Nukhab al-Dhakhair fi Ahwal al-Jawahir
- Author died
- 749 AH
- Editions
- Nukhab al-Dhakhair fi Ahwal al-Jawahir
Nukhab al-Dhakhair fi Ahwal al-Jawahir (Choice Treasures on the States of Jewels) is a treatise on mineralogy and precious stones by the physician and polymath Ibn al-Akfani (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) .
Scope and Methodology
In the introduction to the work, Ibn al-Akfani states that he summarized the consensus and core findings of earlier and later authoritative scholars on precious gemstones . His stated aim was to compile their classifications, physical attributes, known geographical mines, established market values, occult properties (khawass), and practical and medicinal uses in concise language while avoiding prolixity .
The text synthesizes mineralogical, lexical, medical, and socio-cultural observations drawn from earlier authorities—including al-Kindi, al-Jawhari, al-Biruni, and al-Ghafiqi—alongside the author's own insights . The treatise addresses individual stones such as ruby (yaqut), emerald (zumurrud), and peridot (zabarjad) . For instance, when treating zabarjad, Ibn al-Akfani differentiates it from zumurrud, identifying it as a distinct pistachio-colored, transparent stone that loses its luster rapidly due to its softness, with mines reported near those of emerald .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved in collections worldwide, including the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, Dar al-Kutub and the Khedivial Library in Cairo, and the American University of Beirut .
The text was first edited by Louis Cheikho and published in the Beirut journal al-Mashriq (vol. 11) . It was also published in the Damascus journal al-Muqtabas by Muhammad Kurd Ali, who relied on a manuscript provided by Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi and collated it against copies in Aleppo . A subsequent critical edition by Anastas Marie al-Karmali was published in Cairo in 1939 , and it was later issued by Alam al-Kutub in Beirut .
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