Forthcoming September 2026
The Ikhw膩n al-峁f膩示From Arabic, lit. 鈥楤rethren of Purity鈥, a group of learned scholars who were based in Basra and Baghdad around the last quarter of the t10th century CE. It is more… (Brethren of Purity), the anonymous adepts of a tenth-century esoteric fraternity based in Basra and Baghdad, hold an eminent position in the history of science and philosophy in Islam due to the wide reception and assimilation of their monumental enyclopaedia, the Ras膩示il Ikhw膩n al-峁f膩示 (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). This compendium contains fifty-two epistles offering synoptic accounts of the classical sciences and philosophies of the age; divided into four classificatory parts, it treats themes in mathematics, logic, natural philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, and theology, in addition to didactic fables.
This edition of Epistle 52b and 52c On Magic, Part II, complements Epistle 52a. With this volume the epistle 鈥極n Magic鈥 is reconstituted in its complex heterogeneous variations. The Brethren of Purity鈥檚 treatment of the theoretical and practical aspects of the occult science of magicians and diviners carries some resonances with the prophetic healing arts, the pseudo-Aristotelian corpus, and the Hermetica. It also covers incantations, divinations, astrology, alchemy, necromancy, phantasmagoria, prestidigitation, omens, spells, talismans, and auguries. The Brethren themselves state that 鈥榯his epistle of ours 鈥淥n Magic and Incantations鈥 was written for the Brethren鈥檚 sake in such a way that, once they have reached the summits of the sciences and the noble arts, they will by [doing] this dispense with the need for anyone but themselves for whichever affair of this mundane existence they would need this.鈥
The present edition is accompanied by comprehensive footnotes and a substantial introduction.
Foreword by Nader El-Bizri
Introductions and Translations
Introduction to Epistle 52b (Godefroid de Callata每)
Technical Introduction to Epistle 52b (Godefroid de Callata每 and Bruno Halflants)
EPISTLE 52B, ON MAGIC
(tr. Godefroid de Callata颖 and S茅bastien Moureau)
Introduction to Epistle 52c (Janne Mattila)
Technical Introduction to Epistle 52c (Janne Mattila)
EPISTLE 52C, ON MAGIC
(tr. Janne Mattila)
Bibliography
Index of Qur示anic Citations
Index Locorum
Subject Index
Arabic
AL-RIS膧LA 52B
(ed. Godefroid de Callata每 and Bruno Halflants)
AL-RIS膧LA 52C
(ed. Janne Mattila)
Index of Qur示anic Citations
Godefroid de Callata每 is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), specializing in the history of science and philosophy. Amongst other subjects, he has published extensively on the classifications of the sciences in the Islamic world and on the encyclopaedic corpus known as Ras膩示il Ikhw膩n al-峁f膩示 (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). After conducting PhilAnd (2017鈥2024), a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced project on the emergence of philosophy and rational thinking in al-Andalus, he is now the leading Principal Investigator of the ERC Synergy project MOSAIC (Mapping Occult Sciences Across Islamicate Cultures, 2025鈥2031) at UCLouvain and four other universities in Europe and the United States.
S茅bastien Moureau is a researcher at the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) in Belgium and a Professor at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain). His work focuses on the history of Arabic science and its transmission to the Latin world, with particular emphasis on the history of alchemy and metallurgy. He also specializes in critical editions and digital humanities.
Bruno Halflants has cultivated his interest in Arabic since 1978, focusing on Arabic poetry and metrics. In 2007, he published Le Conte du Portefaix et des Trois Jeunes Femmes, a study of Middle Arabic in the 1001 Nights, with an original edition of the tale鈥檚 earliest known manuscript. Further to this, he has participated in several colloquies and seminars and has contributed to Autour de la Langue Arabe. Etudes presentees a Jacques Grand鈥橦enry a l鈥檕ccasion de son 70e anniversaire (L鈥橧nstitut Orientaliste de Louvain, 2012). His first career was as a civil engineer.
Janne Mattila is a research fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies of the University of Helsinki. He specializes in the history of philosophy in the Islamic world, publishing on subjects such as philosophical conceptions of religion, ethics, and the moral status of animals. A major part of his research has focused on the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. Besides writing several articles, he has translated Epistle 22鈥檚 fable about a trial between animals and human beings into Finnish. His open access book The Formation of the Ikhw膩nian Corpus: A Philological Study of the Epistles and Two Summaries Attributed to the Brethren of Purity (Brill, 2025) argues for a gradual textual and doctrinal evolution of the three works attributed to the Brethren of Purity.