DATED SATURDAY 19 SHA'BAN AH 1146/25 JANUARY 1734 AD

There are two copies of this work, Shams al-ma'arif wa lata'if al-'awarif, in the Chester Beatty Library (A. Arberry, A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts, vol.VI, Dublin, 1963, no.4942 (4), pp.149-50). There are also four copies, one of which is dated AH 843/1440 AD in the British Library (P. Stocks and C. Baker, Subject-Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library, London, 2001, M.2, p.348). Al-Buni was the author of works on magic with a strong concentration on 'magic squares', grammatology ('ilm al-huruf) and onomancy ('ilm al-asma). These were much reproduced in later Islam, from the Maghrib to Central Asia. Another copy of the manuscript, written for the future Sultan of Morocco, Hasan I (r. 1873-95) in AH 1285/1868 AD, is in the Khalili Collection (J.M.Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, exhibition catalogue, Abu Dhabi, 2007, no.274, pp.238-40).

Another copy of this work sold at Christie's, London, 11 April 2000, lot 36.