Book – PDF Manbaʿ Uṣūl al-Ḥikma: The Source of the Foundations of Wisdom: Four Treatises on the Sciences of Letters, Numbers...by Aḥmad al-Būnī and John Friend

[Mh4419]

The first complete English translation of Manbaʿ Uṣūl al-Ḥikma (The Source of the Foundations of Wisdom), a comprehensive compendium on the foundations of the letter sciences attributed to the thirteenth-century Sufi master Ahmad ibn Ali al-Buni. This work is among the most systematic of al-Buni's treatises, presenting the operative principles of letter magic, magic squares, divine names, and talismanic construction in four sustained treatises.

The first treatise, "The Principles and Governing Rules of Wisdom," establishes the foundational theory: the correspondence of the twenty-eight Arabic letters to the four elements, the seven planets, and the twelve zodiacal signs. Al-Buni explains the extraction of angelic names from numerical compounds, the determination of auspicious times for writing, and the method of placing numbers in even and odd magic squares of every order from the threefold to the tenfold.

The second treatise, "The Desire of the Yearning One for Knowledge of the Arrangement of Magic Squares," provides exhaustive instruction on constructing awfaq (magic squares) for every planetary and elemental purpose. Hundreds of squares are presented with their original manuscript illustrations, each accompanied by the invocations, fumigations, and ritual conditions required for their activation.

The third treatise is a complete commentary on the Barhatiyya — the most famous oath formula in the Arabic occult tradition. Al-Buni explicates each of the twenty-eight barbaric names, their angelic correspondences, planetary days, mansions, and operative properties.

The fourth treatise presents a commentary on the Great Jaljalutiyya, the celebrated poem of divine adjuration attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib. Al-Buni unpacks each verse, revealing the hidden names, seals, and spiritual operations encoded within.

The work includes over one hundred and sixty manuscript illustrations reproduced directly from the source: magic squares, talismanic seals, letter diagrams, and composite talismans. Each is presented as a black-and-white facsimile alongside English transcription tables. The text preserves the three-layer format: English translation, ALA-LC transliteration, and the original Arabic script for every prayer, invocation, and Quranic passage.

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