Ibn al-Wardi al-Hafid, Siraj al-Din

Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Wardi (d. 852 AH / 1447 CE) was an Arab geographer and agricultural scholar from Ma'arrat al-Nu'man and Aleppo, best known for the geographical and cosmographical compendium Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Faridat al-Gharaib (The Pearl of Wonders and the Uniqueness of Oddities) Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…+1.

Background and Identity

His full name was Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs Umar ibn al-Muzaffar ibn al-Wardi al-Bakri al-Qurashi Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…+1. Originating from Ma'arrat al-Nu'man before settling in Aleppo, he belonged to the prominent Ibn al-Wardi scholarly family Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…+1. To distinguish him from his grandfather, the jurist and poet Zayn al-Din Ibn al-Wardi (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE), he is commonly designated as Ibn al-Wardi al-Hafid ("the Grandson") Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…+1. He died in 852 AH (1447 CE), though another report places his death in 861 AH (1457 CE) Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari….

Scholarly Contributions and Attribution

Ibn al-Wardi focused primarily on geography, natural phenomena, and botany Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…. He completed his principal treatise, Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Faridat al-Gharaib, in 822 AH (1419 CE)—seventy-one solar years after the demise of his grandfather Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…. Despite this chronological gap, bibliographers and modern catalogers frequently misattributed the work to the elder Zayn al-Din Ibn al-Wardi due to their shared name Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari…+1. In addition to his geographical writings, he authored botanical and utilitarian treatises, including Manafi al-Nabat wa-l-Thimar wa-l-Buqul wa-l-Fawakih (The Benefits of Plants, Fruits, and Vegetables) and Faraid wa-Fawaid Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Fari….