Kashf al-Zunun explained
Kashf al-Zunun 'an Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun (The Removal of Doubt from the Names of Books and the Arts) is a bibliographic encyclopedia of books and sciences compiled by Turkish polymath Kâtip Çelebi. It was written in Arabic and was based on the Miftāḥ al-Saʿāda wa-miṣbāḥ al-Siyādah} by the c.16th Ottoman historian, Taşköprüzade. However the Kaşf substantially enlarges it, cataloging titles of approximately 15,000 books; 9,500 names of authors; and 300 sciences and arts. The work is seen as a significant example of and contribution to Ottoman historiography.[1] [2] [3]
At the age of twenty-five in 1633, while in Aleppo, Celebi began compiling and composing the work; it occupied him for the next twenty years until its completion in 1652. An account of this is contained in another of his widely read books, "Mizan al-Haq," where he writes:
"On my stay in Aleppo, I would visit bookshops to browse, and then when I had returned to Istanbul and came into some money, I began acquiring books and letters. In 1638, a relative died and left me a more substantial legacy, which was spent in large part collecting the great works which I had seen in Aleppo, Istanbul and in the public repositories of the Sultanate of Oman".
Celebi died suddenly in 1657, leaving many works in unfinished or draft form.
[4]
Contents
- Vol.1. Preface & Letter alif
- Vol.2. Letters bá-jím
- Vol.3. Letters há-sín
- Vol.4. Letters shín-cáf
- Vol.5. Letters káf-mím (-moghíth)
- Vol.6. Letters mím (mofátehat-)-yá
- Vol.7. Library catalogues of Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, Rhodes and Istanbul.
Editions
- Muhammad Azti Effendi Boshnah Zadeh (d. 1681).
- Ibrahīm al-Rūmi al-Arabji (d. 1775) mentioned by Khalil al-Muradi in his biographic dictionary Silk al-Durar (Arabic).
- Ahmed Hanífzádeh, Mollae El-Hájj Ibrahím Haníf Efendi, ed., (Arabic: حنيف زاده) (d.1802) titled (Athārnū) (Arabic: اثارنو). Contains 5000 books. Appended by Flügel in Vol.VI, Leipzig edition (1835–1858) with Latin translation and a volume for Oriental libraries.
- Sheikh Islam Aref Hikmat, ed., (d.1858) up to the letter jím (c). (See Al-Arab Al-Arab 2: 897).
- Ishmael Pasha al-Baghdadi, ed., (d.1921), titled The Explanation of the Makenun. Contains 19000 books and was followed by translations of the authors (1941).
- Ismail Saeb Singer, ed.
- Jamil al-‘Uẓmā (Arabic: جميل العظم) ('The Great Beauty') (1933), titled al-Sirr al-Maṣūn (Arabic: السر المصون -خ) ('Well-kept Secret' - kh) with introduction (1000 page) titled Book of Science and Travel (Arabic: الإسفار عن العلوم والأسفار).
- Mohammed Al-Sadiq Al-Nefir (1938), titled Salwa Al-Mahzun.
- Muhammad bin Mustafa al-Bakri ed., (d. 1782), Khulāsat Tahqíq az-Zunūn (Arabic: خلاصة تحقيق الظنون)('Investigation of Suspicions, abridged'); Index to al-Kashf and amendments.
- Ali Khairi, ed., (d.1909) Ḍiyā’ al-‘Aiūn (Arabic: ضياء العيون) (Illumination of the Eminent); a footnote to al-Kashf.
- Sources of Andalusian heritage: the publications of the Cultural Center in Abu Dhabi, pitfalls of correcting Haji Khalifa in dealing with the heritage of Andalusia.
- Abridgement and supplement; Hussein Abbasi Nabhani Halabi, ed., (d.1684), titled ('The Complete Memorial of Antiquities').
Translations
Bibliography
- Book: Kashf Aa Zunun. Dār al-Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah . Bayrūt. 2008. 978-2745155009.
- Book: Hājī Khalfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn. Dersa'ādet Ḥasan Ḥilmī el-kütübī. 1892. 2.
- Book: Haji Khalfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn. Nabu Press. Bayrūt. 2010.
- Book: Haji Khalfah. Gustav Flugel. Lexicon Bibliographicum et Encyclopaedicum. Oriental translation fund of Great Britain & Ireland.
- Book: Haji Khalfah. Barthélemy d'Herbelot. Bibliothèque orientale, ou dictionnaire universel contenant tout ce qui regarde la connoissance des peuples de l'Orient. La Haye, J. Neaulme & N. van Daalen. 1777. fr.
- Book: Katib Jelebi, Mustafa Ben Abdallah. Gustav Flügel. Gustav Flügel. Lexicon Bibliographicum et Encyclopaedicum (Kashf az-Zunun). ar, la. The Oriental Translation Fund of Gt. Brit. & Ireland. 1. Leipzig. 1835., (Vol.,2; Leipzig, 1837), (Vol.,3; London, 1842), (Vol.,4; London, 1845), (Vol.,5; London, 1850), (Vol.,6; London, 1852).
- Encyclopedia: J. Neaulme & N. van Daalen . La Haye . Barthélemy . d'Herbelot . Barthélemy d'Herbelot . Bibliotheque orientale . 1777 . fr ., v.1 (A-E), v.2 (F-M), v.3 (N-Z)
Notes and References
- Gömbeyaz, Kadir. "Çelebi, Kâtip." In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics. Oxford University Press, 2014.
- "Fihrist." In The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, edited by Esposito, John L.. Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Hammond, Marlé. "manāqib." In A Dictionary of Arabic Literary Terms and Devices. Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Gömbeyaz, Kadir. "Çelebi, Kâtip." In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics. Oxford University Press, 2014.
