Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024): 51-141 Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? Three Lot Books (Qurʿas) from the Library of Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī Kristof D’hulster Humboldt Fellow, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (kristof.dhulster@ugent.be) Abstract This article deals with a collection of three divinatory lot books (qurʿas) that were once owned by Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī, an early tenth/sixteenth-century governor of Mamluk Damascus: Qurʿat al-Imām Jaʿfar, Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj, and al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya. Beginning with a transcription and translation of their introductions and some samples of their main texts, I analyze the books’ divinatory technique and show it to be a combination of choice and chance, the latter generated either through a muqāraʿa or through a khaṭṭ procedure. I lay bare the mechanics that inform the seemingly haphazard arrangement of the 3,856 divinations included in the books, identify the books’ sources as either Quranic or (Perso-)Indic astrology, and conclude with a discussion of the historicity of the various user strategies, based on supplementary manuscript evidence. In the appendix, I provide a full transcription and translation of the first lot book, with instructions for making one’s own divinatory device. People have always wanted to know what the future holds. Some of the most popular divinatory techniques today include natal and weekly horoscopes, tarot cards, pendulums, tasseography, scrying, and palmistry. Since people in the past probably considered their fates much more sealed than we do nowadays,1 they must have been no less keen than we are to know what those fates might be. Indeed, they turned to techniques such as astrology, bibliomancy, geomancy, hydromancy, oneiromancy, onomancy, ornithomancy, physiognomy, and scapilumancy, and they sought to manipulate their futures through alchemy and magical bowls, spells, letters, and shirts. In spite of Ibn Khaldūn’s staunch anti- occult stance, the Mamluks proved no exception, gazing at the stars, visiting geomancers, dissolving spells in their beverages, and donning densely written-on shirts.2 1. This is admittedly a rather bold statement. More prudently, one could also say that people in the past may have considered their fates much more concealed—rather than sealed—than we do nowadays. Today, much of what used to be concealed is no longer or less so today: the gender and chances of survival of an unborn child, the likelihood of rainfall or inflation, information about a loved one abroad, the effectiveness of a drug, etc. 2. Recent research on the Mamluk occult has addressed the fields of astrology (Fien De Block), geomancy © 2024 Kristof D’hulster. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License, which allows users to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the original authors and source. mailto:kristof.dhulster%40ugent.be?subject= 52 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) In two previous publications, I have explored how people in the Mamluk period armed themselves against snake and scorpion bites and how they chose an optimal seating position at a majlis.3 Adding another chapter to my exploration of the Mamluk occult, I now turn my attention to divination through sortilege or lot casting—that is, the interpretation of results produced by chance.4 Often, the casting of lots (qurʿa) took the specific form of fāl, or bibliomancy, be it with the Quran, with al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ, with Ḥāfiẓ’s divan, or with specifically designed lot books. The manuscript under scrutiny here—a splendid volume of 138 folios currently kept at the Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi (MS Ayasofya 1999)— falls into the latter category, containing three such lot books.5 *** The manuscript opens on fol. 1 with an ex libris: “Of the eminent, lofty, and lordly library of the guardian of the well-protected Syrian domains, Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī, may God render his triumph victorious” (bi-rasm al-khizāna al-karīmiyya al-ʿāliyya al-mawlawiyya [. . .] kāfil al-mamlaka al-shāmiyya al-maḥrūsa Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī aʿazza Allāh naṣrahu; see Fig. 1). The colophon (fol. 138r) teaches us that the copy was made “in the beginning of the month of Muḥarram 907 [August 1501] by the one in need of the mercy of God, exalted is He above all, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Muḥammadī al-Jaʿfarī al-Ḥanbalī (fī mustahall shahr Allāh al-Muḥarram al-ḥarām mufattiḥ shuhūr sanat sabʿ wa-tisʿ mīya ʿalā (Matthew Melvin-Koushki), lettrism (Noah Gardiner), magical amulets and talismans (Jean-Charles Coulon), magical shirts (Yasmine Alsaleh), magical squares (Bink Hallum), and oneiromancy (Yehoshua Frenkel), to name but a few. The occult beyond the Mamluk sultanate has been explored by scholars such as Delia Cortese, Lucia Raggetti, Anne Regourd, Liana Saif, and Petra G. Schmidl. For the specific topic of predictions in Mamluk chronicles, see A. Mazor, “The Topos of Predicting the Future in Early Mamlūk Historiography,” in Mamluk Historiography Revisited: Narratological Perspectives, ed. S. Conermann and B. J. Walker, 103–19 (Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2018). 3. See K. D’hulster, “The Venom Is in the Tail: A Latin (?) Magical Formula against Stings and Bites in a Mamluk Manuscript (Ayasofya 1443)” and idem, “The Art of Picking the Best Seat: From Vedic Vāstu Śāstra to Seating Positions at a Muslim Majlis (Ayasofya 2836).” See also idem, Browsing through the Sultan’s Bookshelves: Towards a Reconstruction of the Library of the Mamluk Sultan Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī (r. 906–922/1501–1516) (Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2021), 131–32, 138–43; and idem and N. Löhr, “(Mis)reading the Stars at the Mamluk Court: The Horoscope (Zāyirja) of al-Ẓāhir Qāniṣawh (r. 1498–1500),” forthcoming. 4. See T. Fahd, La divination arabe: Études religieuses, sociologiques et folkloriques sur le milieu natif de l’Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1966), 214–19 (calling it rhapsodomancy rather than sortilege or bibliomancy); idem, “Ḳurʿa,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., ed. P. J. Bearman et al., 5:398–99 (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004); E. Savage- Smith, ed., Magic and Divination in Early Islam (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004), xxxiii–xxxv; P. G. Schmidl, “Medieval Traditions of Prognostication in the Islamic World,” in Prognostication in the Medieval World, ed. M. Heiduk et al., 1:189–242 (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021), at 217–18. 5. All three lot books are briefly referenced in Fahd, La divination arabe, 216–17; Savage-Smith, Magic and Divination, xxxiv and n. 88. For the second and third books, see P. Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol’: Eine Nachlese,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 118 (1968): 297–314; and idem, “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 134 (1984): 280–85. Unfortunately, I was not able to access the Heidelberg dissertation in relation to which Kunitzsch wrote his excellent 1968 article: B. F. Lutz, “Das Buch ‘Alfadol’: Untersuchung und Ausgabe nach der Wiener Handschrift 2804” (PhD diss., Heidelberg University, 1967). As such, it remains unclear whether this dissertation contains a detailed analysis of how to operate the qurʿa in its Latin or German translation. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 53 yad faqīr ʿafw Allāh taʿālā A ḥ m a d b . M u ḥ a m m a d b. Muḥammad al-Jaʿfarī al-Ḥanbalī).6 In view of the name, the location, and the year,7 there can be no doubt about the previous owner of this precious manuscript: Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī (d. 910/1504–5), also known as Qāniṣawh al-Burjī, who passed away while serving as governor of Damascus. He was initially interred in Damascus, but a few months later his corpse was taken to Cairo to be buried a second time in the family tomb built by one of his brothers, Khāʾir Beg, who would become the first governor of Ottoman Egypt.8 The tenth/sixteenth- century Aleppan prosopo- grafist Ibn al-Ḥanbalī was personally acquainted with Qāniṣawh al-Burjī ’s son Maḥmūd b. Qāniṣawh b. Mālbāy (sic?) al-Muḥammadī al-Malikī al-Muẓaffarī, and 6. Here and in the following, the texts are transcribed faithfully from the manuscript, including missing and superfluous diacritics. Vowels and other orthographic signs are retained in the transcription only in those cases where they may be relevant. 7. The year is 907/1501, not 700/1300–1301, as Kunitzsch supposed (“Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 300). Since he worked with a partial copy that did not include the colophon, he took the date from Fahd (La divination arabe, 216, n. 4), who gave the date as sabʿ mīya instead of sabʿ wa-tisʿ mīya. 8. See, among others, Ibn Iyās, Badāʾiʿ al-zuhūr fī waqāʾiʿ al-duhūr, ed. P. Kahle, M. Muṣṭafā, and M. Sobernheim (Istanbul: Maṭbaʿat al-Dawla, 1931), 4:66; Ibn Iyās, Badāʾiʿ al-zuhūr fī waqāʾiʿ al-duhūr, ed. M. Muṣṭafā (Cairo: Dār Iḥyā al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyya, 1961), 5:204 (footnote); Ibn Ṭūlūn, Iʿlām al-warā bi-man waliya nāʾiban min al-Atrāk bi-Dimashq al-Shām al-Kubrā, ed. ʿA. Ḥāmid Khaṭṭāb (ʿAyn Shams: Maṭbaʿat Jāmiʿat ʿAyn Shams, 1973), 2:144–78; idem, Mufākahat al-ḥillān fī ḥawādith al-zamān, ed. Kh. al-Manṣūr (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1998), 224. Fig. 1. Ex libris (Ayasofya 1999, fol. 1v) 54 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) he consequently devoted to the latter a fairly extensive entry in his Durr al-ḥabab, which provides a fascinating read.9 Successfully fording the Mamluk-Ottoman transition, Maḥmūd made his career in the Ottoman system. He lived for some time in Istanbul, where he studied with Ibn Kemāl Paşa and dedicated poetry to Sultan Süleyman. Back in Syria, he met with Grand Vizier İbrāhīm Paşa and was present at the Ottoman conquest of Tabriz. Whenever he passed Aleppo, he paid his childhood friend Ibn al-Ḥanbalī a visit, thus allowing the latter to regularly update his entry in the Durr al-ḥabab. Interestingly, Maḥmūd claimed that Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī had poisoned his father in order to seize his money. The Banū Mālbāy— Qāniṣawh, governor of Mamluk Damascus; Khāʾir Beg, governor of Mamluk Aleppo and after 1517 governor of Ottoman Egypt; at least two more brothers; and Maḥmūd b. Qāniṣawh— would make a fine topic for future research. As for the copyist, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Jaʿfarī al-Ḥanbalī, al-Ghazzī devoted an entry to him in his al-Kawākib al-sāʾira.10 He was born around 863/1459 and passed away in 940/1533–34, having spent his life in Damascus. He copied works by one of his masters, Shaykh al-Bārizī, and was said to be “distinguished in Damascus by his excellent handwriting and his perfect execution of the profession of faith [in writing]” (infarada bi-Dimashq bi-jūdat al-kitāba wa-itqān ṣanʿat al-shahāda), a claim easily confirmed by the present manuscript. Given his excellent hand, more of his work is bound to turn up sooner or later. *** The three texts bound in MS Ayasofya 1999, all owned by Governor Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī and copied by Aḥmad al-Jaʿfarī’s expert hand, are works of bibliomancy (fāl)—that is, books used for divination by way of casting lots (qurʿa). Such works come in two types. First, there are books that were used for bibliomantic purposes without being specifically designed to that end, such as the Quran, al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ, or Ḥāfiẓ’s divan in the Islamic world and the Bible or Virgil in the West. The method of using such a book as a divinatory tool is straightforward. When you have a question or concern—for example, “Will I be happy?”—you either open the book at random or balance it on its spine, thus allowing it to fall open on an arbitrary page. You then read the answer to your question either in the verse or passage that first catches your eye or in one that you pick with your eyes closed. Although the procedure itself is simple, it is clear that a great deal of interpretation may be required to make sense of the divining verse, and the surrounding verses can be read as an additional commentary. The second type comprises purposefully designed lot books, which 9. Ibn al-Ḥanbalī, Durr al-ḥabab fī tārīkh aʿyān Ḥalab, ed. M. Aḥmad al-Fākhūrī and Y. Zakariyyā ʿAbbāra (Damascus: Manshūrāt Wizārat al-Thaqāfa, 1973), 2:449–51. 10. Al-Ghazzī, al-Kawākib al-sāʾira bi-aʿyān al-miʾa al-ʿāshira, ed. Kh. al-Manṣūr (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1997), 2:102. Further references, which add little to the Kawākib, include Ibn Ṭūlūn, Iʿlām al-warā, 2:223; Ibn al-ʿImād, Shadharāt al-dhahab fī akhbār man dhahab, ed. ʿA. al-Arnāʾūṭ and M. al-Arnāʾūṭ (Damascus: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 1993), 10:337; Muḥammad Kamāl al-Dīn b. Muḥammad al-Ghazzī, al-Naʿt al-akmal li-aṣḥāb al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ed. M. Muṭīʿ al-Ḥāfiẓ (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1982), 107; and Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Najdī, al-Suḥub al-wābila ʿalā ḍarāʾiḥ al-Ḥanābila (n.p.: Maktabat al-Imām Aḥmad, n.d.), 97. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 55 come with more complicated instructions but allow for much easier interpretation. You pick a topic of concern out of a list provided in the beginning of the book— for example, “Will I be rich?”—and then generate a chance number by way of an explicated procedure. This number leads you to a carefully spelled-out divination in the book that is geared specifically to the topic at hand. The three qurʿas under scrutiny belong to this second type. They provide (20 × 20) + (12 × 12 × 12) + (12 × 12 × 12) answers for 20 + (12 × 12) + (12 × 12) topics of concern11—that is, a total of 3,856 answers on a total of 308 topics—and they are based on two distinct chance operations. This pool of 3,856 answers constitutes a large and fascinating stock of concerns, wishes, and anxieties, of both the questions one may have and the answers one hopes or fears the most. It is tempting to read this stock against the backdrop of the manuscript’s historical context and to think of it as a window on the mindset of Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī or the early tenth/sixteenth-century Damascene or Mamluk elite in general. This approach, however, is unwarranted. Parallel manuscripts show that the three lot books had been around for centuries by the early 1500s—the oldest copies (in Latin translation) date back as far as the sixth/twelfth century—and neither the list of topics nor the divinations were ever significantly updated or adapted to changing contexts, let alone to the idiosyncrasies of the manuscripts’ coincidental owners. In short, the texts shed light on Qāniṣawh’s mindset only to the extent that they shed light on the human condition in general and throughout the ages. While divination often involves engaging a professional such as a geomancer, an oneiromancer, or a palm reader, these three qurʿas are explicitly framed as self-help or DIY books. Their instructions, which are often phrased in the second person, guide readers through the procedure step by step, from identifying the topic of concern through generating a chance number up to locating the correct divination. In fact, in the introduction to a parallel manuscript of one of the works,12 this DIY format is explicitly described as an asset, for it allows Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd to seek a divination without having to disclose his particular concern to anyone. Nagging doubts over relatives’ loyalty or paralyzing fear in the face of an impending battle are not things that rulers would want to air in public. In sum, the three qurʿas included in MS Ayasofya 1999 were deliberately designed for self-directed divination, and they reflect universal concerns rather than the coincidental historical context in which this particular copy was penned. Consequently, this article focuses on bringing to light the inner workings of these premodern occult books, describing their use in practice, and reconstructing their fundamental logics. Starting with a careful transcription, translation, and analysis of their introductions, tables of contents, and illustrative samples from their texts, I unpack the often abstruse DIY instructions, detail the two different chance operations involved, and identify four distinct user strategies. In doing so, I lay bare the mechanism that underpins the seemingly haphazard order of divinations. 11. Twelve and twenty are such “potent” numbers that they sometimes even have their own special names, as in English (twelve is a “dozen,” twenty is a “score,” and 144 is a “gross”). Popular dodecads are numerous: signs of the zodiac, apostles, Shii imams, etc. 12. MS Ayasofya 2658/2, discussed below (especially footnote 29). 56 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) By way of conclusion, I consider the historicity of the four user strategies and the nature of chance. A full transcription and translation of the first qurʿa is given in the appendix to this article to provide interested readers with hands-on experience in using a bibliomantic work. I employ the following abbreviations: c(hance number); h(ouse); l(ine); Q(uran); s(ection); and t(opic). (1) Ayasofya 1999/1: Qurʿat al-Imām Jaʿfar (fols. 2r–18v) The title page on fol. 2r (Fig. 2) reads “The qurʿa of Imam Jaʿfar, who is the revered imam and sayyid Jaʿfar, son of the great imam and sayyid Muḥammad al-Bāqir and descendant of the revered, brave, and t r i u m p h a n t i m a m a n d commander of the faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him” (Qurʿat al-imām Jaʿfar, wa-huwa al-imām al-sayyid al-jalīl Jaʿfar b. al-imām al-sayyid al-kabīr Muḥammad al-Bāqir b. al-imām al-jalīl al-baṭl al-ghālib amīr al-muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib raḍiya Allāh ʿanhu). As the sixth Shii imam, Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 148/765), was not in fact the grandson of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the second ibn (unlike the first one) clearly stands for “descendant” instead of “son.” Many occult writings are ascribed to the second/ eighth-century imam, and it is not surprising that the present manuscript does not help settle the question of his alleged authorship of this and similar works. Even in terms Fig. 2. The title page of the first qurʿa (Ayasofya 1999/1, fol. 2r) Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 57 of qurʿas alone, multiple texts are ascribed to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Perhaps the most popular Jaʿfarian qurʿa format—found, for example, in a 1992 edition—involves drawing a square on the ground, labeling the sides alif, bāʾ, jīm, and dāl, throwing a stick on the square three times, taking note of the side of the square on which the stick falls, and then looking up the resulting three-letter combination (jīm-alif-bāʾ, dāl-dāl-alif, etc.) in the lot book.13 A second Jaʿfarian qurʿa format, recorded in Iran, involves rolling a die inscribed with the same abjad letters three times, while a third format, recorded in Indonesia, relies on a geomantic figure formed by a bunch of pebbles grabbed in one’s hand.14 Unsurprisingly, manuscripts of Jaʿfarian qurʿas are fairly common. The French Bibliothèque nationale, for example, houses at least five copies. Unlike Jaʿfarian qurʿas in general, however, the qurʿa format discussed here appears to be rather rare. Thus far, I have been able to identify only one parallel: MS Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 2639/6.15 However, it goes without saying that there must be many more that remain undiscovered.16 A nondescript basmala and naʿt are followed by a brief introduction (fols. 2v–3r) detailing the legitimacy of the qurʿa procedure, its alleged author, and its source: امــا بعــد فــان أويل االشــيآء ابلتفــاول التفــاوُل بكتــاب هللا عــز وجــل الــذي نطــق ابحلــق وإن رســول هللا صلــي هلل عليــه وســلم كان حيــب الفــال ويكــره الــِطَريَة وان مــوالان اإلمــام جعفــر الصــادق رضــي هللا عنــه مل يــدع شــيئا مــن غوامــض العلــوم اال اظهــره وال مرمــوزا إال اشــهره وال غريبــا إال نشــره فوضــع هــذه الُقرَعــة علــي نــوازع القــران فمــن اراد شــيا مــن أمــورك كآينــا او غَري كآيــن فاَقَــراء مــا حتــت الدآيــرة الصــغَرية اليت هــي عشــرون اباب كل ابب منهــا يــدل علــي نــوع مــن انــواع احلاجــات وهــى امحــد الُقــرَع وأصحهــا واحســنها وأصدَقهــا الن شــواهدها ودآليلها من القرآن العظيم واِبزآء كل ابب سورة من سور القرآن العزىز Now, the worthiest form of bibliomancy is the bibliomancy based on the Book of God— great and exalted is He above all—[for it is this book] that has pronounced the Truth. The Envoy of God—God bless him and grant him salvation—liked bibliomancy, whereas he detested interpretation of the bird’s flight [as another form of divination]. As for Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq—may God be pleased with him—not one of the occult sciences did he leave undivulged, not a single hermetic text did he leave undisclosed, and not a single wonder did he fail to spread. It is he who has written this qurʿa, based on [verses] extracted from the Quran. Whoever wishes to [learn something] regarding 13. See, e.g., Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, Qurʿat al-imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, ed. ʿA. al-Sayyid al-Ṭūkḥī (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Thaqāfiyya, 1992). Unfortunately, no manuscripts are listed. 14. See F. Yahya, Magic and Divination in Malay Illustrated Manuscripts (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 141–42. See also the brief description in H. Massé, “Fāl-Nāma,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., 2:760–61. It should be noted that the technical terminology (raml, fāl, qurʿa, etc.) is fairly unstable. 15. MS Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 2639/1 contains another, more popular, Jaʿfarian qurʿa. 16. Perhaps MS Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Giresun 108/21 (non vidi)? See M. Atalan, “Cafer Es-Sadık’ın Eserleri,” Dinî Araştırmalar 4, no. 11 (2001): 113–32, at 120. The ninth/fifteenth-century Persian MS London, British Library, Add. Or. 6591 (of which I have seen one folio) appears to contain a closely related Jaʿfarian qurʿa, with thirty instead of twenty topics to be chosen from a first wheel diagram (dāʾira-yi ḥājāt) and with the chance number, ranging between 1 and 15, generated simply by picking it from a second wheel diagram (dāʾira-yi aʿdād). See P. Lory, “Divination and Religion in Islamic Medieval Culture,” in Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural, ed. F. Leoni, 13–32 (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2016), 24. 58 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 30 (2022) some matter in his [life]—be it a matter existing already or one not [yet] existing— should read what is [written] around the smallest circle, twenty chapters in total, with each of these chapters denoting a particular topic of concern. This is the most laudable, the most correct, the best, and the most veracious of all qurʿas [available], because its proof texts and their indications are taken from the Noble Quran. Facing each chapter there is a Quranic sura. User-friendliness and legitimacy constitute two recurrent topoi in quraʿ, but the present introduction stresses only the issue of legitimacy. It asserts that unlike ṭīra, or interpretation of a bird’s flight (which was “detested” by the Prophet), fāl as an alternative means of sortilege was approved by Muḥammad, and the present qurʿa is said to be the “most correct, the best, and the most veracious” of all qurʿas since it draws on the Quran. At least the last part of this statement is correct: in contrast to the other two qurʿas in the manuscript, Ayasofya 1999/2 and 1999/3, this one uses only Quranic verses. The grounds on which (Pseudo-)Jaʿfar selected these twenty suras and four hundred verses is not specified. All that the lot book says is that it is based on the nawāziʿ al-Qurʾān. Since the root n-z-ʿ means “to pull out,” perhaps nawāziʿ should not be understood as a technical term but simply denotes verses extracted from the Quran. I return to this issue later on. The introduction concludes with the following instructions and a diagram of two concentric circles17 (fols. 2v–3v; Fig. 3): ومهــا دآيــرتني احدامهــا يف األخــري وأبــواب احلاجــات يف الدآيــرة احلارجــة اِبزآء الســور مــن القــرآن تــدور هبــا وىىىغى لطالب احلاجة أن يُظِهر ما يرىد من احلواىج املفّصلة يف الدآيرة املذكورة املوضوعة كإظهارها ويقارع مــع آخــر كل منهمــا بيديــه الىثــنني مث ينظــر ايل مجلــة مــا ختــرح هلمــا يف املقاعــرة مــن العــدد فيجمعهمــا ويـَْرجــع يف املقارعــة مــن الســورة اليت هــي ابزآء احلاجــة حيت ينتهــي ايل العــدد فيقــف علــي الســورة اليت وصــل العــدد اليهــا مث ينظــر ايل اجلــداول اليت فيهــا الســور ويـَُعــد مــن اّول ســطر حتــت الســورة اليت وصــل العــدد اليهــا بقــْدر العــدد الــذي اخرجْتــه املقارعــة وينظــر يف الســطر الــذي ينتهــي اليــه العــدد فيجــد مــا فيــه مــن بشــارة أو نــذارة او مــداراة أو حتذيــر وهــذه صــورة الدايــرة املذكــورة 1 امللك واجلا والراايت والرااىت البقره 2 األوالد الذكور واالاىث ال عمران 3 التزويح هل هو صاحل ام ال النسا 4 الوفآ وصدق الوعد املاىده 17. As can be seen in Figure 3, it looks as if the diagram consists of three rather than two circles. However, since the innermost and intermediate circles cannot move independently of each other, they function as a single inner circle. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 59 5 العلم واحللم واملعرفها االنعام 6 العطآء والىخل وحقيقتهما العراف 7 النصر والطفر وخالفه االنفال 8 التهمة وبطالهنا وحقيقتها برآه 9 صدق احلديث وكذبه يونس 10 الفرح من اخلوف والشده هود 11 احملبة واملودة والغضه يوسف 12 ادراك احلاجة واملومول الرعد 13 السفر هل هو صاحل ام ال ابرهيم 14 الغاىب هل تقدم ام يتاخر احلحر 15 التجارة والرىح واحلساره النحل 16 هل ىرزق هذا املال ام ال االسرا 17 هل يقع هدا االمر ام ال الكهف 18 السرَقه واالبق هل تعود ام ال مرمي 19 عدل السلطان وجوره ََطه 20 هل تكون السنة جمدبة ام خمصبه االىىيا There are two circles, one enclosed in the other, and the chapters on the topics of concern are found in the outer circle, facing the Quranic suras and encircling these. Let the one with a concern point out the concern of his choice from those detailed in the aforesaid circle to disclose it. Let him then perform a muqāraʿa with someone else, the two of them using both hands. Next, let him count all fingers raised by the both of them and add these up. Let him then move backward from the sura that faces his topic of concern by that [same] number [of positions], stopping at the sura at which this number is completed. Next, let him look at the tables containing the suras and count down from the first line under the sura [title] by the same number of lines as the number yielded by the muqāraʿa. Let him then consider the line at which this number is completed. There, he will find [the indication], be it good news or an admonition, something appeasing or a word of warning. This is the shape of the aforesaid circle: 60 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Inner circle Outer circle Innermost circle (sura) Intermediate circle (topic) The Heifer Power and standing 1 The Family of ʿImrān Children, male and female 2 The Women Marriage: appropriate or not? 3 The Table Spread Loyalty, sincerity, and promises 4 The Cattle Knowledge, intelligence, and learning 5 The Heights Presents and greed and what they mean 6 The Spoils of War Victory and triumph and their opposites 7 Immunity Suspicion: justified or not? 8 Jonah Reports: true or false? 9 Hūd Deliverance from fear and adversity 1018 Joseph Love, friendship, and hatred 11 Thunder Seeing one’s need and hope fulfilled 12 Abraham Travel: proper or not? 13 The Rocky Tract The absent one: on his way back or delayed? 14 The Bee Trade, wind, and losses 15 The Night Journey Will I obtain this property or not? 16 The Cave Will this matter transpire or not? 17 Mary Stolen goods and runaway slaves: will they return or not? 18 Ṭā-Hāʾ The ruler’s justice and injustice 19 The Prophets Will the year be unproductive or productive? 20 Fig. 3. The wheel diagram concluding the introduction and section 1, corresponding to sura 2 (Ayasofya 1999/1, fols. 3v–4r) 18. From 11 to 20, the figures are preceded by a zero. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 61 The main part of the text (fols. 4r–18v) consists of twenty unnumbered sections, bearing the titles of suras 2–21 (see Fig. 3 for an example) as given in the innermost circle of the diagram. Each section contains twenty unnumbered Quranic verses. These verses are taken from all over the Quran, not just from the suras named in the section headings. Each verse is followed by “indicates” (yadull ʿalā)19 and the relevant divination. By way of example, the twenty verses and their respective “indications” listed in section 20 (entitled al-Anbiyāʾ, sura 21) are the following: (fols. 18r–18v):20 سورة االنبيآء يدل علي رخآء األسعار وهو الذى يىزل الغيث من بعد ما َقىطوا يدل علي جور السلطان اال اهنم هم املفسدون يدل علي وجود السرَقة اال يسجدوا هلل الذي ىخرح اخلبأ يدل علي وَقوع األمر الذي سال عنه ان هذا الشيء يراد يدل علي انه يرزق ماال ونعمة فرحني مبا آاتهم هللا من فضله يدل علي َقلة الرىح يف التجارة ذلك هو اخلسران امليب يدل علي َقدوم ال غايب واذا ال يلبثون خلفك إال َقليال يدل علي السفر واخلَري فيه فاسلكي سبل ربك ذالل يدل علي ادراك احلاجة وبلوعها ان يف هذا لبالغا لقوم عابدىن يدل علي الوفاء واملودة سيجعل هلم الرمحن ودا يدل علي شدة و بقية حمنة وَقذف يف َقلوهبم الرعب يدل علي ىطالن احلرب املسؤل عنه ان هذا اال افك مبني يدل علي صحة التهمة وانه غَري برى وححدوا هبا واستيقنتها اىفسهم يدل على النصر والظفر والغلبة وان يكن منكم الف ىغلبوا ألفني يدل علي البخل وضيق الىفس وأعطي َقليال واكدي يدل علي انه يرزق علما وحكمة يويت احلكمة من يشآء 19. Dalla means “to indicate, point to, evince, denote, be indicative, furnish evidence of, prove,” etc. 20. The translation used here is The Holy Qurʾan: Text, Translation and Commentary, trans. A. Y. Ali (Lahore: Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf, 1934). 62 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) يدل علي احليانة والغدر ان هللا ال يهدي كىد احلآيين يدل علي اصالح أمر النساء خلق لكم من انفسكم ازواجا يدل علي انه يرزق ولدا صاحل ألهب لك غالما زكيا يدل علي انه ال حيد ما يطلب اال ميلكون كشف الضر عنكم Sura The Prophets He is the One that sends down rain even after men have given up all hope (Q 42:28) indicates low prices. Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief (Q 2:12) the ruler’s injustice. That they should not worship Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden (Q 27:25) the occurrence of theft. For this is truly a thing designed against you (Q 38:6) the occurrence of the matter inquired about. They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah (Q 3:170) that one will obtain property and favor. That is indeed the real and evident Loss! (Q 39:15) little wind for trading. But in that case they would not have stayed therein after thee, except for a little while (Q 17:76) the return of the absent one. And find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord (Q 16:69) travel, as something positive. Verily in this Qurʾan is a Message for people who would truly worship Allah (Q 21:106) fulfillment and attainment of one’s need. Allah Most Gracious will bestow love (Q 19:96) loyalty and friendship. And cast horror into their hearts (Q 33:26) adversity and prolonged trial. This charge is an obvious lie (Q 24:12) that the news inquired about is false. And they rejected those Signs, though their souls were convinced thereof (Q 27:14) that the suspicion is justified and that he is not innocent. And if there be one thousand, they will overcome two thousand (Q 8:66) victory, success, and triumph. Gives a little, then hardens his heart (Q 53:34) avarice and meanness. He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth (Q 2:269) that one will be granted knowledge and wisdom. That Allah will never guide the snares of the false ones (Q 12:52) treachery and betrayal. He created for you mates from among yourselves (Q 30:21) that the women’s affair will be settled. To announce to thee the gift of a holy son (Q 19:19) that one will beget a good son. They have neither the power to remove your troubles from you (Q 17:56) that one will not find what one seeks. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 63 How is this qurʿa to be used? Paraphrased, the instructions given in the introduction run as follows: identify your topic of concern (ḥāja)21 in the diagram; together with a second person, play the game of chance called muqāraʿa with both hands and count the total number of fingers raised; move counterclockwise from the sura that faces your ḥāja past a number of suras equal to the number of fingers; arriving at a particular sura, count down the listed verses by the same number; and you will find the correct indication (dalāla). Since these instructions are rather terse, let us spell out the various steps involved and, at the same time, reconstruct the underlying mechanism. First, you pick one of the twenty topics listed in the intermediate circle of the diagram: t(1) “power and standing,” t(2) “children,” t(3) “marriage,” t(4) “loyalty,” and so on. Each of these topics is linked to the sura facing it in the innermost circle: t(1) is linked to sura 2, t(2) to sura 3, and so on. Since these links are fixed, the innermost and intermediate circles effectively constitute a single inner circle. Although the author does not explain why a particular topic is linked to a particular sura, usually the link is clear: t(2) “children” is linked to sura 3, The Family of ʿImrān; t(3) “marriage” to sura 4, The Women; t(4) “loyalty” to sura 5, The Table Spread (Q 5:1: “Fulfil your pacts!”); and so on. So, for example, if you want to know whether your father, a tradesman, will return from a journey, you pick t(14), “the absent one” (al-ghāyib). Having selected a topic, you go to the corresponding section. Since you picked t(14), you go to s(14) by counting the sections as you leaf through the book. Alternatively, if you know the names and order of the suras by heart, you go straight to the section that carries the name of the fifteenth sura, The Rocky Tract, since the number of the sura linked to a particular topic is always one greater than the number of the topic. Next, you play a game of muqāraʿa. Muqāraʿa—also known as mukhāraja, musāhama, and munāhada—is a finger game described as follows in the Encyclopaedia of Islam: [Mukhāraja] conveys the idea of the division of various objects done in various ways amongst two or more persons; but the word mukhāraja by itself and the other terms followed by the expression bi-l-aṣābiʿ “with the fingers” all denote the game of mora, morra or mication (Latin micatio, Ital. mora). This game is played all around the shores of the Mediterranean, and also in Arabia and Iraq, and consists of two players, facing each other, and, at a signal given by one of them, they simultaneously put up the right hand, with one or more fingers bent back and the rest raised, whilst at the same time announcing together a number less than ten; the winner is the one who guesses the exact number represented by the outstretched fingers of the two players. This procedure is a game of chance, and in principle Islam forbids it, especially as it is often used to designate the beneficiary of some disputed object, to divide up a sum of money, to provide the reply to a wager, etc.22 21. Ḥāja means “need, desire, object of desire, request, concern,” etc. 22. “Mukhāradja,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., 7:518. For more details on the game—recognized as intangible heritage in France (mourre), honored with a “Fingers Championship” in Italy (mora or morra), and known as huo chhüan (literally “fist quarrel”) in China—see P. Colletta, La mourra bella: Histoire et histoires d’un jeu interdit (Nice: Serre, 2006). YouTube features numerous entertaining video clips of people engaged in 64 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) However, contrary to the rules of the game as described above, the present muqāraʿa requires the two players to use both hands instead of one each, and it does not involve any guessing. You simply add up the number of fingers raised by you and the other party, which gives you a chance number, c. For example, if you raise seven fingers and your companion raises four, c is 11. You then move that many sections backward in the book. With a c of 11, and starting in s(14), you end up in s(3). Within the section, you navigate to the correct line to find the appropriate Quranic verse and its dalāla. It is important to note, however, that the instructions as given in the manuscript are slightly misleading here: they direct the reader to “count down the same number of lines starting from the first line underneath the title” using c, thus leading to l(c), but the correct procedure is in fact to go to l(21 − c)—or, put otherwise, to begin at the bottom and count up.23 Curiously, as discussed later, the instructions in the second and third qurʿas contain a similar error. In the present example, you go to l(21 − 11 = 10), which reads: “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man” (wa-jāʾa min aqṣā al-madīna rajul yasʿā, Q 36:20). This “indicates the arrival of the absent one or the return of something” (yadull ʿalā qudūm ghāyib aw ʿawd shayʾ). The divination is thus comforting,24 in that you are assured that your absent father will return, but it remains frustratingly vague as to when he will do so. Had the muqāraʿa yielded a c of 1, 3, 7, 8, 13, 14, or 16, the dalāla would have been equally vague (“the arrival of the absent one,” qudūm al-ghāyib); had c been 9 or 19, it would have been more promising (“the swift arrival of the absent one,” surʿat qudūm al-ghāyib); had c been 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 15, or 20, it would have been rather disheartening (“a delay in the arrival of the absent one,” taʾkhīr qudūm al-ghāyib or biṭāʾ qudūm al-ghāyib). Following the instructions’ apparent meaning and thus simply counting the lines from the top down would have landed you at l(11) instead of l(10), “Didst thou not Turn by vision to those who abandoned their homes” (a lam tara ilā alladhīna kharajū min diyārihim, Q 2:243), which “indicates travel, with a positive outcome” (yadull ʿalā al-safar wa-yanāl khayran). In this case, then, the incorrect method leads to a result that nonetheless seems fitting. However, had the muqāraʿa yielded a different number, the error caused by the incorrect procedure could have been more obvious. Had c been 8, for example, the divination in s(6) on l(8), “justice and keeping one’s word” (al-ʿadl wa-l-wafāʾ bi-l-qawl), would have seemed nonsensical in comparison to the correct divination on l(21 − 8 = 13), the finger game. 23. One might also read the instructions as telling the reader to count c sections forward (rather than backward) from the selected topic and then (c + 1) lines down from the top of the section. However, although this alternative formula also leads to a suitable divination and has the distinct advantage of matching the underlying basic formula of the second and third qurʿas, it comes with two problems: first, it still requires us to overrule an incorrect line formula, and second, it demands interpreting rajaʿa as simply “moving (clockwise)” instead of the more obvious “returning” or “moving counterclockwise.” The divinations yielded by the two formulas—the first: s(x − c) and l(21 − c); the second: s(x + c) and l(1 + c)—are both apposite, in the sense that they pertain to the topic at hand, but they are not identical to one another. Which of the two is not only apposite but also correct must remain an open question. 24. Obviously, “comforting” only when the absent person is a loved one rather than an adversary. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 65 “the arrival of the absent one.” Similarly, had c been 10, l(10) in s(4) would have indicated an inappropriate “decline of trade” (khusrān al-tijāra), whereas l(21 − 10 = 11) indicates “the arrival and return of the absent one” (qudūm al-ghāyib wa-rujūʿihi). Although the text makes no mention of the possibility, the wheel diagram on fol. 3v can also be used to easily locate the correct divination for any topic and chance number. In its “default” position—that is, when t(1) on the intermediate circle is aligned with number 1 on the outer circle—the combination of the outer circle and the innermost circle yields the line number (shown by the outer circle) of t(1) in each section (shown by the innermost circle). Rotating the circles to align another topic on the intermediate circle with the number 1 on the outer circle produces the line position of that topic in each section. Next, one simply has to count c positions counterclockwise from 1 to arrive at the correct section on the innermost circle and the correct line number on the outer circle. Constructing a device to carry out this maneuver is simple: one needs only to cut out an inner and an outer circle and join them with a central pin that permits them to rotate against one another. Readers can use the cutout diagram in the appendix to this article as a template for a personal divination device. An alternative method is to cut out the inner disc and replace the outer rotating disc with a movable string attached to the axis to mark the location of the number 1. This latter option is probably the more historical one, given the various surviving examples of divinatory devices equipped with strings.25 To apply this method to the above example of the absentee, t(14), with c(11), you would align t(14) on the inner circle with the number 1 on the outer circle to obtain the line position (outer circle) of t(14) for each sura and section (innermost and intermediate circle). You would then count eleven steps backward on the wheel diagram, starting from 1 on the outer circle, to reach s(3) and sura 4 on the intermediate and innermost circles and l(10) on the outer circle, which would give you the location of the divination. At first glance, the qurʿa may seem magical: whatever topic you pick and whatever chance number your muqāraʿa yields, you always end up with the correct divination, even though the four hundred possible divinations appear to be randomly scattered across twenty sections. However, the apparent magic in fact follows a predictable pattern. The underlying mechanism becomes clear when we tabulate the line positions of the twenty topics in the twenty sections (see Table 1).26 25. See Yahya, Magic and Divination, 146–47. 26. In most cases, the connection between a dalāla and the topic it addresses is obvious; examples include all of the dalālas of sections 1, 8, 11, 13–16, 19, and 20. For roughly 5% of the divinations, however, the link is not entirely clear. In many instances the apparent disconnect is likely to have been caused by the copyist’s inadvertently copying the wrong line. Sections 2 and 3, in particular, are rather messy in this regard. Furthermore, it should be noted that s(17) includes two superfluous lines, l(15) and l(19), which distort an otherwise perfect section. 66 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Table 1. The line positions of divination topics in each section of Ayasofya 1999/1. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 67 The rows show the line position of a particular topic in each section; the columns show the order of the topics in a particular section. To take an example, relevant dalālas for t(13) appear on l(9) in s(1), on l(10) in s(2), and so on, while the first dalāla in s(5) relates to t(5), the second to t(4), the third to t(3), and so on. In this qurʿa, like in the other two (which differ only in their grouping of topics into twelve sets of twelve instead of a single set of twenty), we are dealing with a fixed set of topics whose order is the reverse of that of the suras with which they are linked. The sequence in which the topics are addressed remains the same in each section but moves down by one position per section, allowing each section to open with a verse that provides a dalāla for the topic associated with the sura linked to it. However, it should be noted that although the first line of each section provides a divination that is apposite for the topic associated with the relevant sura, that divination will be the correct one only when the muqāraʿa produces a chance number of 20. The reason the twenty verses and dalālas that go with a particular topic are scattered across the twenty sections rather than presented together in a single section is clear enough: the arrangement conceals the regularity of the pattern governing the placement of the divinations and dupes the qurʿa user into assigning a much greater role to chance than it actually has. Indeed, the user is given the impression that the chance number leads first to a randomly selected sura and then to a randomly selected line, whose probability is thus one in four hundred rather than one in twenty. In reality, of course, the possible divinations that the user may reach for a single topic remain limited to twenty. Naturally, alongside leafing through the book and rotating the wheels of the diagram, Table 1 offers a third strategy—albeit an ahistorical one—for arriving at the correct divination. In the example case discussed above, t(14) and c(11), you would consult the row for t(14), identify the section in which this topic falls on l(1), and then move eleven positions to the left, which lands you at s(3), l(10). All of the three strategies are underpinned by the same basic formula, which can be used on its own as a fourth, likewise ahistorical strategy: for any t(x) and muqāraʿa c, s(x − c) and l(21 − c) In other words, to find the divination for a given topic, you deduct your chance number from the topic number to identify the correct section27 and then deduct the chance number from 21 to identify the correct line. In our example of t(14) and c(11), the correct section is s(3), because 14 − 11 = 3, and the correct line is l(10), because 21 − 11 = 10. As this qurʿa is transcribed in the appendix, the reader can explore it in depth and test each of these four strategies. To conclude the discussion of this first qurʿa, a few words regarding the four hundred Quranic verses28 and their dalālas are in order. Just as the author did not care to explain 27. Alternatively, if using section titles (i.e., suras) instead of section numbers, deduct the chance number from the topic number and add 1, since the sura numbers do not line up directly with the section numbers. 28. It should be noted that l(10) in s(10), l(3) in s(15), and l(7) in s(18) are in fact blends of two Quranic verses (see the translation in the appendix), which suggests that the author wrote them from memory rather than copied them from a model Quran. 68 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) why a particular topic is linked to a particular sura, he did not bother to clarify the reasons behind his selection of Quranic verses. What is clear is that the verses do not necessarily come from the suras associated with the topics for which they provide divinations. For example, in s(20), which is linked to sura 21, l(1) provides a dalāla for the topic associated with sura 21, as expected, but the verse on this line is taken from sura 2, not from sura 21. However, lexical markers reveal that the selection is not entirely random. For example, the twenty verses used to provide divinations for t(1) “power” (mulk) generally contain words derived from the root m-l-k or related words such as “agent” (khalīfa) or “authority” (sulṭān). As another example, the twenty verses cited for t(13) “travel” (safar) often contain a verb of movement, such as “to turn aside” (inṣarafa), “to abandon” (kharaja), or “to disperse” (intashara). As for the divinations themselves, we can only speculate about their sources. Presumably, they reflect the author’s own voice. In lieu of a colophon, the text concludes on fol. 18v with “Finished in praise of God, by His aid and through the success granted by Him” (tammat bi-ḥamd Allāh wa-ʿawnihi wa-ḥusn tawfīqihi). Whereas this qurʿa offers a choice of twenty topics and provides twenty possible Quran-based divinations for each topic, with the correct one chosen through a muqāraʿa procedure, each of the other two qurʿas in MS Ayasofya 1999 addresses 144 (or 12 × 12) topics and provides 1,728 (or 12 × 12 × 12) divinations, informed not by the Quran but by an unidentified (Perso-)Indic model and identified using a khaṭṭ procedure. (2) Ayasofya 1999/2: Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj (fols. 19r–58r) The title page of the second lot book on fol. 19r of the manuscript (see Fig. 4) is oriented vertically and reads Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj. As noted already by Paul Kunitzsch and as will be discussed below, the title is derived from the Persian davāzdah marj, “twelve fields.” The basmala and naʿt (fol. 19v) read as follows: بســم هللا الرمحــن الرحيــم احلمــد هلل الكــرمي العظيــم القــادر الــذي جــاد ابإلحســان علــي البــادي واحلاضــر وأمحــده علــي احســانه وفضلــه الغامــر واشــكره علــي جــوده وكرمــه املتواتــر واشــهد ان ال الــه إال هللا وحــده ال شــريك لــه االول اآلخــر واشــهد ان ســيدان حممــدا عبــده ورســوله املبعــوث ايل خَري امــة رمحــة للعــاملني مــن كل بــر وفاجــر صلي هلل عليه وعلي آله واصحابه صالة تدوم علي ممر االايم والشهور واألعوام والدهور وسلم تسليما In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Praise be to God, the Bountiful, the Magnificent and Omnipotent One, who has lavishly spent His beneficence on nomads and sedentary people alike. I laud Him for His beneficence and His copious kindness, and I thank Him for His incessant generosity and magnanimity. I testify that there is no god save God, the One who has no partner, the First and the Infinitely Last One, and I testify that our lord Muḥammad is His servant and His envoy, sent to the best of communities as an act of mercy on all of humankind, both the pious and the insolent. God bless him, his family, and his companions for all days, all months, all years, and all eons, and God grant him salvation. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 69 T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n c o n t i n u e s w i t h s o m e d e t a i l e d p r e l i m i n a r y i n s t r u c t i o n s , a b s e n t from Ayasofya 1999/1 but found in Ayasofya 1999/3, regarding the right mindset and the preferred timing for the divination, as well as a warning against “improper” use of the qurʿa (fol. 19v): وبعــد فهــذه َقـُْرَعــة تشــتمل علــي وهــي الضمايــر ِإخــراج معرفــة مايــة واربعــون واربعــة ابــواب فــاذا اردت شــيئا مــن ذلــك فلُيِصلــح رأيــه فيمــا يريــد وال ُيشــّوش نيتــه وَقلبه فيه بشــيء من اخلداع وال يســال اال عمــا يَعِنيــه ويهتــم بــه شــيئا منــه يعمــل ان وليتجنّــب والضحــك والَذعابــة للتجربــة واملــزاح فــإن ذلــك جُمانِــب للعلــم والعلمــآ ىحــّذرون كثــره اخلطــاء وســوء القضآء وأصوب املســآيل مــا كان منهــا مــن لــدن َطلــوع وأصحهــا زواهلا ايل الشــمس وأَقواهــا أن ال ينظــر يف اليــوم اال يف مســلة واحــدة واكثــره ىالث مسآيل Fig. 4. The title page of the second qurʿa (Ayasofya 1999/2, fol. 19r) Now, this is a qurʿa that contains the knowledge to extract the innermost [wishes],29 and it has 144 chapters. If one seeks [the answer] to any of them, one must make sure that one’s mind is set on what one seeks without allowing one’s intention and heart to 29. For the specific collocation of ikhrāj al-ḍamīr, see A. Regourd, “Traditions and Practices in the Medieval Islamic World,” in Heiduk et al., Prognostication in the Medieval World, 1:468–84, at 472. The introduction to MS Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 2658/2 (folio 19r) is interesting in this context, as it states that Hārūn al-Rashīd wanted scholars to produce a book of divination that he could use without having to disclose his ḥāja (also referred to as sirr or ḍamīr) to anyone: “We have mentioned therein whatever concern or innermost wish the people may have, doing so on behalf of the commander of the faithful Hārūn al-Rashīd, so that he is no longer required to disclose his innermost wish and concern to anyone” (wa-qad dhakarnā fīhā mā yaḥtāj al-nās ilayhi min al-fāl wa-l-ḍamīr li-ajl amīr al-muʾminīn Hārūn al-Rashīd ḥattā lā yaḥtāj an yaqūl ḍamīrahu wa-ḥājatahu li-aḥad). 70 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) be disturbed by the slightest distraction and without asking anything but that which one intended and had in mind. One must avoid doing any of this merely for the sake of giving it a try, just for fun or a laugh or as a joke, for that is an impediment to knowledge. The scholars warn about [the risks of] frequent mistakes and poor judgment. The most appropriate [time] to pose questions is between sunrise and sunset, and the best and strongest [results are achieved] when one does not consider more than one question each day, three questions being the utmost maximum. The introduction concludes with the following instructions (fol. 20r), discussed below: وصــورة العمــل يف هــذه الّدوازدمهــرح أن ُخيُــّّط الســآيل يف األرض خطوَطــا فمــا جــاوز منهــا اثين عشــر َطـُـرِح منــه اثين عشــر ومــا بقــي ال يتــّم اثين عشــر َنظَــر يف ذلــك العــدد فيحُســب مــن ذلــك البــاب جــدوال جــدوال بعــدد تلــك اخلطــوط اليت َخّطهــا الســآيل فــإذا وصــل ايل آخــر العــدد ابتَــَداء ابلعــد مــن اول اجلــدول الــذي يتنهــي اليــه ـَـْفيَن العــدد فيجــد ىف ذلــك الســطر مــا تريــد علمــه مكتــواب إن شــآء هللا تعــايل واايه نســأل العــدد ايل حيــث يـ العصمة والتوفيق واهلداية إيل افضل الطريق مبحمد واله The way to use this dawāzdahmarḥ [sic] is that the person with a question draws a number of lines on the ground. As long as30 [their number] is more than twelve, twelve lines are subtracted therefrom [until] the remainder is less than twelve. He then examines the [remaining] number and counts up from the chapter [of his choice], table by table, by the number of the [remaining] lines that he drew. When he is done counting, he starts counting from the first [line] of the table to which the number led him until he is done counting. On that very line, he will find written what he wanted to know, if God—exalted is He above all—wills! We implore Him to guard us, to grant us success, and to guide us along the best of paths, by Muḥammad and his family! These instructions conclude the introduction, which thus mentions neither author nor sources. However, as Kunitzsch argued, this qurʿa is closely related to the third qurʿa, the al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya, and since the latter’s introduction is much richer, I will discuss the two texts’ titles, authorship, sources, and parallel manuscripts together under the next item. The introduction is followed by a four-page table of contents (jadāwil, fols. 20v–22r; see Fig. 5), which lists 144 topics, numbered alphabetically from alif to qāf-mīm-dāl. Although the topics are numbered consecutively, they are arranged into twelve groups (called “chapters” in the text), which are themselves numbered numerically from 1 to 12. For example, the first twenty-four topics, from alif to kāf-dāl (no. 24), are found in groups 1 and 2: 30. It is worth pointing out that the Arabic mā used here and elsewhere in the text is the “mā of duration.” Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 71 )...( الباب الثاين الباب االول )...( يج هذا اإلنسان عمره َطويل ام ال ا املولود يعيش ام ال ىعيش يد ميت ىصيب املال و سعه الرزق ب املال أصيبه أم ال اصيبه يه حاله مع اخوته وما يناله منهم ج كيف يكون حال االحوة واالخوات يو حاله مع الوالدين وما يناله منهما د كيف حال الوالدين يف عمرمها يز ينال الولد الشرف واخلَري ام ال ه الولد يكون أم ال يكون يح هدا الرجل مريض أم صحيح و املريض يربأ أم ال يربا )...( )…( كد كيف حاله يف البهامي والدواب يب كيف يكون حال األعدآء Chapter 1 Chapter 2 (…) Alif Bāʾ Jīm Dāl Hāʾ Wāw (…) Yāʾ-bāʾ Will the newborn survive or not? Will I obtain the property or not? How are my siblings doing? How are my parents doing? Will there be a child or not? Will the ill person recover or not? How are the enemies doing? Yāʾ-jīm Yāʾ-dāl Yāʾ-hāʾ Yāʾ- wāw Yāʾ-zāy Yāʾ-ḥāʾ (…) Kāf-dāl Will this person grow old or not? When will I obtain goods and wealth? How is the relation with his brothers and what to expect from them? How is the relation with his parents and what to expect from them? Will the child know dignity and good? Is this man ill or in good health? How is he doing in terms of lifestock and riding animals? (…) 72 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) The remaining thirty-six folios of the second qurʿa (fols. 22v–58r) provide the actual divinations. Each of the 144 topics listed in the table of contents is given an individual section, with two sections per page. Following the section number, each section first restates the topic as given in the table of contents, with some variance in wording. For example, the first topic appears in the relevant section as “Will the newborn survive or not, a short time or a long time?” (al-mawlūd yaʿīsh am lā yaʿīsh, qalīl am kathīr?), while the second topic appears as “Will he obtain the property or not, little or much?” (al-māl yuṣībuhu am lā, qalīl huwa am kathīr). The topic is then followed by twelve possible divinations, each numbered alphabetically from alif to yāʾ-bāʾ. For example, the divinations in the section headed by topic 1 (fol. 22v; Fig. 6) read as follows: املولود ىعيش أم ال يعيش َقليل ام كثَري هذا املولود يعيش ابذن هللا عز وجل ا ليس عليك خوف من االعداء والظلمة وال يصيبك مكروه ب يكون هذا األمر فما اييت أشد وهللا أعلم ج ىلك النصيحة تُقَبل وىنُفد ان شآء هللا تعايل د يكون يف هذه السنة مطر كىَري لكنه يف اول الشتاء ه تقدر علي تلك األرض واحلصن وتطفر مبن فيها و يصيب من احلرب واحلصومة الظفر ابذن الل ز ذلك الرجل َحْلد مقاتل حمارب ابذن هللا عر وحل ح دلك االنسان واملوضع والشي مبارك عليك حدا ط اهل هدا البلد يف ارتفاع واَقبال وسعادة وشرف ي ذلك االنسان ىربأ من سْحره ابدن هللا اي يصيب املال يف الراحة بغَري عناء وال تعب يب Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 73 Fig. 5. The beginning of the table of contents, showing the first thirty-six topics arranged in three groups of twelve (Ayasofya 1999/2, fol. 20v) Fig. 6. Sections 1 and 2 of the main text, each containing twelve divinations (Ayasofya 1999/2, fol. 22v) 74 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) How does this qurʿa work? Paraphrased, the procedure outlined in the instructions translated above runs as follows: draw a random number of lines (khaṭṭ) on the ground; as long as that number is more than twelve, subtract twelve from it; using the remaining number, count that many sections forward; arriving at a section, count down by the same number of lines; and read the correct divination off the line where you land. As in the first qurʿa, the instructions are brief and leave much unsaid, so let us unpack them.31 You begin by choosing a topic of interest from the table of contents. Fortunately, you do not have to go through all 144 topics to find the one that best serves your needs, since they are not presented randomly. Although the text does not say so explicitly (merely implying it vaguely through its title), the topics are roughly grouped according to celestial “houses” (bayt, pl. buyūt). In the table of contents, the first topic in each group is connected to the first house (matters relating to life); the second topic is connected to the second house (matters relating to possessions); and so on. The first page of the table of contents can thus be tabulated as in Table 2. Table 2. The celestial houses related to each topic in the table of contents in Ayasofya 1999/2. Therefore, as long as you know the topics associated with the twelve houses, you have a good idea of where to find the topic of your choice. As discussed later, it is possible that the twelve groups in the table of contents are informed by the zodiacal signs, but even if so, then only in an opaque way. Let us say, for example, that you seek a divination in relation to a sick relative. Illness is associated with the sixth house, so you scan the sixth line of each group of topics in the table of contents and choose the topic on line 6 in group 5 (numbered nūn-dāl, equivalent to topic 54): “Will the doctor prove beneficial for the diseased one or not?” You then go to 31. As stated earlier, Lutz’s dissertation (“Das Buch ‘Alfadol’”) was unavailable to me, so I do not know whether he dealt with the instructions in any detail. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 75 the corresponding section, s(54), in the main part of the book (fol. 35v). Next you carry out the khaṭṭ procedure to produce a chance number, c. You draw some lines (khaṭṭ) on the ground or on a piece of paper and count the number of lines drawn. You then subtract twelve from that number and, if necessary, repeat the subtraction until the remainder is less than twelve. The remainder is c, your chance number. The khaṭṭ procedure in this qurʿa thus has the same function as the muqāraʿa procedure had in the first qurʿa, but it has the advantage of not requiring a second person. Let us say you draw twenty-three lines; deducting twelve from twenty-three yields eleven, and your c is thus 11. If you had started with, say, fifty-seven lines, you would need to repeat the subtraction several times to reach the c of 9: 57 − 12 = 45 → 45 − 12 = 33 → 33 − 12 = 21 → 21 − 12 = 9. You add your chance number to the topic number to identify the correct section. In the present example, c is 11 and your topic is number 54, so the correct section is number 65 (sīn-hāʾ) (fol. 38v). This lot book does not spell out what to do if the addition of chance number and topic number produces a number greater than 144, but the third qurʿa does provide for this possibility: you simply count up to s(144) and then continue counting from s(1) onward. For example, if you want to know whether there will be a lot of rain this year (topic 141, qāf-mīm-alif) and the khaṭt produces a chance number of 8, the correct section is s(5). Within the appropriate section, you go to the line whose number is one greater than your chance number, l(1 + c). Like in the previous qurʿa, the instructions in this one are wrong in the sense that they lead the reader to the right section but not to the correct line. Here they indicate that the number of the correct line corresponds to the chance number, l(c), instead of being one greater than the chance number, but the former clearly provides the divination for a different question. In the example of the ill relative, the correct line in s(65) is l(1 + 11), that is, l(12), which gives you the following divination: “The doctor will prove most beneficial for the diseased one.” Incidentally, the chance number does not in fact have to be less than twelve, as the instructions insist; it can also be equal to twelve. In that case, to identify the correct divination within the section, you simply count down to l(12) and then continue counting from the top of the section to arrive at l(1). In the first qurʿa, the reader could identify the correct divination through four different strategies. Two—leafing through the book and using the wheel diagram—are historically attested, while the other two—using my 20 × 20 table and applying the underlying formula— are ahistorical. This second qurʿa allows the same four strategies. In addition to leafing through the book as illustrated above, a reader can also use the table of contents as a device for quick navigation. For example, say you are about to get married and hence consider the twelve topics found on the seventh line of each group in the table of contents, since the seventh celestial house is associated with women. Skipping over possible concerns regarding whether the marriage will actually take place (topic 7, zāy) and whether your wife-to-be is chaste (topic 31, lām-alif), you wish instead to know whether she is pretty (topic 67, sīn-zāy). Undertaking the khaṭṭ procedure, you draw fifteen lines on the ground, 76 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) which yields c(3). Within the table of contents, you count three sections down from section 67 to section 70 (ʿayn), where you find the divination on l(1 + c), that is, line 4: “Ugly yet resolute and steadfast.” You may be happy with the outcome—or regret not having drawn twenty lines instead of fifteen, for that would have yielded the divination “A beautiful and obedient spouse.” As in the case of the first qurʿa, the mechanism underpinning the divinations here can be summarized in a formula that constitutes an ahistorical but functional strategy to secure a divination: for any t(x) and khaṭṭ c, s(x + c) and l(1 + c) In the example concerning the coming year’s rainfall, t(141), when the khaṭt yields a chance number of 8, the correct divination is found in section 5 (141 + 8 = 149, i.e., 5 sections past 144), on line 9 (1 + 8 = 9): “There will be a lot of rain in the middle of the year.” The fourth and final strategy involves using a table, of which Table 3 shows a section. Obviously, tabulating this second qurʿa is more complicated than tabulating the first one, since the first qurʿa provided twenty divinations each for twenty topics, whereas this qurʿa provides twelve divinations for each topic in a set of twelve, and there are twelve sets in total. The underlying system, however, is the same—a rotating set of topics in an order that is fixed but the reverse of the order in which the topics appear in the table of contents, with the set moving down by one position per section. So in s(1), t(1) is found on on l(1), t(2) on l(12), t(3) on l(11), and t(12) on l(2); in s(2), t(1) is found on l(2), t(2) on l(1), t(3) on l(12), and t(12) on l(3); and so forth. For example, you wish to know whether your ill daughter will recover, and your khaṭṭ yields c(3). Scanning the row of t(6), you find that this topic is addressed on l(1) in s(6). You then move three positions to the right from the s(6) column, which leads you to the ninth column, and you see that the divination for t(6) in s(9) is found on l(4): “Your daughter will recover, by God’s permission!” As in the first qurʿa, the first line in a section always provides an apposite divination; however, in contrast to the first qurʿa, in this one the divination on the first line is never the correct one. Since we are dealing with a third power (123) instead of a second power (202), no change number will ever lead the user to l(1) in the section on his topic of choice. As already discussed earlier, the only reasonable explanation for the scattering of the divinations relating to a particular topic across twelve sections is that the purpose of the design is to make the outcome seem more random than it is—that is, to give the impression that both the section and the line are independently determined by chance. Let us now consider the third and final qurʿa, Ayasofya 1999/3. Since it is closely related to Ayasofya 1999/2 and differs only in its much longer introduction, we can omit detailed discussion of the strategies and mechanisms involved and instead focus on the book’s author, title, and sources. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 77 Table 3. The line positions of divination topics in selected sections of Ayasofya 1999/2. 78 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) (3) Ayasofya 1999/3: al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya (fols. 59r–137v) Fig. 7. The title page of the third qurʿa (Ayasofya 1999/3, fol. 59r) On its title page (fol. 59r, Fig. 7), the third lot book carries the title “the Blessed Maʾmūnian Qurʿa, written by the most learned shaykh and imam Jamāl al-Dīn Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Kindī, may God—exalted is He above all—cover him with His grace” (al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya, taʾlīf al-shaykh al-imām al-ʿallāma Jamāl al-Dīn Abī Yūsuf Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Kindī, taghammadu Allāh taʿālā bi- raḥmatihi). Further down in the introduction, however (fol. 62r), the work is referred to as the Twelve Zodiacal Signs (al-Ithnā ʿashar burj). Following the nondescript basmala and naʿt, not quoted here, the philosopher al-Kindī (d. 256/873) describes himself as living in the golden age of an unnamed caliph32 (fol. 59v): ــْرُت يف عظيــم النعمــة علــي األمــة َقــال أبــو يوســف ابــن يعقــوب بــن اســحق الكنــدي رمحــه هلل تعــايل اين ذَّك خبالفة أمَري املؤمنني فرأيتهم يف أايمه َقد عّمتهم العافية واألمن وفشا فيهم اخلَري وغاب عنهم اخلوف وصاروا كافــًة جيــدون يف خالفتــه فــضال يف الدنيــا والديــن فأرغــد عيشــهم يف خالفتــه أدام هللا تعــايل مدتــه ســاملا مــن كل َرِذيلة حمفوفا بكل فضيلة حمّبا ألهل العلم والفضل واألدب Abū Yūsuf b. Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Kindī, may God—exalted is He above all—have mercy on him, has stated the following: I vividly remember the great prosperity that the community enjoyed during the caliphate of the commander of the faithful. I have seen that the people in his day knew nothing but well-being, safety and good, that evil was entirely absent from among them, that they all found favor both in this world and 32. In view of al-Kindī’s biography, one is tempted to identify this Abbasid caliph as al-Maʾmūn or al-Muʿtaṣim. However, as Kunitzsch points out (“Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 305–6) and as discussed later, the identities of the author and—mutatis mutandis—of the caliph are not without their problems. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 79 in the next, and that they all got to live a carefree life during the caliphate of this commander, may God—exalted is He above all—grant him a long life that is free from all that is despicable and full of all that is virtuous, a life in which he is loved by all wise, gracious, and refined people. The author—best described as (Pseudo-)al-Kindī—then describes the genesis of the book, recounting that he had decided to present the caliph with a divinatory book based on his extensive knowledge of Greek, Indian, and Persian astrological literature. Addressing another topos typical of qurʿas, he stresses the work’s user-friendliness compared to other techniques, such as tracking (qiyāfa), physiognomy (firāsa), and the interpretation of a bird’s flight (zajr): فانـَْتَدبــَـْتين مهيت مــا شــّجعين إلحتافــه بنــوع مــن لطآيــف احِلَكــم وجنــس مــن ظرايــف العلــم ملعــرفيت مــن الكتــب النجوميــة الروميــة واهلنديــة والفارســية واشــتغايل هبــا كــثَريا دون غَريي فعملــت هــذا الكتــاب اجلامــع التــام يف معرفة ما يكون من ُمَتَجَددات األمور واألحوال َقبل وَقوعها ورَجوُت أن يكون أَقرب مأخًذا وأهون مسلًكا مــن مجيــع كتــب القضــآء النجوميــه والزحــر والــَطَري ومــا أُلّــف مــن بديــع الفــال الَقــَدري واحلســاب النجومــي ومــا َحَكَمْته العرب من أسرار القيافة ولطيف الَفراسة Emboldening me, my zeal has commissioned me to disclose to him a particular type of subtle wisdom and kind of delicate science, given my knowledge of the Greek, Indian, and Persian astrological books and in light of my intensive and independent engagement with them. I have composed this comprehensive and complete book on the knowledge of matters yet to transpire and conditions yet to occur. I hope that this book will prove more accessible than all books on astrological rulings and on the interpretation of a bird’s flight, both its flight when scared off and its spontaneous flight, and easier to follow than all that has been written on wondrous omens of fate, astrological computation, and any secrets of tracking and subtle physiognomy that the Arabs may have used to pass verdict. (Pseudo-)al-Kindī was particularly impressed by Indian divinatory literature, especially a work called al-Hashta burḥ (sic): ووجــْدُت اهلنــد َقــد َنَظمــت علمــا مســتخَرجا مــن أســرار احلســاب اليومــي مــن بعضــه اهلَشــَت بــرْح ال أعلــم كيفيته واستخراجه I had discovered that the Indians had founded a science derived from the secrets of day computation, including al-Hashta burḥ, of which I know neither the nature nor the source. For a long time, the distorted title al-Hashta burḥ eluded identification. All that Kunitzsch could do in his 1968 article “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol’” was list the textual variants—al-humarj, al-hsmʾrkh, al-hashta brḥ, and, in one of the Latin translations, alhestemeragi—and point out the nonsensical and hence false similarity between the third variant and the Persian 80 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) word hasht, “eight,” and the Arabic word burj, “zodiacal sign.” However, in his 1984 article, “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift,” Kunitzsch identified an eighth Arabic manuscript, which allowed him to solve the riddle. This eighth manuscript (MS Tehran, Malik 844/3, non vidi) reads: ومســيته بكتــاب الدوازدمهــرج كمــا مســت اهلنــد اهلفتمــرج الــذي وضعــت علــى الكواكــب الســبعة ووضعــت اان هذا على االثين عشر برج اليت فيها بيوت الكواكب السبعة I have called it the Book of the Twelve Fields, just as the Indians called it the Seven Fields, [since] it was based on the seven planets. [The reason I have called it the Twelve Fields instead is that] I have based it on the twelve zodiacal signs, in which the houses of the seven planets are located. From this crucial section, missing from the copy under discussion, we learn that the title of the Indic work must be emended to (al-)Haft(a) marj, or “The seven fields,” and that we should understand the title of Ayasofya 1999/2, Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj, as “The twelve fields.”33 Furthermore, we are informed that the author has reworked his Indic model on the principle of the twelve zodiacal signs, in their capacity as the houses of the seven planets. The moon’s house is Cancer and the sun’s house is Leo, and the remaining five planets are assigned two houses each.34 Somewhat confusingly, further down in the introduction of Ayasofya 1999/3 (fol. 62r), the work is said to be “known as the Twelve Zodiacal Signs” (maʿrūf bi-l-Ithnā ʿashar burj). It thus seems that the copyists of the available copies35 of the present qurʿa had a hard time keeping burj and marj apart. Perhaps this should not surprise us, since it appears that these copyists were not too interested in the astrological basis of the qurʿa.36 In Ayasofya 1999/2, for example, the only remaining trace of this basis is found in the distorted title and in the tacit correlation of the houses with the order of topics in the table of contents. In retrospect, is possible that its 12 × 12 table of contents is informed not only by the twelve houses but also—again tacitly—by the twelve signs of the zodiac. If so, this would mean that the rows correspond to the twelve houses and the columns (or sections) correspond to the twelve signs. However, it is difficult to determine whether this is truly the case. Whereas the link between rows and houses is fairly evident (questions on sickness and travel, for example, are found on the sixth and ninth lines, just as one would expect), it is much less 33. Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 306; idem, “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift,” 282–83, with references in footnote 16 to other attestations (hasthmarj in al-Bīrūnī and hasmīrj in al-Jāḥiẓ). 34. See, e.g., Abū Maʿshar, The Great Introduction to Astrology, vol. 1, The Arabic Original and English Translation, ed. and trans. K. Yamamoto and C. Burnett (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 443. 35. A list is given below. 36. So far, apart from MSS Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 1999/2 and 1999/3, six more copies of the qurʿa have been identified (see below). The information provided by Kunitzsch (“Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol’” and “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift,” passim) indicates that the astrological backdrop is utterly missing from the Ayasofya 2685 and London manuscripts and limited to a distorted title in the Cairo manuscript. The Rome and İstanbul Üniversitesi copies fare slightly better, since they link signs and planets. The Tehran copy stands out, for it contains a 12 × 12 table with the twelve houses in the columns and the twelve signs in the rows. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 81 clear how the signs might have informed the questions posed in the columns. In Ayasofya 1999/3 the astrological backdrop is somewhat more visible: the Indic title is named, albeit in a distorted form (fol. 60r); the word burūj occurs twice in the introduction (fols. 60v and 62r); and there is a list of the qualities of the twelve houses (fol. 61r). However, here as well, the fact that the houses—and possibly also the signs—have informed the arrangement of the table of contents goes unmentioned. After listing his sources, the author of Ayasofya 1999/3 reports that he found the Indian books most difficult to understand, but luckily an Indian informant came to his aid and helped him transpose the Indian wisdom into the present Arabic qurʿa.37 He dismisses other translated books on the subject as amounting to no more than “fictitious talk and diversion” (ka-l-khurāfa wa-l-liʿb), hermetic works without a key, and contrasts them with the information he obtained from the Indian, which was “a story like Khurāfa’s” (ḥadīth ka-l-Khurāfa)—that is, a story that may look fictitious but was declared true by the Prophet:38 وَقــد شــاهدُت كتبهــم يف هــذا النــوع كتبــا عقليــة صعبــة ال ىُِطيــق لِــذي اِلمقيــاس فيهــا َقياُســه وال كيــف املْدخــُل ْبــدع ُ اليهــا إيل ان جاَريــُت فيهــا هنــداي ففتــح يل فيهــا َحرفًــا اســتدللُت منهــا علــي تتمــة هــذا الكتــاب العجيــب امل ونقلــُت مــن بعــد ذلــك مــن كتــب َقــد ترمِجَــت هبــذا اإلســم كانــت عنــدان كاخلرافــة والِلعــب ووجدانهــا مرمــوزة بغَري شرح َرْمز وال فْتح حرف عند ذوي البصاير وكان مما فتح يل ذلك اهلندي من ذلك حديثا كاخلُرافة I found their books on this type [of knowledge] to be learned and difficult, incomparable and impenetrable, until I found myself an Indian [to guide me] through them. He explained to me whatever word I pointed out, until I had worked through this wonderful and exceptional book. After that, I transmitted from [other] books written on this topic, and these I found to be nothing but fictitious talk and diversion, encoded works that lacked any description of their code and any explanation of their words by the knowledgeable ones. Compared to those books, the one that the Indian disclosed to me was no less than a story like Khurāfa’s! Once this wondrous secret has been unlocked, the author declares, the reader can dispense with other, more cumbersome tools of divination. Through increasingly abstruse syntax, it would seem that the author explains that he has made the work most accessible by using the familiar format of the twelve zodiacal signs and the twelve fields used when casting lots: 37. The Persian tinge of the Indic title—haft(a) rather than sapta, sāt, etc.—suggests that there may have been a Persian intermediary translation involved, but this cannot be confirmed. 38. My interpretation of the final sentence is somewhat tentative. I assume that the author is playing with the meaning of khurāfa (for which see E. W. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon [1863–93; repr., Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1968], 2:726; C. Pellat, “Ḥikāya,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., 3:367–73, 369), especially since he also seems to play with laʿb/laʿib (first understood as “diversion,” which is bad, and later as “easy as child’s play,” which is good). The same double entendre is discussed briefly in F. Bauden, “Maqriziana XIII: An Exchange of Correspondence between al-Maqrīzī and al-Qalqashandī,” in Developing Perspectives in Mamluk History: Essays in Honor of Amalia Levanoni, ed. Y. Ben-Bassat, 201–29 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 223. Alternatively, one could understand the sentence as “[Those other books] were more than what the Indian had divulged to me, more than that, [mere] fictitious stories.” 82 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) فاَقتبســُت منــه َحــل هــذا الســر العجيــب املســتغيَن ىــه عــن الزىــج واالصطــرالب وأْخــذ الِظــل والــروال وتـََرَُقــب خِطيــة وإمنــا هــو كَلعِــب الصبيــان حيت لقــد ٌ الســاعات والْضــرب والِقْســمة واحلـَـرز واألعــداد املْتعبــة والقياســات امل أفــاد أعجــب إفــادة وأصــاب أحســن إصابــة بــغَري إتعــاب عقــل وال كثــرة شــغل وَقــد خّففــُت املؤونــة فيــه علــي الناظــر حيت جعلــُت الــعني أتلُفــه والفْهــم أبِداّل صوابِــه اإلثين عشــر املأخــوُذ عليــه عــدَد الربوج معمــا يُدبّرهــا مــن الكواكــب الســبعة واشــرافها وَحذوهــا ووجوههــا وســقوَطها ووابهلا ووَقــوع الســْهم علــي اإلثين عشــر منزلــة عليهــا يـَْقضي أصحاب التنجيم َقضاؤهم فَسّموها الطبايع الَفلكية وهي هذه التالية هلذا الشرح I learned from him how to unlock this wondrous secret, through which one can do without ephemeris and astrolabe, taking [measures] of the shadow and the moment when it disappears, observance of clocks, [geomantic] casting, division, amulets, toilsome numbers, and erroneous analogies. Verily, it is child’s play, allowing the most wondrous use and the best of results without any mental exhaustion or hard labor. I have made it extremely easy for the one looking into this [by rendering it in a format] that the eye is accustomed to, with twelve indications [per section] to be grasped, [the number twelve being] based on the number of zodiacal signs, [which combine] with the seven planets that rule them, their exaltations, opposition, aspects, detriments, and injurious effects, as well as on the number of fields used when casting lots for the astrologers to base their verdict on. They have called these the celestial natures, and these are what now follows in this commentary. (Pseudo-)al-Kindī’s introduction continues with a list of the twelve celestial houses (fol. 61r) and the “natures” (ṭabāyiʿ) commonly ascribed to them.39 Although this piece of information is not given explicitly in the second lot book, also there it very much informs the sequential order of the 144 topics in the table of contents, as shown earlier. الطبايع الَفَلكية االثين عشر بيت النفس واحلسد واملآرب وأول العمر الطالع بيت املال واألعوان واملكاسب والدخاير الثاين بيت اإلخوة واحلوات واألَقارب والدين الىالث بيت االآبء والعقار والعواَقب والدفاينا الرابع بيت األوالد واألفراح والكْسوات واملالعب خلامس بيت األمراض والسجون والديون والعبيد السادس بيت النسآء واألضداد واألوهام واملقاصد السابع 39. For the houses’ associations, compare, e.g., with al-Bīrūnī, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, trans. R. R. Wright (London: Luzac, 1934), 461. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 83 بيت املوت واخلوف والنكبات والذاِهب الثامن ذاِهب والكتب َ بيت السفر واألذاّيت وامل التاسع بيت السلطان والعز والقهر والغلبة العاشر بيت الرجا والسعادة والصديق واألعوان احلادي عشر بيت األعداء والدواب واحلزن والشقاء الثاين عشر The twelve celestial natures Ascendant The house of the soul, envy, desires, and the beginnings of matters 2nd The house of movable property, sources of aid, gains, and treasures 3rd The house of siblings, relatives, and religion 4th The house of parents, real property, consequences, and hidden treasures 5th The house of children, festivities, clothing, and ruses 6th The house of diseases, prisons, debts, and slaves 7th The house of omens, opposites, delusions, and goals 8th The house of death, fear, disasters, and the one leaving 9th The house of travel, troubles, roads, and books40 10th The house of power, might, subdual, and victory 11th The house of hope, happiness, friends, and allies 12th The house of enemies, riding animals, grief, and misery The author then appears to say that he was bold enough to present the work only after he had mastered its delicate science and had worked on its user-friendliness. In a clear parallel to the introduction of Ayasofya 1999/2, the author informs the ruler (caliph?) that when using this book, he should have the right mindset and observe appropriate timing, and that he should seek no more than three divinations a day: ومل َيَســْعين بشــْجعيت علــي اإلَقــدام علــي مــن كان َقبلــي مــن العلمــآء الذيــن كانــوا أَطــول أعمــارا وأعظــم اخالَقــا واعــرف يف العلــوم أْحكامــا وأحســنوا النظــر يف اختيــار الَفْضــل مــع مــا كان هلــم مــن الُقــدرة علــي اإلرادة وســعة اليــد إال مــا ُعــِرف مــن دَقيــق الســر يف إدراك علــم هــذا الكتــاب وختفيــف املوونــة علــي الناظــر فيــه فــمىت أراد امللــك أيد هلل رشده علم حادث َقبل كونه من هذا الكتاب فْلُيْصِلح رأيه فيما يريده وال يُتعب القلب والنية وينخب ان ميتحــن أو ميــازح أو يضحــك منــه فــإن ذلــك َحْجــب لعلــم العلمــاء وعلــي هــذا الشــرط أصــل كتــب الَروحانيــة ذوات األســرار العجيبــة احلفيــة ومــن اســتعمل ضــد مــا حــددانه اَقرتب بــه كــثَري اخلطــاء وســوء الفضــل وأصــوب املســايل وأصحهــا مــا كان مــن لــدن َطلــوع الشــمس ايل زواهلا وال ينظــر مــن يريــد النظــر فيــه يف اليــوم أكثــر مــن ىالث مسايل لَتداُول سر هذا الكتاب العجيب الصحيح خربُه الصادق اثرٌه ما يوِضح أمَره 40. “The one leaving” of the eighth house and “troubles” of the ninth should probably switch places, hereby assuming an error by the copyist. 84 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) I was bold enough to go against the scholars who had preceded me—scholars older than me, of a nobler nature, more knowledgeable and in better command of the sciences, and with a much better understanding of how to choose [the field] in which to excel, all combined with strong willpower and a capable hand—only after securing the delicate secret required for mastering the science enclosed in this book and [only after figuring out a way to] make it easier for the one looking into it. When the ruler—may God allow him to follow the right course—seeks knowledge of something yet to transpire by way of this book, let him fine-tune his opinion on whatever he desires; let him not fatigue his heart and his determination; and let him not put it to the test, mock it, or make fun of it, for that would obscure the scholars’ knowledge. This is a condition to be met for all spiritual books that contain wondrous hidden secrets. Anyone who uses them in a way that contravenes the terms that we have laid out is bound to run into abundant error and disgrace. The most proper and correct time for posing questions is between sunrise and sunset. Whoever wants to use [this book] should not consider more than three questions a day, [three being the limit for] frequent use of the secret of this wondrous book, whose reports are correct and whose effects demonstrate its effectiveness. Next, the author provides instructions, which are mostly familiar by now (fols. 61v–62r): وأصــل العمــل يف هــذا الكتــاب املعــروف ابالثين عشــر بُرجــا أن ختُــّط يف األرض خطوَطــا كــثَرية مــن غَري عــدد هلا وال فكر فيها مث َتَضع من ذلك اثين عشــر اثين عشــر حيت يبَقي اثين عشــر أو أَقل من اثين عشــر مث تعد منها أي من صفحة احلاجة اليت انت فيها صفحه صفحه ايل أن ينتهي إيل عدد الصفحة اليت تِقف عليها مث تعــد منهــا أســطرا بقــْدر العــدد أيضــا فإنــك جتــد يف ذلــك الســطر مــا تريــد مشــروحا يـُْنبيــك عــن جيــده وَرِديــه وإن كانت احلاجة اليت تطلبها آخر احلوايح اليت يبقَي عددها بقْدر ما معك فاضل من احلطوط املخطوَطة علــي وجــه األرض فمــا كان اثين عشــر او دون ذلــك فْلَتعــّد مــن تلــك احلاجــة صفحــه صفحــة فمــا أْعــَوزك مــن العــدد املتحلِّــف معــك فلتُعــد ىتّمــة مــا يـُْعــِوزك مــن أول احلاجــة يف الكتــاب إيل ان ينتهــي العــدد ايل الصفحــة مث تعــد مــن ســطور الصفحــة ايل ان ىِقــف علــي الســطر الــذي ينتهــي العــدد اليــه فتجــد يف ذلــك الســطر صــورة ما تريد علي وجهه جيده و رديّه The way to use this book, known as the Twelve Zodiacal Signs, is that you draw a large number of lines on the ground without either counting or thinking. Then you subtract [sets of] twelve lines, one after the other, until [the number of lines] left is twelve or less than twelve. Next, you count from there—that is, from the page that has the topic of your concern—[by the remaining number], page by page, until the page where you are done counting, and there you stop. Then you count down on that page by the same number of lines, and on the particular line [where you are done counting] you will find explained what you seek, imparting to you [the divination], be it good or bad. If the topic of concern that you have chosen is [one of the] last topics, [so that the sum of] its number and the number that you already have—that is, the remainder of the number of lines drawn on the ground, twelve or less than twelve—is left [undepleted by the Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 85 time you reach the end of the book], then you count from [the page that has] the topic of your concern, page by page, [until the end of the book], and as for the remaining number, you keep that and [continue] counting from the first topic in the book by that remaining number, until the page where you are done counting. Next, you count the lines on the page down to the line where you are done counting, and on that particular line you will find what you seek, [divined] in the right manner, be it good or bad. The introduction continues with an additional (defective) word of warning (fols. 62r–63v) regarding particularly inauspicious moments to seek a divination: وَقــد أمجــع العلمــآء علــي أن القمــر إذا َقــارن املريــخ يف شــيء مــن األواتد االربعــة اليت هــي الطالــع والعاشــر والغــارب والرابــع كان الغالــُب علــي املســآيل والقــوِل والعمــل وانــواع تــدبَري األمــور الَكــِدَب حيت يَــصَري شــبيًها ابلصْدق والصدق شبيًها ابلَكِذب فافهم ذلك The scholars have reached the consensus that when the moon is conjunct Mars close to [?] any of the four cardines41—that is, the eastern horizon, the upper meridian, the western horizon, and the lower meridian—falsehood overrules the questions, words, deeds, and all sorts of taking care of business to such an extent that falsehood comes to resemble truth and truth comes to resemble falsehood. Understand this well! The introduction concludes by once again highlighting the user-friendliness of the qurʿa as an important asset (fol. 63v): وَقــد وضعــُت هــذه اجلــداول علــي هــذه الصفحــات وذكــرُت فيهــا مــن احلاجــات مــا ىحتــاج اليــه وضّمنــت هــذه اجلــداول اليت بعــد هــذه الوجهــة ذكــر احلواىــج املطلوبــة فــإذا اخرتت منهــا حاجــة فاَطلبهــا مــن هــذه اجلــداول ليسُهل عليك مأخذها بغَري تعب وهلل تعايل املستعان I have written these tables on the following pages [of table of contents], mentioning therein the topics of concern that one may have, and I have supplemented the tables that come next with a[nother] mention of the topics of concern. When you have chosen the topic of your concern, you can then look for it in these tables, thus facilitating its easy retrieval. God—exalted is He above all—is the One turned to for help. After the introduction comes a six-page table of contents, which also serves as a navigating device. Each page displays twenty-four topics in a four-by-six (or rather 2 × 4 × 3) grid, yielding a total of 144 topics to choose from (fols. 63r–65v; Fig. 8). The following sample illustrates the range of topics addressed: 41. Compare to Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 309. As Kunitzsch points out on the basis of a comparison with another copy, the protasis is incomplete in MS Ayasofya 1999/3. It should read: “When the moon is conjunct Mars, opposite Mars, or square Mars while Mars is in one of the four cardines, then . . .” 86 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) احلج يف هذه السنة صاحل ام ال االول اصيب املال ابَقي عمري ام ال الثاين االخوة واالخوات كيف حاهلما الىالث الوالدان كيف حاهلما لرابع هل أرزق أوالدا أم ال احلامس املريض َيربا من مرضه أم ال السادس التزويج يصح أم ال يتمشا السابع املوت من اي سبب يكوان الثامن السفر مت اخلروج فيه أم ال لتاسع اصيب االمل من السلطان أم ال العاشر األصدَقآ َقليلون أم كىىروان احلادي عشر االعدا كىف حاهلم وكيف احلال معهما لثاين عشر العمر َطويل أم َقصَري لىالث عشر أصيب املال سريعا أم فيه بطاءة الرابع عشر اصيب من األحوه منفعة او مضرة اخلامس عشر اصيب من الوالدين منفعة ام مضره السادس عشر العايب الذي سالت عنه حي هو ام ميت اخلامس والعشرون التجارة جيدة ارىح فيها ام ال السادس والعشرون هذا املولود فيه شبهة ام ال التاسع والعشرون هذه املرأه حرمة ام فيها فساد احلادى والىلثون الغايب يرجع من سفره ام ال الىالث والىلثون هذه احلامل تلد ذكرا ام انثي احلادى واالربعون هذا العالح والدوا يكون فيه برء ام ال الثاين واالربعون ينتفع املريض ىهذا الطبيب أم ال الرابع واحلمسون Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 87 هذا الرجل صحيح القول أو منافق السابع واحلمسون الزرع يف هذه السنة حيد ام ال السابع والثمانون اعيش ابَقي عمري يف راحة وَطيب َقلب أم ال السابع والتسعون هذا االنسان حافظ سر كتوم له أم ىبوح به املايه هذه العمارة هلا بقا َطويل أو حترب السابع بعد املايه هذ االنسان عنده شى من علم الِسحر أم ال ماية وأحد عشر اصرَع الَطَري ابلبندق يف هذه السفرة أم ال ماية وثالىه عشر هذا السر ينكتم أم ينكشف ماىه واربعه وعشرون اصيب املال من التعب أو الراحة ماىة واربعه وىلىون هذه احلبلى ختلص من هذه املولود ام ال ماىة وسبعه وىلثون توخذ املدينة والقلعة وحتصل الظفر هبما أم ال ماىة واربعون وَقوع الغيث يكون يف اول هده السنة ام يف اخره ماىة وأحد واربعون هذه النصيحة اليت أرفعها تسمع و ىعمل هبا ام ال ماية واىنني واربعون السعر يف هذه السنة يرحص ام يغلو ماىة وثالثة واربعون ينالين يف هذه الوالىة من السلطان مضرة وخوف ام ال ماىة واربعه واربعون 88 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 89 Folios 66r–137v then present the divinations for the 144 topics in 144 sections (Fig. 9), numbered numerically, with one section per page and twelve alphabetically numbered divinations per section. For example, section 143 (fol. 137r) contains the following divinations: الثالث واالربعون واملايه السعر يف هذه السنة يرخص ام يغلو السعر يف هذه السنة يرخص ويكثر فيها اخلَري وينتفع به اخللق ا هذه النصيحة اليت ترفعها ال تسمع منك وال حُتَظي منها إال ابلقبيح ب وَقوع املطر يف هذه السنة يكون يف وسطها وينمو فيها اخلَري وهللا اعلم ج املدينة تؤخذ سريعا والقلعة ىجري عليها حصاٌر كثَري وال تؤخذ د Fig. 8. The first page of the table of contents, tabulating 2 × 3 × 4 topics (Ayasofya 1999/3, fol. 63r) Fig. 9. Section 1, with twelve divinations (Ayasofya 1999/3, fol. 66r) 90 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) احلرب واحلصومة ىصيب فيهما اخلَري والربكة واملنفعة الكثَرية ه هذا الشخص ليس فيه حماربة وهو جري وَقح وفيه رحله وفيه توَقيع وهللا أعلم و املرأة اليت تُبِصر هلا تعُسر عليها الوالدة وتلقي مشقة وحتُلص وهللا أعلم ز السلطان الذي تسال عنه فيه ظلم وتعٍد وجور وأخذ أموال الناس ح هذا الشخص ما هو مسحور لكن َعَرض له مرض غَرَي عقَله وهللا تعايل أعلم ط تصيب ماال كثَريا تدفع به وَقتك وانت يف راحة وَطْيب َقلب وهللا أعلم ي اخِلص نيتك فيما تعمله من العبادات لُتحَظي منها بثواب كثَري يف اآلخرة اي الذين خّلفتهم بعدك َقلوهبم َطيبة يف أرغد عيش وأمرهم ماٍش كما ىومرون يب [Topic] 143: Will the prices this year go down or up? Alif Bāʾ Jīm Dāl Hāʾ Wāw Zāy Ḥāʾ Ṭāʾ Yāʾ Yāʾ-alif Yāʾ-bāʾ The prices this year will go down; it will be a good year and the people will benefit thereof. This advice that you have given will not be heeded and will gain you only disgrace. The rainfall this year will occur in the middle of the year, and all that is good will flourish. The city will be taken swiftly; the fortress will not be taken in spite of a prolonged siege. Good, blessing, and much profit will ensue from the war and the feud. This person lacks a warring nature in spite of being bold, impudent, and manly. The pregnancy will be difficult for the woman in question; she will have complications and die in childbirth. The ruler in question is prone to tyranny, aggression, oppression, and the appropriation of people’s belongings. This person has not been enchanted but rather was struck by a disease that has compromised his reason. You will acquire property that allows you to spend your time in leisure and high spirits. Be of sincere intent in each of your acts of worship, so you may gain much reward in the next world. Those you appointed as your agents are good-natured and live lives of plenty, and things are proceeding as they order. As already noted earlier, despite their considerable differences, the second and third qurʿas basically represent the same lot book. There is consequently no need to discuss the instructions or underlying mechanism of the third qurʿa in detail beyond the following brief observations. First, in line with its lengthier introduction, the instructions in this qurʿa are a Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 91 bit more elaborate than those in the preceding one. One difference is that whereas Ayasofya 1999/2 requires the chance number to be smaller than twelve, the current text specifies, more correctly, that it must be either smaller than or equal to twelve. In another departure, the current text, unlike the previous one, explains—though in a somewhat garbled way— what to do when the sum of the topic number and the chance number is greater than the number of sections in the book—that is, 144. A notable similarity is that although both texts lead the reader to the correct section, they seem to point to the incorrect line: l(c) instead of l(1 + c). The fact that the same mistake is found in both texts makes it unlikely that it reflects a copyist error. Did I misinterpret the abstruse Arabic? Was the procedure such common knowledge that accurate directions were unnecessary? Or was the author perhaps satisfied with guiding the reader to merely the proximity of the correct divination? It goes without saying that the four strategies available for the second qurʿa are applicable here as well: to identify the correct divination, you can leaf through the book, navigate the table of contents, apply the underlying formula, or use my 12 × (12 × 12) table. It should be noted, however, that the second strategy, which relies on the table of contents, works slightly differently in this lot book because of its different layout. In the second qurʿa, topics relating to the same celestial house are always found on the same line in the twelve lists of topics that make up the table of contents. By contrast, in the third qurʿa’s table of contents, the twenty-four cells into which each page is divided should be seen as constituting two sets of twelve cells in a 3 × 4 arrangement, with the cells of each set representing the twelve houses and the topics relating to the same celestial house located in the same field of each set. Accordingly, topics associated with the first house are found in the first cell of each 3 × 4 set, while questions relating to the seventh house are found in the seventh cell of each set. The layout of the first page of the table of contents can thus be tabulated as in Table 4. Table 4. The celestial houses related to each topic in in the table of contents in Ayasofya 1999/3 In the discussion of Ayasofya 1999/2, I raised the question whether each column in its table of contents might represesent a zodiacal sign, just as each row represents a house. The same question can be posed here: could each 3 × 4 set in itself represent a zodiacal sign? As the introduction provides no answers, this question must remain unanswered. On the one hand, Ayasofya 1999/2 and 1999/3, Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj and al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya, cover roughly the same 144 topics, organized according to celestial houses, and offer roughly the same twelve possible divinations for each topic. But on the other hand, their titles and introductions differ, and their topics and divinations 92 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) are not always identical or given in the same order. Consequently, opinions differ on how, exactly, these two qurʿas relate to one another. For Kunitzsch, the similarities outweighed the differences. In spite of multiple textual variations and the two works’ different titles, authors, and dedicatees, and notwithstanding the fact that the inclusion of both items in Ayasofya 1999 suggests that at least the copyist considered them two different texts,42 Kunitzsch deemed Ayasofya 1999/2 and 1999/3, together with six additional Arabic manuscripts, to represent basically one and the same lot book. For Fuat Sezgin, the dissimilarities weighed more heavily, and he cataloged Ayasofya 1999/2, Ayasofya 1999/3, and the six other Arabic manuscripts not as one but as many as six different texts.43 This is essentially a nonresolvable debate, as it boils down to just how much textual variation one is willing to accept for a single text. On the whole, I am inclined to side with Kunitzsch on this issue, first and foremost because the basic format of 12 × 12 questions and 12 × 12 × 12 answers and the procedure used to produce a chance number are exactly the same in the two texts. As the present article has nothing to add to the learned discussions of Kunitzsch and Sezgin beyond an additional manuscript, I will merely summarize the evidence that we have. • Apart from the two present items, Ayasofya 1999/2 and 1999/3, thus far seven Arabic manuscripts of this lot book have been identified. The following six were already listed by Kunitzsch: (1) MS Cairo, Dār al-Kutub, ḥurūf 15 (non vidi) (2) MS Istanbul, İstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, Arapça 6292 (non vidi) (3) MS Istanbul, Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 2685/2 (vidi) (4) MS London, British Library, Or. 1004 (= Add. 9607) (non vidi) (5) MS Rome, Bibliotheca Vittorio Emmanuele, no. 35 (non vidi) (6) MS Tehran, Malik 844/3 (non vidi) These can now be supplemented with a seventh: (7) MS Bursa, İnebey Kütüphanesi, H. Çelebi 233/2 (non vidi)44 In addition to the Arabic manuscripts, there are also four Latin translations and a German translation.45 42. See Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” and idem, “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift.” For more references on the Liber Alfadhol, see E. Savage-Smith and M. B. Smith, “Islamic Geomancy and a Thirteenth-Century Divinatory Device: Another Look,” in Magic and Divination in Early Islam, ed. E. Savage-Smith, 211–76 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004), 218–19. 43. Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. 7, Astrologie, Meteorologie und Verwandtes bis ca. 430 H. (Leiden: Brill, 1979), 110, 115–16, 117–18, 132–33. See, in particular, 116 for Sezgin’s critique of Kunitzsch. 44. Since this newly discovered manuscript is not discussed by Kunitzsch, the following details taken from the online catalog (“Ed-Devâzdehemrec,” Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı, Yazma Eserler Veritabanı, accessed October 15, 2023, https://portal.yek.gov.tr/works/detail/31237) may be of use: ascribed to al-Kindī; title ostensibly vocalized as al-Dawāzdahamraj; folios 58–135 with thirteen lines per page; copied in 793/1391–92 by Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad. 45. For the shelf marks of the translations, see Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 305. He has identified https://portal.yek.gov.tr/works/detail/31237 Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 93 • The text is variously ascribed to an anonymous author (as in Ayasofya 1999/2), to al-Kindī (as in Ayasofya 1999/3 and H. Çelebi 233/2), to al-Faḍl b. Sahl (as in Malik 844/3 and in the Latin translations, where the name is Latinicized as Alfadhol), or to “al-Ansī” or “al-Asnī” (as in Ayasofya 2685). • The various titles given for the text include al-Dawāzdahmarj (as in Ayasofya 1999/2, Malik 844/3, and H. Çelebi 233/2), al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya (as in Ayasofya 1999/3), Kitāb al-Fāl al-muʿtabar waḍaʿa al-ḥukamāʾ li-ajl al-khalīfa Hārūn al-Rashīd (as in Ayasofya 2685), and Liber Alfadhol (as in the Latin translations).46 • The text either has no dedicatee or commissioner (as in Ayasofya 1999/2), is dedicated to an unnamed caliph (as in Ayasofya 1999/3), or was allegedly commissioned by Hārūn al-Rashīd (as in Ayasofya 2685, Malik 844/3, and the Latin translations). Hārūn al-Rashīd’s son Caliph al-Maʾmūn is also potentially involved, given the alternative title al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya in Ayasofya 1999/3. • The oldest dated Arabic manuscript, Ayasofya 2685/2, dates from 764/1363, while the first Latin Liber Alfadhol goes back to the twelfth century CE. • The different manuscripts contain multiple variant readings, both in their introductions and in their main parts. • Where a source is given, it is either the unidentified (Perso-)Indic work al-Hafta marj (as in Malik 844/3 and Ayasofya 1999/3, albeit in a garbled way) or the currently unidentified Kitāb Ghawāmiḍ al-asrār by the third/ninth-century astrologer Abū Maʿshar (as in İstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, Arapça 6292). To complicate matters even further, it should be noted that just as more than one qurʿa is associated with Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, various qurʿas are associated with Caliph al-Maʾmūn. Toufic Fahd lists two other qurʿa texts linked to him, and Kunitzsch lists two more.47 In addition, at the least the following should also be considered: MSS Berlin, Ms. or. oct. 3925; Berlin, Ms. or. quart 466/11; Cairo, Dār al-Kutub, Taymūr Ghaybiyyāt 140; Oxford, Bodleian, Marsh 300; Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 2640; and Tübingen, Ma VI 146 (all non vidi). In short, there are still a lot of qurʿa manuscripts to be sorted out. two strands in the manuscripts: an al-Kindī strand and an “al-Ansī” strand. Savage-Smith and Smith (“Islamic Geomancy,” 218, n. 35) briefly discuss a qurʿa that involves the number 12, referencing three Turkish MSS (all non vidi). Their description of its instructions suggests that we are dealing with the same as the qurʿa under discussion: “Dots were made at random and then the number divided by twelve with the remainder giving the page and line where the answer to the inquiry would be given for any one of a list of 144 questions.” See also Kunitzsch, “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift,” 285. 46. See Kunitzsch, “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 304, 307. 47. Fahd, in La divination arabe, 216, n. 3, mentions “ms. Cairo 7612,” titled Qurʿat al-Ikhrāj, and “ms. Cairo 7613,” titled Qurʿat al-Maʾmūn (both non vidi); Kunitzsch, in “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol,’” 306, n. 20, lists MSS Berlin, Wetzstein 1218/6 and Wetzstein 1217 (both non vidi). 94 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) *** One of the additional manuscripts listed above, Ayasofya 2685/2,48 shows traces of use, both in its table of contents and in the main body of the text (Figs. 10 and 11), that confirm that two of the strategies discussed above—leafing through the book and navigating the table of contents—were in fact historically used. We thus know, for example, that this particular lot book was used at least four times to seek a divination concerning topic 20 (whether some person will die abroad or in his homeland), because the divination-seeker carried out the khaṭṭ procedure by drawing lines not on the ground but in pencil on the page itself. Other topics that display pencil lines on their pages include topic 31, “Will this pregnant woman bear a daughter or a son 48. I should add that another interesting divinatory text in the same volume, MS Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 2685/1, is based on the Chinese-Uyghur calendar (fāra, baqar, namir, arnab, timsāḥ, etc.) and once belonged to the famous Ottoman şeyhü’l-islam Muḥammad b. Farāmurz, also known as Molla Hüsrev (d. 885/1480; see F. Babinger, “Khosrew, Mollā,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., 5:32). It remains unclear whether Ayasofya 2685/1 and 2685/2 constituted a single volume already in Molla Hüsrev’s library. Fig. 10. The table of contents in Ayasofya 2685/2, with a set of pencil lines and markers in the margin Fig. 11. Section 20 in Ayasofya 2685/2, with four sets of pencil lines Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 95 and will the mother be all right or not?” (hādhihi al-marʾa al-ḥāmila talid bintan aw ibnan wa-taslam ummuhā am lā?), and topic 41, “Is the news that I have heard true or false?” (hādhā al-khabar alladhī samiʿtu ḥaqq am bāṭil?). Unfortunately, none of the qurʿas included in Ayasofya 1999 shows any traces of use, so there is no way of telling on which topics Qāniṣawh al-Muḥammadī might have sought a divination. However, while leafing through the manuscript, one can well guess those that must have appealed to him in his capacity as a husband, a son, a father, a Muslim, a governor, and an iqṭāʿ holder. Surely, he must have been curious about his wife-to-be, keen on having his first son, and wary of volatile Cairo politics, and he must have thought of his parents in far-off Georgia, considered going on Hajj, and hoped for ample rains and a rich harvest. For all we know, a divination might have predicted his alleged poisoning by Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī, and another one might have foretold the fascinating career of his son Maḥmūd. Indeed, the 308 topics dealt with in Qurʿat al-Imām Jaʿfar, Qurʿat al-Dawāzdahmarj, and al-Qurʿa al-mubāraka al-maʾmūniyya constitute a representative and timeless snapshot of the kinds of questions people ask themselves, and their 3,856 divinations offer an equally representative and timeless glimpse of their deepest wishes and greatest fears. Whether these divinations are informed by the Quran or go back to a (Perso-)Indic model and whether they are selected through a finger game or through lines on the ground, ultimately the verdict is determined by c, short for chance number. But perhaps, instead of c, I should have opted for the letter q as a more appropriate abbreviation, for isn’t this number produced by al-qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar (“the divine decree and predestination”), rather than by chance? However, the debate of c versus q, chance verses fate, is not taken up here, so I conclude by leaving the options open: Navigating the qurʿa of (Pseudo-)Jaʿfar: for any t(x) and muqāraʿa c/q, s(x – c/q) and l(21 – c/q) Navigating the qurʿa of (Pseudo-)al-Kindī: for any t(x) and khaṭṭ c/q, s(x + c/q) and l(1 + c/q) Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful feedback and the Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı for its permission to reproduce images of MSS Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 1999 and Ayasofya 2685. Postscript to Footnote 16 Since completing this article, I have identified three copies of a Turkish translation of the first qurʿa (all vidi): Istanbul, Nuruosmaniye 4988/5 (18th cent.?); Istanbul, Milli Kütüphane 06 Mil Yz 5335/2 (18th cent.); Istanbul, Hacı Selim Ağa Kütüphanesi, Hüdai Efendi 1728 (a lithograph in 23 pp., n.p. [Istanbul], n.d. [1289 AH?]). Especially the lithograph is interesting, as it confirms the work’s popularity well into the 19th century. 96 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Bibliography Abū Maʿshar. The Great Introduction to Astrology. Vol. 1, The Arabic Original and English Translation. Edited and translated by K. Yamamoto and C. Burnett. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Atalan, M. “Cafer Es-Sadık’ın Eserleri.” Dinî Araştırmalar 4, no. 11 (2001): 113–32. Babinger, F. “Khosrew, Mollā.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., edited by P. J. Bearman et al., 5:32. Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004. Bauden, F. “Maqriziana XIII: An Exchange of Correspondence between al-Maqrīzī and al-Qalqashandī.” In Developing Perspectives in Mamluk History: Essays in Honor of Amalia Levanoni, edited by Y. Ben-Bassat, 201–29. Leiden: Brill, 2017. al-Bīrūnī. The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology. Translated by R. R. Wright. London: Luzac, 1934. Colletta, P. La mourra bella: Histoire et histoires d’un jeu interdit. Nice: Serre, 2006. “Ed-Devâzdehemrec.” Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı, Yazma Eserler Veritabanı. Accessed October 15, 2023. D’hulster, K. “The Art of Picking the Best Seat: From Vedic Vāstu Śāstra to Seating Positions at a Muslim Majlis (Ayasofya 2836).” Unpublished paper, 2023. – – –. Browsing through the Sultan’s Bookshelves: Towards a Reconstruction of the Library of the Mamluk Sultan Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī (r. 906–922/1501–1516). Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2021. – – –. “The Venom Is in the Tail: A Latin (?) Magical Formula against Stings and Bites in a Mamluk Manuscript (Ayasofya 1443).” Unpublished paper, 2023. – – – and N. Löhr. “(Mis)reading the Stars at the Mamluk Court: The Horoscope (Zāyirja) of al-Ẓāhir Qāniṣawh (r. 1498–1500).” Forthcoming. Fahd, T. La divination arabe: Études religieuses, sociologiques et folkloriques sur le milieu natif de l’Islam. Leiden: Brill, 1966. – – –. “Ḳurʿa.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., edited by P. J. Bearman et al., 5:398–99. Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004. al-Ghazzī, Muḥammad Kamāl al-Dīn b. Muḥammad. Al-Naʿt al-akmal li-aṣḥāb al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. Edited by M. Muṭīʿ al-Ḥāfiẓ. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1982. al-Ghazzī, Muḥammad Najm al-Dīn b. Muḥammad. Al-Kawākib al-sāʾira bi-aʿyān al-miʾa al-ʿāshira. Edited by Kh. al-Manṣūr. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1997. Ibn al-Ḥanbalī. Durr al-ḥabab fī tārīkh aʿyān Ḥalab. Edited by M. Aḥmad al-Fākhūrī and Y. Zakariyyā ʿAbbāra. Damascus: Manshūrāt Wizārat al-Thaqāfa, 1973. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 97 Ibn al-ʿImād. Shadharāt al-dhahab fī akhbār man dhahab. Edited by ʿA. al-Arnāʾūṭ and M. al-Arnāʾūṭ. Damascus: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 1993. Ibn Iyās. Badāʾiʿ al-zuhūr fī waqāʾiʿ al-duhūr. Edited by P. Kahle, M. Muṣṭafā, and M. Sobernheim. Istanbul: Maṭbaʿat al-Dawla, 1931. – – –. Badāʾiʿ al-zuhūr fī waqāʾiʿ al-duhūr. Edited by M. Muṣṭafā. Cairo: Dār Iḥyā al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyya, 1961. Ibn Ṭūlūn. Iʿlām al-warā bi-man waliya nāʾiban min al-Atrāk bi-Dimashq al-Shām al-Kubrā. Edited by ʿA. Ḥāmid Khaṭṭāb. ʿAyn Shams: Maṭbaʿat Jāmiʿat ʿAyn Shams, 1973. – – –. Mufākahat al-ḥillān fī ḥawādith al-zamān. Edited by Kh. al-Manṣūr. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1998. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Qurʿat al-imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Edited by ʿA. al-Sayyid al-Ṭūkḥī. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Thaqāfiyya, 1992. Kunitzsch, P. “Eine neue Alfadhol-Handschrift.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 134 (1984): 280–85. – – –. “Zum ‘Liber Alfadhol’: Eine Nachlese.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 118 (1968): 297–314. Lane, E. W. Arabic-English Lexicon. 1863–93. Reprint, Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1968. Lory, P. “Divination and Religion in Islamic Medieval Culture.” In Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural, edited by F. Leoni, 13–32. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2016. Lutz, B. F. “Das Buch ‘Alfadol’: Untersuchung und Ausgabe nach der Wiener Handschrift 2804.” PhD dissertation, Heidelberg University, 1967. Massé, H. “Fāl-Nāma.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., edited by P. J. Bearman et al., 2:760–61. Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004. Mazor, A. “The Topos of Predicting the Future in Early Mamlūk Historiography.” In Mamluk Historiography Revisited: Narratological Perspectives, edited by S. Conermann and B. J. Walker, 103–19. Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2018. “Mukhāradja.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, edited by P. J. Bearman et al., 7:518. Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004. al-Najdī, Muḥammad b. ʿ Abd Allāh. Al-Suḥub al-wābila ʿ alā ḍarāʾiḥ al-Ḥanābila. N.p.: Maktabat al-Imām Aḥmad, n.d. Pellat, C. “Ḥikāya.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, edited by P. J. Bearman et al., 3:367–73. Leiden: Brill, 1960–2004. Quran = The Holy Qurʾan: Text, Translation and Commentary. Translated by A. Y. Ali. Lahore: Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf, 1934. 98 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Regourd, A. “Traditions and Practices in the Medieval Islamic World.” In Prognostication in the Medieval World, edited by M. Heiduk et al., 1:468–84. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021. Savage-Smith, E., ed. Magic and Divination in Early Islam. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. – – – and M. B. Smith. “Islamic Geomancy and a Thirteenth-Century Divinatory Device: Another Look.” In Magic and Divination in Early Islam, edited by E. Savage-Smith, 211–76. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. Schmidl, P. G. “Medieval Traditions of Prognostication in the Islamic World.” In Prognostication in the Medieval World, edited by M. Heiduk et al., 1:189–242. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021. Sezgin, F. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Vol. 7, Astrologie, Meteorologie und Verwandtes bis ca. 430 H. Leiden: Brill, 1979. Yahya, F. Magic and Divination in Malay Illustrated Manuscripts. Leiden: Brill, 2016. Appendix: Transcription and Translation of the Qurʿat al-Imām Jaʿfar This appendix provides a full transcription and translation of the first qurʿa for use in a classroom context.49 The text can be harnessed for a number of learning objectives, including for practice in Quranic and plain Classical Arabic and as an introduction to the occult sciences in general and to bibliomancy and qurʿas in particular. First, you have the students build their own divinatory devices using two copies of the diagram below (Fig. 12). The outer circle is cut from one copy along the golden outer line and the intermediate and innermost circles are cut from the second copy along the red intermediate line. The two circles are then perforated in their centers, placed on top of one another, and held together with a brad pin. Next, you guide the students through the list of topics in the intermediate circle of the device, explain the game of muqāraʿa (YouTube!), and demonstrate how to operate the diagram. Divided into groups of two, the students are now set to contemplate their futures while practicing their Arabic. قرعة االمام جعفروهو االمام السيد اجلليل جعفر بن االمام السيد الكبري حممد الباقر بن االمام اجلليل البطل الغالب امري املؤمنني علي ابن اىب طالب رضي هللا عنه بسم هللا الرمحن الرحيم وبه ثقيت احلمد هلل رب العاملني وصلي هللا علي سيدان حممد وآله وصحبه امجعني 49. For the sake of convenience, the sections and lines have been numbered. In the transcription, superfluous diacritics have been retained, while missing diacritics are mostly tacitly added. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 99 امــا بعــد فــان اويل االشــياء ابلتفــاول التفــاول بكتــاب هللا عــز وجــل الــذي نطــق ابحلــق وإن رســول هللا صلــي هللا عليه وســلم كان حيب الفال ويكره الطَرية وان موالان اإلمام جعفر الصادق رضي هللا عنه مل يدع شــيئا من غوامض العلــوم اال اظهــره وال مرمــوز إال اشــهره وال غريبــا إال انشــره فوضــع هــذه القرعــة علــي نــوازع القــران فمــن اراد شــيا مــن امــورك كاينــا او غَري كاينــا فاَقــراء مــا حتــت الدايــرة الصــغَرية اليت هــي عشــرون اباب كل ابب منهــا يــدل علــي نــوع مــن انــواع احلاجــات وهــى امحــد القــرع واصحهــا واحســنها واصدَقهــا الن شــواهدها وداليلهــا مــن القــرآن العظيــم وابزاء كل ابب ســورة مــن ســور القــرآن العزيــز ومهــا دايــرتني احدامهــا يف االخــري وابــواب احلاجــات يف الدايــرة احلارجــة ابزاء السور من القرآن تدور هبا وىىىعى لطالب احلاجة ان يظهر ما يريد من احلواىج املفصلة يف الدايرة املذكورة املوضوعة كاظهارها ويقارع مع آخر كل منهما بيديه الثنني مث ينظر ايل مجلة ما خترج هلما يف املقارعة من العدد فيجمعهما ويرجــع يف املقارعــة مــن الســورة اليت هــي ابزاء احلاجــة حيت ينتهــي ايل آخــر العــدد فيقــف علــي الســورة اليت وصــل العــدد اليهــا مث ينظــر ايل اجلــداول اليت فيهــا الســور ويعــد مــن اّول ســطر حتــت الســورة اليت وصــل العــدد اليهــا بقــدر العــدد الــذي اخرجتــه املقارعــة وينظــر يف الســطر الــذي ينتهــي اليــه العــدد فيجــد مــا فيــه مــن بشــارة او نــذارة او مــداراة او حتذير وهذه صورة الدايرة املذكورة Fig. 12. The wheel diagram concluding the introduction (Ayasofya 1999/1, fol. 3v ) 100 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١ سورة البقرة يدل علي امللك والسلطان ١ وآتيناهم ملكا عظيما يدل علي رخص االسعار واحلَريات ٢ يريد هللا بكم اليسر يدل علي عدل السلطان ٣ ان اريد اال االصالح ما استطعت يدل علي رد الضالة ٤ َقالوا بشرانك ابحلق يدل علي وَقوع ما سئل عنه ٥ امنا توعدون آلت يدل علي وجود مال ٦ واتيناه من الكنوز يدل علي بركة التجارة ورحيها ٧ ليوفيهم اجورهم ويزيدهم من فضله يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ٨ ان الينا إايهبم يدل على السفر وحسن العاَقبة ٩ َقل سَريوا يف االرض فانظروا يدل علي ادراك املأمول ١0 َقال َقد اوتيت سؤلك اي موسي يدل علي احملبة واملودة ١١ وألقيت عليك حمبة مين يدل علي النجاة من الغم والشدة ١٢ ال ختف جنوت من القوم الظاملني يدل علي صحة احلرب املسؤل عنه 13 ما كان حديثا يفتري ولكن تصديق يدل علي ان التهمه صحيحة 14 ان هذا لهو حق اليقين يدل علي النصر علي األعدا 15 وينصرك هللا نصرا عزيزا يدل علي السخاء وحسن الوفاء 16 الذين ينفقون اموالهم بالليل والنهار يدل علي االمن والعلم 17 وقد اتيناك من لدنا ذكرا يدل على صدق الوعد والوفاء 18 الموفون بعهدهم اذا عاهدوا يدل علي التزويج واحلَري فيه 19 وزوجناهم بحور عين يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وولدا 20 وقال ألوتين ماال وولدا Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 101 ٢ سورة آل عمران يدل علي انه ىرزق من اوالده وخدمه ١ وجعل لكم من ازواجكم بنني يدل على انه ال ينال ما يطلبه ٢ ما ميلكون من َقطمَري يدل علي غال االسعار وجذب السنة ٣ ضيقا حرجا كامنا يّصّعد يف السما يدل على جور السلطان وَقبح سَريته ٤ ان امللوك اذا دخلوا َقرية افسدوها يدل علي ان ما يطلبه ال جيده ٥ وللبسنا عليهم ما يلبسون يدل علي ان هذا االمر ال يكون ٦ ان هللا سيبطله يدل علي الضيقة واالفالس ٧ ولنبلونكم بشي من اخلوف واجلوع يدل علي التعب واحلسارة ٨ فما رحبت جتارهتم وما كانوا مهتدين يدل علي الغيبة واالبطاء ٩ فما استطاعوا مضيا وال يرجعون يدل علي ترك السفر ١0 اذا َقيل لكم انفروا يف سبيل هللا يدل علي انه ال يدرك حاجته ١١ فتنقلبوا خائبني يدل علي البغض والعداوة ١٢ فأغرينا بينهم العداوة والبغضا يدل علي هم وغم ورجاء الفرج ١٣ وَقذف يف َقلوهبم الرعب يدل علي ان املتهوم بريء ١٤ واملرجفون يف املدينة يدل علي بطالن احلرب ١٥ ما هلم به من علم اال اتباع الظن يدل علي العجز واحلدالن ١٦ فغلبوا هنالك وانقلبوا صاغرين يلد علي البخل والشح والدين ١٧ ومن يبخل فامنا يبخل عن نفسه يدل علي انه يرزق علما ١٨ وما اوتيتم من العلم اال َقليال يدل علي انه ال يويف ابلعهد ١٩ ال يرَقبون يف مؤمن اال وال ذمة يدل علي حسن القسمة ٢0 وهلم فيها ازواج مطهرة 102 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ٣ سورة النساء يدل على انه ال يرزق اوالدا ١ ان من ازواجكم واوالدهم عدوا يدل علي َقلة احلظ من الولد ٢ اين يكون يل غالم وَقد بلغين الكرب يدل علي انه ينال ملكا وجاها ٣ وجعلكم ملوكا وآاتكم يدل علي كثرة اخلَري والرزق ٤ ان هللا يبسّط الرزق ملن يشاء يدل علي اصالح ويل االمر وحسن سَريته ٥ ال يضركم كيدهم شيئا يدل علي رجوع الدابة وعودها ٦ كي تقر عينها وال حتزن يدل علي وَقوع االمر املسؤل عنه ٧ امنا توعدون لصادق يدل علي يسار صاحبه وغنايه ٨ وجعلت له ماال ممدودا يدل علي بركة التجارة ورحيها ٩ فاستبشروا ببيعكم الذي ابيعتم به يدل علي َقدوم غايب او عود شي ١0 وجاء من اَقضي املدينة رجل يسعي يدل علي السفر وينال خَريا ١١ امل تر ايل الذين خرجوا من دايرهم يدل علي اتخَري الظفر ابحلاجة ١٢ لن تنالوا الرب حيت تنفقوا مما حتبون يدل علي االلفة واحملبة ١٣ والف بني َقلوهبم يدل علي احلالص من الشدة ١٤ ولو تري اذ فزعوا فال فوت يدل علي صدق االمر وصحته ١٥ واتيناك ابحلق واان لصادَقون يدل علي ان املهتوم بريء ١٦ وَقالوا هذا افك َقدمي يدل عي انه ال يظفر حباجته ١٧ وال تنفعها شفاعة وال هم يدل علي اجلود والسخا ١٨ بل يداه مبسوَطتان يدل علي اجلهل وَقلة العلم ١٩ هلم َقلوب ال يفقهون هبا يدل علي منع املطلوب ٢0 ووعدتكم فاخلفتكم Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 103 ٤ سورة املآيدة يدل علي الوفاء ابلعهد ١ والذين هم ألماانهتم وعدهم يدل علي اتخَري التزويج ٢ وليستعفف الذين ال جيدون يدل علي انه يرزق مولودا ٣ اان نبشرك بغالم امسه حيىي يدل علي انه يرزق جاها ٤ واجعل يل من لدنك سلطاان يدل علي كثرة اخلَري والرزق ٥ اوآليك هلم رزق معلوم يدل علي جور يلحقه من ويل امره ٦ ان يثقفوكم يكونوا لكم اعداء يدل علي بطالن االمر الذي له ٧ افبالباَطل يؤمنون يدل علي ذهاب الضالة ٨ فضلوا فال يستطيعون سبيال يدل علي ضيق اليد وتعذر السعة ٩ اين ملا انزلت ايل من خَري فقَري يدل علي خسران التجارة ١0 ان االنسان لفي خسر يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ورجوعه ١١ َقيل ارجعوا ورآكم فالتمسوا يدل علي السفر وحسن عاَقبته ١٢ فسيحوا يف االرض اربعة اشهر يدل علي ادراك احلاجة واملأمول ١٣ امنا توعدون آلت يدل علي األلفة والصداَقة ١٤ ولكن هللا الف بينهم يدل علي الفرج والنجاة من الشدة ١٥ وجنيناهم من عذاب غليظ يدل على ان ال أصل ملا َقيل ١٦ ما هذا اال افك مفرتى يدل علي برآة املهتم مما اهتم به ١٧ اين بريء مما تعملون يدل علي اهلزمية وانه ال ينصر ١٨ سيهزم اجلمع ويولون الدبر يدل على السخاء وسعة الصدر ١٩ ويطعمون الطعام علي حبه يدل علي العلم وحتقيق املعرفة ٢0 ويعلمه الكتاب واحلكمة 104 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ٥ سورة االنعام يدل علي انه يفرّج كربه ١ امل نشرح لك صدرك يدل علي خلف العهد والوعد ٢ وما وجدان الكثرهم من عهد يدل علي مفارَقة الزوجه والشريك ٣ َقال هذا فراق بيين وبينك يدل علي انه يرزق ولدا ذكرا ٤ َقال اي بشراي هذا غالم يدل علي انه ال ميلك وال يتسلّط ٥ وما كان له عليهم من سلطان يدل علي الرخص واحلَريات ٦ ما يفتح هللا للناس من رمحة يدل على عدل السلطان وخَريه ٧ امة يهدون ابحلق وبه يعدلون يدل علي النصر من الغلبة ٨ وينصركم عليهم يدل علي بطالن ما سأل عنه ٩ وحيل بينهم و بني ما يشتهون يدل على انه ال يرزق هذا املال ١0 مّستهم الباساء والضراء يدل علي َقلة الريح واملنفعة ١١ فما تزيدونين غَري ختسَري يدل علي سرعة َقدوم الغايب ١٢ ايتني من كل فج عميق يدل علي أتخَري السفر ١٣ وما هم خبارجني منها يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ١٤ َقد اصبتم مثليها يدل علي البغضة وَقلة املوّدة ١٥ ان يوَقع بينكم العداوة والبغضا يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ١٦ ما لكم ملجاء يومئذ وما لكم من نكَري يدل على صحة اخلرب ١٧ وجئتك من سبإ بنبإ يقني يدل علي ان التهمة صحيحة ١٨ يقولون أبفواههم ما ليس يف َقلوهبم يدل علي الظفر ابالعداء ١٩ اال ان حزب هللا هم الغالبني يدل علي البغض والشدة ٢0 وانه حلب اخلَري لشديد Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 105 ٦ سورة االعراف يدل علي البخل والشح ١ والذين يوتون ما آتوا وَقلوهبم وجلة يدل علي َقلة العلم واملعرفة ٢ وجعلنا علي َقلوهبم اكنة ان يفقهوه يدل علي جناز الوعد وَقضا احلاجة ٣ فهل وجدمت ما وعد ربكم حقا يدل علي التزويج واحلَري فيه ٤ هن لباس لكم وانتم لباس هلن يدل علي انه يرزق مولودا ذكرا ٥ فبشرانه بغالم حليم يدل علي انه ال ميلك ما يريده ٦ فلن متلك له من هللا شيئا يدل على رخص االسعار ٧ فرحني مبا آاتهم هللا من فضله يدل علي العدل والوفاء ابلقول ٨ بل هم َقوم يعدلون يدل علي انه ال جيد ما يطلب ٩ وما تقف ما ليس لك به علم يدل علي بطالن االمر الذي يريده ١0 ان هللا سيبطله يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وولدا ١١ وامددانكم ابموال وبنني يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ١٢ وهللا يضاعف ملن يشاء يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ١٣ لرادك ايل معاٍد يدل علي السفر واالنزعاج ١٤ يوم يسمعون الصيحة ابحلق يدل علي ادراك احلاجة واملأمول ١٥ اال حاجة يف نفس يعقوب َقضاها يدل علي احملبة واملوّدة ١٦ واذا الحتذوك خليال يدل علي الفرج واحلالص من الشدة ١٧ فاستجبنا له وجنيناه من الغم يدل علي صحة اخلرب ١٨ وجاءك يف هذه احلق يدل علي صحة التهمة وحقيقتها ١٩ انه حلق مثل ما انكم تنطقون يدل على الغلبة والنصر والظفر ٢0 ان يكن منكم عشرون صابرون 106 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ٧ سورة االنفال يدل علي خذالن العدو ١ ما لكم من هللا من ويل وال نصَري يدل علي البخل والضيق ٢ ومينعون املاعون يدل علي تفريج اهلم ٣ رب اشرح يل صدري يدل علي انه ال يفي ابلوعد ٤ كرب مقتا عند هللا ان تقولو ما ال يدل علي اتخَري االمر املطلوب ٥ اي ليت بيين وبينك بعد املشرَقني يدل علي انه ال يرزق ولدا ٦ احلمد هلل الذي مل يتحذ ولدا يدل على انه ال ميلك اال بتعب ٧ ال ميلكون النفسهم نفعا وال ضرا يدل علي الرخص وسعة احلَريات ٨ فتحنا عليهم ابواب كل شيء يدل علي جور السلطان و َقبح سَريته ٩ اهنم ان يظهروا عليكم يرمجوكم يدل علي ذهاب السرَقة ١0 واين هلم التناوش من مكان بعيد يدل علي وَقوع االمر وصحته ١١ وان الساعة آلتية ال ريب فيها يدل على انه ال يبلغ ما يطلب ١٢ فتلك بيوهتم خاوية مبا ظلموا يدل علي احلسران يف التجارة ١٣ اوليك هم اخلاسرون يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ١٤ وما تلبثوا فيها اال يسَريا يدل على السفر واخلَري فيه ١٥ ُخيرجون من االجداث سراعا يدل علي تعذر ادراك املأمول ١٦ اان ملردودون يف احلافرة يدل علي البغضة وَقلة احملبة ١٧ يقولون ابفواههم ما ليس يف يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ١٨ وخنوفهم فما يزيدهم اال َطغياان يدل على انه ال جيد ما يطلب ١٩ وحيلفون علي الكذب وهم يعلمون يدل علي ان املهتم بريء ٢0 يظنون ابهلل ظن السوء Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 107 ٨ سورة برآة يدل علي ان املهتم بريء من التهمة ١ سبحانك هذا هبتان عظيك يدل علي النصر والظفر ٢ اذا جاء نصر هللا والفتح يدل علي البخل وضعف التعني ٣ فلما آاتهم من فضله خبلوا به يدل علي اجلهل وَقلة املعرفة ٤ وَطبع هللا علي َقلوهبم يدل على اجناز الوعد وَقضآ احلاجه ٥ ذلك وعد غَري مكذوب يدل علي التزويج واحلَري فيه ٦ مثين وثالث ورابع يدل علي انه ال يولد له ولد ٧ وجيعل من يشاء عقيما يدل علي انه ينال رفعة ٨ جعلنا لكم عليهم سلطاان مبينا يدل علي خصب السنة والرخاء ٩ واسبغ عليكم نعمه ظاهرة وابَطن يدل علي عدل السلطان وصالحه ١0 ان هللا يغفر الذنوب مجيعا يدل علي ذهاب السرَقة ١١ كرماد اشتدت به الريح يدل علي وَقوع االمر املسؤل عنه ١٢ فقد كذبتم فسوف يكون لزاما يدل علي انه يرزق ماال كثَريا ١٣ وان لك الجرا غَري ممنون يدل علي انه خاسر يف التجارة ١٤ فقدر عليه رزَقه يدل علي اتخَري َقدوم الغايب ١٥ ولبثوا يف كهفهم ثلثماية سنني يدل علي السفر واحلَري فيه ١٦ فانتشروا يف االرض وابتغوا يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ١٧ ولكم فيها ما تشتهي انفسكم يدل علي َقلة احملبة واملداهنة ١٨ يرضونكم ابفواههم يدل علي احلالص والنجاة من الشدة ١٩ سيجعل هللا بعد عسر يسرا يدل علي كذب اخلرب ٢0 ان هذا إال اختالق 108 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ٩ سورة يونس يدل علي صحة اخلرب ١ ويستنبئونك احق هو َقل اي وريب يدل على صحة التهمة ٢ ما كان حديثا يفرتي يدل علي النصر والظفر ٣ وان يقاتلوكم يوّلوكم االدابر يدل علي اجلود وسعة الصدر ٤ فاما من اعطي واتقي وصدق يدل على صدق الوعد وَقضآ احلاجة ٥ انه كان صادق الوعد يدل علي متام العقل واخلَري ٦ ليتفقهوا يف الدين يدل علي اخلَري يف مفارَقة الزوجة ٧ وان يتفرَقا يغين هللا كال من سعته يدل علي انه يرزق رزَقا من انثى ٨ َقالت رب اين وضعتها انثي يدل على الوالية واجلاه ٩ مث جعلناكم خاليف يف االرض يدل علي جذب السنة ١0 اىن حيى هذه هللا بعد موهتا يدل علي عدل السلطان وصالحه ١١ وادخلناهم يف رمحتنا يدل علي فوات االمر املطلوب ١٢ َقد يئسوا من اآلخرة يدل علي ان االمر الذى نواه ال ممكن ١٣ مل يكن شيئا مذكورا يدل على انه يرزق ماال وولدا ١٤ امنا مندهم من مال و بنني يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ١٥ كمثل حبة انبتت سبع سنابل يدل علي بطاء َقدوم الغايب ١٦ ولو ارادوا اخلروج ألعدوا له عدة يدل على السفر واحلَري فيه ١٧ انفروا خفافا وثقاال يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ١٨ فلما َقضى وّلوا ايل َقومهم منذرين يدل علي البغضة وَقلة احملبة ١٩ َقد بدت البغضاء من افواههم يدل علي الشدة وَقلة احلَري ٢0 فذوَقوا فلن نزيدكم اال عذااب Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 109 ١0 سورة هود يدل على الفرج والنجاة من الشدة ١ ولو رمحناهم وكشفناما هبم من ضر يدل علي صحة احلرب الذي نواه ٢ امل ذلك الكتاب ال ريب فيه يدل علي ان التهمة ابَطلة ٣ وان الظن ال يغين من احلق شيئا يدل علي خلف الوعد ٤ يوم ال يغىن عنهم كيدهم شيئا يدل علي البخل وضيق الصدر ٥ ومن يبخل فامنا يبخل عن نفسه يدل علي اجلهل وَقلة العلم ٦ ولكن تعمي القلوب اليت يف الصدور يدل علي اتخَري التزويج ٧ وحيل بينهم وبني ما يشتهون يدل علي اجناز الوعد وَقضآ احلاجة ٨ الذين يوفون بعهد هللا وال يدل علي انه ال يرزق اوالدا ٩ َقالت اي ويلىت الد واان عجوز يدل علي امللك والسلطان ١0 اان ارسلنا رسلنا ابحلق يدل علي افساد النية والغال ١١ ان هللا ال يغَري ما بقوم حيت يدل علي احملادعة والغنب ١٢ ُخيادعون هللا والذين آمنوا يدل علي عود الضالة ١٣ ولستم آبخذيه اال ان تغمضوا فيه يدل علي تغَري االمر املسؤل عنه ١٤ مث لرتوهنا عني اليقني يدل علي انه يرزق ماال جزيال ١٥ فسوف يغنيكم هللا من فضله يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ١٦ وان تك حسنة يضاعفها يدل علي اتخَري َقدوم الغايب ١٧ فرتبصوا حيت حني يدل علي السفر واحلَري فيه ١٨ الذي جعل لكم االرض ذلوال يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ١٩ فان لكم ما سألتم يدل علي االلفة واحملبة واملودة ٢0 وجعل بينكم موّدة ورمحه 110 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١١ سورة يوسف يدل علي املصافاة واحملبة ١ والقيت عليك حمبة مين يدل علي اتخَري اخلالص ٢ ولن تفلحوا اذا ابدا يدل علي صحة اخلرب وصدور القول ٣ َقالوا ماذا َقال ربكم َقالوا احلق يدل علي بطالن التهمة ٤ فرباءه هللا مما َقالوا يدل علي النصر بعد الغلبة ٥ اهنم هلم املنصورون يدل علي البخل وضيق الصدر ٦ وال حيسنّب الذين يبخلون يدل علي اجلهل وَقلة العلم ٧ مث َقست َقلوبكم من بعد ذلك يدل علي اجناز الوعد وَقضآ احلاجه ٨ يوفون ابلنذر وُخيافون يدل علي وَقوع التزويج وصالحه ٩ وَقد اَقضي بعضكم ايل بعض يدل علي انه يرزق انثي او يتزوج ١0 يهب ملن يشاء ااناث ويهب ملن يشاء يدل علي انه ال يرزق ماال ١١ ال يقدر علي شي وهو كل علي مواله يدل علي اخلصب والرخاء ١٢ فيه يغاث الناس وفيه يعصرون يدل علي عدل السلطان ١٣ ان هللا ايمر ابلعدل واالحسان يدل علي وجود السرَقة واالبق ١٤ كال ال وزر ايل ربك يومئذ املستقر يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي نواه ١٥ ان هذا هلو حق اليقني يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وخَريا ١٦ ووجدك عايال فأغين يدل علي َقلة الريح يف التجارة ١٧ ولبئس ما شروا به انفسهم يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ١٨ اى منقلب ينقلبون يدل علي اتخَري السفر ١٩ انكم رضيتم ابلقعود اول مرة يدل علي ادراك ما نوي وبلوغه ٢0 تناله ايديكم ورماحكم Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 111 ١٢ سورة الرعد يدل علي اتخَري احلاجة املطلوبة ١ وما هو ببالغه يدل علي الراي والنفاق ٢ حتسبهم مجيعا وَقلوهبم شيّت يدل علي الفرح والنجاة من الشدة ٣ اان ملنجوهم امجعني يدل علي صحة اخلرب ووَقوع االمر ٤ انه لقول فصل وما هو ابهلزل يدل علي الفرح والنجاة من الشدة ٥ تنزل علي كل افاك اثيم يدل علي وهن يصيبه وَقوه العدو ٦ انه لقول فصل وما هو ابهلزل يدل علي اجلود والسخا ٧ ويوثرون علي انفسهم ولو كان يدل علي العلم واملعرفة ٨ الرمحن عّلم القرآن يدل علي انه ال ينجز ابلوعد ٩ والذين ينقضون عهد هللا من بعد يدل علي اصالح حال النساء ١0 واصلحنا له زوجه يدل علي انه يرزق اوالدا كثَرية ١١ وجعلنا هلم ازواجا وذرية يدل علي امللك والسلطان ١٢ وهللا يؤيت ملكه من يشاء يدل علي الغال وَقلة اخلصب ١٣ مث َقبضناه الينا َقبضا يسَريا يدل على عدل السلطان ١٤ فاصلح بينهم فال امث عليه يدل علي وجود السرَقة ١٥ هذه بضاعتنا ردت الينا يدل علي بطالن االمر املسؤل عنه ١٦ وما يبدئ الباَطل وما يعيد يدل علي انه يرزق ماال كثَريا ١٧ هللا يبسّط الرزق ملن يشاء ويقدر يدل علي خالصه يف التجارة ١٨ فلكم رؤس اموالكم يدل علي اتخَري َقدوم الغايب ١٩ لن نربح عليه عاكفني حيت يدل علي سرعة االنتقال ٢0 وما كنت اثواي يف اهل مدين 112 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١٣ سورة ابرهيم يدل علي ان احلَري يف اتخَري السفر ١ فرتبصوا حيت اييت هللا ابمره يدل علي اتخَري احلاجة ٢ وال جيدون يف صدورهم حاجة يدل علي احملبة وخمالطة الصديق ٣ فسوف اييت هللا بقوم حيبهم وحيبونه يدل علي النجاة من الشدة ٤ ال خوف عليكم اليوم وال انتم حتزنون يدل علي بطالن اخلرب ٥ ان يقولون اال كذاب يدل علي املهتم بريء ٦ وال يغتب بعضكم بعضا يدل علي الظفر والنصر ٧ فلناتينهم جبنود ال َقبل هلم هبا يدل على البخل وضيق النفس ٨ واما من خبل واستغين يدل علي اجلهل وَقلة العلم ٩ وجعلنا علي َقلوهبم اكّنة يدل علي اجناز الوعد ١0 مث صدَقناهم الوعد يدل علي فساد امر النساء ١١ ان من ازواجكم واوالدكم عدوا لكم يدل علي انه يرزق اوالد كثَرية ١٢ واذكروا اذ كنتم َقليال فكثركم يدل علي انه ال ينال ما يطلب ١٣ وال ميلكون النفسهم نفعا وال ضرا يدل علي الرخاء وخصب السنة ١٤ ومنَري اهلنا وحنفظ اخاان يدل علي عدل السلطان وصالحه ١٥ انه هبم رءوف رحيم يدل علي ان الضالة ال توجد ١٦ َقد ضلوا من َقبل واضلوا كثَريا يدل علي تعذر االمر الذي َطلبه ١٧ حيت يلج اجلمل يف سّم اخلياط يدل علي انه يرزق ماال كثَريا ١٨ الذي مجع ماال وعّدده يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ١٩ وابركنا عليه وعلي اسحق يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ٢0 واهنم اليهم راجعون Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 113 ١٤ سورة احلجر يدل علي بطوء الغايب ١ وال ايل اهلهم يرجعون يدل علي احلَري يف ترك السفر ٢ فقل لن خترجوا معي ابدا يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ٣ يثبت هللا الذين آمنوا يدل علي احملبة وحسن املوّدة ٤ موّدة بينكم يف احليوة الدنيا يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ٥ يضاعف هلا العذاب ضعفني يدل علي ان بعضه حق وبعضه ابَطل ٦ ويقولون نؤمن ببعض ونكفر ببعض يدل علي ان صاحب التهمة مراتب ٧ وحيلفون علي الكذب وهم يعلمون يدل علي وهن يلحقه من عدوه ٨ يوم تولون مدبرين ما لكم من هللا يدل علي االمساك والبخل ٩ وحيبون ان حيمدوا مبا مل يفعلوا يدل علي العلم واملعفرة ابالمر ١0 اين اعلم ما ال تعلمون يدل علي وفاء الوفد وَقضاء احلاجة ١١ وأوفوا بعهدي اوف بعهدكم يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي يطلبه ١٢ فلما َقضي زيد منها وَطرا زوجناكها يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وبنني ١٣ وجعلت له ماال ممدودا يدل علي انه ال ينال ما يطلب ١٤ اين يكون له امللك علينا يدل علي الرخاء وكثرة اخلَريات ١٥ يريد هللا ان ُخيفف عنكم يدل علي جور السلطان ١٦ اهنم كانوا َقوما فاسقني يدل علي ذهاب اخلوف واحلزن ١٧ وال ختايف وال حتزين يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي نواه ١٨ اذا وَقعت الواَقعة يدل علي انه ال يرزق ماال ١٩ اي ايها العزيز مّسنا واهلنا الضر يدل علي اخلسارة يف التجارة ٢0 اوليك هم اخلاسرون 114 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١٥ سورة النحل يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ١ ليوفيهم اجورهم ويزيدهم يدل علي سرعة َقدوم الغايب ٢ فمكث غَري بعيد يدل علي السفر واخلَري فيه ٣ ان ارضي واسعة فاايي فارهبون يدل علي ادراك احلاجة واملامول ٤ هلم ما يشاءون فيها ولدينا مزيد يدل علي البغضة وَقلة املودة ٥ َقد بدت البغضاء من افواههم يدل علي الفرح والنجاه من الشدة ٦ فنجيناه واهله من الكرب العظيم يدل علي صحة اخلرب واتكيده ٧ فورّب السماء واالرض انه حلق يدل على ان املهتم بريء الساحة ٨ فخلوا سبيلهم يدل عل النصر والظفر والشجاعة ٩ اان لننصر رسلنا والذين آمنوا يدل علي العطاء والكرم ١0 ويوثر علي انفسهم ولو كان يدل علي َقلة العلم واملعرفة ١١ صم بكم عمي فهم ال يرجعون يدل علي َقلة الوفاء وكثرة اخلالف ١٢ واهنم يقولون ما ال يفعلون يدل علي فساد امر النساء ١٣ ال هن حل هلم وال هم حيلون هلن يدل علي انه يرزق ولد ذكر ١٤ َقال رب اين يكون يل غالم يدل علي انه ينال جاها ١٥ وهللا يويت ملكه من يشاء يدل علي الرخاء وخصب العام ١٦ يستبشرون بنعمة من هللا وفضل يدل علي جور السلطان ١٧ لن يضروكم اال اذي يدل علي الضالة ال توجد ١٨ يتواري من القوم من سو ما بشر به يدل علي ان هذا االمر ال يقع ابدا ١٩ وامنا يدعون من دونه الباَطل يدل علي انه يرزق ماال جزيال ٢0 هللا يبسّط الرزق ملن يشاء Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 115 ١٦ سورة االسراء يدل علي انه يرزق ماال واسعا ١ َقد احسن هللا له رزَقا يدل علي َقلة الريح يف التجارة ٢ وكان عاَقبة امرها خسرا يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ٣ مث انصرفوا صرف هللا َقلوهبم يدل علي السفر واخلَري فيه ٤ امل تر ايل الذين خرجوا من دايرهم يدل علي َقضاء احلاجة وبلوغها ٥ وَقضينا اليه ذلك االمر يدل علي احملبة واملوّدة ٦ َقد شغفها حّبا يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ٧ ما لنا من حميص يدل علي بطالن اخلرب وكذبه ٨ بل هو كذاب اشر يدل علي صحة التهمة واثباهتا ٩ ان يسرق فقد سرق اخ له يدل علي خذالن العدو واهنزامه ١0 ولوا علي ادابرهم نفورا يدل علي البخل وضيق النفس ١١ ان االنسان خلق هلوعا يدل علي انه يرزق علما ومعرفة ١٢ وَقل رب زدين علما يدل علي الوفاء وصدق الوعد ١٣ امنا توعدون لصادق يدل علي انه يرزق من النساء ١٤ ولكم فيها ما تشتهي انفسكم يدل علي انه يرزق من اوالد ١٥ وجعلنا ذريته هم الباَقني يدل علي انه ال يرزق سلطاان ١٦ ان عبادي ليس لك عليهم سلطان يدل علي الغال وَقلة اخلَري ١٧ سأرهقه صعودا يدل علي جور السلطان ١٨ يسومونكم سوء العذاب يدل علي ان الضالة ال ترتّد ١٩ وللبسنا عليهم ما يلبسون يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي نواه ٢0 ذلك وعد غَري مكذوب 116 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١٧ سورة الكهف يدل علي بطالن االمر الذي نواه ١ كسراب بقيعة حيسبه الظمآن ماء يدل علي انه يرزق خَريا ونعمة ٢ وحتبون املال حبا مجا يدل علي الريح وَقلة اخلسارة ٣ ان فضله كان عليك كبَريا يدل علي بطالن االمر املسؤل عنه ٤ اوليك عنها مبعودون يدل علي اتخَري السفر ٥ فضربنا علي آذاهنم يف الكهف يدل علي اتخَري َقضاء احلاجة ٦ هيهات هيهات ملا توعدون يدل علي مفارَقة الصديق ٧ هآنتم هؤالء حتبوهنم وال حيبونكم يدل علي النجاة من الشدة ٨ َقل هللا ينجيكم منها ومن كل كرب يدل علي صحة اخلرب الذي سال عنه ٩ وحيق هللا احلق بكلماته يدل علي ان املهتم بريء من التهمة ١0 اواليك مربءون مما يقولون يدل علي النصر والظفر ابلعدو ١١ وينصرك هللا نصرا عزيزا يدل علي الكرم والسخاء ١٢ الذين ينفقون يف السراء والضرّا يدل علي َقلة العلم واملعرفة ١٣ بل كانوا ال يفقهون اال َقليال يدل علي اخللف وَقلة الوفاء ١٤ فبما نقضهم ميثاَقهم يدل علي اجناز الوعد وَقضا احلاجة ١٥ ذلك وعد غَري مكذوب يدل علي وفور احلظ من النساء ١٦ وال جناح عليكم ان تنكحوهن يدل علي انه يرزق ولدا ذكرا ١٧ فبشرانه بغالم حليم يدل علي انه ينال ملكا وسلطاان ١٨ ام هلم نصيب من امللك يدل علي انه ال ميلك اال بعد تعب ١٩ ال ميلكون النفسهم نفعا وال ضرا يدل علي جذب السنة وغاليها ٢0 ومن َقدر عليه رزَقه يدل علي جور السلطان وظلمه ٢١ يدعو ملن ضره اَقرب من نفعه يدل علي وجود الضالة ٢٢ َقالوا بشرانك ابحلق Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 117 ١٨ سورة مرمي يدل علي وجود الضالة ١ وال تئسوا من روح هللا يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي نواه ٢ ان هذا هلو حق اليقني يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وخَريا ٣ ويرزَقه من حيث ال حيتسب يدل علي َقلة النفع من التجارة ٤ انكم اذا خلاسرون يدل علي اتخَري َقدوم الغايب ٥ ال بثني فيها احقااب يدل علي وَقوع السفر واحلَري فيه ٦ ومن ُخيرج من بيته مهاجرا يدل علي اتخَري احلاجة ٧ والذين يدعون من دونه ابلبطل يدل علي املوّدة واحملبة ٨ تلقون اليهم ابملوّدة يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ٩ زدانهم عذااب فوق العذاب يدل علي صحة اخلرب ١0 ان هذا هلو حق اليقني يدل علي ان املهتم بريء مما نسب اليه ١١ انتم برئون مما اعمل واان بريء يدل علي وهن احملبة ويلحقه مكروه ١٢ ضربت عليهم الذلة اينما ثقفوا يدل علي البخل وضيق النفس ١٣ وال ينفقون نفقة صغَرية وال يدل علي العلم واملعرفة ١٤ وعلمتم ما مل تعلموا انتم وال آابوكم يدل علي اخللف ونقض العهد ١٥ ولقد عهدان ايل آدم من َقبل فنسى يدل علي صالح امر النساء ١٦ نساءكم حرث لكم فاتوا يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وولدا ١٧ وميددكم ابموال وبنني يدل علي انه يرزق جاها ١٨ اليس يل ملك مصر يدل علي جذب السنة وحملها ١٩ ظهر الفساد يف الرب والبحر يدل علي عدل السلطان وحسن سَريته ٢0 ال يريدون علوا يف االرض 118 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) ١٩ سورة طه يدل علي جور السلطان وظلمه ١ واذا اردان ان هنلك َقرية يدل علي ان السرَقة ال تعود ٢ ذلك هو الضالل البعيد يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي نواه ٣ امنا توعدون لصادق يدل علي انه يرزق ماال ونعمة ٤ وجيعل لكم جنات وجيعل لكم اهنارا يدل علي الريح يف التجارة ٥ فيضاعفه له اضعافا كثَرية يدل علي اتخَري َقدوم الغايب ٦ واهنم الينا ال يرجعون يدل علي اتخَري السفر ٧ ماكثني فيها ابدا يدل علي ادراك احلاجة ٨ ولكم فيها ما تشتهي انفسكم يدل علي البغض والعداوة ٩ ان يثقفوكم يكونوا لكم اعداء يدل علي النجاة من الغم والشدة ١0 لني اجنيتنا من هذه لنكونّن يدل علي صحة اخلرب وصدَقه ١١ وحق عليهم القول يف امم يدل علي ان املهتم بريء الساحة ١٢ وظننتم ظن السوء وكنتم َقوما بورا يدل علي الغلبة والقهر ١٣ فريقا تقتلون واتسرون فريقا يدل علي الشح والبخل ١٤ واذا ال يؤتون الناس نقَريا يدل علي انه يرزق علما ومحكة ١٥ ويعلمك من أتويل االحاديث يدل علي اخليانة وَقلة االمانة ١٦ وان يريدوا خيانتك فقد يدل علي فساد امر النساء ١٧ فواحدة او ما ملكت اميانكم يدل علي انه يرزق ماال وخَريا ١٨ امنا مندهم به من مال وبنني يدل علي انه ميلك عزا وسلطاان ١٩ اان جعلناك خليفة يف االرض يدل علي متام النعمة وكثرة احلَري ٢0 كذلك يتم نعمته عليكم Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 119 ٢0 سورة االنبياء يدل علي رخاء االسعار ١ وهو الذي ينزل الغيث من بعد ما َقنطوا يدل علي جور السلطان ٢ اال اهنم هم املفسدون يدل علي وجود السرَقة ٣ اال يسجدوا هلل الذي ُخيرج اخلبأ يدل علي وَقوع االمر الذي سال عنه ٤ ان هذا الشيء يراد يدل علي انه يرزق ماال ونعمة ٥ فرحني مبا آاتهم هللا من فضله يدل علي َقلة الريح يف التجارة ٦ ذلك هو اخلسران املبني يدل علي َقدوم الغايب ٧ واذا ال يلبثون خلفك اال َقليال يدل علي السفر واخلَري فيه ٨ فاسلكي سبل ربك ذلال يدل علي ادراك احلاجة وبلوغها ٩ ان يف هذا لبالغا لقوم عابدين يدل علي الوفاء واملوّدة ١0 سيجعل هلم الرمحن ودا يدل علي شدة وبقية حمنة ١١ وَقذف يف َقلوهبم الرعب يدل علي بطالن احلرب املسؤل عنه ١٢ ان هذا اال فك مبني يدل علي صحة التهمة وانه غَري برى ١٣ وجحدوا هبا واستيقنتها انفسهم يدل على النصر والظفر والغلبة ١٤ وان يكن منكم الف يغلبوا الفني يدل علي البخل وضيق النفس ١٥ واعطي َقليال واكدي يدل علي انه يرزق علما وحكمة ١٦ يويت احلكمة من يشاء يدل علي اخليانة والغدر ١٧ ان هلل ال يهدي كيد اخلاينني يدل علي اصالح امر النساء ١٨ خلق لكم من انفسكم ازواجا يدل علي انه يرزق ولدا صاحلا ١٩ ألهب لك غالما زكيا يدل علي انه ال جيد ما يطلب ٢0 ال ميلكون كشف الضر عنكم متت حبد هللا وعونه وحسن توفيقه 120 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) The Qurʿa of Imam Jaʿfar, that is, the revered imam and sayyid Jaʿfar, son of the great imam and sayyid Muḥammad al-Bāqir and descendant of the revered, brave, and triumphant imam and commander of the faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe, and God bless our master, Muḥammad, and all of his family and his companions! Now, the worthiest form of bibliomancy is the bibliomancy based on the Book of God— great and exalted is He above all—[for it is this book] that has pronounced the Truth. The Envoy of God—God bless him and grant him salvation—liked bibliomancy, whereas he detested interpretation of the bird’s flight [as another form of divination]. As for Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq—may God be pleased with him—not one of the occult sciences did he leave undivulged, not a single hermetic text did he leave undisclosed and not a single wonder did he fail to spread. It is he who has written this qurʿa, based on [verses] extracted from the Quran. Whoever wishes to [learn something] regarding some matter in his [life]—be it a matter existing already or one not [yet] existing—should read what is [written] around the smallest circle, twenty chapters in total, with each of these chapters denoting a particular topic of concern. This is the most laudable, the most correct, the best, and the most veracious of all qurʿas [available], because its proof texts and their indications are taken from the Noble Quran. Facing each chapter there is a Quranic sura. There are two circles, one enclosed in the other, and the chapters on the topics of concern are found in the outer circle, facing the Quranic suras and encircling these. Let the one with a concern point out the concern of his choice from those detailed in the aforesaid circle to disclose it. Let him then perform a muqāraʿa with someone else, the two of them using both hands. Next, let him count all fingers raised by the both of them and add these up. Let him then move backward from the sura that faces his topic of concern by that [same] number [of positions], stopping at the sura at which this number is completed. Next, let him look at the tables containing the suras and count down from the first line under the sura [title] the same number of lines as the number yielded by the muqāraʿa. Let him then consider the line at which this number is completed. There, he will find [the indication], be it good news or an admonition, something appeasing or a word of warning. This is the shape of the aforesaid circle: Inner circle Outer circle Innermost circle (sura) Intermediate circle (topic) The Heifer Power and standing 1 The Family of ʿImrān Children, male and female 2 The Women Marriage: appropriate or not? 3 Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 121 The Table Spread Loyalty, sincerity, and promises 4 The Cattle Knowledge, intelligence, and learning 5 The Heights Presents and greed and what they mean 6 Spoils of War Victory and triumph and their opposites 7 Immunity Suspicion: justified or not? 8 Jonah Reports: true or false? 9 Hūd Deliverance from fear and adversity 10 Joseph Love, friendship, and hatred 11 Thunder Seeing one’s need and hope fulfilled 12 Abraham Travel: proper or not? 13 The Rocky Tract The absent one: on his way back or delayed? 14 The Bee Trade, wind, and losses 15 The Night Journey Will I obtain this property or not? 16 The Cave Will this matter transpire or not? 17 Mary Stolen goods and runaway slaves: will they return or not? 18 Ṭā-Hāʾ The ruler’s justice and injustice 19 The Prophets Will the year be unproductive or productive? 20 Fig. 13. The wheel diagram (Ayasofya 1999/1, fol. 3v) in translation 122 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 1. Sura The Heifer 1. “And conferred upon them a great kingdom” (Q 4:54) 2. “Allah intends every facility for you” (Q 2:185) 3. “I only desire [your] betterment to the best of my power” (Q 11:88) 4. “We give thee glad tidings in truth” (Q 15:55) 5. “All that hath been promised unto you will come to pass” (Q 6:134) 6. “Such were the treasures We had bestowed on him” (Q 28:76) 7. “For He will pay them their meed, nay, He will given them even more out of His bounty” (Q 35:30) 8. “For to Us will be their return” (Q 88:25) 9. “Say, ‘Go ye through the earth and see’” (Q 27:69) 10. “Allah said, ‘Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!’” (Q 20:36) 11. “But I cast the garment of love over thee from Me” (Q 20:39) 12. “Fear thou not: well hast thou escaped from unjust people” (Q 28:25) 13. “It is not a tale invented, but a confirmation” (Q 12:111) 14. “Verily, this the Very Truth and Certainty” (Q 56:95) 15. “And so that Allah will help you tremendously” (Q 48:3) 16. “Those who in charity spend of their goods by night and by day” (Q 2:274) 17. “We have sent thee a Message from Our own Presence” (Q 20:99) 18. “To fulfil the contracts which ye have made” (Q 2:177) 19. “And We shall join them to fair women with beautiful, big and lustrous eyes” (Q 44:54) 20. “Yet says: ‘I shall certainly be given wealth and children?’” (Q 19:77) indicates power and dominion. cheap prices and resources. the ruler’s justice. the return of the stray beast. the occurrence of is the matter inquired about. the finding of money. that the trade and its wind are blessed. the arrival of the absent one. travel and a good outcome. the attainment of what is hoped for. love and friendship. deliverance from affliction and adversity. the soundness of the news inquired about. that the suspicion is justified. victory over the enemies. generosity and strong loyalty. safety and knowledge. sincerity in one’s promise and loyalty. marriage and benefit from it. that one will be allotted property and children. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 123 2. Sura The Family of ʿImrān 1. “And made for you, out of them, sons and daughters” (Q 16:72) 2. “Have not the least power” (Q 35:13) 3. “Close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies” (Q 6:125) 4. “Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it” (Q 27:34) 5. “And We should certainly have caused them confusion in a matter which they have” (Q 6:9) 6. “Allah will surely make it of no effect” (Q 10:81) 7. “Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger” (Q 2:155) 8. “But their traffic is profitless, and they have lost true direction” (Q 2:16) 9. “Then should they have been unable to move about, nor could they have returned after error” (Q 36:67) 10. “When ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah” (Q 9:38) 11. “And they should then be turned back, frustrated of their purpose” (Q 3:127) 12. “So we estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other” (Q 5:14) 13. “And cast terror into their hearts” (Q 33:26) 14. “And those who stir up sedition in the city” (Q 33:60) 15. “With no certain knowledge, but only conjecture to follow” (Q 4:157) 16. “So the great ones were vanquished there and then, and were made to look small” (Q 7:119) 17. “Some that are niggardly. But any who are niggardly are so at the expense of (…)” (Q 47:38) 18. “Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, O men” (Q 17:85) 19. “In a Believer they respect not the ties either of kinship or covenant” (Q 9:10) 20. “And they have therein companions pure and holy” (Q 2:25) indicates that one will be allotted children and servants. that one will not attain what one seeks. high prices and a barren year. the ruler’s injustice and foul comportment. that one will not find what one seeks. that this matter is not happening. straitened circumstances and insolvency. difficulty and loss. absence and delay. refraining from travel. that one will not attain what one needs. hatred and enmity. worry, affliction, and hope for relief. that the suspect is innocent. that the news is untrue. failure and setback. avarice, stinginess, and debt. that one will be allotted knowledge. that one will not keep one’s promise. a beautiful lot. 124 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 3. Sura The Women 1. “Truly, among your wives and your children are some that are enemies” (Q 64:14) 2. “How shall I have a son, seeing I am very old?” (Q 3:40) 3. “Made you kings, and gave you” (Q 5:20) 4. “That Allah enlarges the provision, for any He pleases” (Q 39:52) 5. “Not the least harm will their cunning do to you” (Q 3:120) 6. “That her eye might be comforted, that she might not grieve” (Q 28:13) 7. “Indeed, what you are promised is true” (Q 51:5) 8. “And granted him abundant wealth” (Q 74:12) 9. “Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded” (Q 9:111) 10. “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man” (Q 36:20) 11. “Didst thou not Turn by vision to those who abandoned their homes” (Q 2:243) 12. “By no means shall ye attain righteousness unless ye give freely of that which ye love” (Q 3:92) 13. “And moreover He hath put affection between their hearts” (Q 8:63) 14. “If thou couldst but seen when they will quake with terror” (Q 34:51) 15. “We have brought to thee that which is inevitably due, and assuredly we tell the truth” (Q 15:64) 16. “And say, ‘This charge is an obvious lie’?” (Q 24:12) 17. “Nor shall intercession profit her nor shall anyone” (Q 2:123) 18. “Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched” (Q 5:64) 19. “They have hearts wherewith they understand not” (Q 7:179) 20. “I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you” (Q 14:22) indicates that one will not be allotted children. little luck when it comes to children. that one will attain wealth and standing. plenty of good and blessing. the restoration of order by the commander and his good comportment. the coming back of the riding animal and its return. the occurrence of the matter inquired about. the wealth and riches of one’s companion. the blessedness of the trade and of its wind. the arrival of the absent one or the return of something. travel and the attainment of something good. a delay in the attainment of one’s need. affection and love. deliverance from hardship. the truth and correctness of the matter. that the suspect is innocent. that one will not attain one’s need. generosity and munificence. ignorance and poor knowledge. the withholding of what is sought. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 125 4. Sura The Table Spread 1. “And those who [respect] their trusts and covenants” (Q 70:32) 2. “Let those who find not [the wherewithal for marriage] keep themselves chaste” (Q 24:33) 3. “Indeed, We give you the good news of the birth of a son, whose name will be John” (Q 19:17) 4. “And grant me from Thy presence an authority to aid me” (Q 17:80) 5. “For them is a Sustenance determined” (Q 37:41) 6. “If they gain the upper hand over you, they would be your open enemies” (Q 60:2) 7. “Then, do they believe in that which is vain?” (Q 29:67) 8. “But they have gone astray, and never a way will they be able to find” (Q 25:9) 9. “Truly am I in desperate need of any good that Thou dost send me” (Q 28:24) 10. “Surely humanity is in grave loss” (Q 103:2) 11. “It will be said: ‘Turn ye back to your rear! then seek’” (Q 57:13) 12. “You may travel freely through the land for four months” (Q 9:2) 13. “All that hath been promised unto you will come to pass” (Q 6:134) 14. “But Allah hath put affection between them” (Q 8:63) 15. “We saved them from a severe penalty” (Q 11:58) 16. “This is only a falsehood invented” (Q 34:43) 17. “I am free of responsibility for what ye do” (Q 26:216) 18. “Soon will their multitude be put to flight, and they will show their backs” (Q 54:45) 19. “And they feed, for the love of Allah” (Q 76:8) 20. “And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom” (Q 3:48) indicates the keeping of one’s promise. a delay in the marriage. that one will be allotted a child. that one will be allotted standing. plenty of good and blessing. injustice wrought to one by the commander. the futility of what one has. that the stray beast is gone. destitution and the impossibility of affluence. loss in trade. the arrival of the absent one and his return. travel and its good outcome. the attainment of one’s need and hope. affection and friendship. deliverance and liberation from hardship. that what is said is unfounded. the suspect’s innocence of what he is suspected of. defeat and that one will not triumph. munificence and generosity. knowledge and the achievement of wisdom. 126 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 5. Sura The Cattle 1. “Have We not uplifted your heart for you O Prophet” (Q 94:1) 2. “Most of them We found not men true to their covenant” (Q 7:102) 3. “He answered, ‘This is the parting between me and thee’” (Q 18:78) 4. He said: “Ah there! Good news! Here is a fine young man!” (Q 12:19) 5. “But he had no authority over them” (Q 34:21) 6. “Whatever mercy Allah opens up for people” (Q 35:2) 7. “People who direct others with truth. And dispense justice therewith” (Q 7:181) 8. “Allah will help you to victory over them” (Q 9:14) 9. “And between them and their desires, is placed a barrier” (Q 34:54) 10. “They encountered suffering and adversity” (Q 2:214) 11. “What then would ye add to my [portion] but perdition?” (Q 11:63) 12. “On account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways” (Q 22:27) 13. “But never will they get out therefrom” (Q 5:37) 14. “Although ye smote your enemies with one twice as great” (Q 3:165) 15. “To excite enmity and hatred between you” (Q 5:91) 16. “That day there will be no place of refuge nor will there be for you any room for denial” (Q 42:47) 17. “And I have come to thee from Saba with tidings true” (Q 27:22) 18. “Saying with their lips what was not in their hearts” (Q 3:167) 19. “It is the fellowship of Allah that must certainly triumph” (Q 5:56) 20. “And they are truly extreme in their love of worldly gains” (Q 100:8) indicates release from one’s suffering. a breach of agreement and promise. the separation of the wife and the partner. that one will be allotted a male child. that one will not rule or hold sway. cheap prices and blessings. the ruler’s justice and goodness. that one is delivered from defeat. that what is inquired about is untrue. that one will not be allotted this property. little wind or profit. the swift arrival of the absent one. a delay in travel. the attainment of one’s need. hatred and lack of friendship. hardship and prolonged trial. the soundness of the news. that the suspicion is justified. triumph over one’s enemies. hatred and hardship. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 127 6. Sura The Heights 1. “And those who dispense their charity with their hearts full of fear” (Q 23:60) 2. “And we put coverings over their hearts and minds lest they should understand the Qurʾan” (Q 17:46) 3. “Have you also found Your Lord’s promises true?” (Q 7:44) 4. “They are your garments and ye are their garments” (Q 2:187) 5. “So we gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear” (Q 37:101) 6. “Thou hast no authority in the least for him against Allah” (Q 5:41) 7. “They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah” (Q 3:170) 8. “Nay, they are a people who swerve from justice” (Q 27:60) 9. “And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge” (Q 17:36) 10. “Allah will surely make it of no effect” (Q 10:81) 11. “And aid you with wealth and offspring” (Q 17:6) 12. “Allah giveth manifold increase to whom He pleaseth” (Q 2:261) 13. “Will bring thee back to the Place of Return” (Q 28:85) 14. “The Day when they will hear a mighty Blast in very truth” (Q 50:42) 15. “But a necessity of Jacob’s soul, which he discharged” (Q 12:68) 16. “Behold! they would certainly have made thee their friend” (Q 17:73) 17. “So we listened to him: and delivered him from distress” (Q 21:88) 18. “In them there cometh for thee the Truth” (Q 11:120) 19. “This is the very Truth, as much as the fact that ye can speak intelligently to each other” (Q 51:23) 20. “If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering” (Q 8:65) indicates avarice and stinginess. poor wisdom and knowledge. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. marriage and benefit from it. that one will be allotted a male child. that one will not have what one wants. cheap prices. justice and truth to one’s word. that one will not find what one seeks. the futility of what one wants. that one will be allotted property and children. wind for [seaborne] trade. the arrival of the absent one. travel and inconvenience. the attainment of one’s need and hope. love and friendship. deliverance and liberation from hardship. that the news is true. that the suspicion is justified and well founded. victory, success, and triumph. 128 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 7. Sura The Spoils of War 1. “Nor have ye, besides Allah, any protector or helper” (Q 29:22) 2. “And refuse to give even the simplest aid” (Q 107:7) 3. “O my Lord! expand me my breast” (Q 20:25) 4. “How despicable it is in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not” (Q 61:3) 5. “Would that between me and thee were the distance of East and West” (Q 43:38) 6. “Praise be to Allah, who begets no son” (Q 17:111) 7. “That have no control of hurt or good to themselves” (Q 25:3) 8. “We opened to them the gates of all good things” (Q 6:44) 9. “For if they should come upon you, they would stone you” (Q 18:20) 10. “But how could they receive Faith from a position so far off” (Q 34:52) 11. “The Hour will certainly come: Therein is no doubt” (Q 40:59) 12. “Now such were their houses,—in utter ruin,—because they practised wrong” (Q 27:52) 13. “It is they who will be in loss” (Q 39:63) 14. “With none but a brief delay” (Q 33:14) 15. “They will issue from their sepulchres in sudden haste” (Q 70:43) 16. “What! shall we indeed be returned to our former state?” (Q 79:10) 17. “Saying with their lips what was not in” (Q 3:167) 18. “We put terror and warning into them, but it only increases their transgression” (Q 17:60) 19. “And they swear to falsehood knowingly” (Q 58:14) 20. “Who harbour evil thoughts of Allah” (Q 48:6) indicates the enemy’s defeat. stinginess and covetousness. the relief of grief. that one will not live up to one’s promise. a delay in what is sought. that one will not be allotted a child. that one will acquire [what is desired] only through hard work. cheap prices and the ampleness of blessings. the ruler’s injustice and his foul comportment. that the theft will go away. the occurrence of the matter and its genuineness. that one will not attain what one seeks. loss in trade. the arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the unfeasibility of attaining one’s hope. hatred and lack of love. hardship and prolonged trial. that one will not find what one seeks. that the suspect is innocent. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 129 8. Sura Immunity 1. “Glory to Allah! this is a most serious slander” (Q 24:16) 2. “When comes the Help of Allah, and Victory” (Q 110:1) 3. “But when He did bestow of His bounty, they became covetous” (Q 9:76) 4. “Allah hath sealed their hearts” (Q 9:93) 5. “There a promise not to be belied” (Q 11:65) 6. “Two, three, or four” (Q 35:1) 7. “And He leaves barren whom He will” (Q 42:50) 8. “We have provided you with a clear argument against them” (Q 4:91) 9. “And has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, both seen and unseen” (Q 31:20) 10. “For Allah forgives all sins” (Q 39:53) 11. “As ashes, on which the wind blows furiously” (Q 14:18) 12. “But ye have indeed rejected Him, and soon will come the inevitable punishment” (Q 25:77) 13. “You will certainly have a never-ending reward” (Q 68:3) 14. “By limiting their provision” (Q 89:16) 15. “So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years” (Q 18:25) 16. “Then may ye disperse through the land, and seek” (Q 62:10) 17. “Therein shall ye have all that your souls shall desire” (Q 41:31) 18. “With fair words from their mouths they entice you” (Q 9:8) 19. “After a difficulty, Allah will soon grant relief” (Q 65:7) 20. “This is nothing but a fabrication” (Q 38:7) indicates that the suspect is innocent of what he is suspected of. victory and triumph. stinginess and poor allocation. ignorance and little wisdom. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. marriage and benefit from it. that one will not beget a child. that one will attain high rank. a fertile year and prosperity. the ruler’s justice and righteousness. that the theft will go away. the occurrence of the matter inquired about. that one will be allotted much property. that one will incur a loss in the trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the attainment of one’s need. lack of love and flattery. liberation and rescue from hardship. the untruth of the news. 130 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 9. Sura Jonah 1. “They seek to be informed by thee: ‘Is that true?’ Say: ‘Aye! by my Lord!’” (Q 10:53) 2. “It is not a tale invented” (Q 12:111) 3. “If they come out to fight you, they will show you their backs” (Q 3:111) 4. “As for the one who is charitable, mindful of Allah, and firmly believes” (Q 92:5) 5. “He was strictly true to what he promised” (Q 19:54) 6. “They could devote themselves to studies in religion” (Q 9:122) 7. “But if they disagree and must part, Allah will provide abundance for all from His (…)” ( 4:130) 8. “She said: ‘O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!’” (Q 3:36) 9. “Then we made you heirs in the land” (Q 10:14) 10. “How shall Allah bring it ever to life, after its death?” (Q 2:259) 11. “We admitted them to Our mercy” (Q 21:86) 12. “Of the Hereafter they are already in despair” (Q 60:13) 13. “Nothing yet worth mentioning” (Q 76:1) 14. “That because We have granted them abundance of wealth and sons” (Q 23:55) 15. “That of a grain of corn: it growth seven ears” (Q 2:261) 16. “If they had intended to come out, they would certainly have made some preparation” (Q 9:46) 17. “Go ye forth, whether equipped lightly or heavily” (Q 9:41) 18. “When the reading was finished, they returned to their people, to warn them of their sins” (Q 46:29) 19. “Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths” (Q 3:118) 20. “So the deniers will be told, ‘Taste the punishment, for all that you will get from Us is more’” (Q 78:30) indicates the truth of the news. that the suspicion is justified. victory and triumph. liberality and generosity. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. perfect reason50 and the good. the advisability of separation from one’s wife. one will be allotted female offspring. rule and standing. a barren year. the ruler’s justice and righteousness. that the matter sought is lost and gone. that what one has in mind is impossible. one will be allotted property and children. wind for [seaborne] trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the attainment of one’s need. hatred and lack of love. hardship and little good. 50. Tamām al-ʿaql seems hard to connect to the topic of “loyalty, sincerity, and promises.” In light of the variegated interpretations of Q 9:122, one could argue that the meaning intended here is that one can learn from one’s friends. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 131 10. Sura Hūd 1. “If we had mercy on them and removed the distress which is on them” (Q 23:75) 2. “Alif-Lām-Mīm. This is the Book! There is no doubt about it” (Q 2:1–2) 3. “And conjecture avails nothing against Truth” (Q 53:28) 4. “The day when their plotting will avail them nothing” (Q 52:46) 5. “But any who are niggardly are so at the expense of their own souls” (Q 47:38) 6. “But blind are their hearts which are in their breasts” (Q 22:46) 7. “And between them and their desires, is placed a barrier” (Q 34:54) 8. “Those who fulfil the covenant of Allah and not” (Q 13:20) 9. “She said: ‘Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman’” (Q 11:72) 10. “Then sent We our messengers” “In truth” (Q 23:44 + Q 35:24) 11. “Allah does not change a people’s lot unless” (Q 13:11) 12. “Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe” (Q 2:9) 13. “When ye yourselves would not receive it except with closed eyes” (Q 2:267) 14. “Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight” (Q 102:7) 15. “Soon will Allah enrich you out of His bounty” (Q 9:28) 16. “If there is any good done, He doubleth it” (Q 4:40) 17. “Wait and have patience with him for a time” (Q 23:25) 18. “He Who has made the earth manageable for you” (Q 67:15) 19. “And ye shall find what ye want” (Q 2:61) 20. “And He has put love and mercy between your hearts” (Q 30:21) indicates deliverance and liberation from hardship. the truth of the news referred to. that the suspicion is unfounded. the breach of a promise. avarice and stinginess. ignorance and little wisdom. a delay in the marriage. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. that one will not be allotted children. that one will rule and hold sway. undermining of the purpose51 and high prices. deception and deceit. the return of the stray beast. a change in the matter inquired about. that one will be allotted abundant wealth. wind for [seaborne] trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the attainment of one’s need. affection, love, and friendship. 51. Perhaps ifsād al-niyya means here that “the intended [crops or profits] were spoiled”? Or should one connect niyya (vocalized thus in the text) to nawan (“date stones”), nīʾ (“pure milk, uncooked meat, uncooked wine”), nuyuʾ (“the state of being uncooked”), nayʾ (“fat”), or nawāh (“ounce of gold”)? 132 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 11. Sura Joseph 1. “But I cast the garment of lover over thee from Me” (Q 20:39) 2. “And in that case ye would never attain prosperity” (Q 18:20) 3. “Then they will say, ‘what is it that your Lord commanded?’ they will say, ‘That (…)’” (Q 34:23) 4. “But Allah cleared him of the calumnies they had uttered” (Q 33:69) 5. “That they would certainly be assisted” (Q 37:172) 6. “And let not those who covetously withhold think” (Q 3:180) 7. “Thenceforth were your hearts hardened” (Q 2:74) 8. “They perform their vows, and they fear” (Q 76:7) 9. “When ye have gone in unto each other” (Q 4:21) 10. “He bestows children male or female according to His will and Plan” (Q 42:49) 11. “With no power of any sort; a wearisome burden is he to his master” (Q 17:76) 12. “In which the people will have abundant water, and in which they will press wine and oil” (Q 12:49) 13. “Allah commands justice, the doing of good” (Q 16:90) 14. “But no! There will be no refuge. On that day all will end up before your lord” (Q 75:11– 12) 15. “Verily, this the Very Truth and Certainty” (Q 56:95) 16. “And did He not find you needy then satisfied your needs?” (Q 93:8) 17. “And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls” (Q 2:102) 18. “What vicissitudes their affairs will take” (Q 26:227) 19. “For ye preferred to sit inactive on the first occasion” (Q 9:83) 20. “Well within reach of your hands and your lances” (Q 5:94) indicates cordiality and love. a delay in the liberation. the truth of the news and of what is going around. that the suspicion is unfounded. victory following the defeat. avarice and stinginess. ignorance and little wisdom. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. that the marriage will take place and that it will be good. that one will be allotted a daughter or get married. that one will not be allotted property. fertility and prosperity. the ruler’s justice. the occurrence of stealing and runaway slaves. the occurrence of the matter one has in mind. that one will be allotted property and good [things]. little wind for [seaborne] trade. the arrival of the absent one. a delay in travel. the attainment of one’s goal and its achievement. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 133 12. Sura Thunder 1. “But it reaches them not” (Q 13:14) 2. “Thou wouldst think they were united, but their hearts are divided” (Q 59:14) 3. “Them we are certainly charged to save from harm” (Q 15:59) 4. “Surely this Quran is a decisive word and is not to be taken lightly” (Q 86:13–14) 5. “They descend on every lying, wicked person” (Q 26:222) 6. “Surely this Quran is a decisive word and is not to be taken lightly” (Q 86:13–14) 7. “But give them preference over themselves, even though” (Q 59:9) 8. “The Most Compassionate taught the Quran” (Q 55:1–2) 9. “But those who break the Covenant of Allah, after” (Q 13:25) 10. “We cured his wife’s Barrenness for him” (Q 21:90) 11. “And appointed for them wives and children” (Q 13:38) 12. “Allah Granteth His authority to whom He pleaseth” (Q 2:247) 13. “Then We draw it towards Ourselves,—a contraction by easy stages” (Q 25:46) 14. “And makes peace between the parties concerned, there is no wrong in him” (Q 2:182) 15. “This our stock-in-trade has been returned to us” (Q 12:65) 16. “And falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything” (Q 34:49) 17. “Allah enlarges the provision or restricts it, for any He pleases” (Q 39:52) 18. “Ye shall have your capital sums” (Q 2:279) 19. “We will not abandon this cult, but we will devote ourselves to it until” (Q 20:91) 20. “But thou wast not a dweller among the people of Madyan” (Q 28:45) indicates a delay in what one needs. hypocrisy and dissimulation. deliverance and liberation from hardship. the truth of the news and the occurrence of the matter. deliverance and liberation from hardship. a weakness that will strike and the enemy’s strength. generosity and munificence. wisdom and knowledge. that one will not keep one’s promise. that the women’s affair will be settled. that one will be allotted many children. that one will rule and hold sway. high prices and little fertility. the ruler’s justice. the occurrence of theft. the untruth of the matter inquired about. that one will be allotted much property. that one will be safe in the trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. a swiftness of movement. 134 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 13. Sura Abraham 1. “Then wait until Allah brings about His decision” (Q 9:24) 2. “And entertain no desires in their hearts” (Q 59:9) 3. “Soon will Allah produce a people whim He will love” (Q 5:54) 4. “No fear shall be on you that Day, nor shall ye grieve” (Q 43:68) 5. “As a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood” (Q 18:5) 6. “And spy not on each other behind their back” (Q 49:12) 7. “And be sure we shall come to them with such hosts as they will never be able to meet” (Q 27:37) 8. “And as for the one who is stingy, indifferent to Allah” (Q 92:8) 9. “And We put coverings over their hearts and minds” (Q 17:46) 10. “Then We fulfilled Our promise to them” (Q 21:9) 11. “Truly, among your wives and your children are some that are enemies to yourselves” (Q 64:14) 12. “But remember how ye were little, and He gave you increase” (Q 7:86) 13. “Such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves” (Q 13:16) 14. “So we shall get more food for our family; We shall take care of our brother” (Q 12:65) 15. “For He is onto them Most Kind, Most Merciful” (Q 9:117) 16. “Who went wrong in times gone by,—who misled many” (Q 5:77) 17. “Until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle” (Q 7:40) 18. “Who amasses wealth greedily and counts it repeatedly” (Q 104:2) 19. “We blessed him and Isaac” (Q 37:113) 20. “And that they are to return to Him” (Q 2:46) indicates that it would be good to postpone the trip. a delay in one’s need. love and a friend’s company. deliverance from hardship. that the news is untrue. that the suspect is innocent. victory and triumph. avarice and stinginess. ignorance and little wisdom. the keeping of a promise. corruption in the women’s affair. that one will be allotted many children. that one will not attain what one seeks. prosperity and a fertile year. the ruler’s justice and righteousness. that the stray beast will not be found. the unfeasibility of the matter inquired about. that one will be allotted much property. wind for [seaborne] trade. the arrival of the absent one. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 135 14. Sura The Rocky Tract 1. “Nor to return to their own people” (Q 36:50) 2. “Say: ‘Never shall ye come out with me’” (Q 9:83) 3. “Allah will establish in strength those who believe” (Q 14:27) 4. “Out of mutual love and regard between yourselves in this life” (Q 29:25) 5. “The punishment will would be doubled for her” (Q 33:30) 6. “Saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’” (Q 4:150) 7. “And they swear to falsehood knowingly” (Q 58:14) 8. “A day when ye shall turn your backs and flee: Not shall ye have from Allah” (Q 40:33) 9. “And love to be praised for what they have not done” (Q 3:188) 10. “He said: ‘I know what ye know not’” (Q 2:30) 11. “And fulfil your covenant with Me as I fulfil My Covenant with you” (Q 2:40) 12. “Then when Zaid had dissolved his marriage with her, with the necessary formality, We (…)” (Q 33:37) 13. “And granted him abundant wealth” (Q 74:12) 14. “How can he exercise authority over us” (Q 2:247) 15. “Allah doth wish to lighten your difficulties” (Q 4:28) 16. “Truly were they a people rebellious against Allah” (Q 43:54) 17. “But fear not nor grieve” (Q 28:7) 18. “When the inevitable Event takes place” (Q 56:1) 19. “O exalted one! distress has seized us and our family” (Q 12:88) 20. “It is they who will be in loss” (Q 39:63) indicates the absent one’s tarrying. that it would be good to abandon the trip. the attainment of one’s need. love and a beautiful friendship. hardship and prolonged trial. that some of it is true and some of it is untrue. that the one who raised suspicions about someone is suspicious himself. one will grow feeble at the hands of one’s enemy. avarice and stinginess. wisdom and knowledge of the matter. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. the occurrence of the matter inquired about. that one will be allotted property and children. that one will not attain what one seeks. prosperity and plenty of blessings. the ruler’s injustice. that the fear and the sadness will go away. the occurrence of the matter one has in mind. that one will not be allotted property. loss in trade. 136 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 15. Sura The Bee 1. “For He will pay them their meed, nay, He will give them even more out of His bounty” (Q 35:30) 2. “But the Hoopoe tarried not far” (Q 27:22) 3. “Spacious is My earth” “Then fear Me and Me alone” (Q 29:56 + Q 16:51) 4. “There will be for them therein all that they wish,—and more besides in Our Presence” (Q 50:35) 5. “Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths” (Q 3:118) 6. “And delivered him and his family from great distress” (Q 21:76) 7. “Then, by the Lord of heaven and earth, this is the very Truth” (Q 51:23) 8. “Then set them free” (Q 9:5) 9. “We will, without doubt, help our messengers and those who believe” (Q 40:51) 10. “But give them preference over themselves, even though” (Q 59:9) 11. “Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return to the path” (Q 2:18) 12. “And that they say what they practice not” (Q 26:226) 13. “They are not lawful wives for the Unbelievers, nor are the Unbelievers lawful husbands” (Q 60:10) 14. “He said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son?’” (Q 3:40) 15. “Allah granteth His authority to whom He pleaseth” (Q 2:247) 16. “They glory in the Grace and the bounty from Allah” (Q 3:171) 17. “They will do you no harm, barring a trifling annoyance” (Q 3:111) 18. “With shame does he hide himself from his people, because of the bad news (…) ” (Q 16:59) 19. “And because whatever else they invoke besides Him is Falsehood” (Q 31:30) 20. “Allah enlarges the provision or restricts it, for any He pleases” (Q 39:52) indicates wind for [seaborne] trade. the swift arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the attainment of one’s wish and hope. hatred and lack of friendship. deliverance and liberation from hardship. the truth of the news and its confirmation. that the suspect is innocent and to be acquitted. victory, triumph, and bravery. presents and magnanimity. lack of wisdom and knowledge. disloyalty and frequent offending. corruption in the women’s affair. that one will be allotted a male child. that one will attain standing. prosperity and a fertile year. the ruler’s injustice. that the stray beast will not be found. that this matter will never occur. that one will be allotted abundant wealth. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 137 16. Sura The Night Journey 1. “Allah has indeed granted for them a most excellent Provision” (Q 65:11) 2. “And the End of their conduct was Perdition” (Q 65:9) 3. “Then they turn aside: Allah hath turned their hearts from the light” (Q 9:127) 4. “Didst thou not Turn by vision to those who abandoned their homes” (Q 2:243) 5. “And We made known this decree to him” (Q 15:66) 6. “Truly hath he inspired her with violent love” (Q 12:30) 7. “For ourselves there is no way of escape” (Q 14:21) 8. “Nay, he is a liar, an insolent one” (Q 54:25) 9. “If he steals, there was a brother of his who did steal” (Q 12:77) 10. “They turn on their backs, fleeing from the Truth” (Q 17:46) 11. “Truly man was created very impatient” (Q 70:19) 12. “But say, ‘O my Lord! advance me in knowledge’” (Q 20:114) 13. “Indeed, what you are promised is true” (Q 51:5) 14. “Therein shall ye have all that your souls shall desire” (Q 41:31) 15. “And made his progeny to endure on this” earth (Q 37:77) 16. “For over My servants no authority shalt thou have” (Q 15:42) 17. “I will make his fate unbearable” (Q 74:17) 18. “Who afflicted you with the worst of penalties” (Q 7:141) 19. “And We should certainly have caused them confusion in a matter which they have” (Q 6:9) 20. “Behold there a promise not to be belied!” (Q 11:65) indicates that one will be allotted copious wealth. little wind for [seaborne] trade. the arrival of the absent one. travel, as something positive. the fulfillment and attainment of one’s need. love and friendship. hardship and prolonged trial. the untruth and falsehood of the news. that the suspicion is well founded and valid. the enemy’s defeat and rout. stinginess and avarice. that one will be allotted wisdom and knowledge. loyalty and the keeping of one’s promise. that one will be allotted a share of women. that one will be allotted children. that one will not be allotted power. high prices and little good. the ruler’s injustice. that the stray beast will not return. the occurrence of the matter one has in mind. 138 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 17. Sura The Cave 1. “Like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water” (Q 24:39) 2. “And love wealth fervently” (Q 89:20) 3. “For his bounty is to thee indeed great” (Q 17:87) 4. “Will be removed far therefrom” (Q 21:101) 5. “Then We draw a veil over their ears in the Cave” (Q 18:11) 6. “Far, very far is that which ye are promised” (Q 23:36) 7. “Ah! ye are those who love them, but they love you not” (Q 3:119) 8. “Say ‘It is Allah that delivereth you from these and all other distresses’” (Q 6:64) 9. “And Allah by His words doth prove and establish His truth” (Q 10:82) 10. “These are not affected by what people say” (Q 24:26) 11. “And so that Allah will help you tremendously” (Q 48:3) 12. “Those who spend freely, whether in prosperity, or in adversity” (Q 3:134) 13. “Nay, but little do they understand such things” (Q 48:15) 14. “In that they broke their covenant” (Q 4:155) 15. “Behold there a promise not to be belied!” (Q 11:65) 16. “And there will be no blame on you if ye marry them” (Q 60:10) 17. “So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear” (Q 37:101) 18. “Have they a share in dominion or power?” (Q 4:53) 19. “Such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves” (Q 13:16) 20. “And the man whose resources are restricted” (Q 65:7) 21. “Perhaps they call on one whose hurt is nearer than his profit” (Q 22:13) 22. “They said: ‘We give thee glad tidings in truth’” (Q 15:55) indicates the abrogation of the matter one has in mind. that one will be allotted blessing and boon. wind and little loss. the abrogation of the matter inquired about. a delay in travel. a delay in the fulfillment of one’s need. a separation from the friend. liberation from hardship. the truth of the news inquired about. that the suspect is innocent of what he is suspected of. victory and triumph over the enemy. magnanimity and generosity. lack of wisdom and knowledge. the breach of a promise and disloyalty. the keeping of a promise and the execution of what is needed. much luck when it comes to women. that one will be allotted a male child. that one will rule and hold sway. that one will acquire [what is desired] only through hard work. a barren year and high prices. the ruler’s injustice and oppression. that the stray beast will be found. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 139 18. Sura Mary 1. “And never give up hope of Allah’s Soothing Mercy” (Q 12:87) 2. “Verily, this is the Very Truth and Certainty” (Q 56:95) 3. “And provide for them from sources they could never imagine” (Q 65:3) 4. “Behold, it is certain ye will be lost” (Q 23:34) 5. “Where they will remain for endless ages” (Q 78:23) 6. “As a refugee from home” (Q 4:100) 7. “Those whom they invoke besides Allah” “Is falsehood” (Q 43:86 + Q 31:30) 8. “Showing them affection” (Q 60:1) 9. “For them will We add Penalty to Penalty” (Q 16:88) 10. “Verily, this is the Very Truth and Certainty” (Q 56:95) 11. “Ye are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what ye do” (Q 10:41) 12. “Shame is pitched over them Like a tent wherever they are found” (Q 3:112) 13. “Nor could they spend anything for the cause—small or” (Q 9:121) 14. “Therein were ye taught that which ye knew not—neither ye nor your fathers” (Q 6:91) 15. “We have already, beforehand, taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot” (Q 20:115) 16. “Your wives are as a tilth unto you, so approach” (Q 2:223) 17. “Give you increase in wealth and sons” (Q 71:12) 18. “Does not the dominion of Egypt belong to me?” (Q 43:51) 19. “Mischief has appeared on land and sea” (Q 30:41) 20. “Who intend not high-handedness on earth” (Q 28:83) indicates that the stray beast will be found. the occurrence of the matter one has in mind. that one will be allotted property and good [things]. little profit from trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. the occurrence of travel, as something positive. a delay when it comes to one’s need. friendship and love. hardship and prolonged trial. the truth of the news. that the suspect is innocent of what he is linked to. that the love is feeble and that something unpleasant will befall him. stinginess and avarice. wisdom and knowledge. a breach and violation of the agreement. that the women’s affair is in good order. that one will be allotted property and children. that one will be allotted standing. that the year will be barren and arid. the ruler’s justice and good comportment. 140 • Kristof D’hulster Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) 19. Sura Ṭāʾ-Hāʾ 1. “When We decide to destroy a population” (Q 17:16) 2. “That is straying far indeed from the Way” (Q 22:12) 3. “Indeed, what you are promised is true” (Q 51:5) 4. “And bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers of flowing water” (Q 71:12) 5. “Which Allah will double unto his credit and multiply many times” (Q 2:245) 6. “That they would not have to return to Us” (Q 28:39) 7. “In which they will remain forever” (Q 18:3) 8. “Therein shall ye have all that your souls shall desire” (Q 41:31) 9. “If they gain the upper hand over you, they would be your open enemies” (Q 60:2) 10. “If thou dost deliver us from this, we shall truly” (Q 10:22) 11. “And the sentence among the generations is proved against them” (Q 41:25) 12. “And ye conceived an evil thought, for ye are a people lost in wickedness” (Q 48:12) 13. “So that some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners” (Q 33:26) 14. “Behold, they give not a farthing to their fellow-man” (Q 4:53) 15. “And teach thee the interpretation of stories” (Q 12:6) 16. “But if they have treacherous designs against thee” (Q 8:71) 17. “Then content yourselves with one or those bondwomen in your possession” (Q 4:3) 18. “That because We have granted them abundance of wealth and sons” (Q 23:55) 19. “We did indeed make thee a viceregent on earth” (Q 38:26) 20. “Thus does He complete His favour on you” (Q 16:81) indicates the ruler’s injustice and oppression. that what was stolen will not return. the occurrence of the matter one has in mind. that one will be allotted property and benefit. wind for [seaborne] trade. a delay in the arrival of the absent one. a delay in travel. the attainment of one’s need. hatred and enmity. liberation from grief and hardship. the truth and veracity of the news. that the suspect is to be acquitted. victory and subjugation. stinginess and avarice. that one will be allotted wisdom and sagacity. treachery and lack of loyalty. corruption in the women’s affair. that one will be allotted property and good [things]. that one will acquire might and power. abundant benefits and plenty of good [things]. Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 32 (2024) Will I Be Happy? Will I Be Rich? • 141 20. Sura The Prophets 1. “He is the One that sends down rain even after men have given up all hope” (Q 42:28) indicates low prices. 2. “Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief” (Q 2:12) the ruler’s injustice. 3. “That they should not worship Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden” (Q 27:25) the occurrence of theft. 4. “For this is truly a thing designed against you” (Q 38:6) the occurrence of the matter inquired about. 5. “They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah” (Q 3:170) that one will obtain property and favor. 6. “That is indeed the real and evident Loss!” (Q 39:15) little wind for trading. 7. “But in that case they would not have stayed therein after thee, except for a little while” (Q 17:76) the return of the absent one. 8. “And find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord” (Q 16:69) travel, as something positive. 9. “Verily in this Qurʾan is a Message for people who would truly worship Allah” (Q 21:106) fulfillment and attainment of one’s need. 10. “Allah Most Gracious will bestow love” (Q 19:96) loyalty and friendship. 11. “And cast horror into their hearts” (Q 33:26) adversity and prolonged trial. 12. “This charge is an obvious lie” (Q 24:12) that the news inquired about is false. 13. “And they rejected those Signs, though their souls were convinced thereof” (Q 27:14) that the suspicion is justified and that he is not innocent. 14. “And if there be one thousand, they will overcome two thousand” (Q 8:66) victory, success, and triumph. 15. “Gives a little, then hardens his heart” (Q 53:34) avarice and meanness. 16. “He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth” (Q 2:269) that one will be granted knowledge and wisdom. 17. “That Allah will never guide the snares of the false ones” (Q 12:52) treachery and betrayal. 18. “He created for you mates from among yourselves” (Q 30:21) that the women’s affair will be settled. 19. “To announce to thee the gift of a holy son” (Q 19:19) that one will beget a good son. 20. “They have neither the power to remove your troubles from you” (Q 17:56) that one will not find what one seeks.