, melancholia, and mental conusion.


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sional and conounds his speech.99 And show the way to those suering romconsumptive illnesses o the lungs100may God have mercy upon you! And

show the waymay God have mercy upon youto those suering rominammations o the head and paroxysms.101 Indeed, may God have mercy onthe man who brings his oot to us and coners upon us his generositycursesupon Ibls!and then takes what benets him rom these sheets o paper. Hewill not go rom activity to lassitude. Rather, he will descend rom anxiety intoa state o happiness. For the power in this matter belongs to Him, and thetrust in the uprooting o his illness should be in Him.

s b. Him said:

His words had conounded us, and his descriptions had amazed us. Tus theknots o purse-strings unloosed coins, and precious metal was extracted bywhat was on that plate. Eyes regarded him, and tattered rags were opened orhim. And I began to take him into my vision and turn his image over in myheart and mind. So when the number o those standing and sitting near himhad grown ew, and the night visitors and emissaries had departed, speechwith him became a possibility and a space or me nally appeared.

Ten, I approached him saying hello, and asked, How were you guided

to this trick?He then recited, saying:

Tis which you see is how I earn my living,rom it is my nourishment and rom its benet comes my attire

One day I spread out my medicinal powders,and another I ply the trade o ahaseller

My stupidity is or eeding o my ospring,were I sane, they would remain with nothing

99Muwaswas kat r al-tahlt; Dols,Majnn, p. 50, translates al-waswsas melancholic delu-sion; on p. 59, he translates tahltas serious conusion.

100Al-ilal al-riiyya l-silliyya; or a description o the various symptoms o sill, see al-Rz,Kitb al-H w,II, p. 63, IV, p. 271 and V, p. 561.

101

Ilal al-birsm wa-l-ang; al-Rz, al-aqsm wa-l-tagr, p. 206 (birsm); See Dols,Majnn,p. 57-8 on the conusion between birsm (phrenitis) meaning inammation or illness, reerringto pleurisy (inammation o the chest), and sirsm meaning head inammation. Te associa-tion with spasm or paroxysm (ang) in this location suggests the second interpretation.


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VI. Analysis ofal-Maqma l-T ibbiyya

In his book,Maqama: A History o a Genre,Jaakko Hmeen-Anttila classiesthe maqmto Hamadn into six subgenres: picaresque and comic, beggar,philological and aesthetic, exhortatory, panegyrical, and a group omaqmtthat do not belong to any category.102 According to Anttilas schema, ibbiyyais a picaresque maqma. In it, the usual hero, Ab l-Fath al-Iskandar, reliesupon his knowledge o medicine to trick his listeners into buying the curesthat he is selling.103

Wadd al-Qd, in her article, Te Maqmto Bad al-Zamn and theArt o Masquerade, describes various physical and conceptual masks that

Ab l-Fath al-Iskandar employs to conceal his identity: an actual physicalmask (al-qin al-mdd l-haqq); a barrier (al-qin al-hgiz); the use o acircumstance or situation as a mask (qin al-wad aw al-hl); the name as amask (qin al-ism); a geographical mask (qin al-gugry); an ethnic mask(qin al-itniyya); a mask o origin (qin al-nasab); a mask o religion (qinal-dn); mask(s) o time and place (qinay al-zamn wa-l-makn); mask oeloquence (al-qin al-bayn).104 In this maqma, Ab l-Fath adopts the masko a healer who is selling rare and valuable medical compounds in order toearn his livelihood.

Te structure o this maqmaconorms to the rough pattern omaqmtas described by Hmeen-Anttila: 1. isnd 2. general introductionlink 3.episode 4. recognition scene (anagnorisis) 5. envoi6. nale.105 Te maqmaopens with the usual isnd, identiying the narrator as s b. Him. Te gen-eral introduction provides the mise en scne: s and a group o travelers romal-Ahwz arrive in the village o Dawnaq. Similar to many other o the intro-ductions, the opening o this maqmainvolves ss travel to a new location.106

102

Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 55.103 Ibid., p. 55 n. 37 or Hmeen-Anttilas denition o the picaresque as emphasizing thetrickster nature o the main character (hero or antihero), in contrast to criminality. For a broaderunderstanding o the picaresque in relation to Hamadns maqmt, see James . Monroe, Te

Art o Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadhn as Picaresque Narrative, Beirut, American University oBeirut, 1983 and Mahmoud archouna, Les marginaux dans les rcits picaresques arabes et espa-

gnols, [unis], Universit de unis, 1982.104 Wadd al-Qd, Maqmt Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadn: taqniyyat al-qin wa-marmh

l-anniyya wa-l-kriyya, in I. al-San (ed.), F mih rb al-maria: dirst muhdt il Ih snAbbs, Beirut, Dr al-garb al-islm wa-Dr Sdir, 1997, p. 461-82.

105 Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 45. See also James . Monroe, Te Art o Bad al-Zamn

al-Hamadhn as Picaresque Narrative, p. 20-4 andAbdelattah Kilito,Le Genre Sance: uneintroduction, Studia Islamica, 43 (1976), p. 25-51.106 Hmeen-Anttila, Maqama, p. 53, notes the importance o the theme o travel in

Hamadn.


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Te link o the maqmaoccurs when suddenly the group comes upon theman who has just set up shop in order to sell his cures. Like Sigistniyya,where

s meets Ab l-Fath in the market, in the ibbiyya, too, s encounters Abl-Fath in a public place oering advice to his audience.Te ibbiyya consists o two episodes: in the rst episode, Ab l-Fath

addresses the audience; in the second, his son speaks. Ab l-Faths speechbegins with a passage in which he proclaims his mastery o medical knowledge.

Ab l-Faths statements here in the ibbiyyaare reminiscent o several otherpassages in the maqmtin which he makes similar declarations about his ownidentity. Tese statements employ the rst person pronoun anollowed bya compound predicate, oten by turns, revealing and concealing his identity.107

Enumerating both his theoretical knowledge and practical skills, Ab l-Fathattempts to convince his audience o his unique prowess. He then calls onauthorities in philosophy, medicine, and religion (represented by Aristotle,Galen, Al b. Ab lib, respectively) in order to convince his audience thatthere exists a cure or every disease. Te conclusion o Ab l-Faths introduc-tory speech, encourages his audience to consider these excellent products(al-sani al-giyd) that he has gathered rom ar and wide through his greateorts.108

Ab l-Fath, then holding an ornate bowl and spoon, proceeds to read a

series o medical prescriptions. Te prescriptions allegedly describe the raremateria medicarom which Ab l-Fath has composed the compounds that arearranged beore him. Similar lists omateria medicawere common in medicalprescriptions, such as those ound in the Cairo Geniza.109 However, what isstriking in this passage is the excessive use o the nisba adjective, whichhighlights both the rarity o the materials and the expertise and eort o theircollector.110

Ab l-Faths prescriptions also list various ailments or which these medicalcompounds are cures. Te language here also is similar to prescriptions oundin the Cairo Geniza.111 However, it is interesting to note the great variety oseemingly unrelated illnesses that Ab l-Fath alleges his compounds can cure.

107 See, or example, Sigistniyya, Adarbaygniyya, H amriyya, Matlabiyya.108 One cannot but wonder whether when Ab al-Fath is encouraging his audience to admire

the excellent products (al-sani al-giyd), he intends the exotic materia medica,or rather, theexcellent skills he displays in describing them.

109 Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 42-52.110 For similar pairings o objects and locations as a device or suggesting rarity, see or example,

al-alib, Lati al-mari, ed. I. Ibyr and K. al-Sayra, Cairo, s l-Bb l-H alab, p. 119;id., imr al-qulb, ed. I. Slih, Beirut, Dr al-bair, 1994,passim; id.,Zd saar al-mulk, ed.R. Baalbaki and B. Orali, Beirut, Orient-Institut, 2011, p. 40-1, and Saymariyya.

111 Lev and Amar, PracticalMateria Medica, p. 52.


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In the nal section o his speech, Ab l-Fath states that only an expert likehimsel tested by severe illnesses ought to examine the jars and the medical

compounds within them. He then summons his audience to show him hisriends, by which he intends a melange o wounds, sores, and inections.Te transition between episodes occurs when Ab l-Fath pauses and then

indicates to his son that it is his turn to speak. Te phrase with which heprompts his son to speak, now, it is your turn (anta wa-anuka), is ound inthe Buhriyya. Interestingly, the phrase in the Buhriyyais used in an almostidentical context, that o Ab l-Fath encouraging his son to step orward andspeak persuasively in order to gain money rom the audience.

Te sons speech diers rom that o his ather in that he ocuses mainly on

the immediacy o the sale. He oers the onlookers discounts and deals, whileencouraging the audience to lead other customers suering rom various ail-ments to purchase their cures. He concludes his speech with a seeming guar-antee o the efcacy o these medicines.112

Te recognition scene opens with s reporting on behal o the crowdthe collective amazement and wonderment at Ab l-Faths words and descrip-tions. Ab l-Faths use o ornate language in the course o trickery is a com-mon moti in the maqmt.113 Signicantly, it is in the course o Isswitnessing the sale and purchase o these medicaments that he begins to ques-

tion the scene enolding beore him. ss recognition o Ab l-Fath does notoccur on the level o sight alone, but rather is eected through the act o inter-nal contemplation, And I began to take him into my vision and turn hisimage over in my heart and mind. Tis moti o recognition through internalcontemplation is also ound in several o the maqmt.114 Te scene continueswith s waiting or the audience to depart, in order to nd a way to meet Abl-Fath alone. In many o the maqmt, ss solo conrontation o Ab l-Fathis also a common pattern, highlighting the actions that s takes in order toconrm his suspicions about the identity o Ab l-Fath.115 sas question to

Ab l-Fath, How were you guided to this trick (h la)? conrms to Abl-Fath, Iss knowledge o his identity. Te moti o recognition through thediscovery o a ruse (h la) is present in several maqmt.116 And in one case, theIs ahniyya,s asks the exact same question.

112 One cannot but observe how he appears to reer to Gods agency, should the medicinesail, or whatever reason.

113 Te moti is ound in various orms in more than 20 maqmas; see e.g., h iziyya, iriyya,Qardiyya, Sigistniyya, Buhriyya, Ilmiyya.

114

See e.g., Qardiyya, Irqiyya, Is ahniyya, Matlabiyya.115 See e.g., Is ahniyya, urgniyya, Makyya, Qirdiyya, Buhriyya, Matlabiyya; c. Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 50.

116 See e.g., SsniyyaandArmaniyya.


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Te envoio the ibbiyyaprovides the conclusion to the recognition sceneas well as providing a tting ending to the maqma. In it, Ab l-Fath justies

his behavior by stating that he has a amily or which he must provide. Else-where in the maqmt, he makes similar claims.117 His verse, One day Ispread out my medicinal powders, and another I ply the trade o ahasellerindicates his capacity to change and adapt in the ace o the inevitable hard-ships o time (dahr). And as such, it reers by metonymy to his personathroughout the maqmt.118

Te language and style o the ibbiyya shares much with other maqmtattributed to Hamadn. For example, in the opening lines o the ibbiyya,

most o the lexical items, such as igtiyz, bild, riqa, angb, ihwn, ashb,halaln, buqa, asha,arda,and hga,appear elsewhere in the maqmt. Testyle o the ibbiyya, especially the use o sag , also reects patterns oundthroughout Hamadns maqmt.119

Te subject matter o the ibbiyya,medicine, is on rst impression, unex-pected. Te topic is otherwise absent rom both his other maqmtand hisletters, and there is no evidence rom biographical sources that Hamadn everstudied medicine.120 Medicine was oten an important topic in adab works othe tenth and eleventh centuries. On the one hand, there are certainly doc-

tors who were also littrateurs, such as Ab l-Farag b. Hind (d. 410/1019 or420/1029) and Ibn But ln (d. 458/1066). But there were also littrateurs whowrote works dealing with medicine, such as al-Shib b. Abbd (d. 385/995)and Ab Mansr al-alib (d. 429/1038), who were not doctors.121

117 See e.g.,Azdiyya, urgniyya, Basriyya, Buhriyya, rziyya.118 See e.g., Azdiyya, urgniyya, Buhriyya, Balhiyya, Makyya, Qirdiyya, irziyya,

Ngimiyya, Bagddiyya, H amdniyya, Iblsiyya, Armaniyya, Aswadiyya, Sriyya;or the concept odahr as it relates to the maqmt o Hamadn, see al-Qd, Maqmt Bad al-Zamn

al-Hamadn, p. 480.119 Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 52. For a detailed study o Hamadns distinctive use osag , see Mahmd al-Masad, al-q -l-adab al-arab, unis, Muassasat Abd al-Karm b. Abd

Allh li-l-nar wa-l-tawz, 1986; Geert Jan van Gelder, Rhyme in Maqmt or, oo ManyExceptions Do Not Prove a Rule,Journal o Semitic Studies, 44 (1999), p. 75-82; ams Ivnyi,On Rhyming Endings and Symmetric Phrases in al-Hamadhanis Maqamat, inJ.R. Smart(ed.), radition and Modernity in Arabic Language and Literature, Richmond,Surrey, Curzon,1996, p. 210-28.

120 Hmeen-Anttila,Maqama, p. 15-33; Everett Rowson, Religion and Politics in the Careero Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadhn,Journal o the American Oriental Society,107 (1987), p. 653-73; Wadd al-Qd, Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadhn and His Social and Political Vision, in

M. Mir (ed.), Literary Heritage o Classical Islam: Arabic and Islamic Studies in Honor o James A.Bellamy, Princeton, Darwin Press, 1993, p. 197-223.121 Ibn Abbd, Rasil al-Sh ib b. Abbd, ed. A. Azzm and . D ay, Cairo, Dr al-kr

al-arab, 1947, p. 228-30; al-alib,Zd saar al-mulk,chapters 20-31.


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Indeed there are other examples o medical maqmas or maqma-like writ-ings in pre-modern Arabic literature. For example, Abdelattah Kilito and

Philip Kennedy have both explicitly compared Ibn But lns Physicians DinnerPartyto the maqmt.122 In the Mamlk period, al-Suyt (d. 911/1505) wrotemanymaqmtin which medicine gures prominently.123 In the middle o thenineteenth century, Ns al-Yzig (d. 1287/1871) includes a medical maqma(al-maqma l-tibbiyya) in his collection o maqmt, entitled Magmaal-bah rayn. In this maqma,aayhprovides medical advice in amadrasa.124

VII. Authenticity

Ater examining the themes, language, style, and subject matter o the ibbiyya,we now must conront the question o its authorship. Who wrote this maqma?Tere are three possibilities.

First, we must consider the possibility that the anonymous scribe who cop-ied the Yale manuscript in the year 603/1206 is the author o the ibbiyya.However, this seems hard to believe, because, as has been noted above, it wasthis scribe who conused the olios o the manuscript he was copying, andthus, is not likely to have been its author.

Te second possibility is that the scribe has copied this maqmarom anolder manuscript written sometime between 398/1008 and 603/1206 andthat this person is the author o the ibbiyya. Indeed, this seems plausible,because none o the contents o the 603/1206 manuscript appear to be roma period ater the lietime o Hamadn. I this is the case, we must concedethat this author possessed a thorough and deep knowledge o the themes,language, and style o Hamadns maqmtin order to compose a work sowell in tune with the rest o Hamadns oeuvre. Indeed, i the ibbiyyais alater authors imitation o a Hamadnian maqma, the author has chosen avery difcult subject matter and style, and appears to have carried out his planawlessly.

122 Ibn But ln, Te Physicians Dinner Party,ed. F. Klein-Franke, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz,1985; Abdelattah Kilito, Les sances. Rcits et codes culturels chez Hamadhn et Harr, Paris,Sindbad, p. 145; Philip F. Kennedy, TeMaqmatas a Nexus o Interests, in Julia Bray (ed.),Writing and Representation in Medieval Islam: Muslim Horizons, London, Routledge, 2006,p. 171-5.

123 Al-Suyt , arh Maqmt all al-Dn al-Suyt, Beirut, Muassasat al-risla, ed.

S. al-Durb, 1989; eight o al-Suyt s maqmtaddress medical topics: Bah riyya, ufh iyya,Durriyya, D ahabiyya, Rayh n, Zumurrudiyya, Fustuqiyya, Miskiyya.124 Ns al-Yzig, Magma al-bahrayn, Beirut, al-Matbaa l-adabiyya, 1885 [4th ed.],

p. 224-31.


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However, the act that the ibbiyya rst appears in the manuscripts oHamadns maqmtsometime in the eleventh or twelth century provides

no clear proo o its being a orgery. Given that more than one-th o themaqmtthat belong to the ty-two maqmto Hamadn in the modernpublished editions (and are analyzed as Hamadns own in modern scholar-ship) are not attested until around three centuries aterthe ibbiyya,the worksauthenticity should be taken more seriously. For as Richards noted, theMigzliyya, Ngimiyya, H alayya, Naysabriyya, Ilmiyya, iriyya, Mulkiyya,Suriyya, Sriyya, ammiyya, H amriyyado not appear in the manuscripts oHamadns maqmtuntil the 16th century.125

It is worth mentioning that one other maqma, theMatlabiyya, is also rst

attested as maqmanumber 49 in the Yale Salisbury manuscript. But unlikethe ibbiyyait is a part o the published editions. It is quite possible that thescribal error which divided the text o the ibbiyyaoutlined above is the rea-son that it was not copied by later scribes, and thus did not become a part oHamadns later corpus.

Te third possibility is that Hamadn himsel is the author o this maqmaon medicine. However, to be able to determine this with any certainty, or toenquire about the nature o the corpus o Hamadns maqmtas a whole,there needs to be a more thorough investigation o the history o Hamadns

maqmt.

125 Richards, Te Maqmt, p. 95-6. We have examined more than thirty manuscripts oHamadns maqmtincluding those examined by Richards, and have also come to the sametentative conclusion.

Orfali and Pomerantz, "A Lost Maqāma of al-Hamadhānī?"

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