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Ibrahim Haqqi Erzrumi Efendi, author Khalil al-Kamali Ali-ibn-Osman, scribe : Maarifat Nameh [Ma rifat Namih; Marifatnama], The Book of Knowledge and Skills

Contemporary full calf, expertly rebacked with six compartments of raised bands and gilt motifs, gilt red title label on two, all edges speckled red. , Occasional smudging of ink, minor offsetting on pages facing illustrations, leaves 7-11 with minor waterstains in the upper corner margins, leaves 12-18 expertly reinforced in the upper margin, with heavy loss to text in upper half of leaves 14v and 15r-v. Text appears to be lost on 378r (faint traces of text still remain). Leaves 343v-350v with dark pink stain in centre of text toward gutter (no loss), likewise on 443v-463v. Leaves 448-454 have had their margins reinforced. Leaves numbered 449 and 450 must be switched, as well as 453 and 454. Altogether a very good copy considering the uniqueness of the work and the fine detail of the illustrations., Small folio, Foliation. 2 ff., 474 ff., 2 ff. , (Although Arabic texts are written right-to-left, the foliation has been marked in pencil in Western numerals from left-to-right, which we will use in our description.)

The manuscript was copied in Ottoman Turkish (Arabic Turkish) on thin, polished, cream-coloured paper. The title leaf has a green, blue, gold and red headpiece and its text is within double green borders, and a white flower decorates the margin. The last twelve pages (1-6) present an index with red lines and black script. The text is in fine naskh script with black and red inks within a red double-lined border, 31 lines of text within a written area of 232 x 112 mm, occasional red underlining, sections usually demarcated by a single word of red text on a line with a red border on either side. The fourth page (474v) has a green watercoloured border and green roundels in the text, and a six-pointed star in the left margin, coloured in red and green. There are 11 full-page colour illustrations of scientific diagrams (such as world maps and moon positions), 8 full-page coloured tables and 5 coloured half-page illustrations, as well as a round, black and red ink chart on leaf 448v.
The manuscript was copied in Arabic on thin, polished, cream-coloured paper. The title leaf has a green, blue, gold and red headpiece and its text is within double green borders, and a white flower decorates the margin. The last twelve pages (1-6) present an index with red lines and black script. The text is in fine naskh script with black and red inks within a red double-lined border, 31 lines of text within a written area of 232 x 112 mm, occasional red underlining, sections usually demarcated by a single word of red text on a line with a red border on either side. The fourth page (474v) has a green watercoloured border and green roundels in the text, and a six-pointed star in the left margin, coloured in red and green. There are 11 full-page colour illustrations of scientific diagrams (such as globes and moon positions), 8 full-page coloured tables and 5 coloured half-page illustrations, as well as a round, black and red ink chart on leaf 448v.

Ibrahim Haqqi Erzurumi Efendi (1703-1780) is considered an outstanding figure of 18th century Ottoman Turkey. He approached the domains of both religion and science as a means of approaching God, stemming from his immense knowledge of the Sufi branch of Islam as well as his studies in Western sciences. The Ma’rifat Namih is considered to be his greatest work (spelled variously as Marifatnama, Ma’rifatname, and Maarifat Nameh, with English translations of the title varying between “The Book of Knowledge and Skills� and “The Book of Gnossis�). It touches upon several subjects, such as theology, morality, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. It has been argued that Ibrahim Efendi was the first Muslim scholar to advocate post-Copernican astronomy, as depicted in the colourful world maps transcribed in this book and the proofs he offers in support of the concept. , Gulen, F. “Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism,� p. 106, n. 69; Virk, Z. “Science and Technology in Ottoman Sultanate.�

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