Kitab Hall ar-Rumuz / Book of the Explanation of Symbols

220 Pages·2003·42.97 MB·English

by  Muhammad Ibn Umail

Book of the Explanation of the Symbols
by
M uhammad Ibn Um ail
Corpus Alchemïcum Arabicum
Volume I
(CALA I)
Edited by Theodor Abt and Wilferd Madelung
Living H uman Heritage Publications, Zurich
Studies from the
R esearch and Training C entre
for D epth Psychology
According to C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz
Book of the Explanation of the Symbols
Kitab Hall ar-Rumuz
by
Muhammad Ibn Umail
Edited by
Theodor Abt, Wilferd Madelung
and Thomas Hofmeier
Translated by
Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt
Living H uman H eritage Publications, Z urich
2003
First edition 2003
Living Human Heritage Publications,
Münsterhof 16, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland
[email protected]
www.livinghumanheritage.org
ISBN 3-9522608-1-9
Copyright © 2003 by Theodor Abt
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
Layout: Daniel DalTAgnolo, Bern
Printed in Germany by
Strauß Offsetdruck, D-69509 Mörlenbach
Content
Foreword VII
Introduction XI
1. The Corpus Alchymicum Arabicum (CALA) XI
2. Muhammad Ibn Umail and his significance for our time XII
3. The Hall ar-rumüz — as ynoptic view XV
4. The edition XVI
5. The translation XVIII
Overview of the manuscripts of the Hall ar-rumüz
Book of the Explanation of the Symbols by Muhammad Ibn Umail
Text in Arabic and English 1
Facsimiles of the four manuscripts
First pages of Mss D, A, B 107
Full reproduction of Ms G 111
Text endings of the manuscripts A and B
Edition and translation 133
Text ending of manuscript G
Facsimile and translation 141
Apparatus 171
Bibliography 173
Index of names 175
General index 177

Foreword
The origin of this edition goes back to the time before the second World
War, when C.G. Jung asked Marie-Louise von Franz to translate and edit the
Aurora consurgens, an alchemical text attributed to Thomas Aquinas. This
book appeared in 1957 as volume III of C.G. Jung’s Mysterium coniunctionis.'
In this text, Muhammad Ibn Umail — in Latin called Senior — is the most
frequently quoted authority. These quotations come from a text of Senior that
circulated under the short title Tabula chemica (Chemical tablet). In the course
of her work on the Aurora consurgens M.-L. von Franz came across the Arabic
original of this text, the Kitäb al-McT al-waraqi wa-l-ard an-nagmiya (Book
of the silvery water and starry earth). This book is an extensive commentary
of Ibn Umail on his own alchemical poem Risälat as-sams ilä l-hiläl (Epistle
of the sun to the crescent moon). The text was edited by M. Turâb ‘AIT, H.E.
Stapleton and M. Hidäyat and published in Calcutta in 1933.2 The Arabic text
was not translated into English. Only the incomplete Latin translation was
published along with the Arabic text. The Kitäb ai-Mä1 al-waraqi is, to our
knowledge, the only book by Ibn Umail that has partly been translated into
Latin. It is considered to be one of the most explicit sources for the spiritual
dimension of Arabic alchemy as can be seen from the quotations in the Aurora
consurgens.
In his publication H.E. Stapleton mentions some manuscripts of Ibn
Umail in the Asafrya Library in Hyderabad (India). These manuscripts greatly
aroused the interest of M.-L. von Franz. But her requests for a copy remained
unanswered, as did those of C.G. Jung later. It was only in the early 70s that
the thread could be taken up again. Finally, in 1986, thanks to the efforts of Dr.
Yusuf Hamied from Bombay, an old family friend, I was able to obtain a copy
and soon later a very rough translation of some manuscripts from Hyderabad,
among them Ibn Umail’s Hall ar-rumüz. But the translation was done with
very little knowledge of the spiritual dimension of alchemy and thus did not
make much sense. Therefore, in order to be able to follow a translation myself,
I had to learn the Arabic language.
In 1987/88 Salwa Fuad, Cairo, and myself made a first translation of the
Hall ar-rumüz and handed it over to M.-L. von Franz. This translation was
done without the necessary knowledge of other texts written by Ibn Umail.
Then followed the interpretation of the text by Dr. von Franz. The Hall ar-
rumüz turned out to be a synoptic view of Ibn Umail’s earlier Kitäb al-Mä1
al-waraqi wa-l-ard an-nagmiya, the book from which the quotations in the
Aurora consurgens originated. However one finds in this Hall ar-rumüz from
Hyderabad a quotation from Husain ibn All ibn Muhammad at-Tugrâ’ï, an
alchemist who lived later than Ibn Umail in the 12th century. This put in
doubt whether our text really was written by Ibn Umail and forced us to find
1 M.-L. von Franz, Aurora consurgens. 1966.
2 Fl.E. Stapleton, Muhammad Bin Unmil, 1933.
VIII Foreword
more manuscripts of the same text. Fortunate circumstances made it possible
to obtain a second manuscript in Tehran that showed that about two thirds
of the manuscript from Hyderabad really belonged to the Hall ar-rumüz
written by Ibn Umail. The rest of the text which also includes the quotation
from at-TugräT could so far not be attributed to an author. M.-L. von Franz
encouraged the edition of the Arabic text according to scientific standards and
also extensive additional research. In 1998 a further manuscript of the Hall
ar-rumüz was found in Meshhed, Iran. It cleared up different problems of
understanding which we had encountered in the text of the other manuscripts.
The translation of other texts by Ibn Umail and texts quoted by him facilitated
an improved translation step by step. The study of the literature and direct
contacts with experts in the field contributed to furthering our understanding.
We all experienced what has been stated so often in research: one should know
in the beginning what one learns in the course of a research project.
As M.-L. von Franz was unable to edit this book because of her serious
illness, she entrusted me with the responsibility for editing the text and revising
the interpretation. My search for further manuscripts and their translation,
the preparation of this edition as well as a revised commentary of the text
became very time-consuming and had to be done besides full professional
engagement in other fields. For that reason the first translation of 1988 with
some amelioration from 1994 together with the commentary of Marie-Louise
von Franz was completed after her death in 1998 and — in accordance with
the wish of many people — privately published in 1999. In order to preclude
any premature scientific discussion of Ibn Umail’s work and its meaning,
this edition was for private use only. Monika Malamud kindly undertook
the demanding task of editing the typescript done by Dr. Barbara Davis and
ensuring that the private edition finally came out, while I was abroad. This first
commentary by M.-L. von Franz will appear in a following volume, together
with a revised commentary that is also based on the knowledge of Ibn Umail’s
other works.
Meanwhile a fourth manuscript was found, thanks to the efforts of
Professor Wilferd Madelung, Oxford. In this text, we found the introduction to
the Hall ar-rumüz, which further clarified the explanation of symbols in a most
surprising way.
It is a great honour and we are grateful that Professor W. Madelung
was prepared to collate the four manuscripts, edit the final text and correct
the translation. It is also most valuable that he is ready to coedit further
manuscripts of Arabic alchemy. Lie. phil. Thomas Hofmeier, Basel, co-edited
the text and accompanied with great care the final layout of the edition done by
Daniel DalT Agnolo, Bern. Nikola Patzel and Sabine Mayer-Patzel were also
helpful in many ways in respect to the good outcome of this publication.
Furthermore I wish to express my gratitude for important encouraging
support at the beginning of this enterprise to the late Laurens van der Post, my
Arabic teacher Dr. Paul Suter as well as to Ambassador André von Graffenried,
Ambassador Timotheus Guldimann and Jürg Waldburger t, all working in
the late 80s at the Swiss Embassy in Cairo, Dr. Karan Singh, Delhi, Kusum
Prabuh, Bangalore and Nandini Rao, Hyderabad. I am also most grateful to the
Foreword IX
Swiss Institute for Archeological and Architectural Research of Ancient Egypt
in Cairo (Director Dr. Horst Jaritz). It supported the project during all these
years logistically. I wish also to express my gratitude to Dr. Ahmed El-Tayyeb,
the Mufti of Egypt, for many inspiring talks on Islam and this project since its
beginning.
The support of Professor Fuat Sezgin, Director of the Institute for the
History of Arabic-Islamic Science, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University,
Frankfurt, since 1988 was an important encouragement all along the whole
enterprise, for which I am very grateful. A thank you goes also to Dr. Eckhard
Neubauer of the same institute for a final reading of this book.
Foremost of all I am grateful to Dr. Marie-Louise von Franz who initiated
and supported this enterprise till the end of her days. The funds of the Marie-
Louise von Franz Foundation, Zurich, contributed financially to this project
and allowed this edition to be published.
Zurich, spring 2003 Theodor Abt