Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasr ibn Abdallah al-Shayzari
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Naṣr ibn ʿAbdallāh (died 1193), called al-Shayzarī or al-Nabarāwī, was a
muḥtasib
(market supervisor).
Life
The full name of al-Shayzarī is uncertain. His given name and patronymic, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Naṣr ibn ʿAbdallāh, appear consistently the same, but his Shayzar in his work, al-Shayzarī is his most likely nisba.[1]
Little is known of al-Shayzarī's life, since he does not appear in the classical biographical dictionaries. He was a contemporary of
muḥtasib.[4]
Al-Shayzarī may have died in 1193, the same year as Saladin.[5]
Works
Five works in Arabic are attributed to al-Shayzarī.[6]
- al-Nahj al-maslūk fī siyāsat al-mulūk is a
- Khulāṣat al-kalām fī taʾwīl al-aḥlām is a work on the interpretation of dreams.[7] It was translated into French by Pierre Vattier and published at Paris in 1664 under the title L'Onirocrite mussulman ou la Doctrine et interpretation des songes selon les arabes par Gabdorrhachaman fils de Nasar.[2]
- Rawḍat al-qulūb wa-nuzhat al-muḥibb wal-maḥbūb is a treatise on love.[6] It consists mostly of anecdotes and poems. As typical of the "love theory" tradition, the love in question is mostly chaste, although the penultimate chapter is unusually racy. The final chapter consists of poems on fruit and flowers with no relation to love.[8]
- al-Īḍāḥ fī asrār al-nikāḥ is divided into two parts of ten chapters each, "Secrets of Men" and "Secrets of Women".contraceptives, cosmetics, drugs for controlling sexual desire and erotic spells.[9] It was a popular work and widely copied. It cites Galen and Hippocrates. Neẓām-e Motašahhī (or Monšī) translated it into Persian in 1423 as Ganǰ-e asrār. He expanded it with material of his own, almost doubling its size.[3] There is also a Turkish translation.[2]
- Nihāyat al-rutba fī ṭalab al-ḥisba is a detailed description of
Notes
- ^ a b c Buckley 1999, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e Brockelmann 2017, p. 865 (pp. 832–833 in the original German).
- ^ a b c Biesterfeldt 2011.
- ^ Buckley 1999, pp. 12–13; Biesterfeldt 2011. Needham 1986, p. 80, citing Wiedemann 1914, calls him a pharmacist.
- ^ Brockelmann 2017, p. 865; Buckley 1999, p. 12; Biesterfeldt 2011; Needham 1986, p. 80.
- ^ a b Brockelmann 2017, p. 865; Buckley 1999, p. 13; Biesterfeldt 2011.
- ^ a b Buckley 1999, p. 13; Biesterfeldt 2011.
- ^ Rowson 2008, reviewing Semah & Kanazi 2003.
- ^ Brockelmann 2017, p. 865; Biesterfeldt 2011.
- ^ Buckley 1999, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Buckley 1999.
Bibliography
- Biesterfeldt, H. H. (2011). "ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Šayzarī". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. 1, Fasc. 2. p. 143. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- Brockelmann, Carl (2017). History of the Arabic Written Tradition. Vol. Suppl. 1. Translated by Joep Lameer. Brill.
- Buckley, R. P., ed. (1999). The Book of the Islamic Market Inspector: Nihāyat al-Rutba fī Ṭalab al-Ḥisba (The Utmost Authority in the Pursuit of Ḥisba) by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Naṣr al-Shayzarī. Oxford University Press.
- OCLC 495469525.
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part 7: Military Technology, The Gunpowder Epic. Cambridge University Press.
- JSTOR 25608383.
- JSTOR 4056233.
- Semah, David; Kanazi, George J., eds. (2003). Rawḍat al-Qulūb wa-Nuzhat al-Muḥibb wal-Maḥbūb, by 'Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Naṣr al-Shayzarī. Harrassowitz Verlag.
- Wiedemann, Eilhard (1914). "Über Verfälschungen von Drogen u.s.w. nach Ibn Bassām und Nabarāwī". Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften. 46: 172–206.