Abū ’l-Muṭarrif ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Kabīr ibn Yaḥyà ibn Wāfid ibn Muḥammad al-Lakhmī, who was born into a noble Toledan family, the Bāni Wāfid, in 389/998-99 or 398/1007-8 and died in 467/1074-75, was a physician, botanist, pharmacologist and agronomist who spent most if not all of his life in Toledo. The historian Ibn al-Abbār reports that he studied medicine under Abū ’l-Qāsim al-Zahrāwī (Abulcasis) at Cordoba, but since the latter died between the years 1009 and 1013 this seems improbable (García Sánchez 1987, p. 334). Known in medieval Europe as Abenguefith, Ibn Wāfid wrote an influential materia medica, a synthesis of Dioscorides and Galen, which was translated into Catalan, Hebrew and Latin (Guzmán Álvarez 2005, p. 92). Also attributed to him is an agricultural treatise called Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa or ‘Compendium of agriculture’. While there is no extant Arabic manuscript of this work with the name of Ibn Wāfid as author, there is a late 14th/early 15th century copy of an earlier Castilian translation of the Majmū‘ attributed to a certain ‘Abel Mutariph Abel Nufit’, who according to Millás Vallicrosa must be identified with Abū ’l-Muṭarrif Ibn Wāfid (Millás Vallicrosa 1943, pp. 284-293). In addition there are two references which support the claim that Ibn Wāfid authored this work. The first is from Ibn al-Abbār who states in his Takmila that Ibn Wāfid wrote “a very interesting compendium of agriculture, having mastered all aspects of the science, and was responsible for planting the famous garden of the ruler Al-Ma’mūn in Toledo” (Ibn al-Abbār, 1886-1889: VI, 551, quoted in García Sánchez 1987, p. 335). Here in the Huerta del Rey or Bustān al-Nā‘ūra (‘Garden of the Water-Wheel’), one of the earliest botanical gardens in Europe, Ibn Wāfid acclimatized exotic plants brought from the Middle and Far East and conducted agricultural and botanical experiments (Ibn Baṣṣāl 1955, p. 32). The second reference is from the early 14th century agronomist Ibn Luyūn who notes in the margin of his agricultural poem that Ibn Wāfid wrote a Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa (Carabaza Bravo & García Sánchez, 2009, n.p.).

Ibn Wāfid is a key figure in the school of Andalusi agronomy. His students in Toledo were the botanist-physician Ibn al-Lūnquh (Ibn al-Lūnquh 2006, p. 39-40) and the agronomist Ibn Baṣṣāl, both of whom later moved to Seville and became masters in their own right, passing on their knowledge and skills to the next generation of botanists and agronomists including Ibn Ḥajjāj, Abū ’l-Khayr and Al-Ṭighnarī. The Majmū‘ itself was widely known and highly regarded, being translated into Castilian during the reign of Alfonso the Wise (1252-1284) and influencing the great Renaissance work of agronomy, the Obra de Agricultura of Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, who refers to ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ibn Wāfid as ‘the Moro Albumaharan Abencenif (Guzmán Álvarez  2005, pp. 84 and 92).

Ibn Wāfid rarely cites earlier authors though he makes constant reference to the ‘ancients’ and ‘sages’. His explicit literary references are confined to the 2nd century BC Bolos Democritos of Mendès, the 4th century AD agronomist Vindonius Anatolius of Beirut, and on the subject of irrigation, the writings of a certain Filemon, probably the 3rd century BC Philo of Byzantium, as well as Al-Kindī, the 9th century AD polymath who wrote a summary and commentary on Philo’s treatise on water (Bolens 1981, p. 23). Oddly, geographical references in the Majmū‘ are practically non-existent (Guzmán Álvarez 2005, p. 87). More puzzling still is the fact that none of the later Andalusi agronomists, except Ibn Luyūn, mention Ibn Wāfid, and none cite anything from his work (Guzmán Álvarez 2005, p. 119). In the absence of any thorough exposition of Al-Nahrāwī /Al-Zahrāwī’s slightly earlier work, Ibn Wāfid’s Majmū‘ may be regarded as the first true Andalusian book of husbandry since he covers not only the gamut of agricultural and horticultural knowledge but bee-keeping and pigeon-keeping as well, and includes a farming calendar in the almanac tradition, stripped of all extraneous matters.

Synopsis

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According to D. Fairchild Ruggles, “His [Ibn Wāfid’s] manual is divided into eighty-seven chapters followed by an agricultural calendar. The chapters deal with soil types; water and how to detect its presence in the soil; the most astrologically propitious seasons for building farmhouses; fertilizers; seed selection; things that damage grain (such as hailstorms); when to sow wheat and barley; when to reap; the threshing barn; granaries and bakeries; how to select sites for vineyards; choosing vine shoots to plant and how to plant them; olive oil preparation; and the soil preparation for and sowing of lettuce, cabbage, chard, turnips, radishes, onions, leeks, garlic, celery, basil, cucumbers, melons, and sugarcane.

More than fifty chapters of the original text are missing, but there then follows a set of specific instructions on when to plant, prune and harvest each type of plant and tree. It ends with a section on bee-keeping, pigeon-keeping, and pesticides such as myrtle and cumin. Ibn Wāfid rarely refers to other authors and does not mention practical agricultural experience of his own, although the details of the manual reveal prodigious knowledge. Compared with later agricultural manuals, his treatise seems weighted more towards botanical information than toward agriculture, reflecting his training in the Dioscoridian school of botany”. (Fairchild Ruggles 2000, p. 22)

Published Editions & Translations

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• The medieval Castilian translation of Ibn Wāfid’s treatise was first edited and published by J. M. Millás Vallicrosa under the title ‘La traducción castellana del Tratado de Agricultura de Ibn Wāfid’, Al-Andalus, VIII (1943), pp. 281-332; reprinted as ‘El Libro de Agricultura de Ibn Wāfid y su influencia en la agricultura del Renacimiento’, in Estudios sobre la historia de la ciencia española, 2 vols., Madrid, 1987.

A more recent edition and translation into modern Spanish is:

• Ibn Wāfid  (1997). ‘Tratado de agricultura: Traducción Castellana (Ms. s. XIV)’. Edited (with Spanish translation, notes and glossary) by C. Cuadrado Romero. Anejos de Analecta Malacitana 14. Málaga: Universidad de Málaga.

The Arabic text of Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa by Ibn Wāfid has been published, incomplete and wrongly identified, in two editions of miscellaneous agricultural works:

• Al-Ishbīlī, Abū al-Khayr (= Abū al-Khayr al-Shajjār al-Ishbīlī al‑Andalusī) (1357/1938). Kitāb fī al-Filāḥa. Fez: Sīdī al-Tuhāmī al-Nāṣirī al-Ja‘farī, the so-called ‘Fez Edition’. Ibn Wāfid’s treatise is on pp. 6-84. See more on the Fez Edition
• Ibn Ḥajjāj, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad (1982). Al-Muqnī‘ fī ’l-filāḥa. Edited by S. Jarrār & Y. Abū Ṣāfiya. Ammān: Majma‘ al-Luga al-‘Arabiyya al-Urduniyya. Ibn Wāfid’s treatise is on pp. 2-86. See more on the Jordanian Edition
• The treatise of Ibn Wāfid (that is, the first part of the Jordanian edition wrongly attributed to Ibn Ḥajjāj) has also been re-edited and published in Tunis by shaykh ‘Alī al-Shannūfī of the Zaytūna Mosque, based on an undisclosed manuscript, entitled Kitāb mukhtaṣar al-filāḥa al-ifrīqiyya and Kitāb mukhtaṣar al-filāḥa ‘alà ‘l-kamāl wa ‘l-tamām (Carabaza 1994 & 1995: I, pp. 309-318 & II, pp. 209-229). See more on the Tunis Edition

There is a Spanish translation of the Jordanian edition in:

• Carabaza Bravo, J.M. (1988). Aḥmad b. Moḥammed b. Ḥajjāj al-Ishbīlī: Al-Muqnī‘ fī ’l-filāḥa, doctoral dissertation, University of Granada, 1988, I, 178-281.

Manuscripts

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The Arabic text which corresponds to the Castilian translation published by Millás  Vallicrosa, and therefore most probably the work of Ibn Wāfid, can be found in numerous manuscripts but there are conflicting opinions regarding the authorship of these (see Attié, 1969: 241-261; Carabaza, 1990: 71-81; Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1115-1132; Carabaza, 1994: 169-192; García Gómez, 1984: 387-397; García, 1987: 333-341; Ibn Ḥajjāj, 1982: dâl-râ'; Millás Vallicrosa 1943: 284-293; Millás Vallicrosa, 1954a: 87-96). Most recently (2001) Julia María Carabaza and Expiración García and have concluded that the following manuscripts, frequently attributed to other agronomists both within the manuscripts and in the catalogues, contain folios that rightfully belong to the Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa of Ibn Wāfid:

• Bibliothèque Nationale, Algiers, nº 1550, folios 154v-180r (Fagnan, 1983: 426-427).
  
  
  • These folios are in the name of Abū ’l-Qāsim b. ‘Abbās al-Nahrāwī (explicit on folio 180r), later identified with Al-Zahrāwī (Abulcasis) from Córdoba. Further information on this manuscript copy can be found in Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1130-31
• Bibliothèque Générale, Rabat, nº 617 j, pp. 414-478.
  
  • 
    These folios in the name of Ibn Ḥajjāj (p. 414), whose authorship was later defended by the Jordanian publishers of the agronomical treatise called Al-Muqni‘fī ’l-filāḥa. Further information on this manuscript copy can be found in Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1126-27
• Bibliothèque Générale, Rabat, nº 1410 D, fols. 157r-194r (Allouche & Regragui, 1958: II, 274).
  
  • 
    Folios in the name of Ibn Ḥajjāj (folio 216r). Further information on this manuscript copy can be found in Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1127-29
• Bibliothèque Royale, Rabat, nº 69, pp. 1-74 (Al-Khaṭṭābī, 1982: 233)
  
  • 
    Without any reference in the text, but quoting the name Ibn Ḥajjāj in the catalogue (an attribution followed by the previously-mentioned Jordanian publishers). See Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1124-25
• Bibliothèque Royale, Rabat, nº 6342, pp. 2-40 (Al-Khaṭṭābī, 1982: 232-233)
  
  • 
    Without reference in the text, but attributed to Ibn Ḥajjāj in the catalogue. See Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1125 note 29
• Private manuscript of M. ‘Azīmān, Tetuan, folios 106v-130v (Millás, 1954a: 87-96).
  
  • 
    No reference in the text to authorship. In the opinion of B. Attié (1982: 321), these folios are the work of Al-Nahrāwī. Regarding this and another miscellaneous manuscript belonging to M. ‘Azīmān which actually contain extracts from the works by Al-Ṭighnarī, Ibn Luyūn, Ibn Baṣṣāl and Ibn Wāfid/Al-Nahrāwi, see Millás Vallicrosa, 1954b: 129, 133; Carabaza Bravo & García Sánchez 1998, p. 403.
• Bibliothèque Générale, Tetuan, nº 889/13, pp. 1-51 (Catálogo, 1973: 81)
  
  • 
    Attributed in the catalogue to an unknown author, inside the manuscript to Ibn Ḥajjāj. See Carabaza and García, 1998, p. 402.
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Tunis, nº 13812, folios 30v-44v (Anon. Kitāb fī tartīb, 1990: 43-44).
  
  • 
    A codex containing only some fragments of the work of Ibn Wāfid but with no mention of the author on these pages. See Carabaza and Garcia, 1998, p. 404.
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, nº 5013, folios 1v-47r (Vajda, 1953: 342).
  
  • 
    The name of Ibn Ḥajjāj appears on folio 71r, therefore in the catalogue the whole manuscript has been attributed to this agronomist (in spite of the fact that on folios 72r to 161v we find the manuscript of Ibn Baṣṣāl), an identification supported by the Jordanian publishers of al-Muqnī‘. See Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1119-1120.
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, nº 5754, folios 152v-176v (Vajda, 1953: 342).
  
  • 
    The name of Abū ’l-Qāsim b. ‘Abbās al-Nahrāwī (identified as the physician from Córdoba, Al-Zahrāwī) is given in two explicits in the text (folios 176v and 186r). Also given is the title of the work: Kitāb al-Filāḥa. Although folios 176v to 186r are attributed to Al-Nahrāwī, this is a summary of, or extracts from, the agronomical treatise by Ibn al-‘Awwām (Attié, 1969: 261). For more information on this manuscript see Carabaza et al., 1991: II, 1120-1121
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, nº 4764, folios 151v-160v.
  
  • 
    Catalogued under the name of Abū ’l-Khayr, as the name of this author occurs on folio 64r. However, there are several different works in this codex, and in the above-mentioned folios is part of the work of Ibn Wāfid on poultry rearing and the prevention of various diseases in crops. These folios are attributed to Al-Nahrāwī by Attié, and to Ibn Ḥajjāj by the Jordanian publishers of Al-Muqnī‘. See more on this manuscript
• Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, ms. nº 10106 (originally in the library of Toledo Cathedral, ms. 96-40)
  
  • 
    The 15th century Castilian translation of Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa by Ibn Wāfid, attributed to ‘Abel Mutariph Abel Nufit’ (Millás Vallicrosa, 1943). See more.
• Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, ms. nº 93 of the collection of Spanish and Portuguese codices, folios 62r to 111r (Morel, 1892: 32-33).
  
  • 
    The medieval Catalan translation of Majmū‘ fī ’l-filāḥa by Ibn Wāfid, although incomplete and without the name of any author. Contained in a codex of miscellaneous manuscripts. See also Carabaza and García, 1998: 408-09.

(Source:  Carabaza Bravo & García Sánchez, 2001 and 2009)

Bibliography

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