Kashf al-Hal fi Wasf al-Khal
- Author died
- 764 AH
- Editions
- Kashf al-Hal fi Wasf al-Khal
Kashf al-Hal fi Wasf al-Khal (Unveiling the Condition in Describing the Beauty Mark) is an adab monograph authored by the Mamluk-era scholar and man of letters al-Safadi (696–764 AH / 1296–1363 CE) dedicated to the linguistic, physiognomic, and poetic treatment of facial and bodily beauty marks (خال / شامة) . The title is also recorded in biographical catalogs as Kashf al-Hal 'an Wasf al-Khal .
Structure and Contents
Al-Safadi organized the work into two preliminary sections followed by a concluding outcome (natijah) :
- The First Premise (al-Muqaddimah al-Ula): Examines the linguistic definitions and morphological forms of al-khal (defined as a black spot on the body; pluralized as khilan) and al-shama . It explores the word's various homonymous meanings (lafz mushtarak), such as a maternal uncle, pride or arrogance, a large camel, a cloud, a type of Yemeni garment, an overseer of wealth, a kind of plant, a defect in an animal, and specific place names mentioned by geographers such as al-Zamakhshari and Yaqut al-Hamawi .
- The Second Premise (al-Muqaddimah al-Thaniyah): Discusses the physical nature of the mole, the underlying cause of its occurrence in human bodies, and what its presence in specific bodily locations signifies according to practitioners of physiognomy (ashab al-firasa) .
- The Conclusion (al-Natijah): An extensive anthology of delicate, ingenious, and erotic poetry (ghazal) celebrating beauty marks, featuring verses by earlier and contemporary poets alongside numerous epigrams composed by al-Safadi himself .
Reception and Transmission
The book was noted in later bibliographical literature for its rhetorical artistry. In Kashf al-Zunun, Katip Celebi cites the author of Sihr al-'Uyun, who remarked that al-Safadi exerted great effort in the work, striving to produce altered homographic wordplay (al-jinas al-musahhaf), though he adopted a tone of playful levity and libertinism (thawb al-khala'a) .
The Shafi'i jurist and judge of Ajlun, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sharaf al-Din al-Zar'i (d. 779 AH / 1377 CE), produced an abridgment of the work titled al-Muntaqa min Kashf al-Hal fi Wasf al-Khal .
Manuscript copies of al-Safadi's text have been preserved across several collections, including the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS 6927), the Royal Library in Copenhagen, and the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh . A modern printed edition was prepared and edited by Siham Sallan .
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