Hayat al-Hayawan al-Kubra
- Author died
- 808 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Hayat al-Hayawan al-Kubra (The Major Life of Animals) is an Arabic zoological and encyclopedic compendium compiled by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar and traditionist al-Damiri (742–808 AH / 1341–1405 CE) . Completed in its initial draft in Rajab 773 AH (1372 CE), it serves as a comprehensive lexical, legal, biological, and folkloric dictionary of the animal kingdom and living beings, arranged alphabetically .
Background and Composition
In the preface of the work, al-Damiri relates that the direct impetus for writing the book was an academic gathering where a dispute broke out over the identity, correct pronunciation, and characteristics of malik al-hazin (the heron) and al-dhykh (the male hyena) . Finding that obscure names were frequently corrupted and inaccurate claims circulated without verification, he performed the prayer of guidance (istikhara) and undertook the composition of the work to establish exact vocalizations and elucidate ambiguous terminology .
Al-Damiri drew his material from 560 written sources and 199 poetry collections (diwans) of pre-Islamic and Islamic Arab poets . The author produced three distinct recensions of the work: the major version (al-Kubra), the medium version (al-Wusta), and the minor version (al-Sughra) . The major edition is distinguished by substantial historical chronicles and an expanded treatise on oneiric interpretation (ta'bir al-ru'ya) appended to animal entries .
Scope and Method
Following earlier models such as Ibn Bukhtishu', al-Damiri interpreted the concept of "animal" broadly as encompassing any animate being . Consequently, the work treats human beings (al-insan), angels, jinn, mythical and eschatological creatures (such as the ghul, si'lah, the Beast of the Earth, and Gog and Magog), alongside domestic and wild beasts, birds, reptiles, insects, and aquatic animals .
The entries are ordered alphabetically by the Arabic alphabet (huruf al-mu'jam), beginning with the letter Hamza and concluding with Ya . Under each heading, al-Damiri consistently follows a multi-part rubric:
- Linguistics and Nomenclature: Accurate vocalization of the animal's name, its etymology, grammatical derivations, patronymics (kunya), and regional designations in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, or the Hejaz .
- Natural History and Lore: Descriptions of the creature's physical traits, behavior, and habitat, corroborated by citations of Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, poetry, and classical Arab proverbs .
- Jurisprudence (al-Hukm al-Shar'i): Legal rulings regarding the permissibility or prohibition of consuming the animal's meat, selling it, using its parts, or killing it in the sacred precincts, referencing Shafi'i and comparative legal opinions .
- Medical and Occult Properties (al-Khawass): Therapeutic uses, pharmacological recipes, and protective or harmful qualities derived from its organs, flesh, blood, or secretions .
- Dream Interpretation (Ta'bir al-Ru'ya): Symbolism and omens associated with seeing the animal or its parts in dreams, drawing on authorities such as Ibn Sirin as well as Christian, Jewish, and Roman sources .
The major version also contains lengthy historical and literary digressions, including a continuous survey spanning around one hundred pages detailing the history of the Rightly Guided, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk rulers .
Reception and Scholarly Assessment
Hayat al-Hayawan al-Kubra gained wide circulation and served as a standard reference for later lexicographers, commentators, and jurists, including al-Sakhawi, al-Zabidi, and al-Alusi .
Bibliographers and critics evaluated the work from different angles. Haji Khalifa described it as blending "the valuable and the trivial" (jami' bayn al-ghathth wa-l-samin), observing that while al-Damiri was an accomplished jurist and religious scholar, he was not a naturalist in the vein of al-Jahiz . Later scholars like al-Shawkani praised the vast utility of the encyclopedia while pointing out its inclusion of unverified narrations and anomalous reports (manakir) . His contemporary Ibn al-Imaad al-Aqfahsi (d. 808 AH) penned a treatise titled al-Bayan al-Taqriri fi Takhti'at al-Kamal al-Damiri addressing errors attributed to him .
Abridgments and Translations
Because of its extensive length and digressions, numerous scholars abridged or supplemented the work:
- Matlab al-Yaqzan min Kitab Hayat al-Hayawan by al-Damiri's student Taqi al-Din al-Fasi (d. 832 AH), completed in 822 AH .
- 'Ayn al-Hayat by Badr al-Din al-Damamini (d. 827 AH), completed in Punjab in 823 AH, which preserved the alphabetical structure while stripping the digressions .
- Diwan al-Hayawan and its supplement Dhayl al-Hayawan by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), completed in 901 AH .
- Tayyib al-Hayat by Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Shaybi (d. 838 AH), combining an abridgment with supplementary material .
- Further abridgments by Ibn Qadi Shuhba (d. 851 AH), Ali al-Qari (Bahjat al-Insan, composed 1003 AH), and 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Fajiji (d. 901 AH) .
The work was translated into Ottoman Turkish by 'Abd al-Rahman Efendi al-Siwasi (printed 1272 AH), into Persian by Hakim Shah Muhammad al-Qazwini and later by Muhammad Taqi al-Tabrizi under the title Khawass al-Hayawan, into French by Silvestre de Sacy, and into English by Lieutenant-Colonel A. S. G. Jayakar (published in London and Bombay, 1906–1908) . Early Arabic lithographs and printings were issued in Bulaq (1275, 1284, and 1292 AH), Istanbul (1272 AH), and Persia with lithographic animal illustrations (1285 AH) .
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