KhalidAlAjaji: Created a new page for the Arabic constellation al-Ḥamal.

2026-11-01T21:47:07Z

Created a new page for the Arabic constellation al-Ḥamal.

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE:al-Ḥamal}}

{{See also|Al-Ṯurayyā|Al-Buṭayn|Al-Šaraṭān|Al-Aybasān}}

Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
----

[[File:alhamal.png|thumb|The Arabic constellation ''al-Ḥamal'' (الحَمَل) ‘the Lamb’. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.]]

''Al-Ḥamal'' (الحَمَل, ‘the Lamb’) is an Arabic constellation depicting a lamb. It consists of ''[[Al-Šaraṭān|al-Šaraṭān]]'' as the horns, ''[[Al-Aybasan|al-Aybasān]]'' as the two front legs, ''[[Al-Buṭayn|al-Buṭayn]]'' as the belly, and ''[[Al-Ṯurayyā|al-Ṯurayyā]]'' as the fat tail.

==Concordance, Etymology, History==
''Al-Ḥamal'' (الحَمَل) is recorded in the primary ''anwāʾ'' works of Ibn Qutayba, Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī, and al-Marzūqī, as well as in the astronomer al-Ṣūfī’s ''Kitāb al-kawākib''.

'''Variants''' Arabic

* ''Al-Ḥamal'' (الحَمَل) “The Lamb”

'''Variants''' Latin / European

* ''AlHamal'', Hyde (1665)<ref name="hyde"/> (p. 30).
* ''El-hhamel'', Ideler (1809)<ref name="ideler"/> (p. 132).
* ''al-hamal'', Schjellerup (1874)<ref name="Schjellerup"/> (pp. 34, 134).
* ''Al Ḥamal'', Allen (1963)<ref name="Hinckley"/> (p. 78).
* ''al-ḥamal'', Kunitzsch (1961)<ref name="Kunitzsch1961"/> Kunitzsch does not give the name a separate entry, but mentions it in ''alyat al-ḥamal'', ''baṭn al-ḥamal'', ''qarnā al-ḥamal'', and ''raʾs al-ḥamal'' (nos. 9, 63, 220, 242).

===Etymology===

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" style="width: 16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width: 42%;" | English
! scope="col" style="width: 42%;" | Arabic
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|''Al-Ḥamal''
|dir="ltr"|In ''Lisān al-ʿArab'', s.v. ''ḥ-m-l'' (حمل),<ref name="lisan"/> we read:
<blockquote>
“''Al-ḥamal'' means ‘a lamb’; it is also said to mean a young sheep no older than a ''ǧaḏaʿ'' [a young sheep approximately six to ten months old, according to differing lexicographical accounts] […]. ''Al-Ḥamal'' is the first of the zodiacal signs. It begins with ''al-Šaraṭān'', the two horns of ''al-Ḥamal'', followed by ''al-Buṭayn'', consisting of three stars, and then ''al-Ṯurayyā'' (the Pleiades), which is the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal''. These stars, arranged in this configuration, are called ''Ḥamal'' (‘the Lamb’).”
</blockquote>
|dir="rtl"|جاء في «لسان العرب»، مادة «حمل»:
<blockquote>
«والحَمَل: الخَرُوف، وَقِيلَ: هُوَ مِنْ وَلَدِ الضأْن الجَذَع فَمَا دُونَهُ […]. والحَمَل: بُرْج مِنْ بُروج السَّمَاءِ، هُوَ أَوَّل الْبُرُوجِ أَوَّلُه الشَّرَطانِ وَهُمَا قَرْنا الحَمَل، ثُمَّ البُطَين ثَلَاثَةُ كَوَاكِبَ، ثُمَّ الثُّرَيَّا وَهِيَ أَلْيَة الحَمَل، هَذِهِ النُّجُومُ عَلَى هَذِهِ الصِّفَةِ تُسَمَّى حَمَلًا.»
</blockquote>
|}

=== Sources and Identification ===

==== Ibn Qutayba ====
'''Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE)''', Hyderabad edition (1956)<ref name="qutayba"/> (pp. 17, 20, 23):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |English
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |Arabic
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|dir="ltr"|Ibn Qutayba said:

<blockquote>
“The first of these [the lunar stations] that they enumerate is ''al-Šaraṭān''. It is the first of the northern stations. ''Al-Šaraṭān'' consists of two stars, said to be the two horns of ''al-Ḥamal'' (the Lamb).”
</blockquote>

He also said:
<blockquote>
“Next comes ''al-Buṭayn''. It consists of three faint stars resembling three hearthstones. These stars are said to be the belly of ''al-Ḥamal''.”
</blockquote>

He also said:
<blockquote>
“Next comes ''al-Ṯurayyā''. It is said to be the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal''.”
</blockquote>

|dir="rtl"|قال ابن قتيبة:

<blockquote>
«فأول ما يعدون منها [أي من منازل القمر] الشرطان. وهما أول الشآمية. والشرطان كوكبان. يقال إنهما قرنا الحمل.»
</blockquote>

وقال:
<blockquote>
«ثم البُطَيْن. وهو ثلاثة كواكب خفية كأنها أثافىّ. ويقال إنها بطن الحمل.»
</blockquote>

وقال:
<blockquote>
«ثم الثُّرَيَّا. ويقال إنها ألْيَة الحمل.»
</blockquote>
|}

==== Al-Ṣūfī ====
'''Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE)''', ed. al-ʿAǧǧāǧī (2021)<ref name="khalid2021sufi"/>, Aries, Taurus:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |English
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |Arabic
|- style="vertical-align: top;"

|dir="ltr"|Al-Ṣūfī discusses ''al-Šaraṭayn'', ''al-Buṭayn'', and ''al-Ṯurayyā''. He clearly rejected both the description of ''al-Buṭayn'' given by the authors of the ''anwāʾ'' works and the identification of ''al-Ṯurayyā'' as the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal''. For him, ''al-Ḥamal'' was the Greek constellation, and he did not accept that the Arabic figure of the Lamb could differ from it. He said:

<blockquote>
“As for the Arabs, the accounts of their names for some of the stars within and outside the figure differ. Some report that they call the two bright stars on the horn ''al-Šaraṭayn'', ''al-Šaraṭ'', and ''al-Šarṭ''. This is the first lunar station.”
</blockquote>

He also said:

<blockquote>
“They call the seventh star, at the root of the fat tail, [together with] the eighth, the leading star of the three on the fat tail, and the faint eleventh star, in the thigh, ''al-Buṭayn'', and also ''al-Baṭn''. These stars form a nearly equilateral triangle on the belly of ''al-Ḥamal''. This is the second lunar station.

Many authors of ''anwāʾ'' books mistakenly supposed that ''al-Buṭayn'' consisted of stars among the four outside the figure, behind ''al-Nāṭiḥ''. They therefore reported that it lay to the right of ''al-Mankib'', by which they meant the shoulder of ''al-Ṯurayyā''. For they regarded the shoulder of ''al-Ṯurayyā'' as the two stars on the foot of the figure holding the head of the Ghoul—the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth stars of that constellation. These four stars are far from the figure of ''al-Ḥamal'', and were therefore called ‘the stars outside the figure’.”
</blockquote>

He also said:

<blockquote>
“All of them stated in their books that ''al-Ṯurayyā'' lies on the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal'' (the Lamb).”
</blockquote>

|dir="rtl"|قول الصوفي في الشرطين والبطين والثُّريَّا، ومن الواضح أنه لم يقبل أن يكون البطين كما وصف أصحاب الأنواء، ولا أن تكون الثُّرَيَّا هي ألية الحَمَل لأن الحمل عنده هو الصورة اليونانية، ولم يقبل أن تكون صورة الحمل العربية مختلفة، قال:

<blockquote>
«وأما العرب فقد اختلفت الرواية عنها في بعض كواكب الصورة والخارجة عن الصورة، فروى بعضهم أنها تُسَمِّي الاثنين النيِّرين اللذين على القرن: الشَّرَطَيْنِ والشَّرَطَ والشَّرْطَ، وهو المنزل الأول من منازل القمر.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا:

<blockquote>
«وتُسَمِّي السابع الذي على منشأ الألية [مع] الثامن المتقدم من الثلاثة التي على الألية مع الحادي عشر الخفي الذي في الفخذ وهي على مثلث شبيه بالمتساوي الأضلاع على بطن الحمل: البُطَيْنَ والبَطْنَ أيضًا، وهو المنزل الثاني من منازل القمر.
وظنَّ كثير من مؤلفي كتب الأنواء أن البُطَيْنَ هو من الكواكب الأربعة الخارجة عن الصورة خلف الناطح، ولذلك حكوا أنه على يمين المنكب، أرادوا بذلك منكب الثُّرَيَّا؛ لأن عندهم أن منكب الثُّرَيَّا هو الاثنان اللذان على رجل ممسك رأس الغول، وهما الخامس والعشرون والسادس والعشرون من كواكبه، وهذه الأربعة هي بعيدة عن صورة الحمل ولذلك سميت الخارجة عن الصورة.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا:

<blockquote>
«وكلهم ذكروا في كتبهم أنها على أَلْيَةِ الحَمَلِ.»
</blockquote>
|-
|colspan="2"|[[File:Arabic_lamb-vs-Aries.png|thumb|center|The Arabic constellation ''al-Ḥamal'' and the Greek constellation Aries. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.]]
|}

==== Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī ====
'''Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE)''', ed. al-Qaysī and al-Dulaymī (1996)<ref name="thaqafi"/> (pp. 79, 81, 83):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |English
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |Arabic
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|dir="ltr"|Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī said concerning the month of Nīsān, known among non-Arabs as April:

<blockquote>
“When sixteen nights of this month have elapsed, ''al-Šaraṭān'' rises. Its two stars are the horns of ''al-Ḥamal'' (the Lamb).”
</blockquote>

He also said:

<blockquote>
“When one night remains of this month, ''al-Buṭayn'' rises. It consists of three faint stars resembling three hearthstones, between ''al-Šaraṭayn'' and ''al-Ṯurayyā''. It is said that ''al-Buṭayn'' is the belly of ''al-Ḥamal'', hence its name. They sometimes use the non-diminutive form, calling it ''al-Baṭn'' (‘the Belly’).”
</blockquote>

He also said concerning the month of Ayyār, known among non-Arabs as May:

<blockquote>
“When twelve nights of this month have elapsed, ''al-Ṯurayyā'' (the Pleiades) rises in the morning. It is called ''al-Naǧm'' (‘the Star’), a proper name that has come to refer especially to ''al-Ṯurayyā''. Thus, when people say, ‘''al-Naǧm'' has risen’ or ‘''al-Naǧm'' has set,’ it is understood that they mean ''al-Ṯurayyā''. It is also called ''al-Naẓm'' (‘the String’). It is the best known of the lunar stations, with six visible stars and many faint stars accompanying them. It is said to be the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal''.”
</blockquote>

|dir="rtl"|قال ابن عاصم الثقفي في شهر نيسان وهو عند العجم إبريل:

<blockquote>
«وفي ست عشرة ليلة تخلو منه يطلع الشرطان وهما قرنا الحمل.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا:

<blockquote>
«وفي ليلة تبقى من هذا الشهر يطلع البطين، وهو ثلاثة كواكب خفية كأنها أثافي، بين الشرطين والثريا، ويقال: إن البطين بطن الحمل، وبه سمي، وقد يتكلمون به مكبّراً فيقولون: البطن.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا في شهر أيار وهو عند العجم مايو:

<blockquote>
«وفي اثنتي عشرة ليلة تخلو منه تطلع الثريا بالغداة، ويقال لها: النجم، والنجم اسم علم لها قد غلبت عليه، فإذا قيل: طلع النجم وغاب النجم، عُلم أنها هي، وتسمى أيضاً: النظم، وهي أشهر منازل السماء، ونجومها ستة ظاهرة، معها نجوم كثيرة خفية، ويقال: إنها ألية الحمل.»
</blockquote>
|}

==== Al-Marzūqī ====
'''Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE)''', ed. al-Dulaymī (2002)<ref name="marzuqi"/> (vol. 1, p. 167):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |English
! scope="col" style="width: 50%;" |Arabic
|- style="vertical-align: top;"

|dir="ltr"|Al-Marzūqī said:
<blockquote>
“They say that the two stars of ''al-Šaraṭān'' are the two horns of ''al-Ḥamal'' (the Lamb).”
</blockquote>

He also said:

<blockquote>
“As for ''al-Buṭayn'', it consists of three faint stars resembling the dots of the letter ''ṯāʾ'' (ث). It follows ''al-Šaraṭayn'' and lies in front of ''al-Ṯurayyā''. They sometimes use the non-diminutive form, calling it ''al-Baṭn'' (‘the Belly’), and claim that it is the belly of ''al-Ḥamal''.”
</blockquote>

He also said:

<blockquote>
“They say that ''al-Ṯurayyā'' is the fat tail of ''al-Ḥamal''.”
</blockquote>

|dir="rtl"|قال المرزوقي:
<blockquote>
«ويقولون الشرطان قرنا الحمل.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا:

<blockquote>
«وأمَّا البُطَيْنُ، فثلاثة كواكب خفيّة كأنها نُقَطُ الثاء، وهو على أثر الشَّرَطَيْنِ بين يَدَي الثُّرَيَّا، وقد يتكلمون به مكبرًّا، فيقولون: البَطْنَ، ويزعمون أنّه بَطْنُ الحَمَلِ.»
</blockquote>

وقال أيضًا:

<blockquote>
«ويقولون: الثُّرَيَّا أَلْيَةُ الحَمَلِ.»
</blockquote>
|}

==== Star identifications ====
The identifications below are proposed by Khalid al-Ajaji on the basis of the descriptions in the ''anwāʾ'' works, as discussed in the Aries and Taurus chapters of his critical edition with commentary of the ''Poem of the Stars''.<ref name="khalid2021urjuza"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Name
! Part of the Constellation
! Identification
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|''Al-Šaraṭān''
|The two horns
|α, β Ari
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|''Al-Aybasān''
|The two front legs
|α, β Tri
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|''Al-Buṭayn''
|The belly
|35, 39, 41 Ari
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|''Al-Ṯurayyā''
|The fat tail
|Pleiades
|}

===Discussion===

====al-Aybasān====
The name ''[[Al-Aybasan|al-Aybasān]]'' appears as ''al-Anīsān'' in printed editions of the ''anwāʾ'' works, whose authors do not mention any connection with ''al-Ḥamal''. The relationship between the stars of ''al-Aybasān'' (α and β Tri) and ''al-Ḥamal'' is discussed on the ''[[Al-Aybasan|al-Aybasān]]'' page.

== Weblinks ==

== Reference ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="lisan">لسان العرب، ابن منظور (توفي 711 هـ) 
Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711 AH / c. 1312 CE). ''Lisān al-ʿArab''.</ref>

<ref name="khalid2021sufi">كتاب الكواكب لأبي الحسين عبد الرحمن بن عمر الرازي المعروف بالصوفي (291-376)، تحقيق خالد بن عبد الله العجاجي. 
Al-Ṣūfī, Abū al-Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿUmar (d. 986 CE). ''Book of the Stars''. Critical edition with commentary by Khalid al-Ajaji. Digital edition, 2021. [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s6JXzftwjMQ5rgZoGE3718EtBLBZtjzr Digital edition].</ref>

<ref name="khalid2021urjuza">أرجوزة الكواكب لأبي علي الحسين بن عبد الرحمن بن عمر الرازي المعروف بابن الصوفي (ت بعد 400 ه، 1010م)، تحقيق خالد بن عبد الله العجاجي. 
Ibn al-Ṣūfī, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿUmar (d. after c. 400 AH / 1010 CE). ''Poem of the Stars''. Critical edition with commentary by Khalid al-Ajaji. Digital edition, 2021. [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s6JXzftwjMQ5rgZoGE3718EtBLBZtjzr Digital edition].</ref>

<ref name="qutayba">أبو محمد عبد الله بن مسلم ابن قتيبة الدينوري المتوفى سنة 276هـ - 889م، كتاب الأنواء في مواسم العرب، دائرة المعارف العثمانية، حيدر أباد، الهند، 1375 هـ - 1956م. 
Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh b. Muslim (d. 276 AH / 889 CE). ''Kitāb al-anwāʾ fī mawāsim al-ʿArab''. Hyderabad, India: Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-ʿUṯmāniyya, 1375 AH / 1956 CE.</ref>

<ref name="marzuqi">الإمام أبو علي أحمد بن محمد بن الحسن المرزوقي (توفي سنة 421 هـ)، الأزمنة والأمكنة، تحقيق د. محمد نايف الدليمي، عالم الكتب، بيروت، لبنان، 1422 هـ. 
Al-Marzūqī, Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan (d. 1030 CE). ''Al-Azmina wa-l-amkina'' (“Times and Places”). Edited by Muḥammad Nāyif al-Dulaymī. Beirut: ʿĀlam al-Kutub, 1422 AH / 2002 CE.</ref>

<ref name="thaqafi">عبد الله بن حسين بن عاصم الثقفي (توفي 403 هـ)، الأنواء والأزمنة، تحقيق: د. نوري حمودي القيسي، د. محمد نايف الدليمي، دار الجيل، بيروت، لبنان، 1416 هـ. 
Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥusayn (d. 403 AH / c. 1013 CE). ''Al-Anwāʾ wa-l-azmina''. Edited by Nūrī Ḥammūdī al-Qaysī and Muḥammad Nāyif al-Dulaymī. Beirut: Dār al-Ǧīl, 1416 AH / 1996 CE.</ref>

<ref name="Kunitzsch1961">Kunitzsch, Paul. ''Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber''. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1961.</ref>

<ref name="ideler">Ideler, Ludwig. ''Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen''. Berlin, 1809.</ref>

<ref name="hyde">Hyde, Thomas. ''Tabulæ Long[itudinis] ac Lat[itudinis] Stellarum Fixarum''. Oxford: Henry Hall, 1665.</ref>

<ref name="Schjellerup">Al-Ṣūfī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿUmar (903–986 CE). ''Description des étoiles fixes''. Translated with notes by H. C. F. C. Schjellerup. St. Pétersbourg: Commissionnaires de l’Académie Impériale des sciences, 1874.</ref>

<ref name="Hinckley">Allen, Richard Hinckley. ''Star Names — Their Lore and Meaning''. Dover edition, 1963.</ref>
}}
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Al-Ḥamal - Revision history

KhalidAlAjaji: Created a new page for the Arabic constellation al-Ḥamal.