A Treatise on Hemerology Ascribed to Ǧa'far al-ṢādiqAuthor(s): R. Y. Ebied and M. J. L. YoungReviewed work(s):Source: Arabica, T. 23, Fasc. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 296-307Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4056554 .Accessed: 10/11/2011 02:27

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Arabica.

http://www.jstor.org

A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY

ASCRIBED TO dAKFAR AL-SADIQ

BY

R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG

THE Islamic science of hemerology (ihtiya-rt) was a procedure based on astrological calculations, the aim of which was to

ascertain the auspicious or inauspicious nature of specific days of the month 1. An Arabic example of Islamic hemerology is preserved in Leiden MS Or. 7525 2 under the title of Ihtiydrdt Ayyam al-i?ahr, its author being given as 6acfar al-Sadiq (the sixth i1'ite Imam, who died in A.D. 765).

The Ihtiyardt Ayyam al-?ahr is to be found on pages 85 to 89 of the Leiden MS. It has 15 lines to a page, and is written in a careless, somewhat cursive hand which has some features in common with nasta'liq. The date of completion of the MS is given as Saturday, the 22nd Ragab, 1309 (- A.D. 1891). There are a number of deletions, obvious omissions and some illegible words, and there are several indications of Persian influence in the orthography. The Persian character of the MS is sufficiently shown by the fact that some folios in it, other than those of our piece, are written in the Persian language. Catchwords appear at the foot of each verso. This example of ihtiydrdt would appear to have survived in no other copy 3.

1. See The Encyclopaedia of Islam (second edition), s.v. Ikhtiyarat; Tawfiq FAHD, La Divination Arabe (Leiden, 1966), pp. 483-488.

2. See P. VOORHOEVE, Handlist of Arabic Manuscript8 (Leiden, 1957), p. 126. 3. The other four MSS listed under the title Ihtiyardt Ayyam al-gahr (and attributed

to xa'far al-Sadiq) by F. SEZGIN, Geschichte der Arabi8chen Schrifttums, vol. I, p. 531, are in fact different from the work presented here and different from each other, although they treat of the same matters. The Bibliothbque Nationale (Paris) MS 1224/4 (a Magribi MS, of the seventeenth century) and the Istanbul MS Esad 3554/3 contain brief works on hemerology which do little more than state whether or not a particular day is auspi- cious. The work contained in Berlin MS 5903/2 is a similar short composition of the nineteenth century (see J. RUSKA, Arabi8che Alchemisten, Heidelberg, 1924, p. 36). The Istanbul MS Beyazit 7882/1 contains a much longer work on hemerology, being a composite production attributed to the Prophet Daniel, Salman the Persian and Oa'far

Arabica, Tome XXIII, Fascicule 3

[2] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 297

There exist a considerable number of other Arabic works ascribed to 6acfar al-Sadiq in the fields of divination, magic and alchemy'. The background to the attribution of these works is given by Tawfiq Fahd, who states that #< The particular veneration which, among the gicas, the members of the Prophet's family enjoy, is at the base of the belief that the descendants of F5atima have inherited certain priv- ileges inherent in Prophethood; prediction of the future and of the destinies of nations and dynasties is one of these privileges > 2.

The belief that 6a'far al-Sadiq in particular had the power to foretell the future was widespread 3. Fahd also points out that the Persian origin of many of Gacfar's associates, and his own partially Persian ancestry, make his alleged knowledge of the originally foreign occult sciences and alchemy more plausible at the early date at which he lived than it would otherwise have been 4. However the attribution to xa'far of writings connected with the < 'ulilm al-'a 'am> is still a subject for investigation, as is pointed out by F. Sezgin 5.

Ja"i Halifah describes Islamic hemerology as follows: <(The science of hemerology, a branch of astrology, is a science which inves- tigates the ruling factors of every moment of time, good and bad times, occasions on which it is necessary to exercise caution in regard to beginning new enterprises, occasions on which undertaking new entre- prises is recommended, and occasions on which undertaking new enter- prises is to be regarded as being half way between these extremes... ) 6.

Islamic astrologers based their hemerological calculations on the house of the zodiac (Arabic burg, plural abrdg) in which the moon hap- pened to be situated at a particular time. Some Muslim astrologers

al-Sadiq, and has a number of features which show a surprising persistence of Zoro- astrian concepts in an Islamic setting. The present writers are preparing an edition and translation of the latter work, which it is hoped will be published shortly.

1. See SEZGIN, Op. cit., p. 531; M. ULLMANN, Die Natur- und Geheimwi8sen8chaften im Ilam (Leiden, 1972), pp. 195-6; The Encyclopaedia of Islam (second edition), s.v. Dja'far al-Sddik; C. BROCKELMANN, Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur, Supp. I (Leiden, 1937), p. 104.

2. See The Encyclopaedia of Is1am (second edition), s.v. Djafr (p. 375). 3. See, for example, IBN HALDtN, The Muqaddimah, trans. by F. ROSENTHAL,

vol. I (New York, 1958), p. 411. 4. See Tawfiq FAIED, e da'far as-,ddiq et la Tradition Scientifique Arabe ) in Le ShV'isme

Imdmite (Paris, 1970), pp. 131-141. 5. See SEZGrN, op. cit., vol. I, p. 529. 6. Kaff al-Zunuzn 'an A8dmi al-Kutub wa-l-Funiun, vol. I (Istanbul, 1941), col. 34.

298 R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG [3]

however used another method, which was based on the position of the moon in relation to the 28 lunar ( mansions)> (marnazil), and not to the 12 ((houses>>. This latter method seems to have been of Indian origin, and to have been introduced by Abul Ma'sar (died A.D. 866), although the Arabs in pre-Islamic times were familiar with forecasts of rainfall based on observations of the moon in relation to the ((mansions)> 1.

The present treatise however has none of these astrological calcula- tions, nor are they to be found in the other MSS on the same subject attributed to 6a'far 2. The work as it stands is a purely literary pro- duction, and whatever the doubts about its authorship, its Persian background is indicated by its formal resemblance to that part of the ( Counsels of Adurbdd son of Mahraspand> 3 which deals with the duties to be performed by the good Zoroastrian on each of the thirty days of the month. The resemblance indeed is not merely one of form, for there are also a number of resemblances in specific matters adverted to by both Adurbad and the author of the present treatise in regard to the same days of the month, e.g. on the seventh day of the month one should plant shrubs and trees according to Adurbad, while according to our treatise one should sow; the tenth day is noted by Adurbad as the day of kpdn (the Waters), while the present work states that the tenth day was the day of the month on which Noah was born; on the twentieth day Adurbad bids the Zoroastrian lay the foundations of his house, whilst our author tells the Muslim that it is an auspicious day for building; a baby born on the thirtieth day of the month according to Adurbad will be an exceptional child, whilst our hemerologist states that a child born on the thirtieth day of the month will be blessed.

The difference between the two works is that while idurbad relates the action appropriate for each day to the nature of its Zoroas- trian tutelary genius - Ohrmazd himself, the six Amesha Spentas, the sun and moon, and so on, the work ascribed to 4a'far simply states which days are auspicious and which are not, with appropriate elaborations.

1. C. A. NALLINO, Raccolta di Scritti, vol. V (Rome, 1944), p. 12. 2. See above, note 3, p. [1]. 3. See J. D. M. JAMASP-ASANA (editor), Pahlavi Texts (Bombay, 1897), pp. 58-71;

English translation in R. C. ZAEHNER, The Teachings of the Magi (London/New York, 1956), pp. 107-109.

[4] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 299

The ihtiydrdt would appear to be one more instance of the assimila- tion of Middle Persian literary forms into Islamic literature, an impor- tant cultural influence which has been discussed by M. Inostranzev', J. T. P. de Bruijn 2, W. B. Henning 3and others.

We here present the text of the IhtiyJrit Ayyam al-gahr from Leiden MS Or. 7525, followed by an English translation.

TEXT

JU~~~ 7 S UL)Jl4J (> 1?^ 9L

14 j1 SJ j , si Ij 1L 4i I J

uii I k.X I 91 &S l g II L i Y

oM; Jl TS i U,; i i ,4 L ai & I 6 u

tE1

<<

~~~~~I- LW*JO I A.U 7L I J=7

,Ali A H} :,asg 4C> I rLJI <1 gaI C>

LS~~~~~- ij rog I i. ig +I

\01- .-J lgoI CH f 8 JW CGlS .fA xUIJ 1 4 . . y39W. i

_ l~ |{.) 13 Ai &4 L; 4 -1- *-~ 41 js I.L

1. Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature (trans. by G. K. MARIMAiq), Bombay, 1918. 2. In The Encyclopaedia of I8lam (second edition), vol. IV, p. 53, col. 2. 3. # Eine arabische Version mittelpersischer Weisheitsschriften> in Zeitschrift der

Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesell8cWat, vol. 166 (N.F. 31), 1956, pp. 73-77.

4. MS. ."U I I *. 5. MS. >yJ I in error. 6. Sic in MS., but a singular meaning was clearly intended as shown by the following

adjective, and as the parallel ..1tJ I suggests. 7. MS. L)Y 8. MS. omits this word in error.

300 R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG [5]

.f ff~~~tAlr L)A ,=z oL; L; t A-Jes

4 9 & j 3 Wg .4 ? 2 L

QOj.4 23. L4. L 3 *

'* e A.j jI 4U 8 A 6 If

?Nz -9 ;S1 +Jj .j1 AyA1 J L ; J JJI 4 2I

Lt~o ~'Jj '3 ~ L I 4J Ij A-i~tLi 10

3. MS. IyLj. 2 .tLA g I I

L> J_ 'Lx o1-3 Fg 12+~ Ivlw L-' p'--+I r,- 11w i9

5.y M 2S. in ero.I9gljj( uH1Soe

'a4S u j jA &4 ML4 oZ -,I

t 14 3 w WI 4lg i L-. L) 1> I. ja LI

1. A word is illegible here in MS.

2. MS. fg J.

3. MS. lW. 4. MS.

9. MS. haL in error.

6. MS. .

7. MS.

8. MS. L.jg

9. MS. has the singular of this word, but the use of ater ii the sentence showM that the plural is required.

1 0. MS. S.6

1 1. MS. ~ 12. MS. L)|1

13. This word is abbreviated in the MS. to ?

14. MS. r L.

[6] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 301

~~ JJj ~~ J~~ J~~JI )k~~ U L.~L~ -~-

I 4U 4 4. 5 LJ 1-'s-

tZ oj iSuI LJ:S ij 4;S :r- Lij-r wgJJ- ?s4p LZ,- '

I IyoALJ - JlJ L, LL21 t J s

59~ 5-Z 9 Yy4~J ;J1 t5W g ? u : jA Wc,~5 1 J)J

3 ... W d l spl here: J iJ X WAJ 2

4.~~~~~~~_J__A)J MS. iA. lj

5. MS. ;rt9 ,L I . . ,L . . 1 -, 1 2

6 MS. has the uninllig : U 1 bor s ilaL '10-, &41 &, r li o til l 4i Jp L); .

adjective appear to be requid here. C. M S. Ed I fl 19 r

H 9 Csw Pg tAlAi S 1fLis IAv 1J;rs

S ) 7 I. MI. LS..4

ss41 U'sL tqyj b r1-lt9 ji

J< LL- J 0?,Ac 'J WI r,1 .J ; l.jg N

1. MS. . 2. MS. cl ,>n . Cf. the phrase used under the second day of the month.

3. We should probably supply here: L. L9 1A I.

4. MS. LS5. 5. MS. >

6. MS. has the unintelligible: J-)W L; ,, but Uli".- or some similar

adjective appears to be required here. Cf. MS. Esad 355413, fol. 19 r.

7. MS. ^.

8. MS. c

302 R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG [7]

y - yWt rg~U ~J 4la j~ 45j 2 j4?A 1 .J 1_) 1_I 4 1 19JJj 4Iia 4K

A 2 L LXS 4 1 y WLAj 1 2U t 2

LiyJj .L 4- U azrA J Y I j IeI I

*10 5JWJI _3Ab

1 g]5o. MSD o . M a4JA L..

L.

sf 9 1W- I pll 1 l 3 'L 4 L1-~ AJ xJ 1&

~~~~A j -c ua "'u t t Nma fl -N.

A..9 49L b > 49 j1a Jlls.l

3.<r JX 4.9 < ba ry s 7y L u M u

YI> JL> isJ jl ? I &.- L-L L- A-i -9 ? J Ij;LI g

5. MS. 4.4 which makes nosense her e. f s u1 u1

6.t lM .j A .t1 9 in r ror. iJ

10 Le 7"W , 1 sd g

7. MS. J

8. MS. )W.

9. MS. JL~

6. MS. I J I nerr

i. ms. ~ 2. MS. . 3. MS.J <

lO.MS. 9.

[8] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 303

Cr5v rj U > POLs ,~LJI CZ f I JA j t. l J

c l ;J lgI Sl) i?4 Uj4 Uyj U>j.j I ) j jg C5i 'g _ a. IJ ? L j 1 v ib 4J 9 2 g l

*4 o e1~~~~~U_ L4? L4 "gs L9 Jjj._ b )jjf A-

ba 1fi." S~~ ~~J-, fflr Lka o; sj jo ? Z). 1- CJ W WI ?,J 1.

,Q I Z4-v Ltt -- 2J bg Aj ii)2 Lo I Ai 'L

Y ,1_49 4 J s1_s ag?9 3 4rWz ?5Lo. J<g

TRANSLATION

This is the Choices of the Days of the Month by Ga'far al-Sadiq, may God be pleased with him.

[1] The first day of every month is blessed, because Adam, upon him be peace, was created on the first day of the month. It is a praise- worthy day. Therefore on it direct your requests towards important men, and monarchs and princes, and ask what you need from them. It is a good time to sell, buy, sow and travel.

O God ! I take refuge with Thee from Satan and devils and g,inn and the unjust monarch, 0 my God, and from the wicked servant and the wicked young man. 0 my God, help me as Thou didst help Moses against the wicked people, the household of Pharaoh, and as Thou didst help Abraham against the people of Nimrod, and as Thou

1. MS. L. 2. Sic in MS. (metonymy of # table * for ((food #), but possibly this is a scribal error

for YJU. 3. MS. Z) WJ1. 4. MS. omits this word in error. 5. MS. *9 -

304 R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG [9]

didst help Jonah in the belly of the whale, and as Thou didst help Mary against all mankind, and as Thou didst help Muhammad, peace be upon him, against all the unbelievers; so may God protect thee from them. He is the Hearer, the Knower. Help comes from God, and an early victory; so give the good tidings to the believers 1. There is no strength and no might save in God, the Exalted, the Mighty. May God bless and give peace to all the prophets and apostles. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds 2.

Whoever falls sick on [the first day of the month] will recover, who- ever loses something will find it again, and whoever gets married on it will find happiness. And God knows better.

[2] The second day [of the month] is a very laudable day. On it God created Eve from Adam. Therefore get married on it. Travel on it and seek [to obtain] all your needs for they will be fulfilled, with God's permission. Whoever falls sick on it will recover.

[3] The third day [of the month] is a continuously inauspicious day. On it the reading of the Qur'Jn is recommended. On it Adam ... 3

Eve, because of their leaving Paradise, and they were deprived of their clothes. Therefore whoever travels on it will be plundered, and perhaps killed.

[4] The fourth day [of the month] is a good day for giving in mar- riage and for hunting. Whoever is born on it will be beloved of people, but whoever travels on it will be plundered of his money, and will be filled with care and sorrow. Whoever falls sick on it will recover.

[5] The fifth day of the month is the day on which Cain the son of Adam was born, and he was accursed. It was he who killed his brother and brought woe and misery upon his family. It is a hateful day; therefore be on guard on it against vermin and wild beasts.

[6] The sixth day [of the month] is a good day for giving in marriage, hunting and waiting upon monarchs and obtaining one's needs from them. It is excellent and blessed, and whoever travels on it will return safely and swiftly to his family, and will attain whatever he desires.

[7] The seventh day [of the month] is a good day for giving in marriage, obtaining one's needs, hunting, travel, litigation and law- suits. Therefore seek on it what you will, sow and build.

[8] The eighth day [of the month] has a mixed character: it is good

1. Qur'dn, LXI, 13. 2. Ibid., I, 1. 3. A word is illegible in MS.

[10] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 305

for selling and buying, but bad for travel. Whoever falls sick on it will recover, and whoever waits upon a monarch will achieve his desire.

[9] The ninth day [of the month] is a day the beginning of which is good, but the close of which is bad for the traveller, who will be nourished and get profit, but will experience something unpleasant. Whoever falls ill on it will recover. [A person's] need will be fulfilled on it.

[10] The tenth day [of the month] is a praiseworthy happy day, good for every need. It is the day [of the month] on which Noah, upon him be peace, was born. Persons born on this day live long lives, do not die until they have white hair, and do not want for sustenance. Whoever loses something on it shall recover it. It is an excellent day for selling and buying. Whoever falls ill on it will recover, with God Most High's permission.

[11] The eleventh day [of the month] is good for all needs except for waiting upon a monarch. Persons born on it shall not want for sustenance, and shall be blessed, and will not die until old age.

[12] The twelfth day [of the month] is a good day. Whoever is born on it will have a long life. It is a good day for all needs; so ask help regarding them. Needs are fulfilled by God's permission.

[13] The thirteenth day [of the month] is an inauspicious day. There- fore do not wait upon a monarch. Do not engage in litigation on it. Anyone married on it will soon be divorced. Anyone falling ill on it will have a long illness.

[14] The fourteenth day [of the month] is an excellent day for all work. Seek therefore what you will on it. A person born on it will have a comely face and superior beauty. He shall be eager for know- ledge, and he shall have great wealth by the end of his life, but anyone falling ill on it shall suffer a long and protracted illness.

[15] The fifteenth day [of the month] is a good day for all needs. Therefore seek what you need on it. It is a day which is good for selling and buying and waiting upon a monarch.

[16] The sixteenth day [of the month] is an inauspicious and odious day; do not therefore seek [to obtain] on it any kind of need. Do not travel on it, for whoever travels on it will perish. Whoever is born on it will become insane 1.

1. See note 6 p. [6] to text.

306 R. Y. EBIED AND M. J. L. YOUNG [11]

[17] The seventeenth day [of the month] is a good day for all needs. Therefore get married on it and sell and buy on it, and wait upon the monarch. It is a blessed day for all needs.

[18] The eighteenth day [of the month] is a choice day, good for travelling, giving in marriage, and fulfilling one's needs, and the person who engages in litigation on it against someone will prevail, with God Almighty's permission. It is the day of the month on which Salih 1 was born.

[19] The nineteenth day [of the month] is an auspicious day for all work. It is the day of the month on which Isaac, upon him be peace, was born. It is a day which is suitable for all undertakings. The person born on it is blessed. It is the day of the month on which God created [all] creatures.

[20] The twentieth day [of the month] is a blessed day, excellent for building and waiting upon a monarch. Whoever falls ill on it will recover. Whoever mislays something belonging to him on it will recover it, with the permission of Almighty God.

[21] The twenty-first day [of the month] is a continuously ill- omened day, and is a day of bloodshed. Therefore do not seek to fulfil any need on it, nor commission [the building of] a house. Whoever is born on it will be needy and poor. The person who travels on it will suffer loss.

[22] The twenty-second day [of the month] is a good day for every need. Therefore seek whatever need you will on it. Almsgiving on it will be acceptable. Whoever is born on it will be blessed, and will not be an object of anxiety. The person who falls ill on it will recover, with the permission of Almighty God.

[23] The twenty-third day [of the month] is an excellent day. Joseph, upon him be peace, was born on it. It is a good day for every matter connected with commerce, and waiting upon a monarch and giving in marriage. A person born on it will be good and of fine charac- ter. The person travelling on it shall profit, if God Almighty wills.

[24] The twenty-fourth day [of the month] is an inauspicious day, which is not to be chosen [for any matter]. It is the day of the month on which Pharaoh was born. It is a day of great misfortune. The person born on it will have a life of cares and griefs. The person who

1. For the story of the Prophet $alih, see Qur'an, XI, 61-68.

[12] A TREATISE ON HEMEROLOGY 307

sets out on a journey on it will not return. Whoever falls ill on it will have a long illness.

[25] The twenty-fifth day [of the month] is a bad day. It is the day of the month on which the signs were revealed to the people of Egypt 1. The person who sets out on a journey on it will not return. Therefore take care of yourselves on it.

[26] The twenty-sixth day [of the month] is a good day for every- thing. It is the day on which Moses, upon him be peace, struck the [Red] Sea, [causing it to part]. It is a good day for everything except travel and giving in marriage; therefore avoid these two things. Anyone born on it will be shown favour by the monarch. Almsgiving is recommended on it.

[27] The twenty-seventh day [of the month] is an excellent day, and is good for seeking one's needs and for everything you wish. The person born on it will have a comely form. It is an excellent day for selling, buying, building, giving in marriage and waiting upon the monarch. Therefore undertake whatever tasks you will.

[28] The twenty-eighth day [of the month] has a mixed character. It is the day of the month on which the Prophet 2 was born. The person born on it shall not want for sustenance, but shall be laden with cares and griefs and sorrows, and at the end of his life shall lose his sight.

[29] The twenty-ninth day [of the month] is a choice day for every need. The person who falls ill on it will recover. The person who undertakes a journey on it will obtain food and provisions. The person who loses something shall find it, by the help and might of God.

[30] The thirtieth day [of the month] is a choice day. It is the day on which Ishmael, upon him be peace, was born. It is a good day for all needs, for selling, buying, sowing, building and giving in mar- riage. The person who falls ill on it will recover. The person who is born on it will be blessed, and shall do the Almighty's work and destiny, if Almighty God wills. Concludes. And God knows better what is correct.

1. I.e. the plagues visited upon Egypt during the time of Moses. See Exodus, Chapter 7f.

2. I.e. the Prophet Muhammad.