Blanca Villuendas Sabaté

ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

SPECIMENS FROM THE CAIRO GENIZAH

The intellectual history of divination is today a very promis-

ing subject. One of the reasons for this is that, up until recently,
divination has been a neglected topic within the different fields
that could embrace it (i.e. history of sciences, history of litera-
ture, history of philosophy or religion, or more generally the his-
tory of ideas). However, the explanation why this legacy has
been overlooked is not paucity of material. On the contrary, the
different means to foretell the future are well represented in a
rich textual legacy. In many cases, this situation allows us to
become the first explorers of some corners of this fertile terrain.
Another reason to stress the interest of divination for intellectual
history is that its large textual production shows a strong
dependence on tradition. This fact derives from the idea that
antiquity or remoteness provides authority, for their survival
through time and space are proofs of effectiveness. Hence, most
divinatory sciences can be considered an accumulative type of
knowledge. This is what brings to the researcher the fascinating
possibility of tracing origins and debts beyond cultural, temporal
or linguistic borders, and to establish the transmission networks.
In this article it will become clear how these two instances are
expressly manifested in the corpus of geomantic manuscripts that
I am going to introduce you, and to which I have devoted a
study that resulted with the publication of a book 1 and that I am
planning to take up again in the near future.

1. B. Villuendas, La geomancia en los manuscritos judeo-árabes de la Gueniza

de El Cairo, Córdoba 2005.

«Micrologus Library» 87, SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2018

ISSN 2465-3276 • ISBN 978-88-8450-842-3
 BLANCA VILLUENDAS SABATÉ

The corpus gathers all the fragments dealing with geomancy

and written in Judaeo-Arabic, that is, Arabic language in Hebrew
script, among the manuscripts that were hoarded in a store-room
at the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. These manuscripts are
known today as the Cairo Genizah Manuscripts, or simply the
Genizah Manuscripts, in reference to the name that designates
the repository. The purpose of a genizah is to provide storage for
writings that are no longer in use. It was initially designed for
sacred texts in order to prevent them from being thrown away
and mistreated, but in practice it received all kinds of writings.
This is the reason why the opening of the Cairo Genizah, at the
end of the nineteenth century, after probably ten decades of
functioning, not only has changed the panorama of Jewish Stud-
ies, but also the scholarly activity in the Mediaeval history of the
Mediterranean, thanks to the large amount of documentary
materials preserved. The largest portion of the Genizah, approxi-
mately an 80%, was taken to the Cambridge University Library,
and after an initial examination and classification of the frag-
ments during the first years of the 20th century, it was left in
boxes. Only in the seventies did substantial funding make possi-
ble the establishment of the Genizah Research Institute, still in
function today, whose aim is to take care of the proper catalogu-
ing, restoration, study and preservation of the Cambridge
Genizah Fragments. This explains why the study of these materi-
als is relatively new. And why some of the pieces have not
received, even now, all the attention they deserve. This is the case
of the geomantic compositions, among other divinatory texts.
My study was based in the Judaeo-Arabic manuscripts from
the different Genizah collections. There are 17 fragments that
consist of detached folia from different manuals. Fortunately,
most of them are well preserved. Here is a list of all the frag-
ments I have identified so far with the aid of printed catalogues 2,
the platform Friedberg Genizah Project and Professor Gideon
Bohak from Tel Aviv University. Marked in bold are the frag-

2. A. Shivtiel, F. Niessen, Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic manuscripts in the Cam-

bridge Genizah Collections: Taylor-Schechter New Series, Cambridge 2006; and
C. Baker, M. Polliack, Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic manuscripts in the Cambridge
Genizah Collections: Arabic Old Series (T-S Ar.1a-54), Cambridge 2001.

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 ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

ments edited and translated in the aforementioned volume. To

my knowledge, no other edition or study of any fragment has
been published so far.

Cambridge:
T-S 8Ka2.5 (16 p.) T-S Ar.44.15 (4 p.) T-S Ar.29.156 (18 p.)
T-S Ar.43.182 (2 p.) Moss. VI,3 (2 p.) T-S Ar.43.239 (2 p.)
T-S Ar.43.183 (2 p.) T-S Ar.11.13 (8 p.) T-S Ar.44.65 (4 p.)
T-S Ar.43.262 (2 p.) T-S Ar.29.53 (2 p.) T-S NS 322.13 (2 p.)

National Library of Israel:

Ms. Heb. 4°577.5.17 (2 p.)

Jewish Theological Seminary:

ENA mic. 2622 (2 p.)
ENA NS 57.12 (2 p.)

Manchester, Rylands:
B 6830 (2 p.)

National Library of Russia:

Yevr-Arab II 1195 (34 p.)

Together with these, geomancy is represented in the Genizah

with at least four fragments of handbooks in Hebrew and three
in Arabic, with Arabic script. In addition, there are seven frag-
ments consisting of geomantic designs, such as drafts of the chart
used for predictions. These last examples are extremely interest-
ing because they attest to the actual practice of the technique.
The task of identifying the authors and works preserved in the
Genizah becomes a difficult one due to the relatively small
number of studies on Arabic geomancy. There are a few relevant
contributions that deal with the history of the technique 3,

3. E. Savage-Smith, M. B. Smith, «Islamic Geomancy and a Thirteenth-

century Divinatory Device: Another Look», in Magic and Divination in Early
Islam, Aldershot 2004, 211-76; E. Savage-Smith, M. B. Smith, Islamic Geo-
mancy and a Thirteenth-century Divinatory Device, Malibu 1980; S. Skinner,
Terrestrial Astrology: Divination by Geomancy, London 1980, 31-52; T. Fahd,

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strongly supported by secondary sources such as bibliographical

works, a very abundant genre in Arabic literature. There are also
some works devoted to a specific text 4. However, we lack a sys-
tematic account based on the manuscript tradition 5. Such a study
would avoid a problem found when using secondary sources: the
polysemy in Arabic of the terminology referring to Geomancy.
The most common names are: ‘Ilm al-raml (Science of the sand),
Hat..t al-raml (Writing of the sand) and D. arb al-raml (Throwing of
˘ sand). They are rendered as synonymous in some dictionaries
the
but in some instances they seem to suggest other practices such
as lithomancy, psammomancy 6 or augury 7, and in many situations
the meaning cannot be elucidated 8. One of the most paradigmatic
examples is the saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,
concerning Hat..t in relation to what the exegetes consider a ref-
˘

«Khat.t.», in Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition), IV, Leiden 1978, 1128-30;

T. Fahd, La divination arabe. Études religieuses, sociologiques et folkloriques sur le
milieu natif de l’Islam, Strasbourg 1966, 196-204; B. Carra de Vaux, «La géomancie
chez les arabes», in P. Tannery, Mémoires scientifiques, publiés par J. L. Heiberg, IV.
Sciences exactes chez les Byzantins (1884-1919), Toulouse-Paris 1920, 299-317.
4. A. Regourd «Au sujet des sources manuscrites de l’ouvrage imprimé
au Caire sous le titre d’Al-fas.l fı̄ us.ūl “Ilm al-raml d’Al-Zanātı̄”», Annales
Islamologiques, 35 (2001), 393-407; and F. Klein-Franke, «The geomancy of
Ah.mad b. ‘Alı̄ Zunbul (16th century): A study of the Arabic corpus her-
meticum», Ambix, 20 (1973), 26-35.
5. The scholarly work on Arabic Geomancy explores primary sources
too, but while it provides a glimpse of the tremendous size of the produc-
tion, it is still a rather superficial approach and lacks a systematic review of
the entire body, as well as bigger efforts to make the materials accessible by
means of editions, translations, studies or digitization. The most detailed
accounts of a considerable number of texts are the ones offered for the
manuscripts in the Staatsbibliothek, by W. Ahlwardt, Verzeichnis der arabischen
Handschriften, III, Berlin 1891, 544-51.
6. For instance, the reference in the Arabian nights to the use of d.arb al-
raml by Zumurrud, in which she employs a «sand board» (taht raml) and a
bronze quill. However, on the board she drew a figure similar˘ to the figure
of an ape (hat..t at bi-l-qalam s.ura mitla s.urat qird). Such a figure can hardly be
˘
identified with one of the sixteen ¯ geomantic figures, so most probably it
refers to the practice of psammomancy. See nights 357 and 358 in Alf layla
wa-layla, ed. by S. ‘A. al-H us.ūs.ı̄, Cairo 1935, 229.
7. A possible reference˘ to augury is the mention of the practice of H at.t.
among the activities performed in the Arabian markets of 7th century˘ as
deploted by al-Ǧah. iz (a. 786-868/9 CE) in his Kitāb al-Hayawān.
8. See also Fahd, «Khat.t.», 1128-29.

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 ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

erence to the Prophet Idris: «There was a prophet who used to

write, the one who equals his writing, will do like him», a sen-
tence often quoted in order to validate geomancy within the
Islamic tradition 9.
In addition to the difficulties in obtaining a «mirror corpus»,
the identification takes into account the fragmentary state of the
manuals preserved. Most of the fragments consist of a detached
folium or bifolium. However, the smallest one represents only
the corner of a folium (7.40 × 3.70 cm.) whereas the largest one
includes 17 folia. Fortunately, some unions between the frag-
ments can be established, both according to the contents and in
relation to physical characteristics. These unions allow us to tell
if two or more fragments belonged to the same codex.
Another challenge the study of these manuscripts confronts is
the dating. It is very rare to find any reference to the time or
place of origin in this sort of texts. Linguistic features can be
indicative, at times, but most usually we need to rely on an expert
eye able to discriminate through hand-script and layout. I am not
this expert eye, at the moment, and I am pending to ask a skilled
opinion, but it is possible that we find ourselves in front of the
earlier examples of geomantic works, given that the Golden Age
of the Genizah, the period in which the room was more active, is
dated between the tenth and thirteenth centuries 10.
In the rest of the article, I would like to describe the process of
reconstruction and identification that was followed for an espe-
cially relevant selection of fragments: T-S Ar. 44.15, T-S Ar. 43.183,
Ms. Heb. 4°577.5.17, Mosseri VI,3, T-S Ar. 43.182 and T-S 8Ka2.5.
In the first place, they were gathered together due to the fact
that all of them share two particularities: 1) the use of Berber
names for the figures, and, 2) predictions according to the pres-
ence of triplets. Consisting of four rows of either one or two
dots, two figures can be added in order to obtain a third one.
The dots in every line are added and if the result is odd it equals

9. See Fahd, «Khat.t.», 1128.

10. S. C. Reif et al., «Cairo Genizah», in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic
world, II, Leiden 2007, 534: «Most of the contents relate to the three-hun-
dred-year period beginning when the Fatimid dynasty came to power (969
C.E.)».

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a single point in the same line of the new figure, and when it is
even, two. This operation known as «Addition» or «conjugation»
is applied to build the positions 9 to 16 in a geomantic chart or
theme. The three figures involved in this operation, the two
added ones and the derived, form what is known in Arabic as a
mut allat (triangle) 11, in reference to the triangular disposition the
¯ ¯ figures exhibit in the chart 12.
related
Then, with the examination of the physical attributes of these
fragments together with their contents, unions among them were
established. The selection was divided into three groups, each
from a different codex.
Here is a short description of each:

Fragments T-S Ar. 44.15 and T-S Ar. 43.183:

With the suggested paging (p. 1: right verso, p. 2: left verso, p.

3: right recto, and p. 4: left recto), T-S Ar. 44.15 begins listing the
figures with their names and attributes. It is not systematic but
there is a tendency to associate every figure with a specific
colour and a gender. It sometimes states the value of the figure
when it appears several times in the chart. On page 3, the section
ends and a new chapter is opened with the basmala 13 and the
title: «Section of the discourse on al-T.arı̄q». It is devoted to pre-
dictions based on triplets that produce al-T.arı̄q (Via), but with
the end of this page, and after four examples, there is a gap of
contents, probably due to missing bifolia. Page 4 begins with
what could be the last of the triplets of al-T.arı̄q. Then, it turns to
explain the repetition of other figures, maybe in relation to the
chart the triplets are found in.
In T-S Ar. 43.183 we find 8 triplets resulting with Acquisitio.
The names of the figures are not provided, but we know from

11. Other possible translations are: «triplets», as employed by Savage-

Smith, or «triads».
12. There are three more fragments containing triplets: T-S Ar.29.53, T-S
Ar.322.13 and ENA NS 57.12. However their state of preservation is poor
and each of them consists of a piece of folium, less than a half.
13. Arabic «In the name of God» formula.

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the previous manuscript that Acquisitio is named al-Qabd.. For

each of the triplets, the predictions are rather general, related
with travelling, wealth, birthing and health, in the same fashion as
in T-S Ar. 44.15. An interesting thing to remark is the correction
of an omissio ex homeoteleuton in line 4 of the recto, which reveals
that it is the work of a copyist, not an original composition.

Fragments Ms. Heb. 4°577.5.17, Mosseri VI,3, T-S Ar. 43.182:

When we turn to the second group of manuscripts, we see

that Ms. Heb. 4°577.5.17 also has predictions in relation to
triplets; in this case, having Congregatio as a result, here in its
Berber name Azāzā. Again, the types of questions and predic-
tions are similar to those in the previous examples. However, the
names of the figures slightly differ to those in T-S Ar. 44.15.
The half bifolium Mosseri VI,3 begins with a long description
of the properties of the figure known in Latin as Cauda Draconis
(Arabic, al-‘Ataba al-Hāriǧa). In the recto, a new section is intro-
duced with the title:˘ The figures of the sand in the 15 houses
(buyūt), quoting in the first place Fortuna Minor (al-Nus.rat al-
Hāriǧa). It provides a specific value for each house in relation to
˘
one of the aforementioned topics, up to the number 12, where
the folio ends.
Finally, in the same hand, we have the bifolium T-S Ar. 43.182.
In comparison to the rest of fragments, it exhibits a much
stronger input from Astrology, with considerations to the role of
the ascendant, the neighbourhood of figures and their position in
the houses, when interpreting a theme. Also the repetition is
taken into account. The interpretation seems to be linked to a
specific question, since in what I consider the first page (left side
of the recto), it introduces a chapter (bāb) that is dedicated to an
absent person, «if you throw for someone who has gone away
from you and you do not hear news from him». At the end of
page four (corresponding to the right side of the recto), a new
section begins devoted to predictions based on the production of
a single figure. In contrast with the rest of fragments, here the
mode of speech used is the second person singular.

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Fragment T-S 8Ka2.5:

The last of the fragments with Berber names for the figures is
T-S 8ka2.5, a well-preserved fragment of eight folia, correspon-
ding to 16 pages. The wide and equilibrated margins, the use of
two different inks, and the beauty of the script make it a good
quality copy. In agreement with the previous texts, together with
the Berber names for the figures, it contains the explanation of
triplets, but with two new aspects: 1) the triplets are interpreted
taking into account the position left or right of each of the
mothers; 2) it provides the prognostications following a clear
organization. In the interpretation of each triplet, there is a set
of topics that are brought into consideration, which come in a
fixed order. These topics are: travelling, the sultan, an ill person,
a pregnant woman, the marriage, a trading, the government of a
qād.ı̄, a faqı̄h, a besieged city, a departing army, a returning army, a
stolen property, something hidden, the year, the rain, the price, a
court case, the pilgrimage, the jihad, someone kept in jail or in
captivity. For each of these topics, the text provides different
answers in accordance to every triplet.
Another thing that I would like to highlight about this text is
the evidence on the first page from which we can tell we are in
front of a direct copy from a manuscript in Arabic script. The
copyist wrote the first word in line 11 of the recto in Arabic
script. This word is crossed out and rewritten underneath using
the Hebrew one.

Once the contents of the manuscripts had been detailed, it

was time to search for the source. When looking at studies on
Arabic geomancy I saw a few references to a certain author, the
so called ‘Abd Allāh Ibn al-Mah.fūf who happened to be the
author of a work titled al-Mut allat (or Mut allat āt ) fı̄ l-raml (The
¯ ¯ it refers¯ to ¯the
triangle(s) on the sand). By «triangles» ¯ three last fig-
ures of the geomantic chart: the judge (figure number 15) and
the two figures (numbers 13 and 14) it derives from, called wit-
nesses. Since the chart is an inverted pyramid (the top row with
eight figures; the second, four; the third two; and last, one), its
peak has the shape of a triangle. Therefore, the main subject of

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the book is to provide interpretations according to triplets: the

different possible sets of figures in the role of witnesses and
judge. Another particularity of this book is the employment of
Berber terminology.
But who was Ibn al-Mah.fūf and when did he live? Despite
having carried out several searches in historical sources, I have
not yet found any mention about this person which might shed
any light on his biography. This search has the added difficulty
that the Arabic works attributed to him and preserved in several
manuscripts present variants of his name, ranging from ‘Abd
Allāh Ibn al-Mah.fūf al-Munaǧǧim (the «astronomer» or
«astrologer»), to ‘Abd Allāh b. ‘Alı̄ b. al-Mah.fūf, al-Mah.qūq, al-
Mah.qūf or al-Mahūf, Ibn Muh.aqqiq, and al-Šayh al-Imām al-
˘ Abı̄ l-Ma‘ālı̄ al-Mahfūf al-Munaǧǧim.
Fād. il ‘Abd Allāh b. ˘ The
.
only reference I found which could be considered revealing
appears in the annals of the Fatimid ruler al-Hāfiz., by the Egypt-
ian historian al-Maqrı̄zı̄ who mentions some «al-Mah.qūf» as one
of the seven court astrologers in 1149, when commenting on the
ruler’s inclination to astrology 14. Given that this is an uncommon
name, and the fact that the epithet al-Munaǧǧim that follows his
laqab can refer both to him or his father, the identification of
Maqrı̄zı̄’s al-Mah.qūf as the father of the author we are discussing
now becomes quite reasonable. Another fact to take into account
is that some of the copies of his work describe him as al-‘abd al-
mamlūk («the Mamluk slave»). The term mamlūk, meaning
«owned», can be employed in a similar fashion as ‘abd that is to
say as a formula of piety and humbleness, and it is not exclusive
to this period 15. Therefore, taking into account both considera-
tions, it is a plausible possibility that this author lived between
the 12th century and the second half of the 13th, during the
Ayyubid dynasty, precursor of the Mamlūk organization.
In spite of the little attention Ibn al-Mah.fūf or his work has
so far received, when looking at the legacy of Arabic manu-

14. Al-Maqrı̄zı̄, Itti‘āz. al-h.unafā’, ed. Y. al-Sayyal, III, Cairo 1973, 189.
15. N. Rabbat, «The changing concept of Mamlūk», in Slave Elites in the
Middle East and Africa: A Comparative Study, London-New York 2000, 87-90.
K. Yosef, «The term Mamlūk and Slave Status Turing the Mamluk Sul-
tanate», al-Qant. ara, 34,1 (2013), 12.

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scripts, it turns out to be one of the most widely spread manuals,

with almost twenty copies all over the world 16. After learning this,
my interest in this work grew, for it was likely to be the Arabic
source of the Genizah fragments I had edited and translated.
Here, I would like to introduce very briefly the contents of
the Mut allat 17 in order to explain how the Genizah fragments fit
in them:¯ ¯
The work is divided into 12 chapters that can be arranged in
seven parts:

Prologue: Purpose of the author, three different aspects of

geomancy according to the three parts into which it is divided,
its validity according to the Qur’an, a reference in the Qur’anic
commentaries to the role of the Prophet Idris and mathematical
considerations of a theme (d.arb).
Ch. 1: A description of how to construct the geomantic chart
or theme (d.arb). Mention of the cleanness of the place and the
sand, the need for the right state of mind, the appropriate times
and how they affect the construction, etc.
Ch. 2: Board including all the figures (ašhās. or s.uwar) and their
relation to different qualities such as being˘ odd or even, smells,
flavours, colours, minerals, plants, animals, names and letters,
gender, physiognomies and planets. It includes a descriptive list
of the twenty-four questions to be asked.
Ch. 3-10: Boards devoted to each of the eight figures that can
be found in house fifteen (only the ones with an even number
of dots), called mı̄zān al-d.arb (scale of the theme, also known in
the Arabic tradition as the qād.ı̄, judge). The boards contemplate
this figure with the different combinations of the two mothers
that can produce it in order to provide answers to the set of
twenty-four questions. Each of the figures is introduced by a
short description of its properties and the effects of its abun-
dance and scarcity in the theme.

16. See Savage-Smith, Smith, «Islamic Geomancy», 216 and Fahd, La div-
ination arabe, 201.
17. As found in the manuscript Arabic ms. 373 from the John Ryland’s
University Library of Manchester.

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 ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

Ch. 11: On the remaining 8 figures that cannot be found in

house 15 (the odd ones), with short descriptions following the
ones provided for the even figures.
Ch. 12: A board including the properties of thirty images
(s.uwar). They consist of combinations of three figures and repre-
sent women, animals, the sea, the mountains, and other things;
together with figures grouped in pairs because of their «brother-
hood» or opposition.
It ends with a small epilogue.

This preliminary study of the Mut allat allows us to state that,

¯ ¯
from the three groups of Genizah fragments described, only the
third one can be clearly identified with this text. T-S 8Ka2.5 folia
correspond to the central part of the book (chapter 4): the boards
that provide the answers for the set of twenty-four questions in
relation to the triplets that combine the judge and its possible
mothers. The main difference shown is that the disposition of the
information comes in a reported form instead of a board, a char-
acteristic shared by other copies of the Mut allat 18.
¯ ¯edition and Eng-
In order to illustrate this, here is the Arabic
lish translation of the first ten questions in relation to one of the
triangles, the one that produces al-T.arı̄q (or Abrı̄d in its Berber
terminology) from Rakı̄za Hāriǧa and al-H . iyān (or al-H
. ayān), as
found in ms. Oxford, Bodleian ˘ Library, Marsh 216 19, and the
Genizah fragment 20. The small boxes inside the charts bare a
numerical code to indicate the correspondence of contents
between the two manuscripts 21. If the number is «x» it means
that the correspondence exists but is not represented in the
selected fragments. The absence of a square indicates a lack of
correspondence:

18. For instance, ms. nº 964 from the Raghib Pasha Library in Istanbul.
19. The chart tries to reproduce the manuscript’s layout.
20. I provide the Arabic transcription of the Judeo-Arabic in order to
facilitate the comparison between the two texts.
21. Note that the description of the question in the Bodleian manuscript
is found in the top row whereas in the Genizah fragment it is included in
the prediction.

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Arabic Marsh 216, Bodleian Library, ff. 15v-16r

    ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ         ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
            ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ         ϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
      ϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
      έϮμϟ΍ϝϭΪΟ
    
   ΔΟΎΤϟ΍ΐϠτϳϦϣ        ΐϠτϳϦϣήϛΫ
      ΎϣϭϝΎϤϟ΍ΐδϛ       ήϴϤπϟ΍ήϛΫϰϠϋ
     ϥΎτϠδϟ΍ήϛΫϰϠϋ         
          Ύϣϭϻϡ΃ϥϮϜϳ
          ΪϨϋΔϣϮϜΤϟ΍
  Ϫϴϟ·ήϴμϳ      ϪϨϣΐϠτϟ΍ϭ
  ϼϤΟϪΘϴϔϴϛϭ
  
Ϫϴϟ·ήϴμϳ   ϲοΎϘϟ΍
Chart Chart Chart Chart Chart Chart of the
containing containing containing containing containing figures.
        the
  maker
   of  the      the   reference
      the reference
     the  reference
          
       a demand,        to
     if  acquisition   whom      to  the
  Sultan
    to  the           
   it willbe
                                    22         
of wealth asks for the and the destiny’s    
     met  not,
  or    and  what   arbitration of petition   to plan and
                               

      will  it  
   
and
          what     happens to
 it. a judge.
     
him. how
    
will happen be in general.
to him.

                                                             
                            ύϮϠΑήϴϤο΍άϫ
      
        ϻΔϴπϘϣΔΟΎΤϟ΍
      ϦϣϝΎϤϟ΍ϝΎϨϳ
     ϦϣϞϛΐϠϐϳ
    ϑϮϗϮϟ΍ϪϨϋΪόΒϳ       •••••  •••
• •
                          
 ••
         ϝϮρϊϣΔϟΎΤϣ
         αΎϨϟ΍ϦϣϩήυΎϨϳ
ήΑΎϛϷ΍ϭ˯Ύγ΅ήϟ΍           ˯ΎπϗϭϝΎϣϷ΍
ϥΎτϠδϟ΍ϱΪϳϦϴΑ 
 ••   •
 •
       ΔΠΤϟ΍ϱϮϗϥϮϜϳϭ
  ΔϠλΎΣϲϫϭΚϜϣ
      
ϪΘΒϗΎϋϭ˯ϼΟϷ΍ϭ          ϲϓΐϠϐϟ΍ϭΞ΋΍ϮΤϟ΍
ϲπϘϳϪϧ΃ήϴϏ           
     ϩΪϳϲϓ ΓΪϴΟ   
Δτγ΍ϮΑϪΘΟΎΣ  ϦϣϷ΍ϭΓήυΎϨϤϟ΍
     
έΪϘϟ΍ήϴΒϛ Ξ΋΍ϮΤϟ΍ΐϠρϲϓ
    
The demand He will gain He will The plea to This destiny •• • •
• • ••
      will   be
        wealth
    from     any
    defeat     the  Sultan
      is
 the attain
     ••  •• •• ••
     satisfied.         the     person
  chiefs,     who    distance
    will       ment     of          
                                                      
Unavoidably the great disputes with from him,
                                  
hopes, the    
   and with      
ones, and the him and
      
will but his
   
satisfaction
    
delay, it will  dignitaries.    have a strong demand will of needs, the
be at the The result authority. victory in a
be satisfied
reach of his will be dispute, and
on behalf of
    hand.
          good.
              the
 security
a powerful
     
              
in the one.
                                     petition
             
                                  of things.             
         x        3   
  2 1 

                                           

                           

                                               

                                                         

                              

        22
 . According
      to
 the
   Astrological
      meaning
 of  word
 the    damı̄r
       
     by
                  .  as provided 
Dozy. 

                       282                     

                                                           

                                                       
          
                                                
                                                             
                                                         
                                                         
            
ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

           ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
               ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
  ϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ          ϰϠϋϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
            ϞϤΘθϳϝϭΪΟ
         έϮμϟ΍ϝϭΪΟ
        
     ϥϮϜϳΪϟϮϟ΍ϝΎΣ
              ΎϣϭϞϣΎΤϟ΍ϝΎΣ
ΔϨϳΪϤϟ΍ϝΎΣϰϠϋ            ΎϣϭξϳήϤϟ΍ϝΎΣ
       ΞϳϭΰΘϟ΍ϝΎΣϰϠϋ
               
           ϻϡ΃           ήϴμΗΎϣϭϊπΗ
  ΎϣΓήλΎΤϤϟ΍           Ϫϴϟ·ήϴμϳ       ϪΘΤλϭϪϧϮϛϭ
                
        Ϫϴϟ·ήϴμΗ Ϫϴϟ·                  
          
Chart Chart Chart Chart Chart Chart of the
containing containing containing containing   containing   figures    
the state of the state of a the state of a the state  of   the state of a    
                                                               
the birth of a besieged city pregnant an ill person marriage, its
               
      son    woman   what     
                                                   
and and what and and formation
         whether  what  and 
                                            
it happens to it. she happens to
  will happen       gives birth to him.  well-being. 
or not. and what
happens to it.         
       
             
                 έΪϘϳϻΔϨϳΪϤϟ΍ϩάϫ            ϡΎΗϙέΎΒϣΞϳϭΰΘϟ΍
          •     •   • •      
      Ωϻϭ΃ϪϟϥϮϜϳ              Ϧϣ΃ήΒϳξϳήϤϟ΍
    ϞϤΤϟ΍΍άϫϢΗϥ·
     • •
••
•
•
•
•
      έϮϛΫϢϫήΜϛ΃ϭ
                ϞϤϜΗϭϪοήϣ
 ϞμϳϻϭΪΣ΃ΎϬϴϠϋ              ΚϜϣϞϴϠϗϪϧ΃ήϴϏ
ΎϛέΎΒϣΎϣϼϏΕΪϟϭ         ••   •  • 
      ϥϮϜϳϭϢϬΑϊϔΘϨϳϭ
        ΔϳΫ΃ΎϬϴϟ·   ΢ΒμϳϭϪΘϴϓΎϋ
        ΍Ϊϴόγ   ΓΪϣϝϮρϭ
     
 ΍Ϊϴόγ Ύόϳήγ    
  •• • •
He will have This city no The ill If the The • • ••
      children,
      one   take
  will     person
     will     is marriage
   pregnancy   is   ••  ••  •• ••     
    most   of     over
 them   it and       release
   from  concluded,   a  blessed and     
  will        no
  be  harm
     will   the
  disease,
   boy will   be  completed,
                       
       
males, he arrive at it. his health born, blessed  
although   
              
will

benefit  
will be  and happy. with a short 
from them  perfect and delay and a
     and   will
  be                he will                 long                          
              recover                 
                     
happy. duration.
                        
                   7   quickly.            
x 6   5 4   
                
              
      
                         
T-S 8Ka2.5, 2 r-3v                          
                                                                  
If you  cast   and
   you   obtain  T . arı̄q from  ϥΎϴΤϟ΍ϭΔΟέΎΧΓΰϴϛέϦϣϖϳήρϚϟΝήΧϭΖΑήοϥ·ϭ
           
••• •• ••• ••• •• •••
     Rakı̄za
    H āriǧa    al-H
    and   . iyān:
   ••  ••  ••••                            •• •• ••  ••    
˘            
 
 And this is the  sign  
characteristic of the ϲϓΐϠϐϟ΍ϭΞ΋΍ϮΤϟ΍ϰπϗϭϝ΍ϮϣϷ΍ύϮϠΑΔϔλΔϣϼόϟ΍ϩάϫϭ
achievement of wealth , the satisfaction of 23 ΓήυΎϨϤϟ΍
needs, and the victory in a dispute.
                       1 
                          
         
                                                           
                   

difference between the words ʾamwāl

               
                                           

(wealth), as found here, and ʾāmāl (hopes), as in the Bodleian copy, is only
23. Notice   that  in Arabic
   the 

one letter.          
     
                        
 283                           
                             
                                                       

        
                                                          
              
        
                
           
                              
         
 
 

 


 
 



          
        
BLANCA VILLUENDAS SABATÉ        
                            



                         
  If you  obtain  it and  the question is   about
 
ϝΎΤϟ΍έϮΘδϣΎϣΩΎϗϥΎϛΐ΋ΎϏϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϭϚϟΖΟήΧϥΈϓ 
  an absent      he
 person,  will
  be approaching
   in ΏΎΒϟ΍ϒϠΧϥΎϛϭΎϫήϛΫϲϓϥΎϛέΎδϴϟ΍ϦϋΓΰϴϛήϟ΍ΖϧΎϛϥΈϓ
                   
 a hidden    If Rakı̄za
way.  is on the left, he             
  will be by the mention  of it (the figure),       
         
and he will be behind the door 24.        
                
x
                                        
    
If 
the  
question  is 
about  someone   
who 
wants  ΍ΪΟ΍ΪϴόγήϔγϥΎϛήϔδϟ΍ΪϳήϳϦϤϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
            
   to travel,  the journey    will be very happy.        
                   
x           
         
  If the question   is about   a sultan,               
  he will ϪΘΟΎΣΖϴπϗϭϪϣ΍ΪϗϪϓϮϗϭϥΎϛϥΎτϠδϟ΍Ϧϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
  rise  (his requirement)
    in front   of him (the ϒϴγΐΣΎλήϴϏήϴΒϛϞΟέϱΪϳϰϠϋ
  Sultan)
  and  the satisfaction      of his  require-                     
  ment   will be in  the  hands
   of a great man                  
  who  is not  a sword  bearer.            
2          
                
 If the question   is  about
  ill person,
an  he                   
ΖϧΎϛϥ·ΎϤϴγϻϭϪΘϠϋϦϣϕΎϓξϳήϣϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
  will  defeat   his  disease,   especially
     if Rakı̄za     ΩϮΟ΃ϮϬϓέΎδϴϟ΍ϦϋΓΰϴϛήϟ΍
    
   is on  the   left,  for  it is more  benign.
        
          6                
                   
     
If the question is about a pregnant woman, ΩϻϭϷ΍Ϊόγ΃ϥΎϛϭΎϣϼϏΖόοϭϞϣΎΣϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ   
  she  will  
give birth to a male   child, and he                   
 will  be the  happiest   child.
             
          5            
                   
 If the  question  is about  a  marriage,
 it will  ΍ΪϴόγΎϛέΎΒϣ΍ΪϴΟϥΎϛΞϳϭΰΘϟ΍Ϧϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
         
  be favorable,   blessed   and
   
happy.              
   4
                       
  If the  question   is about  a trade,      
  it will be ϦϋΓΰϴϛήϟ΍ΖϧΎϛϥ·ϭΔΤΑήϣΖϧΎϛΓέΎΠΗϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ     
 profitable.   And if Rakı̄za    is on   the left,     ϕΎϔϨϟ΍ΔόϳήγΖϧΎϛέΎδϴϟ΍
   
It will be quickly sold.         
x           
                      
  If  the question   is about  the  authority
       
of a ϩήοΎϧϦϣϰϠϋΐϠϏϪϴϘϓϭ΃ϲοΎϗϢϜΣϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ    
judge (qād  . ı̄) or  a jurist   (faqı̄h),   he will win          
 over  his   opponent.                   
3
If the question is about a besieged city, it          
΍ΪΑ΃ΎϬϴϠϋέΪϘϳϢϟΓήλΎΤϣΔϨϳΪϣϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ

will never      
  be  taken over.
            
            7                  
           
                      
                  
        
                    
                   
           
 24 . Since
  
Rakı̄za  
means             
             «doorstep».                      
                           
284
                           
                       
           
                           
                    
              
           
               
   
                     
          
                                
  
  
ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS
       
             
    
     
 If the  question
  is about
  a departing
  army, it ϞϛϦϣϩΎϘϠϳϦϤϟΎΒϟΎϏϥΎϛΝέΎΧήϜδϋϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
        
 will
 be   victorious
  in front
 of any one it            ΪΣ΃
encounters.
x
 If the question
  is  about
 an
 arriving
 army,    ϚϟάϛϥΎϛϞλ΍ϭήϜδϋϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
         
the same.
x
                
      
If the question
  is about
 two
 armies, the  
ΎϤϬϨϴΑ΢Ϡμϟ΍ϥΎϛ˯ΎϘϠϟ΍ϰϠϋϦϳήϜδϋϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
truce between them will be closer than the ήθϟ΍ϦϣΏήϗ΃
harm.          
x
                  
  If the question
  is about
 a  theft,
 the owner            
΄ϴηϪϟϕΪμϳϢϟϭϪΒΣΎλΏάϛΔϗήγϦϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
   be
will  lying
 and  nothing
    him trusted.
from               
      
x      
  If the question
  is about
 the  year
 and what ΍Ϊϛ΄Θϣ΍ήϴΜϛΎϫήϴΧϥΎϛΎϬϴϓΎϣϭΔϨδϟ΍Ϧϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
         
  be very
  good  for
 sure. And if   ΎϣΪϘΘϣΎϫήϴΧϥΎϛέΎδϴϟ΍ϦϋΓΰϴϛήϟ΍ΖϧΎϛϥ·ϭ
          
is in it, it will   
Rakı̄za is on  the left, its (the year’s) well-                  
 ness
 will  be in progress.
                   
x                  
                        
  If the  question
     is about
   the
   rain,
  it will be       
ΎτγϭϥΎϛήτϤϟ΍Ϧϋϝ΍Άδϟ΍ϥΎϛϥ·ϭ
      
  moderate.
                  
    
  
   
         x      
             
                   
                   
                 
From the comparison of the two texts we observe that they
follow a different order in the questions. However, except for
isolated cases, the phrasing is very similar and only small varia-
tions can be detected both in the predictions and in the ques-
tions, which are also attested among the Arabic copies I have
examined. When looking at a larger portion of text, we find that
the Genizah copy is less systematic and reveals gaps in the con-
tents probably as a result of copying mistakes, which are very
common in repetitive texts of this kind. Nonetheless, only one
of the twenty-four questions dealt with in the Arabic copies is
missing in the Judeo-Arabic: the third one, related to the obtain-
ing of wealth.
Now, if we turn to the other two groups of Genizah frag-
ments analysed, we notice remarkable disparities. The properties
of each triplet are described listing the affairs in which they are
favourable or unfavourable in a few words. Also, although the
topics are similar to the ones brought forward in the twenty-four

285
   

                
BLANCA VILLUENDAS SABATÉ  
        
questions, there is a complete lack of regularity and just a couple
or three of them are described in each case.
    See,
 for
 instance,
   these
 two examples from
   of
each  the groups:
   
      

T-S Ar.44.15, 3r       
•• •• •• • •• •• ••
••• ••• •• ••  This
 ˷
is a sign of a good, bene-
ϙέΎΒϤϟ΍ϦδΤϟ΍ΪϴΠϟ΍ήϔδϟ΍Δϣϼϋ΍άϫϭ •• ••  ••• ••
ficial, blessed and safe journey. It points ϡΎϤΗϭϥϮϤϴϤϟ΍ϖϓ΍ϮϤϟ΍ΞϳϭΰΘϟ΍ϰϠϋΎϬΘϟϻΩϲϓϝΪΗϲϫϭϢϟΎδϟ΍
with its indications to a compatible and ϢϠϋ΃ௌϭϑ΍ήηϷ΍ϭϦϴρϼδϟ΍ϞΒϗϦϣΪϴϋ΍ϮϤϟ΍
      
 prosperous
  marriage,
    and the
  fulfilment
 of          
 the
 pledges
  on behalf
  of
 the
 sultans
 and the
 noblemen,
  and God knows
 best. 

Ms. Heb. 4°577.5.17, 1v      

• •• • ••• •• •• •••
••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •••
If Azāzā resulted from two ΓΪ˷ϴΟΔϣϼϋϦϴϧΎϴΤϟϦϣ΍ί΍ί΍ΝήΧϥ·ϭ •• •• •• •• •• •• 
Lih.yān, it is a good and beneficial sign ϝΎϣϵ΍ύϮϠΑϭέΎΒϜϟ΍ϝΎΟήϟ΍ΪϳϰϠϋΞ΋΍ϮΤϟ΍˯ΎπϗΎϬϴϓΔϨδΣ
where the things needed are obtained from ΓΪ˷ϴΟϲϫϭέϭήγϭΡήϓϭΪ΋΍ϮϓϭϢϳήϜϟ΍ௌϦϣϲΗ΄ϳήϴΧϭ
the hand of great man, hopes are attained ξϳήϤϟ΍ϭϝϮϘόϤϠϟΔϣϼγϲϫϭϪϴϓ΢ΑήϳϱήΘθϳΎϤϠϛΐ΋ΎϐϠϟ
and goodness comes from God, the gener- ϞϣΎΤϟ΍ϭ
ous, and advantages and joys. It is
favourable for the absent person; he will
gain from everything that he buys. It is
health for the healthy of mind, for the sick
and for the pregnant.

As for the correspondence of these two examples with the

predictions for the same triplets in the Mut allat in these particu-
lar extracts, T-S Ar.44.15 differs whereas¯ ms.¯ Heb. 4°577.5.17
agrees. Nevertheless, further research is needed in order to estab-
lish the level of dependence of these two groups of fragments on
the Mut allat . The use of the same Berber terminology and the
¯ to¯ triplets, taking into account the singularity of these
attention
two aspects in the Arabic legacy, point to some sort of connec-
tion. The fact that these Genizah fragments are much more con-
cise leads to the possibility of considering them an abridgment
of the Mut allat . However, it can also be explained the other way
round, that¯ the¯ Mut allat as we know it in the Arabic manuscript
¯ ¯ version of a previous composition that,
tradition is an extended
by the oddities of life, has only been preserved in the Genizah.

286
 ARABIC GEOMANCY IN JEWISH HANDS

In either way, the circulation of an elementary version of the

work attributed to Ibn al-Mah.fūf is a significant fact when
analysing the Latin texts that discuss the role of triplets. We are
acquainted with a number of Latin translations of the Mut allat , as
well as with their impact on later geomantic collections ¯ ¯ in
Europe. However, there is another relevant Latin work dealing
with triplets, the source (or sources) of which is still unknown.
It is the case of Hugo of Santalla’s Ars geomantie, also known
from its incipit as Rerum opifex deus. Despite the obvious differ-
ence in the Latin work of considering the Paternitas for both
even and odd figures (unlike in the Mut allat where only the ones
¯ ¯ which are necessarily
that can be found in the fifteenth position,
even, are described), a possible link between the two works,
maybe a shared source, is worth considering. Now, both Pasquale
Arfé’s critical edition of the Ars geomantie and the critical edition
of the Arabic and Latin Mut allat that Charles Burnett and myself
are preparing, open the ¯door¯ for a methodical comparison,
taking into account the whole body of variants the different
copies will provide, as well as a deeper understanding of each of
these two works and the way each of them has been transmitted.

287
 BLANCA VILLUENDAS SABATÉ

ABSTRACT
Blanca Villuendas Sabaté, Arabic Geomancy in Jewish Hands: Specimens from
the Cairo Genizah
This article gives continuity to a research that the author has
devoted to the specimens of the Judeo-Arabic Geomantic fragments
from the Cairo Genizah. Given the chronological scope of the Cairo
Genizah, these manuscripts are likely to be the oldest examples of
Arabic Geomancy preserved. After a detailed introduction to the frag-
ments, the article discusses the identification of some of them with a
widely circulated but little known Arabic treatise titled Kitāb al-
Mut allat (āt) fı̄ l-raml, attributed to a certain Ibn al-Mah.fūf. The discus-
sion¯ sheds
¯ light on the possible origins of this author and provides a
description of the contents of his work. Furthermore, by confronting
passages of this composition with the Genizah fragments, a clear corre-
spondence is established with one of them. In contrast, while the rest of
fragments do not allow their identification with the Arabic treatise, they
exhibit striking similarities, suggesting the occurrence of editorial
processes or the existence of a common source yet to be discovered.

Blanca Villuendas Sabaté

Zentrum für Islamische Theologie
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
[email protected]

288