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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 1980s-2018 - last revised 30-12-2020

 ‫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of his often complex work remains unedited, unstudiedand unpublished, save for a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, El2 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 the (letter) “h” (“hā’” =‫ ) ه‬of 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 blind, truncated (letter) =  ‫“ م‬M” ( (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’” = ‫ ) ھ‬which is cleft in twain!
And by the Mighty (letter) = ‫ و‬൦ “W” (al-wāw al-mu`aẓẓam)!
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] ‫ =ف‬fā’ (= 80) 
[2] = ‫ ج‬jīm (= 3)
[3] ‫ = س‬sīn (= 60)
[4] ‫ = ت‬tā’ (= 400)
[5] ‫ = ط‬ṭā’ (= 9)
[6] ‫ = ح‬ḥā’ (= 8)
[7] ‫ =ز‬zā’ ( = 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.
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
 . : ‫ من العلوم الحرفية والوفقية والدعوات واالقسام وغير ذلك‬ ‫المشتمل على اربع رسائل مهمة في‬:
1   ،‫االصوا والضوابط المحكمة‬
2. ‫بغية المشتاق في معرفة وضع االوفاق‬،
3. )‫ (لعهد القديم‬: ‫ المعروف بشرح‬،‫شرح البرهتيه‬،
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]  ‫ االصول العلوم الحكمية‬- al-Uṣūl wa'l-ḍawā'biṭ al-muḥkama (pp.5-55)
[2] ‫بغية المشتاق في معرفة وضع االوفاق‬، - Bughyat al-mushtāq fī ma`rifat waḍ` al-awfāq (pp.56-
66)
[3] ‫ المعروف بشرح‬،‫ شرح البرهتيه‬- 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 الطالسم 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.
‫ ويليه اصول علم الحرف وضوابط االفاق للحكيم سقراط‬ : ‫ في علم الحرف‬ ‫الكشف‬

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.
 

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