Ǧibrīl ibn Nūḥ al-Anbārī, The Kitāb al-iʿtibāṛ fī l-malakūt

The Reception of Aristotle in a Ninth-Century Christian-Arabic Theodicy

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Lessons on God’s Majesty', an Arabic text written in Iraq around 850 CE by the Nestorian Christian Ǧibrīl b. Nūḥ al-Anbārī, is a collection of proofs of God’s existence (arguments from design). Drawing on the works of ancient philosophers and physiologists as well as Christian authors, the text also contains the author's original, sometimes amusing personal observations. While philosophical in nature, the work extends into theology where it discusses the problem of evil. Rather than addressing Christians or Muslims, who already acknowledge one creator, it is aimed at those who believe in two creators or in no creation at all.
Copyright Year:
2026
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978-90-04-76256-5
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25 Jun 2026
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978-90-04-76255-8
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16 Jul 2026
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About MyBook
Wim Raven, retired arabist, Ph. D. 1989 from Leiden on Ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī and his Kitāb al-Zahra, taught Arabic and Islam at universities in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Marburg. He has published articles on the biography of Muhammad and Hadith.
Preface

Introduction
 1 Presentation of the Work
 2 The Author, Ǧibrīl ibn Nūḥ al-Anbārī
 3 Ǧibrīl’s Writings
 4 The Kitāb al-Iʿtibār fī al-malakūt
 5 Characterisation of Kitāb al-Iʿtibār
 6 Reception and Afterlife of Iʿtibār

Ǧibrīl ibn Nūḥ, Kitāb al-Iʿtibār, Arabic Text and Translation



Iʿtibār’s Preface

The Universe
 5 The Universe Is like a House
 6 The Colour of the Sky
 7 The Benefit of Sunrise and Sunset
 8 The Four Seasons
 9 The Solar Year
 10 The Lunar Year
 11 The Movement of the Sun
 12 Day and Night Have the Right Length
 13 Benefits of the Moon and the Stars
 14 The Benefit of the Stars. The Phases of the Moon
 15 The Orbits of the Celestial Bodies
 16 Signs Given by the Stars – 1
 17 The Planets
 18 Signs Given by the Stars – 2
 19 Why the Rotation?
 20 The Universe as a Water Wheel
 21 Alternation of Heat and Cold
 22 The Nature of Fire
 23 The Benefit of Fire Is for Man Alone
 24 The Lamp
 25 The Wind
 26 Sound

The Earth
 27 The Earth Is Firm and without Motion
 28 Why Do Earthquakes Occur?
 29 The Earth Is Not Too Dry
 30 The North Is Higher than the South
 31 The Usefulness of Mountains
 32 Mines and Minerals
 33 Man Cannot Make Gold and Silver
 34 Precious Metals Are Abundant, but Inaccessible
 35 The Four Elements Are Amply Available
 36 The Benefits of Water
 37 Is so Much Water Not Useless?
 38 The Usefulness of Rain
 39 Rain Falls Gradually
 40 Heavy Rainfall and Hail
 41 Alternating Rain and Sunshine
 42 Why Inclement Weather at All?
 43 Rain Is More Useful than Gold and Silver

Plants
 44 The Usefulness of Plants
 45 Abundance
 46 Seeds Are Protected
 47 Trees
 48 Art Imitates Nature
 49 Leaves
 50 Stones of Fruits
 51 Fruit Pulp
 52 Regeneration in Trees
 53 The Pomegranate
 54 Cucurbitaceae
 55 Date Palms
 56 The Usefulness of Wood
 57 Medicinal Herbs
 58 Seemingly Useless Plants
 59 Dung and Excrement

Animals
 60 The Build of Animals
 61 The Bodies of Grazing Livestock
 62 Humans, Herbivores and Carnivores
 63 Carnivores and Herbivores
 64 The Young of Quadrupeds and Birds
 65 The Legs of Animals
 66 Animals Subject to Man
 67 Dogs
 68 The Position of the Vagina in Large Quadrupeds
 69 The Fur of Animals
 70 Animals Hide to Die
 71 The Mouth of a Riding Animal
 72 The Usefulness of the Tail
 73 The Elephant’s Trunk
 74 The Giraffe
 75 The Monkey
 76 The Dragon
 77 The Panting Hart
 78 The Fox That Plays Dead
 79 The Dolphin That Plays Dead
 80 Ants
 81 The “Lion”
 82 The Spider
 83 The Anatomy of Birds
 84 The Food of Birds
 85 Oviparous
 86 The Hen
 87 The Egg
 88 The Crop of a Bird
 89 Ornamentation in Birds
 90 The Feathers of Birds
 91 Long-Legged Birds
 92 Long Legs, Long Neck
 93 The Food of Sparrows
 94 The Food of Nocturnal Birds
 95 The Bat
 96 The Date Palm Bird
 97 Bees
 98 Locusts
 99 Fish
 100 The Offspring of Fish
 101 The Sea Snail

Humans
 102 Foetus, Birth
 103 Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence
 104 Perfect Design in Procreation, Birth and Growth
 105 The Stupidity of Babies
 106 Conception. Male and Female Sperm
 107 The Parts of the Body Are Perfectly Designed
 108 The Nature of Nature
 109 The Alimentary System
 110 Only Nature Allows Bodies to Develop
 111 Man Is the Only Erect Animal
 112 The Place of the Organs of Perception
 113 Sensory Organs Correspond to What They Perceive
 114 Things Mediating between Senses and Their Objects
 115 The Blind and the Deaf
 116 Man Has Intelligence and All the Limbs He Needs
 117 The Benefit of Physical Disabilities
 118 Some Parts Come in Pairs, Others Do Not
 119 The Voice Compared to a Bagpipe
 120 Parts May Serve More than One Purpose
 121 The Protection of the Brain
 122 Who-Questions
 123 Why-If Not Questions
 124 More Who-Questions
 125 Matching Parts
 126 The Design of the Penis
 127 The Place of the Anus
 128 Teeth
 129 Hair and Nails
 130 Saliva, Vaginal Fluid
 131 Tears
 132 If the Belly Could Be Opened …
 133 The Natural Activities
 134 The Four Faculties
 135 Memory and Forgetting
 136 Shame
 137 Speech, Writing
 138 What Man Can Know and What Not
 139 The Moment of Death
 140 Postponement of Repentance
 141 Dreams
 142 The House Metaphor 3
 143 Man Must Work
 144 The Primary Needs: Bread and Water
 145 The Benefit of Punishment and Pain
 146 Male and Female
 147 Images
 148 Maximum Growth
 149 Why Do Humans Not Resemble Each Other?
 150 Beards

Philosophy and Theology
 151 The Wisdom of Nature
 152 Abnormalities Are Not Accidental …
 153 … but Planned and Intended
 154 Disasters Could Have Been Worse Than They Are
 155 Adversities Are Intended
 156 Adversity Offers Chances and Lessons
 157 Free Grace or Good Works?
 158 Free Grace Would Lead to Chaos
 159 Disasters Are to the Advantage of All
 160 Disasters Are Right and Useful
 161 Eternal Life on Earth Would Be No Good
 162 Procreation Is Necessary
 163 Inequality in Reward and Punishment?
 164 Free Will
 165 Swift and Slow Punishment
 166 The Universe Is Created and Designed – 1
 167 The Universe Is Created and Designed – 2
 168 The Word Kosmos
 169 Disbelievers Are Blind to the Design
 170 Our Knowledge of the Creator Is Limited
 171 The Creator Can Only Be Known by Acknowledgement
 172 Man Should Obey the Creator Rather Than Seek to Know Him
 173 Acknowledging God’s Attributes Does Not Lead to Knowing Him
 174 Man Cannot Even Comprehend Simpler Things
 175 Pagan Thinkers Disagreed about the Sun
 176 About the Shape of the Sun
 177 About the Size of the Sun
 178 Pagan Thinkers Never Agreed
 179 God’s Hiddenness – 1
 180 God’s Hiddenness – 2
 181 The End

Commentaries
 Preface
 The Universe
 The Earth
 Plants
 Animals
 Humans
 Philosophy and Theology

Appendix: Some Fragments from Ps.-Ǧāḥiẓ, Dalāʾil
Textual Criticism
Bibliography
General Index
Students of the legacy of Antiquity in the Islamic world. Church historians interested in Nestorian Christianity, and in teleological proofs of God’s existence (arguments from design) and theodicy.
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