Kitāb sharḥ al-Lumaʻ fī al-ḥisāb

The text is a commentary on al-Lumaʻ al-yasīrah fī ʻilm al-ḥisāb by Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Ibn al-Hāʼim. According to the colophon, the author stated that he finished writing the commentary on 27 Ramaḍān 873 [10 April 1469] in Abū Tīj in al-Ṣa'īd, [Egypt]. The treatise in this manuscript is a commentary on a mathematical treatise by Šihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Ibn al-Hā'im (circa 1355-1412). Ibn al-Hā'im taught mathematics and Islamic jurisprudence, subjects on which he wrote extensively. The erudite Badr al-Dīn Muhammad Sibt al-Māridīnī (circa 1423-1506), who was at the time working as muwaqqit (timekeeper) at the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, composed this short commentary less then 60 years after the death of Ibn al-Hā'im. Following widespread tradition in Islamic lands, Sibt al-Māridīnī included in the title of his work a reference to the title of the work on which he was elaborating, Al-Luma' al-Yasīra fī 'ilm al-Hisāb (Little sparkles on the science of calculation). In the opening section, Sibt al-Māridīnī states that the aim of his commentary is to provide useful guidance in solving problems relating to the calculation of inheritances (farā'id). This topic has very strong religious and social implications, and mathematicians in Islamic lands devoted extensive attention to it. Sibt al-Māridīnī emphasizes that it is impossible to understand the calculation of inheritances without a broader knowledge of mathematics, and of fractions in particular. In this copy, the content of paragraphs and the most important passages of Sibt al-Māridīnī's explanations are rubricated in order to provide a handy index for students. World Digital Library.