Tales of Medieval Islam

How a Jewish astrologer outwitted two Muslim antagonists.

Another story from Nizami Arudi:

Ya’qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi [801-873], though he was a Jew, was the philosopher of his age and the wisest man of his time, and stood high in the service of [the caliph] al-Ma’mun. One day he came in before al-Ma’mun and sat down above one of the prelates of Islam. Said this man, “Thou art of a subject race; why then dost though sit above the prelates of Islam?” “Because,” said Ya’qub, “I know what thou knowest, while thou knowest not what I know.” Now this prelate knew of his skill in Astrology, but had no knowledge of his other attainments in science. “I will write down,” said he, “something on a piece of paper, and if thou canst divine what I have written, I will admit thy claim.” Then they laid a wager, on the part of the prelate a cloak, and on the part of Ya’qub a mule and its trappings, worth a thousand dinars, which was standing at the door. Then the former asked for an inkstand and paper, wrote something on a piece of paper, and placed it under the Caliph’s quilt, and cried, “Out with it!” Ya’qub ibn Ishaq asked for a tray of earth, rose up, took the altitude, ascertained the Ascendant, drew an astrological figure on the tray of earth, determined the positions of the stars and located them in the Signs of the Zodiac, and fulfilled all the conditions of divination and thought-reading. Then he said, “O Commander of the Faithful, on that paper he has written something which was first a plant and then an animal.” Al-Ma’mun put his hand under the quilt and drew forth the paper, on which was written “The Rod of Moses.” Ma’mun was filled with wonder and the prelate expressed his astonishment. Then Ya’qub took the cloak of his adversary, and cut it in two before al-Ma’mun, saying, “I will make it into two putties [leggings made from winding a strip of cloth].” This matter became generally known in Baghdad, whence it spread to Iraq and Khurasan, and became widely diffused. A certain doctor in Balkh, prompted by the fanatical zeal which characterizes the learned, took a knife and placed it in the middle of a book on Astrology, intending to go to Baghdad, attend the lectures of Ya’qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, make a beginning in Astrology, and, when he should find a suitable opportunity, suddenly kill him. Stage by state he advanced in this resolve, until he reached Baghdad, went in to the hot bath, and came out, arrayed himself in clean clothes, and, placing the book in his sleeve, set out for Ya’qub’s house. When he reached the gate of the house, he saw standing there many handsomely-caparisoned horses belonging to the descendants of the Prophet and other eminent and notable persons of Baghdad. Having made inquiries, he went in, entered the circle in front of Ya’qub, greeted him, and said, “I desire to study somewhat of the Science of the Stars with our Master.” “Thou hast come from the East to slay me, not to study Astrology,” replied Ya’qub, “but thou wilt repent of thine intention, study the Stars, attain perfection in that science, and become one of the greatest Astrologers among the People of Muhammad (on whom be God’s Blessing and Peace).” All the great men there assembled were astonished at these words; and Abu Ma’shar confessed and produced the knife from the middle of the book, broke it, and cast it away. Then he bent his knees and studied for fifteen years, until he attained in Astrology that eminence which was his.

An end note in the Edward Browne translation of Nizami explains that Abu Ma’shar went on to become “one of the most celebrated astronomers of the third century of the hijra (ninth of the Christian era)…On one occasion he was scourged by the command of the Caliph al-Musta’in (reigned A.H. 248-251; A.D. 862-5) because of a prognostication which he made and which proved too correct.”

However, the notes also tell us that “The author’s assertion that the celebrated al-Kindi, called par excellence 'the Philosopher of the Arabs,' was a Jew, is…so absurd as to go near to the discrediting of the whole story.” Nevertheless, the story, “derives some confirmation” from other works.

Regardless of whether the story is true, its very existence tells us something about the time and place where it originated. It was an era when the shari'a relegated the Jews to the status of “a subject race,” and yet here we have a story where not only is the Jewish character the good guy, but he gets seated in a place of higher precedence than "the prelates of Islam," is waited upon by "descendants of the Prophet" and "other eminent and notable persons," and in the the end, gets the better of his Muslim adversaries. The fact that a prominent scholar like Nizami Arudi, a student of the great Omar Khayyam, included this story in his book shows that not every learned Muslim was characterized by "fanatical zeal" against the Jews.

Michael Isenberg drinks bourbon and writes novels. His latest book, The Thread of Reason, is a murder mystery that takes place in Baghdad in the year 1092, and tells the story of the conflict between science and shari’ah in medieval Islam. It is available on Amazon.com The quotation from Nizami come from Chahar Maqala (The Four Discourses), Edward G. Browne, tr., Mirza Muhammad, ed., London:Luzac & Co., 1921, Anecdote XXII, pp. 64-65.