Ibn al-Akfani al-Hakim

Ibn al-Akfani al-Hakim (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) was a physician, mathematician, and polymath of Sinjar origin who resided and practiced in Cairo, known for his encyclopedic treatises on the classification of sciences and mineralogy Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Life and Career

His full name was Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah (also called Abu al-Jud) Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'id al-Ansari al-Sinjari al-Misri, commonly known as Ibn al-Akfani Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. Born and raised in Sinjar in Upper Mesopotamia, he later moved to Egypt and settled permanently in Cairo Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

In Cairo, Ibn al-Akfani served as a physician at al-Bimaristan al-Mansuri Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…. Within the hospital, he was assigned the treatment of patients suffering from bilious and mental disorders, and was entrusted annually with compounding the medicinal theriac (tarkib al-tiryaq), for which he received an annual allocation of six hundred dirhams Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…. When Amir Jamal al-Din, the governor of al-Karak, assumed oversight of the hospital, he doubled Ibn al-Akfani's regular stipend from sixty to one hundred and twenty dirhams and granted him additional gold out of his own funds Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na….

Scholarly Contributions and Methods

Ibn al-Akfani commanded broad erudition across theoretical and practical disciplines, including medicine, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, logic, and literature Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. In mathematics, he demonstrated geometric proofs effortlessly, drawing the figures of Euclid on a sand-board (takht al-raml) al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. His student Khalil ibn Aybak al-Safadi read portions of Euclid with him, as well as an introduction to magic squares and the opening of al-Isharat with the commentary of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, noting his mastery in resolving complex philosophical and mathematical questions al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

In medical practice, Ibn al-Akfani was regarded as a leading authority of his era; he frequently employed simple remedies and specific occult properties (khawass), often altering their external appearance and composition so that others could not easily duplicate them al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. In the natural sciences, he summarized classical and later lapidary literature in his treatise Nukhab al-Dhakhair fi Ahwal al-Jawahir (Choice Treasures on the States of Jewels), addressing gemstone classifications, mines, prices, and therapeutic properties Nukhab al-Dhakhair fi Ahw…+1. He also authored Irshad al-Qasid ila Asna al-Maqasid (Guide for the Seeker to the Highest Objectives), an influential survey outlining the divisions of knowledge and principal textbooks in each field al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Beyond scientific disciplines, Ibn al-Akfani maintained extensive knowledge of Arabic poetry, prosody, historical biographies, and contemporary political developments, particularly in the East Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. Ibn Sayyid al-Nas praised his unmatched conciseness and precision in verbal expression Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Death

Ibn al-Akfani died in Cairo in 749 AH (1348 CE) during the Black Death plague (al-ta'un), an event mourned in verse by his student al-Safadi Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.