al-Safir fi al-Heyat

• Persian/Arabic Title: السفیر فی الهیئة
• Transliterated Title: al-Safīr fī al-Hayʾa
• English Title: The Safīr on Astronomy
• Author: Ghiyāth al-Dīn Manṣūr Dashtakī Shīrāzī (10th century A.H.)
• Editors: Fāṭimah Kayqubādī; Amīr-Muḥammad Ghamīnī
• Language: Persian–Arabic
• ISBN: 978-600-203-270-6
• Publication Year: 2022
• Pages: 182
• Format: PDF
• Category: Sciences and Technology / Astronomy
• Miras Maktoob Collection Code: 379

【Summary】

al-Safīr fī al-Hayʾa is a short Arabic treatise grounded in Ptolemaic astronomy, composed in 906 A.H. by the eminent Safavid philosopher and scientist Ghiyāth al-Dīn Manṣūr Dashtakī. The principal feature of the work lies in its clear exposition of the conceptual and technical problems inherent in Ptolemaic astronomy, together with a historical overview of how these difficulties were addressed by earlier astronomers.

A comparison of the structure of al-Safīr with earlier astronomical works demonstrates that, even in the Safavid period, the composition of concise instructional texts (dars-nāmah) on astronomy remained an active scholarly practice, and that debates surrounding astronomical theory continued within Safavid intellectual circles. Although Dashtakī does not propose new models or solutions in this treatise, he explicitly states that such innovations are addressed in his other writings.

The present critical edition is based on the selection of seven manuscripts from the total corpus of known copies. The Arabic text is accompanied by a Persian translation and an extensive introduction, making the work accessible to a wider readership interested in the history of Islamic astronomy.