La sîmîâ en Al-Andalus

Zusammenfassung

S.miy.�f is an Arabic word that uses to be translated as �ewhite magic�f or �enatural magic�f. In fact, the so-called �gscience of al-S.miy.�f�h is a kind of magic well known in the Arab world since the Middle Ages. In this paper, after a short revision of the different etymologies suggested for this word, we discuss the definitions given to the this magical science by classic authors, namely .hih.b al-D.n al-Qar.f. (s. XIII), Ibn Jald.n (s. XIV) and H.y.. Jal.fa (s. XVII), remarking the differences in their definitions. After that, we analyze the meaning, basic concepts and practice of the simiya� in al- Andalus, as exposed in the book entitled Kanz al-�ulum wa-l-durr al-manzum, written by the sufi author Muhammad b. �Ali Ibn Tumart al-Andalusi (s. XIII- XIV), what lead us to relate sufism with the practice of occult sciences in the Islamic world.