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Mashrabaمشربة

Works

Every work of the authors in the library’s orbit, in the reader or not: who wrote it, when, how it survives, where it can be read, and how it connects to other works. 82 so far. Where a field has not been checked against its source, it says so.
Checked on 2026-10-31

39 of 82 works.

Works, sortable by column
Title ▲AuthorGenrePeriodLanguageStatus
Courtesies of Kings; Gift for Viziers; Histories of the Persian Kingsآداب الملوك؛ تحفة الوزراء؛ غرر أخبار ملوك الفرسal-ThaʿālibīCounsel and governance5th century AHArabicListed only
The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourageالأدب الكبير؛ الأدب الصغير؛ رسالة في الصحابةIbn al-MuqaffaʿCounsel and governance2nd century AHArabicListed only
The Ordinances of Governmentالأحكام السلطانية والولايات الدينيةal-MāwardīLaw5th century AHArabicListed only
Al-Fakhri: on the systems of government and the Muslim dynastiesالفخري في الآداب السلطانية والدول الإسلاميةIbn al-ṬiqṭaqāCounsel and governance8th century AHArabicListed only
The Meccan openingsالفتوحات المكيةIbn ʿArabīMetaphysics and cosmology7th century AHArabicIn the reader
Metaphysics of the Shifāʾ, book X (prophecy, law and the city)الإلهيات من الشفاء، المقالة العاشرةIbn Sīnā (Avicenna)Metaphysics and cosmology5th century AHArabicListed only
Introduction to History (Prolegomena)المقدمةIbn KhaldūnOther, or not yet classed8th century AHArabicListed only
The prayer of effusionالصلاة الفيضيةIbn ʿArabīPrayer and litany7th century AHArabicIn the reader
The Shining Meteors on Useful Policyالشهب اللامعة في السياسة النافعةIbn Riḍwān al-MālaqīCounsel and governance8th century AHArabicListed only
The political regime (also called the Principles of existing things)السياسة المدنيةal-FārābīCounsel and governance4th century AHArabicListed only
Divine governance of the human kingdomالتدبيرات الإلهية في إصلاح المملكة الإنسانيةIbn ʿArabīCounsel and governance6th century AHArabicListed only
Spiritual Physickالطب الروحانيAbū Bakr al-RāzīCounsel and governance3rd century AHArabicListed only
The Unique Necklaceالعقد الفريدIbn ʿAbd RabbihCounsel and governance4th century AHArabicListed only
Opinions of the people of the virtuous cityآراء أهل المدينة الفاضلةal-FārābīCounsel and governance4th century AHArabicListed only
The weekly litaniesأوراد الأسبوعIbn ʿArabīPrayer and litany7th century AHArabicIn the reader
Wonders of Conduct in the Natures of Kingshipبدائع السلك في طبائع الملكIbn al-AzraqCounsel and governance9th century AHArabicListed only
Treatise on the Differences between Breast, Heart, Inner Heart and Coreبيان الفرق بين الصدر والقلب والفؤاد واللبal-Ḥakīm al-TirmidhīThe path3rd century AHArabicListed only
The ringstones of wisdomفصوص الحكمIbn ʿArabīMetaphysics and cosmology7th century AHArabicIn the reader
The prayer of the highest circuitحزب الدور الأعلىIbn ʿArabīPrayer and litany7th century AHArabicIn the reader
The book of circlesإنشاء الدوائرIbn ʿArabīMetaphysics and cosmology7th century AHArabicIn the reader
Commentary on Plato's Republicجوامع سياسة أفلاطونIbn Rushd (Averroes)Counsel and governance6th century AHArabicListed only
Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)كليلة ودمنةIbn al-MuqaffaʿCounsel and governance2nd century AHArabicListed only
The Stations; Reminder to the Intelligent and Admonition to the Heedlessكتاب المواقف؛ ذكرى العاقل وتنبيه الغافلEmir ʿAbd al-Qādir al-JazāʾirīThe path13th century AHArabicListed only
Book of the Crown (on the characters of kings)كتاب التاج في أخلاق الملوكal-Jāḥiẓ (attributed)Counsel and governance3rd century AHArabicListed only
Counsel for Kings; Facilitating Deliberation; Rules of the Vizierate; Conduct of Worldly and Religious Lifeنصيحة الملوك؛ تسهيل النظر وتعجيل الظفر؛ قوانين الوزارة؛ أدب الدنيا والدينal-MāwardīCounsel and governance5th century AHArabicListed only
Pseudo-Aristotelian letters to Alexander (Arabic Alexander-romance epistolary corpus)رسائل أرسطو إلى الإسكندر; الرسالة في السياسة للمدنPseudo-AristotleCounsel and governance2nd century AHArabicListed only
Epistles of the Brethren of Purity; The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinnرسائل إخوان الصفا؛ نزاع الإنسان والحيوانIkhwān al-ṢafāʾOther, or not yet classed4th century AHArabicListed only
Letter of Ṭāhir to his son ʿAbd Allāhرسالة طاهر بن الحسين إلى ابنه عبد اللهṬāhir b. al-ḤusaynCounsel and governance3rd century AHArabicListed only
The spirit of holinessروح القدس في محاسبة النفسIbn ʿArabīLives and lineages7th century AHArabicIn the reader
The Lamp of Kingsسراج الملوكal-ṬurṭūshīCounsel and governance6th century AHArabicListed only
The Secret of Secretsسر الأسرار / كتاب السياسة في تدبير الرياسةPseudo-AristotleCounsel and governance2nd century AHArabicListed only
Solace for the Ruler during Hostility of Subjects (Waters of Comfort)سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباعIbn Ẓafar al-ṢiqillīCounsel and governance6th century AHArabicListed only
Regime (Rule) of the solitaryتدبير المتوحدIbn Bājja (Avempace)Counsel and governance6th century AHArabicListed only
The refinement of characterتهذيب الأخلاقMiskawayhCounsel and governance4th century AHArabicListed only
Summary of Plato's Lawsتلخيص نواميس أفلاطونal-FārābīCounsel and governance4th century AHArabicListed only
The interpreter of desiresترجمان الأشواقIbn ʿArabīLyric7th century AHArabicIn the reader
Testament of Ardashīrعهد أردشيرArdashīr I (attributed)Counsel and governance2nd century AHArabicListed only
The Wonders of the Heartعجائب القلب (إحياء علوم الدين، الكتاب 21)al-GhazālīThe path5th century AHArabicListed only
Choice Reports (Book 1: al-Sulṭān)عيون الأخبارIbn QutaybaCounsel and governance3rd century AHArabicListed only

Courtesies of Kings; Gift for Viziers; Histories of the Persian Kings

آداب الملوك؛ تحفة الوزراء؛ غرر أخبار ملوك الفرس

Ādāb al-mulūk; Tuḥfat al-wuzarāʾ; Ghurar akhbār mulūk al-Furs

al-Thaʿālibī (d. 429/1038)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 5th century AH · Listed only

Courtly adab and Persian king-lore for Khurasani rulers;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
early 11th c., Nishapur / Ghazna (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Jalīl al-ʿAṭiyya (Ādāb al-mulūk, Beirut 1990); Zotenberg (Ghurar, Paris 1900) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Zotenberg (French, Ghurar) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage

الأدب الكبير؛ الأدب الصغير؛ رسالة في الصحابة

al-Adab al-kabīr; al-Adab al-ṣaghīr; Risāla fī l-ṣaḥāba

Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (d. c. 139/756)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 2nd century AH · Listed only

Adab as a code of reason and restraint;

Attribution
authentic: TDV names al-Adab al-kabīr, al-Adab al-ṣaghīr and the Risāla fī l-ṣaḥāba among his works, and calls him an early pioneer of the siyāsatnāma tradition. checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Date
c. 750s, Basra, Baghdad (al-Manṣūr's court) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Muḥammad Kurd ʿAlī, Rasāʾil al-bulaghāʾ (Cairo 1913); Pellat, Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ 'mort en 757' conseilleur du calife (Paris 1976) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Pellat (French); partial English in Lambton and Marlow · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Ordinances of Government

الأحكام السلطانية والولايات الدينية

al-Aḥkām al-sulṭāniyya wa-l-wilāyāt al-dīniyya

al-Māwardī (d. 450/1058)

Further afield · Law · Arabic · 5th century AH · Listed only

The caliphate and offices defined by law: the imam's contract, appointment of ministers, judges, war, taxes.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1045-58, Baghdad (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Muḥammad Fahmī al-Sarjānī (Cairo 1909); Aḥmad Mubārak al-Baghdādī (Kuwait 1989) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Asadullah Yate (London: Ta-Ha 1996); Wafaa Wahba (Garnet 1996) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Al-Fakhri: on the systems of government and the Muslim dynasties

الفخري في الآداب السلطانية والدول الإسلامية

al-Fakhrī fī l-ādāb al-sulṭāniyya wa-l-duwal al-islāmiyya

Ibn al-Ṭiqṭaqā (fl. 701/1302)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 8th century AH · Listed only

A mirror in the first half, then a short history of caliphs and viziers as exemplars.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
1302, Mosul (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Ahlwardt (Gotha 1860); Cairo ed. · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • C. E. J. Whitting, Al-Fakhri on the Systems of Government (London 1947) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Meccan openings

الفتوحات المكية

al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Metaphysics and cosmology · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: the introduction and chapter 1 only.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: the introduction and chapter 1 only.

Metaphysics of the Shifāʾ, book X (prophecy, law and the city)

الإلهيات من الشفاء، المقالة العاشرة

al-Ilāhiyyāt min al-Shifāʾ, maqāla 10

Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) (c. 370–428/980–1037)

Philosophy · Metaphysics and cosmology · Arabic · 5th century AH · Listed only

The closing book of the Metaphysics of the Shifāʾ: prophecy, the law-giver and the ordering of the city; his short Risāla fī l-siyāsa is a separate work.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1020s, Hamadhan, Isfahan (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Cairo ed. (Mūsā, Dunyā, Zāyid 1960) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Michael Marmura, The Metaphysics of the Healing (BYU 2005) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Introduction to History (Prolegomena)

المقدمة

al-Muqaddima

Ibn Khaldūn (d. 808/1406)

Further afield · Other, or not yet classed · Arabic · 8th century AH · Listed only

Dynasties rise by ʿasabiyya and fall in about three generations;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
1377, Tunis, Qalʿat Ibn Salāma, Cairo (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Quatremère (Paris 1858); Dār Ṣādir ed. · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Franz Rosenthal (Princeton, Bollingen 1958; rev. 1967) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The prayer of effusion

الصلاة الفيضية

al-Ṣalāt al-fayḍiyya

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Prayer and litany · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: complete; attributed to Ibn ʿArabī.

Attribution
disputed: The reader labels it 'Ibn ʿArabī (attributed)'; the basis for the attribution has not been checked. not yet checked
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: complete; attributed to Ibn ʿArabī.

The Shining Meteors on Useful Policy

الشهب اللامعة في السياسة النافعة

al-Shuhub al-lāmiʿa fī l-siyāsa al-nāfiʿa

Ibn Riḍwān al-Mālaqī (d. 783/1381)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 8th century AH · Listed only

A Maghribi mirror building on Ṭurṭūshī and the philosophers, written for Marinid/Nasrid courts.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
late 14th c., Málaga, Fez (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • ʿAlī Sāmī al-Nashshār (Casablanca 1984) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The political regime (also called the Principles of existing things)

السياسة المدنية

al-Siyāsa al-madaniyya

al-Fārābī (c. 870–950)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

The ruler, the virtuous city and its opposites, built from a doctrine of first principles.

Attribution
authentic: TDV names al-Siyāsa al-madaniyya (Mabādiʾ al-mawjūdāt), less systematic than the Madīna and complementing it. checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Date
c. 940s (draft; unchecked), Baghdad, Aleppo/Damascus (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Divine governance of the human kingdom

التدبيرات الإلهية في إصلاح المملكة الإنسانية

al-Tadbīrāt al-ilāhiyya fī iṣlāḥ al-mamlaka al-insāniyya

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only

Counsel on governing the human being as a kingdom under the intellect. Its preface sets it against the Sirr al-asrār's governance of the worldly kingdom, and addresses both the servant of kings and the traveller on the path.

Attribution
authentic: The text opens in his own name, 'Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī al-Ṭāʾī' (Nyberg, first text page, unnumbered), and speaks in the first person of its composition (pp. 120–121). Yahia 1964, the specialist reference, is not yet in hand. checked in H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919); the Tadbīrāt is printed in the Arabic section, text pp. 103–240 (see LEDGER)
Date
Composed at Mawrūr (Morón) 'in under four days' (dūn al-arbaʿa al-ayyām, Nyberg p. 121); the year is not yet established (draft: before 598/1202), Mawrūr (Morón), al-Andalus (basis: date of composition) probable
Editions
Translations
  • Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi, Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (Fons Vitae, 1997), reported by the draft as made from Ottoman Turkish; unchecked · en · cite only not yet checked

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Opinions of the people of the virtuous city The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Epistles of the Brethren of Purity; The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinn The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: The refinement of character The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Lineage: The Secret of Secrets The preface names it (Nyberg pp. 120–121, read from the page images). At Mawrūr, with Abū Muḥammad al-Mawrūrī, Ibn ʿArabī found the 'Kitāb Sirr al-asrār', which 'the sage' (al-ḥakīm) composed for Dhū l-Qarnayn; he was asked to set against it the governance of the human kingdom, 'in which is our happiness'. He says he put into his book more on governing a kingdom than the sage did and made clear what the sage left out, and that the sage's book is a quarter or a third of its size. He names the author only as 'the sage' and the king as Dhū l-Qarnayn; the title identifies the book. Confidence: high. checked in H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919); the Tadbīrāt is printed in the Arabic section, text pp. 103–240 (see LEDGER)
  • Resonance, not influence: Republic Both treat the ruled soul as a polity under reason. No source seen documents a route from the Republic to the Tadbīrāt; the Tadbīrāt's preface names the Sirr al-asrār, not the Republic or al-Fārābī. Confidence: low. probable

Spiritual Physick

الطب الروحاني

al-Ṭibb al-rūḥānī

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (d. c. 313/925)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 3rd century AH · Listed only

Reason as king of the soul against passion;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 900-925, Rayy (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Paul Kraus, Rasāʾil falsafiyya (Cairo 1939) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • A. J. Arberry, The Spiritual Physick of Rhazes (London 1950) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Republic The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Phaedrus (chariot myth, 246a-254e) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked

The Unique Necklace

العقد الفريد

al-ʿIqd al-farīd

Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih (d. 328/940)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

Book 1 al-Luʾluʾa (The Pearl) on the sultan, one of the first Andalusi mirrors in anthology form.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
early 10th c., Cordoba (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Amīn, Zayn, Abyārī (Cairo 1940-53) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • partial · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Opinions of the people of the virtuous city

آراء أهل المدينة الفاضلة

Ārāʾ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍila

al-Fārābī (c. 870–950)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

The virtuous city is ruled by a philosopher-prophet whose emanation from the Active Intellect orders the city like the cosmos from the First Cause;

Attribution
authentic: TDV: al-Madīna al-fāḍila was written with a thought like the ideal city of Plato's Republic. checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Date
c. 940s, Baghdad, Aleppo/Damascus (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Dunlop (Fuṣūl 1961); Walzer (Ārāʾ, Oxford 1985); Mahdi (Taḥṣīl) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Walzer, Al-Farabi on the Perfect State (Oxford 1985); Mahdi tr. in Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle (1962); Najjar in Lerner and Mahdi, Medieval Political Philosophy (1963) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Laws The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Republic (recorded as lineage, shown as a resonance until its reference is checked) SEP: al-Fārābī takes 'some inspiration' from the Republic and Laws, though his access to them may have been limited since a full Arabic translation is doubted; TDV likens his Madīna to the ideal city of Plato's Republic. No quotation or named borrowing has been checked. Confidence: medium. probable

The weekly litanies

أوراد الأسبوع

Awrād al-usbūʿ

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Prayer and litany · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: the opening prayer and Sunday's prayers only.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: the opening prayer and Sunday's prayers only.

Wonders of Conduct in the Natures of Kingship

بدائع السلك في طبائع الملك

Badāʾiʿ al-silk fī ṭabāʾiʿ al-mulk

Ibn al-Azraq (d. 896/1491)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 9th century AH · Listed only

Follows Ibn Khaldūn's civilisation theory with Andalusi examples;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1480s, Granada, then Tlemcen/Málaga (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • ʿAlī Sāmī al-Nashshār (Baghdad 1977) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Treatise on the Differences between Breast, Heart, Inner Heart and Core

بيان الفرق بين الصدر والقلب والفؤاد واللب

Bayān al-farq bayn al-ṣadr wa-l-qalb wa-l-fuʾād wa-l-lubb

al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī (d. c. 295–320/910–930)

Sufism · The path · Arabic · 3rd century AH · Listed only

The soul as an inner city;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
late 9th-early 10th c., Tirmidh (Transoxiana) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Bernd Radtke · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

The ringstones of wisdom

فصوص الحكم

Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Metaphysics and cosmology · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: chapters 1–6 and 15 (Adam, Seth, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jesus); not the whole book.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: chapters 1–6 and 15 (Adam, Seth, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jesus); not the whole book.

The prayer of the highest circuit

حزب الدور الأعلى

Ḥizb al-dawr al-aʿlā

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Prayer and litany · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: complete; attributed to Ibn ʿArabī.

Attribution
disputed: The reader labels it 'Ibn ʿArabī (attributed)'; the basis for the attribution has not been checked. not yet checked
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: complete; attributed to Ibn ʿArabī.

The book of circles

إنشاء الدوائر

Inshāʾ al-dawāʾir

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Metaphysics and cosmology · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: complete, from Nyberg 1919.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Editions
Read it hereReader: complete, from Nyberg 1919.

Commentary on Plato's Republic

جوامع سياسة أفلاطون

Jawāmiʿ siyāsat Aflāṭūn

Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (1126–1198)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only

Ibn Rushd's commentary on Plato's Republic, kept in Hebrew; it takes the Republic as the political philosophy he lacked in Aristotle's Politics.

Attribution
authentic: SEP: he wrote a commentary on Plato's Republic and begins it by saying he will abstract the demonstrative arguments and remove the dialectical ones. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Ibn Rushd [Averroes]”
Date
c. 1194 (draft; unchecked) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • E. I. J. Rosenthal (ed. and tr.), Averroes' Commentary on Plato's Republic (Cambridge UP, 1956): the Hebrew text with English translation; the Arabic original is lost · cite only probable
Translations
  • Ralph Lerner, Averroes on Plato's Republic (Cornell UP, 1974) · en · cite only probable
  • Rosenthal 1956 (with the Hebrew text) · en · cite only probable
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Opinions of the people of the virtuous city The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Lineage: Republic It is a commentary on the Republic (SEP, which also notes that its brevity does not show deep knowledge of the whole text). Confidence: high. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Ibn Rushd [Averroes]”; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “al-Farabi”

Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)

كليلة ودمنة

Kalīla wa-Dimna

Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (d. c. 139/756)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 2nd century AH · Listed only

Animal fables as indirect counsel to the king;

Attribution
authentic: TDV: the Pahlavi Pañcatantra was put into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ as Kalīla wa-Dimna. checked in İskender Pala, “Nasihatnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2006); Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Date
c. 750; Persian 1144, Baghdad (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Louis Cheikho (Beirut 1905); ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ʿAzzām (Cairo 1941) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Thomas Irving (Kalilah and Dimnah, 1980); Wyndham Knatchbull (1819, free) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Stations; Reminder to the Intelligent and Admonition to the Heedless

كتاب المواقف؛ ذكرى العاقل وتنبيه الغافل

Kitāb al-Mawāqif; Dhikrā l-ʿāqil wa-tanbīh al-ghāfil

Emir ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī (d. 1300/1883)

Sufism · The path · Arabic · 13th century AH · Listed only

A statesman-Sufi's meditations on the heart, reason and love;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
1850s-1860s; Dhikrā 1855, Bursa, Damascus (after exile) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Damascus ed. · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Michel Chodkiewicz (ed.), The Spiritual Writings of Amir ʿAbd al-Kader (SUNY 1995) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Book of the Crown (on the characters of kings)

كتاب التاج في أخلاق الملوك

Kitāb al-Tāj fī akhlāq al-mulūk

al-Jāḥiẓ (attributed) (d. 255/868)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 3rd century AH · Listed only

Describes the ceremonial, conversation and etiquette of the Sasanian-style king, an exemplar for caliphal court.

Attribution
disputed: TDV says 'attributed to al-Jāḥiẓ' (Câhiz'e nisbet edilen). checked in İskender Pala, “Nasihatnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2006)
Date
9th–10th c.; TDV (Siyâsetname) calls it one of the first works with the siyāsatnāma genre's marks, dedicated to the vizier al-Fatḥ b. Khāqān, in a preface and four parts (basis: date of composition) probable
Editions
  • Aḥmad Zakī Pasha (Cairo 1914) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Charles Pellat, Le Livre de la Couronne (Paris 1954) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Counsel for Kings; Facilitating Deliberation; Rules of the Vizierate; Conduct of Worldly and Religious Life

نصيحة الملوك؛ تسهيل النظر وتعجيل الظفر؛ قوانين الوزارة؛ أدب الدنيا والدين

Naṣīḥat al-mulūk; Tashīl al-naẓar wa-taʿjīl al-ẓafar; Qawānīn al-wizāra; Adab al-dunyā wa-l-dīn

al-Māwardī (d. 450/1058)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 5th century AH · Listed only

Counsel to rulers grounded in sharia ethics and Greek moral philosophy: the ruler's knowledge, justice, consultation, and the ordering of the realm's elements.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1030-1058 (Naṣīḥa authorship in doubt), Baghdad (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Naṣīḥat al-mulūk: Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Munʿim (Alexandria 1988); Tashīl al-naẓar: Riḍwān al-Sayyid (Beirut 1981); Adab al-dunyā: Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā (Cairo 1955) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Partial in Marlow (2023) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Pseudo-Aristotelian letters to Alexander (Arabic Alexander-romance epistolary corpus)

رسائل أرسطو إلى الإسكندر; الرسالة في السياسة للمدن

Rasāʾil Arisṭū ilā l-Iskandar; Risāla fī l-siyāsa li-l-mudun (Letter on the policy of cities)

Pseudo-Aristotle ((name borne by anonymous or later authors))

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 2nd century AH · Listed only

Aristotle, tutor of Alexander, counsels policy toward conquered cities and the control of the self;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
8th-9th c. Arabic, Umayyad/early Abbasid chancery (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • S. M. Stern, Aristotle on the World State (Oxford: Cassirer 1970); Maróth, The Correspondence between Aristotle and Alexander the Great (Piliscsaba 2006) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Maróth (partial English) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Epistles of the Brethren of Purity; The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinn

رسائل إخوان الصفا؛ نزاع الإنسان والحيوان

Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ; Tadāʿī al-ḥayawān ʿalā l-insān

Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (10th c. CE (anonymous group))

Philosophy · Other, or not yet classed · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

Epistle 22 is a debate before a jinn-king;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
10th c., Basra (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Cairo/Beirut editions; Butrus al-Bustani (Beirut 1957) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Lenn Goodman and Richard McGregor (OUP/IIS 2009) for the Animals; Epistles partial (IIS) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Republic The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked

Letter of Ṭāhir to his son ʿAbd Allāh

رسالة طاهر بن الحسين إلى ابنه عبد الله

Risālat Ṭāhir b. al-Ḥusayn ilā ibnihi ʿAbd Allāh

Ṭāhir b. al-Ḥusayn (fl. 206/821)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 3rd century AH · Listed only

Instruction to a new governor: fear God, justice, no personal indulgence;

Attribution
authentic checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Date
206/821, to his son ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir on his appointment; al-Maʾmūn had it copied and sent to governors (TDV, citing al-Ṭabarī VIII, 582–591) (basis: date of composition) checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Editions
  • Ṭabarī, vol. 3 (de Goeje series) text · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Bosworth, JNES 29 (1970) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The spirit of holiness

روح القدس في محاسبة النفس

Rūḥ al-quds

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Lives and lineages · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: the portraits of his teachers.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Read it hereReader: the portraits of his teachers.

The Lamp of Kings

سراج الملوك

Sirāj al-mulūk

al-Ṭurṭūshī (d. 520/1126)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only

A learned jurist's mirror: kingship as divine trust, with long stories of Persian kings and Prophetic ḥadīth;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1122, Alexandria (Fatimid vizier al-Maʾmūn al-Baṭāʾiḥī) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Būlāq 1872; Jaʿfar al-Bayātī (London 1990) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Maurice Alarcón, Lámpara de los príncipes (Madrid 1930-31) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Secret of Secrets

سر الأسرار / كتاب السياسة في تدبير الرياسة

Sirr al-asrār / Kitāb al-Siyāsa fī tadbīr al-riyāsa

Pseudo-Aristotle ((name borne by anonymous or later authors))

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 2nd century AH · Listed only

Aristotle teaches Alexander the 'secret' of kingship: justice, ministers, treasury, armies, health regimen, physiognomy, and the king's body as a kingdom ruled by reason.

Attribution
spurious: Presented as Aristotle's letter to Alexander; the Arabic version is credited to Yaḥyā (Yuḥannā) b. al-Biṭrīq, whom the TDV article names as its author or translator for the Ottoman reception. The Arabic origin and date are not yet checked. not yet checked
Date
Core 8th c.; two recensions (short, long) by 10th c., Umayyad/Abbasid chancery; Syria/Iraq (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī, al-Uṣūl al-yūnāniyya li-l-naẓariyyāt al-siyāsiyya fī l-Islām (Cairo 1954); Ismāʿīl/Manzalaoui; critical edition still a desideratum (Forster 2006) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • English from Arabic: A. S. Fulton in Steele (1920); no standard modern English from the Arabic · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Solace for the Ruler during Hostility of Subjects (Waters of Comfort)

سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباع

Sulwān al-muṭāʿ fī ʿudwān al-atbāʿ

Ibn Ẓafar al-Ṣiqillī (d. c. 565/1170)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only

Stories and parables on how rulers and subjects weather misfortune, with consolation from Providence;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1159-60, Sicily, then Hama (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Beirut 1995; Tunis 1279/1862; Istanbul 1285/1868 · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Michele Amari, Italian (Florence 1851) and Solwan; or Waters of Comfort (London 1852) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

Regime (Rule) of the solitary

تدبير المتوحد

Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid

Ibn Bājja (Avempace) (c. 1085–1139)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only

In an imperfect city the philosopher must govern himself alone and perfect his intellect by himself: the political question turns inward.

Attribution
authentic: SEP gives it as his Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid, with Asín Palacios's edition and Spanish translation and Dunlop's 1945 article. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Ibn Bajja [Avempace]”
Date
early 12th c., Saragossa, Fez (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • M. Asín Palacios (ed. and Spanish tr.), El régimen del solitario (Madrid, 1946), as cited in the SEP bibliography · cite only checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Ibn Bajja [Avempace]”
Translations
  • Lawrence Berman in Lerner and Mahdi (1963) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Opinions of the people of the virtuous city The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Lineage: Republic SEP: Avempace reads and quotes Plato, and turns the analogy the other way: the Republic takes the soul as the model of the city, he starts from the ideal city and carries its order into the solitary soul. A documented reading, with the direction reversed. Confidence: high. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Ibn Bajja [Avempace]”

The refinement of character

تهذيب الأخلاق

Tahdhīb al-akhlāq

Miskawayh (c. 932–1030)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

Character is formed by balancing the three soul-faculties (Platonic tripartition: rational, irascible, appetitive);

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1000, Rayy/Baghdad (Buyid) (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Cairo ed. · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Constantine Zurayk, The Refinement of Character (Beirut: AUB 1968) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: Republic The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Phaedrus (chariot myth, 246a-254e) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked

Summary of Plato's Laws

تلخيص نواميس أفلاطون

Talkhīṣ Nawāmīs Aflāṭūn

al-Fārābī (c. 870–950)

Philosophy · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 4th century AH · Listed only

Al-Fārābī's short summary of Plato's Laws, surviving in Arabic.

Attribution
authentic: SEP: 'we certainly have al-Fārābī's Summary of Plato's Laws'. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “al-Farabi”
Date
c. 940s (draft; unchecked), Baghdad, Aleppo/Damascus (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Th.-A. Druart (ed., 1998), as cited in the SEP entry on al-Fārābī · cite only probable
Translations
  • Butterworth, in al-Fārābī, The Political Writings II (2015), as cited in the SEP entry · en · cite only probable
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Lineage: Laws A summary of the Laws by al-Fārābī; SEP says the Arabic text survives. Confidence: high. checked in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “al-Farabi”

The interpreter of desires

ترجمان الأشواق

Tarjumān al-ashwāq

Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)

Ibn ʿArabī · Lyric · Arabic · 7th century AH · In the reader

Reader: poems I–X with Nicholson's translation and the poet's commentary.

Attribution
authentic: The reader catalogue lists it as his work; Yahia 1964 not yet in hand. probable
Date
not yet checked (author d. 638/1240) (basis: the author's death date) not yet checked
Translations
  • R. A. Nicholson, The Tarjumán al-Ashwáq (London, 1911), Arabic and English · en · public domain probable
Read it hereReader: poems I–X with Nicholson's translation and the poet's commentary.

Testament of Ardashīr

عهد أردشير

ʿAhd Ardashīr

Ardashīr I (attributed) (r. 224–242 CE)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 2nd century AH · Listed only

'Religion and kingship are twins: neither can stand without the other';

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
Sasanian (3rd c.) tradition; Arabic text 8th c., Iran, then Baghdad (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Iḥsān ʿAbbās, ʿAhd Ardashīr (Beirut 1967) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Mario Grignaschi, 'Quelques spécimens de la littérature sassanide conservés dans les bibliothèques d'Istanbul', JA 254 (1966) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

The Wonders of the Heart

عجائب القلب (إحياء علوم الدين، الكتاب 21)

ʿAjāʾib al-qalb (Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, book 21)

al-Ghazālī (450–505/1058–1111)

Sufism · The path · Arabic · 5th century AH · Listed only

The body is a city, the heart is king, faculties are his army (anger), spies (senses) and treasurer;

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 1095-1105, Baghdad/Damascus/Tus (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Cairo/Beirut eds.; Būlāq · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • Walter James Skellie, The Marvels of the Heart (Fons Vitae 2010); Timothy Winter, On Disciplining the Soul and On Breaking the Two Desires (ITS 1995, books 22-23) · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works

  • Resonance, not influence: The refinement of character The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
  • Resonance, not influence: Republic The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked

Choice Reports (Book 1: al-Sulṭān)

عيون الأخبار

ʿUyūn al-akhbār

Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/889)

Further afield · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 3rd century AH · Listed only

Book 1 gathers sayings on rulers, the first systematic Arabic ethic of power.

Attribution
authentic not yet checked
Date
c. 880, Baghdad (basis: date of composition) not yet checked
Editions
  • Dār al-Kutub (Cairo 1925-30); later ed. · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Translations
  • partial · en · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
Not in the reader yet

Connected works