Al-Damiri

Al-Damiri (1344–1405), the common name of Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa al-Damiri, was an Egyptian writer on canon law and natural history.

Life

Al-Damiri belonged to one of the two towns called Damira near Damietta and spent his life in Egypt. Of the Shafiite school of law, he became professor of tradition in the Rukniyya at Cairo, and also at the mosque al-Azhar; in connection with this work he wrote a commentary on the Minhaj al-Talibin of Al-Nawawi.

Al-Damiri is, however, better known in the history of literature for his Life of Animals^[1](Hayat al-Hayawan, c.1371), which treats in alphabetic order of 931 animals mentioned in the Koran, the traditions and the poetical and proverbial literature of the Arabs. The work is a compilation from over 500 prose writers and nearly 200 poets. The correct spelling of the names of the animals is given with an explanation of their meanings. The use of the animals in medicine, their lawfulness or unlawfulness as food, their position in folklore are the main subjects treated, while occasionally long irrelevant sections on political history are introduced.

The work exists in three forms. The fullest has been published several times in Egypt; a mediate and a short recension exist in manuscript. Several editions have been made at various times of extracts, among them the poetical one by al-Suyuti, which was translated into Latin by Abraham Ecchelensis (Paris, 1667). Bochartus in his Hierozoicon (1663) used al-Damiri's work. There is a translation of the whole into English by Lieutenant-Colonel Jayakar (Bombay, 1906–1908).

Notes

1. ^ Al-Damiri

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

Vernet, Juan (2008) [1970-80]. "Al-Damīrī, Muhammed Ibn Musa". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830901067.html. 

Persondata
Name	al-Damiri
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1344
Place of birth
Date of death	1405
Place of death