Abu 'Ali al-Husayn Ibn Abdullah Ibn al-Hasan Ibn 'Ali Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna (d.1037 AD), Kitab al-isharat wa al-tanbihat, a treatise on logic, physics, philosophy and metaphysics, probably Western Persia or Iraq, Ilkhanid, 14th century

Arabic manuscript on paper, 72 leaves plus 4 flyleaves, 18 lines to the page, written in naskh script in black ink, keywords picked out in larger red, black and gold, brown morocco binding with gilt medallions, with flap

In good overall condition, binding repaired, last page with some paper repairs, pages generally clean, one worm hole bored straight through manuscript, occasional minor water stains, as viewed.
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The colophon of the present refined manuscript mentions two names: the first, 'Abdul-Rahim, who illuminated the bold black script, and Hasan Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi al-Makarim, who was responsible for copying of the text. The latter is recorded as a member of the Beni Zahra' family, and a chief physician of the hospital in Aleppo, who met Ibn Battuta when he passed through the city in 1326 AD (see Muhammad Ragheb al-Tabbakh al-Halebi, Ulam al-Nubala bi Tarikh Haleb al-Shahaba, part II, Aleppo, 1924, p.375-6). 

Ibn Sina's al-isharat wa al-tanbihat was composed towards the end of his life and is considered one of his masterpieces. Although known for his medical works such as al-Qanun fi'l tibb, this philosophical work started a debate which went on well after his death as can be seen in the commentaries written by the celebrated philosophers al-Razi and al-Tusi in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Al-Razi's commentary was rather hostile towards Avicenna's work and for this reason was called Jarh al-isharat, the Damaging of the isharat, while Tusi's commentary embraced Avicenna's work (see A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 1934, pp.620-3, nos.381-2.

Ibn Sina (d.1037 AD)

Ibn Sina was born in 980 AD in Afshana near Bukhara, in Greater Khurasan. His native language was Persian, but, like the majority of scholars of the period, he wrote in Arabic. Thanks to his father's position as an official in the Samanid government, Ibn Sina was given a fine education and his precocity is said to have been such that he quickly surpassed his teachers in knowledge and problem-solving skills. At the young age of eighteen, he became a qualified physician and was hailed for curing the Amir of Khurasan of a severe illness. As a most precious reward he was given access to the extensive library of the Samanid princes, where he would spend countless hours immersed in scholarly work.

Known as Avicenna in the West, Ibn Sina can be regarded as the most influential writer in the history of medicine. His unparalleled al-Qanun fi'l tibb or The Canon of Medicine, completed circa 1025 AD, gathered the totality of medical knowledge at the time. Such was the usefulness of this seminal work that it was used all over the Middle East and Europe as the standard medical textbook for a period of seven centuries. A dedicated intellectual, he spent the latter part of his life at Isfahan, unexpectedly dying during an expedition to Hamadan in 1037 AD.

Other copies of the present work are in the following libraries:

The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin: one copy written by Abu 'Amr Muhammad Ibn Mahmud al-Kamuni at Mosul, dated 627 AH/1230 AD, see A. Arberry, A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts, Dublin, 1963, p.61, no.4699.  The British Library, London: four copies dated 640 AH/1242 AD (DEL AR 1477a); thirteenth century (OR 8251); 738 AH/1337-38 AD (OR 7969); 978 AH/1570-71 AD (OR 5773) and 1182 AH/1768 AD (ADD 16659/6), see P. Stocks and C. Baker (eds.), Subject-Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library, London, 2001, p.195.

Brockelmann i. 454, Suppl. i. 816, lists numerous copies in Patna, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Tehran, Mosul, Cairo, Berlin, and the Escorial Library which has one copy dated 656 AH/1258-59 AD.

A copy of Tusi's commentary copied by Ahmad Ibn Ildkaz Ibn 'Abdullah at al-Madrasah al-Sharifah al-Mustansiriyah in Baghdad, dated 692 AH/1292-93 AD, was sold in these rooms, 26 April 1982, lot 136. Further copies were sold 3 May 2001, lot 31 and 5 October 2011, lot 86.