Abstract:
This article includes a critical edition of a text by an unknown author, available in two copies, as well as my analytical introduction and source research. The text deals with cosmological phenomena as discussed among theologians (mutakallimūn) and religious leaders. The title of the text is “A Treatise on the Disagreements Among Scholars Concerning the States of Heaven and Earth,” earth in the plural, although the library catalog lists it as "The States of Heaven and Earth," earth in the singular. Using various texts, the author critically engages with the philosophers. The text is well preserved and appears to be complete. It contains mostly quotations from works that still exist today. These quotations from known or unknown sources provide interesting insights into the interpretation of the works of famous authors of the time. The author based his quotations on texts from the Qur'anic interpretation (tafsīr) and the prophetic traditions (ḥadīth). A fascinating stylistic aspect is the consistent use of "end of quotation (or finished)" at the end of each quotation, a phrase used in contemporary accounts to distinguish between the author's words and the quoted material. This repetition of "finished" is significant from the scribes' point of view and is reminiscent of paratextual signals in ancient Greek papyri. The text is based on the term ad quem and is about four centuries old. Notable is the mention of famous thinkers such as al-Juwaynī (d. 1085), al-Ghazālī (d. 1111), Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1209), and Khusrawshāhī (d. 1254). Khusrawshāhī's connection to al-Rāzī and Farīd al-Dīn Dāmād (d. 1299) increases the importance of this text. In addition, a work by Jalāl ad-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 1505) is of importance for the manuscript, which Anton M. Heinen (d. 1988) dealt with as part of his dissertation (Beirut-Wiesbaden, 1982). While one might initially think that the author simply copied from al-Suyūṭī, a closer look reveals that it is an original text. However, it could also have been inspired by al-Suyūṭī's ideas. The author's utilization of works by well-known authors from the Ottoman Empire era suggests a probable connection to that geographical region.
Machine summary:
At the end of this section, it is appropriate to refer to an important work by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya entitled Miftaḥ Dar al-Sa'ada wa Manshur Wilayat Ahl al-'Ilm wal-Irada (The Key to the Abode of Happiness and the Proclamation of the Authority of the People of Knowledge and Will), which discusses topics related to ancient cosmology among theologians and religious scholars.
Then, the author of the work expresses the following opinion: Based on this statement, which Fakhr al-Razi confirmed, that the sky is a restrained wave, meaning the sky of the world, the concept of the movement of planets, eclipses, and other calculations based on astrolabes and calendars is clear to those skilled in these arts, especially if the sky is spherical, as scholars of research have said.
Here, in the margin of the Majlis manuscript, a saying of Imam Ali (AS) is quoted: Whoever acquires the science of the stars from the carriers of the Quran who have preserved its foundations and know its meanings will have his faith and certainty increased or decreased, as stated in this verse: “Indeed, in the alternation of night and day and in what God has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for people who fear Him.
M - Smoke L (h), the Imam said that if the sphere is very large, every piece of it appears like a surface, and the distance between it and the surface cannot be determined except in the knowledge of God Almighty (End of what he mentioned in his interpretation) from him, the Great Interpretation (Keys to the Unseen), Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, vol.
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