Kitāb al-‘umdah fī ṣinā‘at al-jirāḥah كتاب العمدة في صناعة الجراحة Ibn al-Quff, Abū al-Faraj ibn Ya‘qūb ibn Isḥāq ابن القف ,أبو الفرج بن يعقوب بن إسحاق

Content

A general introduction to the the art of surgery by Amīn al-Daulah Abū al-Faraj ibn Ya‘qūb ibn Isḥāq ibn al-Quff (أمين الدولة أبو الفرج بن يعقوب بن إسحاق بن القف; 630/1233-685/1286). The treatise it thought to be the earliest Arabic text devoted to surgery.

It comprises twenty chapters (مقالات, subdivided into sections (فصول); the chapters and their titles are listed on ff. 2v-3r. This copy is defective at the end, finishing abruptly on f. 131v in the middle of Chapter Twenty, Section Six (begins at f. 130r, line 1); Sections Seven through Eleven are missing.

The title page (f. 2r) contains a bio-bibliographical notice about the author by the hand of the scribe.

The manuscript was copied in 1052/1642-3 by ‘Abd al-Laṭīf ibn Muḥammad ibn Taqī al-Dīn ibn Khālid al-Rifā‘ī (عبد اللطيف بن محمد بن تقي الدين بن خالد الرفاعي), who made the copy for his own use (علقه لنفسه; f. 2r).

Begins (f. 2v, lines 2-6):

قال الفقي إلى الله تعالى أبو الفرج بن يعقوب بن إسحاق المعروف بابن القف المتطبب المسيحي الملكي

المذهب الحمد لله الذي خلق الخلق بقدرته وسهل لهم الطريق إلى الحق بحكمته وهداهم إلى سلوكها برحمته

ودعاهم إلى الإطلاع على أنوار ملكوثه وندبهم إلى الوقوف أسرار جبروته وأوصلهم إليه برحمته

وأيقظ أهل العناية لحذمته وبعد فقد شكا إلى بعض جرائحته زماننا قلة اهتمام أرباب

هذا الفن بأمر هذه الصناعة ...

Ends (f. 131v, lines 30-33):

... مرهم الافربيون ينفع [تعقد العـ]ـصب ويحلل التربل

وينفع من أوذيما وأنواع السلع بمعنى أنه يعين على انضاجها و يحلل موادها أفربيون أربعة

دراهم جندبا دستر خمسة دراهم حب غار ستة دراهم [شمع أ]صفر عشرة دراهم دهن بابونج

أو دهن زنبق أو دهن سوسن أو زيت عتيق ثلاثون دراهمًا يعمل مرهم ويستعمل قيروطي

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. ii+131+iv

Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 282 x 180 mm leaf [205 x 113 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; previous foliation in western Arabic numerals cancelled

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 33 lines per page; vertical spacing 16 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh ; the scribe is ‘Abd al-Laṭīf ibn Muḥammad ibn Taqī al-Dīn ibn Khālid al-Rifā‘ī (عبد اللطيف بن محمد بن تقي الدين بن خالد الرفاعي; f. 2r)

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in red

Binding: Red leather on boards, blind tooled medalion with pendants, no envelope flap

Condition: Water damage to outer margins; ff. 114-131 damage to margins of leaves repaired; ff. 130-131 hole in folio repaired with some text missing

Marginalia: Marginal corrections thoughout, some longer notes, one in Karshūnī (f. 67r), marks that may be pen trials are visible on many pages

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Add MS 23409

History of this record

Date(s)

1052 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Context of creation

Syria or Iraq?

Immediate source of acquisition

Purchased from Mrs Taylor, April 1860

Related material

Select Bibliography

Edition:

• Ibn al-Quff, Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, al-ʿUmdah fī ṣināʿat al-jirāḥah , Sāmī Khalaf al-Ḥamārnah, ed., (ʿAmmān: al-Jāmiʿah al-Urdunnīyah, ʿImādat al-Baḥth al-ʿIlmī, 1994)

Subjects

Medicine, ArabMedicine, MedievalSurgery--Early works to 1800

People & organisations

Abū al-Faraj ibn Ya'qūb ibn Isḥāq Ibn al-Quff

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Kitāb al-‘umdah fī ṣinā‘at al-jirāḥah كتاب العمدة في صناعة الجراحة Ibn al-Quff, Abū al-Faraj ibn Ya‘qūb ibn Isḥāq ابن القف ,أبو الفرج بن يعقوب بن إسحاق, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Add MS 23409, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100022565463.0x000001> [accessed 4 April 2025]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100022565463.0x000001

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