The al-ism al-a`zam in the writings of Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Būnī (d. Cairo 622/1225) ...

 احمد بن علي البوني 

^{Shams al-ma`arif al-kubra (The Greater Sun of Mystic Gnosis), the title of one of al-Būnī's most famous works.}

The al-ism al-a`zam in the writings of Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Būnī (d. Cairo 622/1225) and his devotees.

Stephen Lambden UCMerced.
In progress and under revision and correction 1980s-2022

Last revised 19-07-2022

 احمد بن علي البوني 

al-Būnī, `Alī ibn Aḥmad, Muḥyī al-Dīn (d. 622/1225).

Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Būnī = `Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Yūsuf al-Qurayshī Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Būnī  (622/1225).

An Islamic theologian, mystic and magician, Ahmad ibn `Alī al-Būnī  wrote around 40 Arabic books on Islamic esoterica and related subjects having a special facility with the theology of occult or talismanic configurations of the Names of God. Most of his often complex work remains unedited, unstudiedand unpublished, save for a few non-critical editions.  Critical editions of his writings await realization.

See Brockelmann, GAL  I/2:655f.; Deitrich EI2 12:156-7; GALS 1:910f; Fahd,  [1966] 1987: 230ff; Ulmann, 1972: 234,390f, 415. See below for a select Biographical data, notes and miscellany.

Ahmad ibn 'Alī [Muhyī al-Dīn Abū'l-'Abbas] ibn al-Būnī (d. Cairo 622/1225).

A recension of his four volume (500+pp) Kitāb shams al-ma'ārif wa'l-latā'if al-awārif ('The Book oŗ Sun of Gnosis .. Cairo, 1904) is fairly well-known in various of its three or more recensions of varying length. It was certainly known in Qajar, 19th century lran. This work makes creative use of abjad and other number correspondences, (magic) number-letter squares and deals with jafr and the construction of amulets and circles of astronomical, talismanic and magical import.
The Shams al-ma'āraf contains detailed comments upon numerous theologically loaded divine names and attributes, including the ninety-nine a/-asmā' al-husnā, the 'most beautiful names' of God listed in various traditions ascribed to the prophet Muhammad and the twelver lmams (cf. Majlisi, Bihār ² XX:XX). Other names, including those of the mother of Mūsā (Moses), miscellaneous arcane scripts and components of the secreted al-ism Allāh al-a`zam ('Mightiest Nameof God'), are discussed in novel and interesting ways.

Angelological and other matters rooted in or expressive of lsrā'iliyyāt / Islamo-Biblica are also present. Goldziher, Vajda and others have touched upon aspects of the occasionally Jewish-rooted and related magical, mystical, theological, angelological and other aspects of influential Kitāb shams al-ma'ārif.
The Shams al-ma 'ārif of al-Būnī identifies and discusses the Divine Name through which Moses was commissioned when God proclaimed , "I verily am God, no God is there except Me" . It was by means of the Mightiest Name of God (al-ism al-a`zam) that Jesus resurrected the dead. Though al-Būnī states that Jesus utilzed the "greatest, mighty, greatest Name of God" (al-ism [Allāh] al-a`zam ... Shams 1:52) he also registers several supplementary traditions which spell out the text of the life-giving prayer more precisely. ln the section specifically devoted to this matter the following tradition is related from Abū Hudhayl who transmitted the tradition that Jesus would bow twice in prayer (raka'tayn) then fall prostrate and address God with the following six Divine Names:

• Yā Qadīm (O Ancient One!).
• Yā Dā'im (O Everlasting!).
• Yā Aḥad. (O One!)
• Yā Wāhd (O Unicity!).
• Yā Ṣamad (O Eternal!) (Shams, 54).

Much space is given to traditions associated with the ism Allāh al-a`zam several different interpretations of which are given in the Kitāb shams al-ma'ārif. Also found within the Shams al-ma`ārif are a number of obscure though obviously Hebraic angelological names with the genitive 'EI= [`of God'] termination). Apart from the usual four archangels (Jibrīl, Mī kā'īl, lsrāfil and 'Azrā'īl, Shams, 76, etc) there is mention , for example, of Asyā'il, Dunyā'il, Hizqiyā'il, Dardiyā'il, Maxmā'il and Surā'īl (Shams, 52-52, 57, 71). Certain of these names derive from the Jewish pseudepigraphical, angelologically  intensive incantation textbook, the Sepher Ha-Razim (Book of Mysteries, 4th cent.CE?). This source presents itself as having been revealed to Noah by the angel Raziel (The Mystery of God) before he entered the ark. Thereafter it came to be in the possession of the lsraelite king Solomon whose famed wisdom encompassed all secrets (Shams, 117, 52- 55; Vajda 1948:400; Morgan, 1983; Gruenwald, 1980:224f; cf. Dietrich, El<sup>2</sup> Supp., 56-7).
The Shams al-ma`arif has a very high opinion of the Qur'an and the Arabic language in
which is it written:

Know .. that the secret of every [religious] community is in its Book and that
the secret of the Book of God is in the letters (al-(hurūf) [in which it is written]. The
letters express a diversity of forms (mukhtalafa al-ashkāl) . When Our prophet
[Muhammad] appeared the Qur'ān was sent down unto him which was the secret of this [Muslim] community. It abrogated the law of every [existing] body of laws and the letters of this mighty Book [the Q.] are Arabic. When he [Muhammad] was asked about the letters of the alphabet he spoke [the 28 letters] which are curved in Arabic hence he called it Arabic (al- `arabiyya). Within it are the secrets of all the revealed [sacred] Books and Scolls (a/-kutub wa'l-suhuf) [ of the past] and others besides them. As for abjad, it is Sryiac (al-suryāniyya) which was the medium of revelation unto Adam, Enoch (ldrīs), Noah, Meses and Jesus ... " (Al-Būnī, al-Shams, 31 :3-4).

Important in  respect of the graphic and other forms of the Mightiest Name are the forty or more esoteric and sometimes occult-magical writings of Aḥmad ibn `Alī [Muḥyī al Dīn Abū’l `Abbas] ibn al Būnī (d. Cairo c. 622/1225). A recension of his four volume (500pp) Kitāb shams al ma`ārif wa laṭā’if al awwārif (`The Book of Sun of Gnosis and the Subtleties of .. Cairo, 1904) is fairly well known in various of its three or more recensions of varying length. It was certainly known in Qajar, 19th century Iran. This work makes creative use of abjad and other number correspondences, (magic) number letter squares and deals with jafr and the construction of amulets and circles of astronomical, talismanic and magical import.

XXXX
The Shams al-ma`āraf contains detailed comments upon numerous theologically loaded divine names and attributes, including the ninety nine al asmā’ al ḥusnā, the `most beautiful names’ of God listed in various traditions ascribed to the prophet Muhammad and the Imams (cf. Biḥār 2 XX:XX). Other names, including those of the mother of Mūsā (Moses), miscellaneous arcane scripts and components of the secreted al ism Allāh al a`ẓam (`Mightiest Nameof God’) are discussed. Angelological and other matters rooted in or expressive of Isrā’īliyyāt are also present. Goldziher, Vajda and others have touched upon aspects of the occasionally Jewish rooted and related magical, mystical, theological, angelological and other aspects of this influential work.

The Shams al ma`ārif of al-Būnī identifies and discusses the Divine Name through which Moses was commissioned when God proclaimed , "I verily am God, no God is there except Me" . It was by means of the mightiest Name of God (al ism al a`ẓam) that Jesus resurrected the dead. Though al Būnī states that Jesus utilzed the "greatest, mighty, greatest Name of God" (al ism [Allāh] al a`ẓam … (Shams I:52) he also registers several supplementary traditions which spell out the text of the life giving prayer more precisely. In the section specifically devoted to this matter the following tradition is related from Abū Hudhayl who transmitted the tradition that Jesus would bow twice in prayer (raka`tayn) then fall prostrate and address God with the following six Divine Names: • Yā Qadīm (O Ancient!). • Yā Dā’im (O Everlasting!). • Yā Aḥad. (O One!) • Yā Wāḥid (O Unicity!). • Yā Ṣamad (O Eternal!) (Shams, 54). Much space is given to traditions associated with the ism Allāh al a`ẓam several different interpretations of which are given (Shams, ADD ).

A version of the ḥadīth from Imam `Alī is cited by Muḥyī al Dīn Aḥmad b. `Alī al Būnī (d. 622 /1225), author of the celebrated Shams al Ma`ārif [al kubrā] and a master of arcane computations surrounding the Names and Attributes of the Godhead. He reports this tradition from `Alī on the authority of the greatly respected `Father of Islamic exegesis’ (tafsīr) `Abd Allāh ibn `Abbās (d. c.68 /687) which includes a seventh sigla or inverted form to the Arabic letter wāw (= ൦ = و)

The Blessed Supplication (al-du`a’ al-mubāraka) :

In the above extract from the Kitāb Shams al ma`ārif … of al-Būnī there is citation of the seven-fold graphical sigla constituting the Mightiest Name of God and a al-du`a’ al-mubāraka (“blessed supplication” ) associated with it which translates as follows:

“Oh my God! I beseech Thee by the (letter) “h” (“hā’” =ه ) of Thy Name which is assuredly supremely Great (a`ẓam)!

• And by the three rods and the straightened [“formative”] (muqawwim] (letter) “A” (al-alif al-muqawwa[i]m) (cf. the alif-like “straightened lance” [ Ì ]).
• And by the And by the Mighty truncated (letter) =  م  “M” ( (al-mīm al-ṭamīs al-abtar).
• And by the ladder (al-sullam) and the thing fourfold which is like a palm but wristless!  
• And by the the (letter) “H” (hā’”  which is cleft in twain!  ھ
• And by the Mighty (letter)  “W” (al-wāw al-mu`aẓẓam)!  و ൦

For such is the substance [form] of Thy Noble, Mightiest Name (ṣūrat ismikā al-sharīf al-a`ẓam). Then blessing be upon our Master Muhammad after the number of every letter which flows out from the Pen (al-qalam); such is for the realization [fulfillment] of one’s needs (naqshī ḥājatī)” (see Wehr 212a).

In this 7 X 7 “magic square” type configuration of al-Būnī, there are seven Mightiest Name elements or “letters” which fill the whole square. They are also associated with the following seven letters of the alphabet (abjad values noted):

• [1] ف= fā’ (= 80) 
• [2] = ج jīm (= 3)
• [3] س = sīn (= 60)
• [4] ت = tā’ (= 400)
• [5] ط = ṭā’ (= 9)
• [6] ح = ḥā’ (= 8)
• [7] ز= zā’ ( = 7)

Translation after No. 7

[8] “Scriptography above the Heights (khuṭūṭ `alā al-a`rāf), a shimmering [sparkling, gleaming] are their cryptograms [sigla-pictorial images] (rusūm)

[9] Above them evidences of Light (barāhīn al-nūr)!  So know [that the intention]

[10] is eight [sigla] yet [incorporating]   thirteen [minor sigla]  (qaṣd ba`du  `ashrat thalathat  [thultha])

[11] since you imagine.. 

[12] Beyond [them] something of the Divine Light ( min al-nūr al-ilāhī ) of His Glorious Grandeur (jalāl)

[13] [Appropriate] unto every  generation (nabī?),  whether pure Arab (faṣīḥ)  and non-Arab (a`jam)... 

[14] On account of [from] the deepest gnosis [supernal Heights] of the "Torah" there are [allotted] four [sigla-aspects of the Mightiest Name]

[15] And four [sigla-aspects of the Mightiest Name] are [expressed] in the Injīl (Evangelion, Gospel) of Jesus Son of Mary;

[16] And five [sigla-aspects derive] from the Qur'ān, for such is their completion.

[17] So remain aloof [be humbled] from that Mighty, Magnificant [Incomparable] Name (al-ism al-`aẓīm al-mu`aẓẓim)! [18] Then, O Bearer of the Name which, exalted be its Power [19] Every cunning imposter (al-makkār) yearned to attain [it] …

The intricacies of al-Būnī's Shams al-ma`ārif were known to Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsā'ī. He answered some difficult questions about aspects of it in his erudite al-Risāla al-Rashtiyya (1226/1811 see Jawām  1/2:63-114; lbrāhimī, Fihrist, No. 104 p,260f; Momen, BSBM 1: 113). There is little doubt that theologically profound aspects of the writings of al-Būnī directly or indirectly influenced the architects of what became Shaykhism which the Bāb may have come to know or have studied in his youth. It will be seen below that al-Rashtī's
commentary on the graphic form of the ism al-a'zam appears to have been influenced by the comments of al-Būnī in the Shams al-ma'ārif and elsewhere.
The style and vocabulary of a number of the Arabic writings of the Bāb furthermore, is sometimes reminiscent of the theological density of al-Būnī. The Bāb's abstruse writings not infrequently encompass similar subjects to those covered in the Shams al-ma 'ārif, including considerations of the divine names and attributes, ramz, jafr; talismans, alchemy
and the ism Allāh al-a`zam. Certain numerological observations of al-Būnī about the divine name al-qayyūm (Self-substsing) and the name Joseph, for example, are on exactly the same lines as those of the Bāb.

_______________

Sharḥ  ism Allāh al-a`zam fi'l-ruḥānī  wa yalihi Kitāb al-lam'ah fi'l-fawā'id al-ruḥānīyya `aẓīẓat al-sama`a ("Commentary upon the Spiritual-Devotional Dimensions of the Mightiest Name of God constituting the Book of Radiant spiritual directives which and mighty and audible").

 . . .

al-Buni wrote at least one treatise commenting on spiritual - ruhani - devotional dimensions of the ism Allāh al-a`zam. This work referred to here spells out something of the complexities of this supernal Name in the context  of personal devotional rituals which may presuppose heavenly ascent or a personal spiritual mi`raj ("night journey") in which angelic forces proffer guidance when invoked in an appropriate manner.  It includes some  complicated invocatory prayers which the spiritual aspirant should recite as well as a few graphical alphabetical-numerological configurations and an occasional `magic square'. Like other of al-Buni's writings there are numerous points of commentary  and interest on various Names of God as well as on aspects of this supernal  ism Allah al-a`zam  `Mightiest Name of God'.

• Sharḥ ism Allāh al-a`ẓam fī al-ruḥānī wa yalihi kitāb al-lama`a  fī'l-fawā'id al-ruḥānīyya `aẓīẓat al-sama`a  ("Commentary upon the Mightiest Name of God in [devotional] spirituality  and  expressive of the Book of Brilliance regarding matters mighty, reputable and constituting spiritual instructions" ). Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Mahmūdiyya al-Tijāriyya bi'l-Azhar, 1358/ 1939-40 (119+ index)
• Sharḥ ism Allāh al-a`ẓam... Cairo: Maḥmūd `Alī Ṣubayḥ, n.d.
• Sharḥ ism Allāh al-aʻẓam fī al-rūḥānī ; wa-yalīhi Kitāb al-lumʻah fī al-fawāʼid al-rūḥānīyah ʻazīzat al-simʻah by Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī Būnī. al-Azhar : al-Maṭbaʻah al-Maḥmūdīyah, 1358 / 1939-1940. 
•  PDf.

Bibliographical Miscellany

Kitāb shams al-ma`arif  wa latā'if  al-awārif ("The Book of the Sun of Gnosis and the Subtleties of Elevated things").

كتاب شمس المعارف الكبرى ولطائف العوارف

• Kitāb shams al-ma`arif ("The Book of the Sun of Gnosis"). 4 vols. Cairo n.d. [1905]
• Kitāb shams al-ma`arif ("The Book of the Sun of Gnosis"). 4 vols./ Pts. in 1 vol. Beirut: Maktabah al-Thaqafiyya (576pp+16 index). *
• Pt. I = Kitāb shams al-ma`arif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 1-142.
• Pt. II = Kitāb shams al-ma`arif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 143-266.
• Pt. III = Kitāb shams al-ma`arif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 266-535

• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif.  Cairo : al-Maktabat al-`Arab + Bombay + Calcutta, 1291/1874.
• Shams al-maʻārif al-kubra wa laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif ... Bombay, 1305/ 1887. Copy in Columbia University Libraries. New York, NY 10027 USA.
•  
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif.  4 vols. Cairo n. d. [1905]
• al-Juzʼ al-awwal [-al-juzʼ al-rābiʻ] min Kitāb shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif. Egypt [Cairo] : Maktabat wa-Maṭbaʻat Muḥammad ʻAlī Ṣubayḥ, XXXX/ 19??.
•  
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif wa latā'if al-awārif.  Miṣr : Dār Ihya al-Kutub al-Gharbiyat, XXXX/1920.
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif wa latā'if al-awārif.  Miṣr, al-Maktabah al-Tijārīyah al-Kubrá wa-yalīhi: Mīzān al-ʻadl fī Maqāṣid Aḥwāl al-Raml, wa-Risālat Fawātiḥ al-Raghāʼib fī Khuṣūṣīyāt Awqāt al-Kawākib, wa-Risālat Zahr al-Murūj fī Dalāʼil al-Burūj, wa-Risālat Laṭāʼif al-Ishārah fī Khaṣāʼiṣ al-Kawākib al-Sayyārah. Taʼlīf ʻAbd al-Qādir al-Ḥusaynī al-Adhamī, XXXX/  1920?
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif.  Cairo: Mustafa al-Bābī al-Halabi,  1345/1927. 
•  
• Shams al-ma`ārif al-kubrá wa-laṭa'if al-`awarif / Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Buni wa-yalihi, Mizan al-`adl fi maqaṣid ahkam al-raml, Fawatiḥ al-ragha'ib fi khuṣuṣiyat al-kawakib, Zahr al-muruj fi dala'il al-buruj, Laṭa'if al-isharah fi khaṣa'iṣ al-kawakib al-sayyarah ; `Abd al-Qadir al-.Husayni al-Adhami.  4 vols. in 1 . Cairo: Mu.s.tafá al-Bābī al-Halabi, XXXX/ 1945.  576+16 pp. 
•  
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif. Ed. 'Abd al-Fattāh 'Abd al-Hamīd Murād, Cairo: Maktabat al-Jumhūriyya al-Mişriyya, 1380/1960.
• al-Juzʼ al-awwal [al-thānī] min Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif al-Azhar [Egypt]: Yuṭlabu min Maktabat al-Jumhūrīyah al-Miṣrīyah, 1380/1960-61.
• Hādhā Kitāb shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif. Bombay: Muhammadi, 1964.
• Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif. Beirūt : Al-Maktabah al-Shaʻbīyah, XXXX/ 1970.
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif wa latā'if al-awārif. Cairo: al-Maṭbaʻah al-Ḥusaynīyah al-Miṣrīyah, XXXX/1995
• Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif ("The Book of the Sun of Gnosis"). 4 vols./ Pts. in 1 vol. Beirut: Maktabah al-Thaqafiyya (576pp+16 index). *
• Pt. I = Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 1-142.
• Pt. II = Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 143-266.
• Pt. III = Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif al-kubrā. (in the above Cairo+Beirut  ed.) pp. 266-535
•  
• Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrā. Beirut: Dār al-Maḥajǰat al-Bayḍā', 1421/ 2001

كتاب شمس المعارف الكبرى

Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif al-kubra ("The Greater Book of the Sun of Gnosis").  Beirut: Manshurat Mu'assat al-Nur li'l-Matbu`at al-Thaqafiyya, 1420/2000. 616pp. 

Majmū`a Arba` Rasā'il (Compendium of Four Treatises") of Sayyid `Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni al-Adhami (ADD/ADD).

• Pt. IV = Majmu`at Arba`a Rasā'il (Compendium of Four Treatises") (pp.537-576):
• [1] Risālah Mīzān al-`adl fī maqāṣid aḥkām al-raml  (pp.537-552)
• [2] Risālah  Fawa'tih al-raghā'ib khuṣūṣiyyāt awaqāt al-kawākib (pp.552-558)
• [3] Risālah Zahr al-muruj fi dala'il al-burūj  (pp.558-566)
• [4] Risālah latā'if al-ishārāt fī khasā'is al-kawākib al-sayyāra (pp.566-576).

Kitāb shams al-ma`ārif ("The Book of the Sun of Gnosis"). ADD

• Long recension
• Medium length recension
• Short recension

^{[TAM METIN (BLI UK BİLGİLER HAZİNESİ]}

Massive Turkish translation of the Shams al-Ma`ārif al-Kubrā of al-Būnī  in 4 Pts.  within 2 vols. containing many clearly printed diagrams and numerous excerpts from the Arabic text.

• Pts1-2  = ŞEMS'UL MAARIFUL EL KÜBRA ., Turkish Trans., Araştırmacı Gazeteci Yazar Nebil Fazıl Alsan., Istanbul: Seda Yayinlari (1062pp.)
• Pts. 3-4 = ŞEMS'UL MAARIFUL EL KÜBRA ., Turkish Trans., Araştırmacı Gazeteci Yazar Nebil Fazıl Alsan., Istanbul: Seda Yayinlari (1058pp.)

Urdu:

• Shamsul maʻārif al-kubrá Urdu va lat̤āʼifulʻavārif : maʻiz̤āfah-yi ʻamaliyāt-i Madanī : ʻamaliyāt va taʻvīz̲āt kī sab se baṛī mustanad aur mashhūr kitāb. ed. Sayyid Ḥusain Aḥmad Madnī; Iqbāluddīn Aḥmad. Karachi: Dārulʻishāʻat : milne kā patah, Idāratulmaʻārif, 1978

Kitāb Latā'if al-Ishārāt fī asrār al-ḥurūf al-`uluwiyyāt ("Book of the Subtleties of the Allusions regarding the Mysteries of the Elevated Letters").

• Kitāb Latā'if al-Ishārāt fī asrār al-ḥurūf al-`uluwiyyāt. Lithograph edition. Cairo: Add., 1317/1899.  

Kitāb al-uṣūl wa'l-ḍawābiṭ (Book of the Fundamentals of the ).

• Kitāb al-uṣūl wa'l-ḍawābiṭ  apparebntly an  introduction to the hidden sciences.

Kitāb Siḥr al-`ushāq fi jalab al-Mushtaq ("The Book of Magic for the enticement of the Object of Yearning").

• Kitāb Saḥr al-`ushāq fi jalab al-mushtāq ("The Book of Magic..."). mss. (96pp.).

Sharḥ sawakiţ al-Fatiha al-sharlfa  (Commentary upon the Sawaqiţ of the Noble [Surah of] the Opening" [Q.1]")

• Shark sawakiţ al-Fatiha al-sharlfa.

According to Deitrich this work is "on the consonants th. Dj_. kh, z sh. ẓ. f. which do not occur in the first Sūra;

al-Lama' al֊ nūrāniyya ("The Luminous Brilliance")

• ADD = a work on the Divine Names  (see Fahd, op. cit., 237 f.).

al-Makkī,  Sayyid `Alī (d. 1888).

al-Istighathaha

• Igathath fi ḥall alfaẓ al-Istighathah

• Ighātha al-malhūfīn min al-ummah al-Muhammadiyya fi ḥall alfaẓ al-Istighātha al-Būnīya, ed.  Shaykh Muhammad  Jaljal al-Qalyūbī + Shaykh Muhammad Ahmad al-Shaybani [?].  Cairo: al-Azhar al-Sharif., 1325/1907 (224pp.). Book completed for printing 4th Rabī` al-Thānī 1325 = 17th May 1907.

هذا مجموع لطيف يشتمل على دعوة الجلجلوتية وشرحها ودعوة الدمياطية وشرحها ودعوة البرهتية وشرحها بالتمام.

• Hādhā majmūʻ laṭīf yashtamilu ʻalá Daʻwat al-Juljulūtīyah wa-sharḥihā wa-Daʻwat al-Dimyāṭīyah wa-sharḥihā wa-Daʻwat al-Burhatīyah wa-sharḥihā bi-al-tamām. [Cairo?] : Maṭbaʻat al-Bayān, 1316/1898-9. Copy in University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, WA 98195 USA.

Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma:

منبع أصول الحكمة

 . : المشتمل على اربع رسائل مهمة في  من العلوم الحرفية والوفقية والدعوات والاقسام وغير ذلك:

• الاصوا والضوابط المحكمة،   1
• 2. بغية المشتاق في معرفة وضع الاوفاق،
• 3. شرح البرهتيه، المعروف بشرح : (لعهد القديم)،
• 4. شرح الجلجلوتية الكبرى

Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma: al-mushtamil ʿalá arbaʿ rasāʾil muhimmah fī uṣūl al-ʿulūm al-ḥikmīyah wa'l-waqfīyah wa'l-daʻawāt wa'l-aqsām wa-ghayr dhālika...

Frequently printed in 20th century, this compilation contains four works of al-Buni to which two other short works of other writers are often appended (see below):

• Manbaʻ uṣūl al-ḥikmah : al-mushtamil ʻalá arbaʻ rasāʼil muhimmah fī uṣūl al-ʻulūm al-ḥikmīyah, min al-ʻulūm al-ḥarfīyah wa'l-wifqīyah wa'l-daʻawāt wa-al-aqsām wa-ghayr dhālika:
• 1. al-Uṣū wa-al-ḍawābiṭ al-muḥkama,
• 2. Bughyat al-mushtāq fī maʻrifat waḍʻ al-awfāq,
• 3. Sharḥ al-Birhatiyh, al-maʻrūf bi-sharḥ: (al-ʻAhd al-Qadīm),
• 4. Sharḥ al-Jaljalūtīyah al-kubrá
• [1]  الاصول العلوم الحكمية - al-Uṣūl wa'l-ḍawā'biṭ al-muḥkama (pp.5-55)
• [2] بغية المشتاق في معرفة وضع الاوفاق، - Bughyat al-mushtāq fī ma`rifat waḍ` al-awfāq (pp.56-66).
• [3] شرح البرهتيه، المعروف بشرح - Sharḥ al-birhatiyya al-ma`rūf bi-sharḥ al-`ahd al-qadīm(pp.67-90)
• [4] شرح الجلجلوتية الكبرى - Sharḥ al-Jaljalūtiyya al-kubrā (pp.91-325)

Muhammad al-Shāfi'ī al-Khalwatī al-Ḥanafī (d. ADD/ADD).

• [5] al-Sirr al-maẓrūf fī ՝ilm basṭ al-ḥurūf ,  1370/1951 (pp.2-25)

'Alî  ibn Muhammad al-Ṭandatā'ī al-Qārī (d. ADD/ADD).

• [6] al-Durra al-bahiyya fī jawāmi' al-asrār al-rūḥāniyya, 1370/1951 (pp.27-30).

SELECT PRINTINGS

• Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma... Cairo: Muṣṭafā al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī wa-awlādihi., 1370/1951. 
• Manbaʻ uṣūl al-ḥikmah al-mushtamil ʻalá arbaʻ rasāʼil muhimmah fī uṣūl al-ʻulūm al-ḥikmīyah min al-ʻulūm al-ḥarfīyah wa-al-wifqīyah wa-al-daʻawāt wa-al-aqsām wa-ghayr dhālik. ed. Muḥammad al-Shāfiʻī Khalwaṭī and ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad Ṭandatāʼī.  Cairo: Muṣṭafá al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī wa-awlādihi, 1370/1951.
• Manbaʿ uṣūl al-ḥikmah : al-mushtamil ʿalá arbaʿ rasāʾil muhimmah fī uṣūl al-ʿulūm al-ḥikmīyah, min al-ʿulūm al-ḥarfīyah wa-al-wafqīyah wa-al-daʿwāt wa-al-aqsām wa-ghayr dhālika ... Dihlī : Maktabah Ishāʻat al-Islām, XXXX/ 198? .
• Manba` uṣūl al-hikma mushtamal `ala arba` rasa'il muhimma fi usul al-`ulum al-hikma... Imam al-Kabir wa'l-Hikmat al-Shahir Abu `Abbas Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Buni, Beirut: al-Maktabat al-Thaqafiyya, n. d. [199?].
• Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma... Beirut: Maktabat al-Qahira, n.d.  c. 1398/1998.  335pp. +31+1pp.
• Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma... Beirut: Maktabat al-Thaqafiyya, n.d.  c. 1398/1998.  335pp. +31+1pp.
• Manba` uṣūl al-ḥikma... Beirut: Mu'assat al-Nūr li'l-Maṭbū'āt al-Thaqafiyya, / al-Nur Library, 1420/2000.

‏

اللؤلؤ المنظوم في الطلاسم والنجوم ‏

al-Luʼluʼ al-manẓūm...

"The well-ordered Pearls respecting the Talismans of the Stars".

• al-Luʼluʼ al-manẓūm fī al-ṭalāsim wa-al-nujūm. Miṣr : al-Maṭbaʻah wa-al-Maktabah al-Saʻīdīyah, [1910?]. Copy in Yale Univ. Library.

الكشف  في علم الحرف :  ويليه اصول علم الحرف وضوابط الافاق للحكيم سقراط

The Unveiling of the knowledge of the Letter(s) : regarding the bases of the science of the Letter(s) and the computations of the Horizons for  Ḥakīm Suqrāṭ.                         

• al-Kashf fī ʻilm al-ḥarf : wa-yalīhi uṣūl ʻilm al-ḥarf wa-ḍawābiṭ al-āfāq lil-Ḥakīm Suqrāṭ. Beirut: Muʼassasat al-Nūr lil-Maṭbūʻāt, 2004. 246 pages.

  حجاكتاب مختصر اللمعة النورانية 

The Choice book of the Luminous Gleaming ...

• Kitāb Mukhtaṣar al-Lumʻah al-nūrāniyya. Copy in Princeton Univ. Library, USA.
•  

حجاب عظيم

• Ḥijāb ʻaẓīm ("A Mighty Veil").  Archival Material Language: Arabic Publication. Listed in World Cat.  in   Robert Garrett Collection, 200 B.C.-1900s within Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544 USA.

Muḥyī al Dīn Aḥmad b. `Alī al Būnī (d. 622 /1225).

• URL
• ADD /BIBLIOGRAPHY-HYP/011C-GHAYB/al-Buni.htm

Select Secondary sources on Ahmad ibn `Ali  al-Būnī and his writings.

 Ahrens, W.

• Die "magischen Quadrate" Al-Būnī's, in Is!., xii (1922), 157-77.
• Die "magischen Quadrate" Al-Būnī's, in Is!., xiv (1925), 104-10.

Bergsträsser, G.

• Zu den magischen Quadraten, in ibid., xiii (1923), 227-35.

E. Doutte,

• Magie et religion dans l'Afrique du Nord, Algiers 1909.

Dietrich, A.

`al-Būnī  in EI2 [Supp. = ] vol. 12 pp. 156-7. A rather dismissive article.

Fahd, Toufic.

• Le Divination Arabe. Leiden:        1966.see pp.230-3.

Francis IV, Edgar Walter,

• Islamic symbols and Sufi rituals for protection and healing : religion and magic in the writings of Ahmad ibn Ali al-Buni (d. 622/1225). Ph. D. thesis University of California, Los Angeles 2005. xvii, 258 pages.

Gawhary, Mohamed M.,

• Die Gottesnamen im magischen Gebrauch in den al-Buni zugeschriebenen Werken. Bonn, 1968. 363, [2] pp. Inaug. Diss.

Pielow, Dorothee Anna Maria

• Die Quellen der Weisheit : die arabische Magie im Spiegel des Uṣūl al-Hikma von Ahmad `Ali al-Buni. (= Arabistische Texte und Studien ; 8). Hildesheim ; New York : Georg Olms Verlag, 1995.    [2], 207, [3]pp. 

Ruska, Julius,

• `Article'  ADD HERE in Isi.. xxii (19340, 307-10 . 

Ruska "deserves the credit for having drawn attention to the abstruse chapter on alchemy in the Shams and its sources; since this chapter fits somewhat unnaturally in the work, it may indeed have been added by a later author who was familiar with al-Rāzī՝s Kitāb al-Asrar (cf. Isi.. xxii [1934]. 307-10 .

Vajda, Georges.

• `Sur quelques elements juifs et pseudo-juifs dans l'encyclopédie magique de Bûnî. in Goldziher Mémorial Volume, 1, (Budapest 1948). 387-92.

"Vajda has pointed to Jewish and pseudo-Jewish elements in the Shams al-ma'anf, especially with regard to the names of God, the angels the idea of thakūfa (from Hebrew teķūfā, something like "quarter of a year'՝ and several other derived meanings): Sur quelques elements juifs et pseudo-juifs dans l'encyclopédie magique de Bûnî. in Goldziher Mémorial Volume, 1, Budapest 1948. 387-92." (EI2 XII:156).

Winkler, H.

• Siegel und Charaktere in der Muhammedanischen Zauberei (Berlin-Leipzig, Walter de Gruyter, 1930) On pages 67-80 there is a German translation of materials from al-Buni pertaining to the Talisman of the seven seals and the Mightiest Name of God.

Witkam, Jan Just.

•  `Gazing at the Sun, Remarks on the Egyptian Magician al-Būnī and His Work',  in O ye Gentlemen Arabic Studies on Science and Literary Culture In Honour of Remke Kruk,  Ed.  Arnoud Vrolijk and Jan P. Hogendijk,  Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2007, pp. 183-199.