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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE: ''al-Ribq'' (الرِّبْق)}} Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}} ---- thumb|''al-Ribq'' as described in Anwāʾ sources and as idenified by al-Ṣūfī. (CC BY Khalid Al-Ajaji 2026). '''Al-Ribq''' (Arabic: الرِّبْق, “a rope containing several loops”) is an Arabic asterism corresponding to stars in the southern Fish of Pisces. ==Provenance, Etymology, History== File:ribq_sheep.png|thumb|..."

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{{DISPLAYTITLE: ''al-Ribq'' (الرِّبْق)}}

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----
[[File:ribq_chart.png|thumb|''al-Ribq'' as described in Anwāʾ sources and as idenified by al-Ṣūfī. (CC BY Khalid Al-Ajaji 2026).]]
'''Al-Ribq''' (Arabic: الرِّبْق, “a rope containing several loops”) is an Arabic asterism corresponding to stars in the southern Fish of [[Pisces]].

==Provenance, Etymology, History==
[[File:ribq_sheep.png|thumb|a ribq is a rope stretched between two pegs containing several loops, with which young sheep or goats are tethered. (CC BY Khalid Al-Ajaji 2026).]]

===Variants===

The indigenous Arabic name الرِّبْق (''al-Ribq'') is recorded by ibn Qutayba, al-Ṣūfī, ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī, and al-Marzūqī.
Kunitzsch lists the form ''ar-ribq'' (entry 247, p. 98).<ref name="Kunitzsch1961"/>

===Etymology===

''Lisān al-ʿarab'' defines الرِّبْقَ, from the root ربق, as follows:<ref name="lisan"/>
<blockquote>«الرِّبْقُ، بِالْكَسْرِ، حَبْلٌ فِيهِ عِدَّةُ عُرى تُشدُّ بِهِ البَهْم، الْوَاحِدَةُ مِنَ العُرى رِبْقة.»</blockquote>
<blockquote> Al-ribq: a rope containing several loops, with which young sheep or goats are tethered; each individual loop is called a ribqah.</blockquote>

Al-Marzūqī adds (vol. 2, p. 348):<ref name="marzuqi"/>
<blockquote>«والرّبق: حبل يمد بين وتدين يربق إليه البهم.»</blockquote>
<blockquote>Al-ribq: a rope stretched between two pegs, to which young sheep or goats are tethered.</blockquote>

===Sources===
Ibn Qutayba, Ibn ʿĀṣim, and al-Marzūqī place ''al-Ribq'' below ''Saʿd al-Bihām'' (θ and ν Pegasi). Ibn Qutayba and Ibn ʿĀṣim further describe it as a small, rounded group of stars, resembling a loop of the ''ribq''. By contrast, al-Ṣūfī identifies ''al-Ribq'' with the stars forming the cord of the southern Fish of [[Pisces]]. This divergence may suggest that al-Ṣūfī did not receive the tradition describing ''al-Ribq'' as a rounded group, and therefore interpreted the asterism as the long stellar line representing the rope itself.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 60%;" |Sources
! scope="col" style="width: 40%;" |Charts
|-
| '''Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE)''' places ''al-Ribq'' among the stellar features near the ''al-Suʿūd'' (p. 81).<ref name="qutayba"/>

;Original Arabic
<blockquote dir="rtl">
باقى السعود المتصلة بهذه وليست من المنازل، وهى السعود الاربعة: ستة سعود. أولها سعد ناشرة، وهو يطلع مع الشرطين. ثم سعد الملك. ثم سعد البهائم، وتحته كواكب صغار مستديره تسمّى «الربق». ثم «سعد الهمام» . ثم «سعد البارع» . ثم «سعد مطر» . وكل سعد منها كوكبان. بين كل كوكبين منها فى رأى العين قدر ذراع.
الكواكب المقاربة لهذه السعود: منها «العانة» وهى كواكب بيض أسفل من السعود إلى الافق و«السلم» أسفل من «العانة» عن يمينها، و «السفينة» كواكب خفية متتابعة من عند الدلو إلى سعد السعود، تشبه السفينة وعند أولها «الضفدع المقدّم» وآخرها «الضفدع المؤخر» . ويقول أصحاب النجوم: إن سهيلا طرف المجداف.
</blockquote>

;English translation
<blockquote>
In addition to the four ''Saʿds'' associated with the lunar stations, there are six connected ''Saʿds'' that are not themselves lunar stations. The first is ''Saʿd Nāshira'', which rises with ''al-Sharaṭān''; it is followed by ''Saʿd al-Malik'', ''Saʿd al-Bahāʾim'', ''Saʿd al-Humām'', ''Saʿd al-Bāriʿ'', and ''Saʿd Maṭar''. Beneath ''Saʿd al-Bahāʾim'' are small, rounded stars called ''al-Ribq''. Each ''Saʿd'' consists of two stars, separated in appearance by about one cubit.

Among the stellar features near these ''Saʿds'' are ''[[Al-ʿana|al-ʿāna]]'', white stars below the ''Suʿūd'' toward the horizon; and ''[[al-Sullam]]'', below ''[[Al-ʿana|al-ʿāna]]'' and to its right. There is also the Ship (''al-Safīna''), faint stars extending in sequence from ''al-Dalw'' to ''Saʿd al-Suʿūd'' and resembling a ship. At its beginning is the Foremost Frog (''al-Ḍifdaʿ al-Muqaddam''), and at its end the Hindmost Frog (''al-Ḍifdaʿ al-Muʾaḫḫar''). According to the astronomers, Suhayl marks the tip of its oar.
</blockquote>
|rowspan=4| [[File:ribq_chart.png|thumb|''al-Ribq'' as described in Anwāʾ sources and as idenified by al-Ṣūfī. (CC BY Khalid Al-Ajaji 2026).]]
|-
| '''Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī (d. 403 AH / c. 1013 CE)''' gives a closely related account (p. 74).<ref name="thaqafi"/>

;Original Arabic
<blockquote dir="rtl">
وبعد هذه السعود الأربعة الـمذكورة في الـمنازل ستة سعود متصلة بها من ناحية الـجنوب، وليست من الـمنازل، أولها سعد ناشرة، وهو أسفل من سعد الأخبية، ثم سعد الـملك على أثره، ثم سعد البهام، ثم سعد الهمام، ثم سعد البارع على أثره، ثم سعد مطر، كل سعد من هذه السعود كوكبان بينهما في رأي العين كما بين كوكبي سعد بلع، وأسفل من سعد البهام كواكب مستديرة صغار تسمى: الربق، وأسفل من السعود الـمذكورة إلى الأفق كواكب بيض يقال لها: العانة، وأسفل من العانة وعن يمينها كوكب يقال له: السلم.
</blockquote>

;English translation
<blockquote>
After the four ''Saʿds'' mentioned among the lunar stations are six further ''Saʿds'' associated with them but not counted as lunar stations. The first is ''Saʿd Nāshira'', below ''Saʿd al-Aḫbiya''; it is followed by ''Saʿd al-Malik'', ''Saʿd al-Bahām'', ''Saʿd al-Humām'', ''Saʿd al-Bāriʿ'', and ''Saʿd Maṭar''.

Each of these ''Saʿds'' consists of two stars, with an apparent separation comparable to that of the two stars of ''Saʿd Bulaʿ''. Below ''Saʿd al-Bahām'' are small, rounded stars called ''al-Ribq''. Below the aforementioned ''Saʿds'', toward the horizon, are white stars called ''[[Al-ʿana|al-ʿāna]]''; below ''[[Al-ʿana|al-ʿāna]]'', and to its right, is a star called ''[[al-Sullam]]''.
</blockquote>
|-
| '''Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE)''' gives the following account (vol. 2, p. 348).<ref name="marzuqi"/>

;Original Arabic
<blockquote>
وبعد السُّعُودِ الأربعة المذكورة في منازل القمر، سُعُودٌ ستة متناسقة في جهة الدَّلْوِ كلّ سَعْدٍ منها كوكبان، بينهما كنحو ما بين سُعُودِ المنازل، وهي أربعة، وهي كواكب خفيّة غير نيّرة، فأوّلها سَعْدُ نَاشِرَةَ، وهو أسفل من سَعْدِ الأَخْبِيَةِ وهو يطالع الشّرطين أي يطلع مع طلوعه. وعلى أثره سَعْدُ المَلِكِ ثم سَعْدُ البِهَامِ، ويقال له: مُرَبِّقُ البِهَامِ، وأسفل منه كواكب صغار تُسَمَّى: الرِّبْقَ، والرِّبْقُ: حبل يمد بين وتدين يربق إليه البهم، وعلى إثره سَعْدُ البَارِعِ، ثم سَعْدُ مَطَرٍ.
</blockquote>

;English translation
<blockquote>
After the four ''saʿds'' mentioned among the lunar stations, there are six further ''saʿds'', arranged in sequence in the direction of ''al-Dalw'' (“the Bucket”).<ref name="al-Dalw"/> Each consists of two stars, separated from one another by approximately the same distance as the pairs in the four ''saʿds'' of the lunar stations. They are faint, inconspicuous stars.

The first is ''Saʿd Nāshirah'', below ''Saʿd al-Akhbiyah''. It rises with ''al-Sharaṭān''. Next comes ''Saʿd al-Malik'', then ''Saʿd al-Bihām'', also called ''Murabbiq al-Bihām'' (“the Tetherer of the Young Livestock”). Below it are small stars called ''al-Ribq''. A ribq is a rope stretched between two pegs, to which young sheep or goats are tethered. After it comes ''Saʿd al-Bāriʿ'', and then ''Saʿd Maṭar''.
</blockquote>

|-
| '''Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE)'''<ref name="sufi1954"/>

;Original Arabic (description of Pisces)

<blockquote>وتُسَمَّى كواكب الخيط من الثامن إلى التاسع عشر [من كوكبة السمكتين]: الرِّبْقُ.
</blockquote>

;English translation

<blockquote>The stars of the cord—from the eighth through the nineteenth [of Pisces]—are called ''al-Ribq''.</blockquote>
|}

====Stars Identification====

{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Source!! Identification !! Comment
|-
| Ibn Qutayba || rowspan=2|θ , 7 , γ , κ , λ , 19 , ι Psc || The description suggest that it fits the loops of the rope.
|-
| Ibn ʿāṣim al-Ṯaqafī
|-
| Al-Marzūqī || small stars below ''Saʿd al-Bihām'' || The text of al-Marzūqī is very similar to that of ibn Qutayba and ibn ʿāṣim but missing the word "rounded" which will make his identification identical to theother two.
|-
| Al-Ṣūfī || ω , 41 , 51 , δ , ε , ζ , 80, 89, μ , ν , ξ , α Psc || This divergence may suggest that al-Ṣūfī did not receive the tradition describing ''al-Ribq'' as a rounded group, and therefore interpreted the asterism as the long stellar line representing the rope itself.
|}

==References==
{{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="qutayba">أبو محمد عبد الله بن مسلم ابن قتيبة الدينوري المتوفى سنة 276هـ - 879م، كتاب الأنواء في مواسم العرب، دائرة المعارف العثمانية، حيدر أباد، الهند، 1375 هـ - 1956م. 
Ibn Qutayba ad-Dīnawarī, abū Muḥammad ʿabd Allah b. Muslim. d. 276 AH / 879 CE, ''Kitābu'l-Anwāʾ (on Meteorology of the Arabs)'', Dairatu'l-Maʿarifi'l-Osmania, Hyderabad - India 1956 CE/1375 AH</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 ʿAli Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥassan (d. 1030), ''Al-Azminah wa al-Amkinah'' (Times and Places), Edition by Dr. Mohammad Nayef al-Dulaymi, (Arabic print of the original book in 2002, World of Books, Beirut, Lebanon).</ref>
<ref name="Kunitzsch1961">Kunitzsch, Paul. 1961. ''Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber.'' Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.</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. 
Al-Ṯaqafī, ʿabd Allah ibn Ḥusayn ibn ʿāṣim (d. 403 AH/ c. 1013 CE), ''Al-Anwaʾ wa al-Azmina'', critical edition by Dr. Nūrī al-Qaysī and Dr. Moḥammad Nayef al-Dulaymī, Dar al-Jīl, Beirut, Lebanon, 1416 H/1996 AD.</ref>
<ref name="sufi1954">أبو الحسين عبدالرحمن بن عمر الرازي المعروف بالصوفي (المتوفى سنة 376 هـ/986م)، كتاب صور الكواكب الثمانية والأربعين، الطبعة الأولى بمطبعة مجلس دائرة المعارف العثمانية، حيدر أباد الدكن، الهند، 1375 هـ - 1954 م. 
Abūl-ḥusayn ʿabdur-Raḥmān aṣ-Ṣūfī. d. 376 AH / 986 CE, ''Ṣuwaru'l-Kawākib'', The Dairatu'l-Maʿarifi'l-Osmania, Hyderabad - Deccan - India, 1373 A.H./1954 A.D.</ref>
<ref name="al-Dalw">al-Dalw (“the Bucket”) consists of the two Farghs: the First Fargh (al-Fargh al-Muqaddam), α and β Pegasi, and the Second Fargh (al-Fargh al-Muʾakhkhar), α Andromedae and γ Pegasi. The six saʿds described here form a westward sequence in the direction of this asterism.</ref>
}}

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Al-ribq - Revision history