Ma r fetname ("Book of Knowledge").

Bulaq: al-Matba a al-Kubra,, 1251 H / 1835 CE. Erzurumi's magnum opus, with superb engraved diagrams First edition of this Ottoman encyclopaedia of religious and natural sciences printed by the Bulaq Press. Rare in commerce, the edition is enhanced by superb engraved line drawings illustrating cosmographical and astronomical topics. The author's remarkable cosmography attempts to retain orthodox Islamic beliefs while accommodating Copernican heliocentrism, which he terms hey et-i cedide ("new astronomy"). He also incorporates geographical writing on the discovery of the New World. A polymath, Erzurumi (d. 1780) believed in the interconnected nature of knowledge: man must study himself to discern how God created him, in turn necessitating an understanding of physiology, psychology, philosophy, astronomy, and mysticism. Ma r fetname deliberately synthesizes these different sciences, and the book emphasizes the importance of geometry and astronomy in mediating between the physical and the spiritual worlds. The introduction to the work lays out Erzurumi's vision of the sensible world and the signs of the hereafter, showing how the Qur an and hadith can be layered onto the cosmos. Having explained the concept of contingency and necessity (Ar. burhan al-wujub wa-l-imkan), Erzurumi presents the hierarchy of relationships between the celestial bodies, human souls, and animal spirits, exploring how the higher bodies influence the lower ones. A focus on the soul leads onto the study of medicine and spiritual cardiology. The text makes liberal use of classical works of Sufism, philosophy, and medicine, such as al-Ghazzali's Ihya ulum al-din and Ibn Sina's Qanun fi'l-tibb. Quarto (310 x 210 mm). Engraved heading, 29 line-engraved diagrams and tables, of which 22 full-page and 7 in text. Trimmed and re-cased in a smaller 19th-century binding of brown leather on pasteboard, with envelope flap. Covers blocked in blind with a central rectangular medallion containing a panel of floral motifs, four floral sprays in each corner, and a floral border. Housed in a dark blue cloth flat-back box by the Chelsea Bindery. Contains slips from calendars, handwritten notes, and other pieces of paper, used by former readers as bookmarks. Covers slightly scuffed. End leaves stained. Contents generally clean, with some water damage, foxing, and marginalia. Closed tear to one diagram. A good example.