al-Azmina wal-Amkina

Kitab al-Azmina wal-Amkina (The Book of Times and Places) is an encyclopedic philological and meteorological treatise by the Isfahan-based grammarian and lexicographer Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Marzuqi (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE) al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1. The work gathers the lexical, astronomical, folkloric, and seasonal traditions of the pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabs concerning time, celestial bodies, atmospheric phenomena, and geography Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1.

Scope and Content

The book examines the designations, characteristics, and changing states of times and places, as well as the celestial sphere and its stars, including their risings, settings, ascensions, and descents Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1. Al-Marzuqi records Arabian meteorological lore regarding rain-bearing asterisms (anwa'), shifting winds, cloud formations, lightning, thunder, and rainbows, alongside seasonal cycles of drought, fertility, heat, and cold al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1.

Beyond meteorology, the work details Arabian cultural and material life tied to geography and time, such as nomadic journeys in search of pasture (ruwwad) and water (wurrad), camel breeding seasons, hospitality customs, pre-Islamic Arabian markets (aswaq al-Arab), seasonal pilgrimages, methods of divination and tracking (iyafa, qiyafa, and kahana), calendar intercalations (nasi'), and the historical reckoning systems used by the Arabs, Persians, and Byzantines al-Azmina wal-Amkina+3.

Structure

The work is organized into 63 chapters (bab) containing over ninety sub-sections (fasl) al-Azmina wal-Amkina:

• Theological and Prolegomenary Chapters (1–3): Chapter 1, which comprises 29 sub-sections, opens with Quranic verses on divine blessings across day and night, the calendar practice of nasi', prophetic traditions on rain asterisms, theological debates on clear and ambiguous verses (al-muhkam wal-mutashabih), and divine names and attributes al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the grammatical and philological status of nouns denoting time and space as adverbial expressions of circumstance (zuruf), followed by discussions of night and day al-Azmina wal-Amkina.
• Calendars, Seasons, and Celestial Bodies (4–28): These chapters address the origin and divisions of time across different civilizations, the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twenty-eight lunar mansions (manazil al-qamar), the years of the Arabs, Persians, and Byzantines, the names and characteristics of the sun, moon, crescent, and stars, and specific temporal divisions for diurnal and seasonal activities al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1.
• Meteorology, Geography, and Social Lore (29–51): This division covers the four primary winds and their points of origin, clouds, rain classifications, thunder, lightning, rainbows, dew, pastures, wells, Arabian markets (Chapter 40), pastoral breeding calendars, rhymed proverbs of the seasons, divination, nocturnal navigation, and the origin of historical dating al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1.
• Constellations and Traditional Knowledge (52–63): The final sections detail empirical seasonal knowledge acquired by the Arabs through long observation outside rhymed lore, the Southern and Northern constellations, dawn, twilight, using stars to identify the qibla and the historical redirection of the prayer direction to the Kaaba, pre-Islamic livelihoods, and the properties of fixed and retrograde stars al-Azmina wal-Amkina.

Method and Sources

Al-Marzuqi employs an interdisciplinary method that links Arabic lexicography with natural observation, religious texts, and the theories of earlier philosophical authorities (kalam al-awa'il) al-Azmina wal-Amkina+2. He supports his linguistic and astronomical definitions with extensive citations of ancient Arabian poetry, rhymed prose (saj'), proverbs, and tribal narratives al-Azmina wal-Amkina+1.

In analyzing rain asterisms, al-Marzuqi draws a distinction between empirical seasonal navigation—which he praises as an area of sharp and accurate observation among the Arabs—and the pre-Islamic theological belief that stars possessed causal power over rainfall, which he condemns and refutes in light of Islamic scripture al-Azmina wal-Amkina.

Preservation and Editions

Manuscripts of the work have been preserved in collections including the Asafiyya Library in Hyderabad and the Azhar Library in Cairo Khizanat al-Turath - Fihr…. A two-volume edition of the text was published in Hyderabad, Deccan, in 1332 AH Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…. While classical biographers such as Yaqut al-Hamawi and Ibn Mandah recorded that al-Marzuqi died in Dhu al-Hijjah 421 AH, a colophon note on a copy of the work recorded a completion date of 452 AH (or 453 AH) Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+2.