Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Faridat al-Gharaib
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Islāmiyyah
Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Faridat al-Gharaib (The Pearl of Wonders and the Uniqueness of Oddities) is a cosmographical and geographical compendium authored by Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs Umar ibn al-Muzaffar Ibn al-Wardi (d. 852 AH / 1447 CE or 861 AH / 1457 CE) . The work combines geographic descriptions of the known world with accounts of natural phenomena, minerals, flora, fauna, and marvels .
Authorship and Date of Composition
The book has long been erroneously attributed in traditional bibliographies and modern catalogues—including works by Yusuf Sarkis and Haji Khalifa—to the author's grandfather, the Shafi'i jurist and poet Zayn al-Din Umar ibn al-Muzaffar Ibn al-Wardi (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) . Modern manuscript research, notably highlighted by Mahmud al-Sayyid al-Dughaym, established that the text was written by the grandson, Siraj al-Din al-Bakri al-Qurashi al-Ma'arri al-Halabi . According to internal evidence recorded by the author, the work was composed in 822 AH (1419 CE), seventy-one solar years after the death of the elder Ibn al-Wardi .
Structure and Contents
Comprising a single volume, the book opens with the doxology praising God as the forgiver of sin and acceptor of repentance . It is broadly divided into two main parts:
- Geographical Description: The first half describes the earth's climates (aqalim), seas, lands, and cities, offering detailed coverage of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Bilad al-Sham . It features a circular world map depicting the climates and seas, copies of which were later preserved in collections such as the Bibliothèque Royale in Paris .
- Natural History and Marvels: The remaining portion treats the states and properties of minerals, plants, and animals, alongside descriptions of extraordinary occurrences and wonders .
The text also contains a distinct section on the circumstances and signs of the Day of Resurrection (ahwal al-qiyamah) .
Reception and Critique
The Ottoman bibliographer Haji Khalifa delivered a sharp critique of the book in Kashf al-Zunun, stating that Ibn al-Wardi was not an expert in the science of geography and that his circular world map deviated from reality . He remarked that the author incorporated flimsy reports and impossible tales—a tendency he ascribed to literati ungrounded in the rational sciences—and noted that the compendium circulated primarily among uncritical readers .
Translations and Print History
The book was translated into Ottoman Turkish by a scholar from Rumelia at the request of Uthman ibn Iskandar Pasha, and was later translated into French .
In the nineteenth century, European orientalists produced several editions and studies:
- It was published in Lund, Sweden, in 1834 by Sven Hylander accompanied by a Latin translation .
- A two-volume edition was edited by Carl Johan Tornberg in Uppsala between 1835 and 1839 .
- The chapter on the Resurrection was edited separately in Breslau in 1853 by Siegfried Frowein .
In the Arab world, the book was published in Cairo in 1292 AH, and received a modern edition edited by Anwar Mahmud Zannati in 2008 (1428 AH) .
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