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While the role of the muezzin , who reminds the believers to pray, has been largely documented, less is known about the figure of the muwaqqit and his role and importance in medieval Islam. The first known use of the term muwaqqit is found in a text by an Egyptian astronomer of the late 13th century describing some contemporaries who were responsible for calculating the exact prayer times during the day. In a waqfiyya of the Madrasa of Sultan Barquq in Cairo, the duty of the scholars of ‘ilm al-miqat is outlined as relaying “the times of prayer as well as the times for reciting the creed and for the congregation to go before the preacher on Fridays”. The figure of the muwaqqit is mentioned extensively in a study published by E. Stauss in 1949, where he reports several lists of salaries in Mamluk Egypt for different mosques in Cairo. Thanks to these records, we find that most mosques employed a muwaqqit and their salary was usually the same of a muezzin . The presence of a figure within the mosque who was charged with timekeeping and the qibla is also documented in Andalusia at the end of the 13th century; called sahib al-awqat (and not muwaqqit ), this was a role often held by astronomers. In the 14th and 15th century the mosque of Damascus became one of the most important places for the study of astronomy, hosting three of the most illustrious astronomers of the time: al- Khalili, al-Mizzi, and Ibn al-Shatir. Cairo was still the epicentre for astronomy and timekeeping and both al-Mizzi and Ibn al-Shatir
travelled to Egypt to study. Upon their return they joined the Umayyad mosque of Damascus as muwaqqits . Copied during al-Halabi’s lifetime and by one of his disciples who was working with him as a muwaqqit , this manuscript is a testament to the importance of the city of Damascus and its Great Mosque as a centre for astronomy and timekeeping in the 15th century. Folio (276 × 85 mm); text panel: 233 × 70 mm. Arabic manuscript on cream oriental paper, 8 leaves plus two flyleaves, f.1r with the title of the manuscript, ff.2v to 8r with dense astronomical tables written in black and red, ruled out in red; in a brown leather binding decorated with a central stamped medallion. In overall good condition, minor restorations to the margins which do not affect the text panels, minor smudges to the ink and minor various stains which do not affect the legibility of the text, Arabic numerals written in pencil on the upper external corner. ¶ E. S. Kennedy, “A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables” in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46, no. 2 (1956), pp. 123–77; D. A. King, “Astronomical Timekeeping in Fourteenth Century Syria” in Proceedings of the First International Symposium for the History of Arabic Science , 5–12 April 1976, Vol. II, 1976, pp. 75–84; D. A. King, “Muezzins and Muwaqqits in Medieval Islamic Society” in Tradition, Transmission, Transformation, Proceedings of two Conferences on Pre-Modern Science held at the University of Oklahoma , 1996, pp. 286–339; D. A. King “Ibn Al-Shatir, ‘Ala’ Al-Din Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim “ in Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (available online); L. A. Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists and Their Works , 1956; H. Suter, Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke , 1900 (available online). £16,000 [159594]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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