Al-ribq

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

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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

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).

Etymology

Lisān al-ʿarab defines الرِّبْقَ, from the root ربق, as follows:

«الرِّبْقُ، بِالْكَسْرِ، حَبْلٌ فِيهِ عِدَّةُ عُرى تُشدُّ بِهِ البَهْم، الْوَاحِدَةُ مِنَ العُرى رِبْقة.»

Al-ribq: a rope containing several loops, with which young sheep or goats are tethered; each individual loop is called a ribqah.

Al-Marzūqī adds (vol. 2, p. 348):

«والرّبق: حبل يمد بين وتدين يربق إليه البهم.»

Al-ribq: a rope stretched between two pegs, to which young sheep or goats are tethered.

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.

Sources	Charts
Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE) places al-Ribq among the stellar features near the al-Suʿūd (p. 81). Original Arabic 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. English translation 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-ʿāna, white stars below the Suʿūd toward the horizon; and al-Sullam, below 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.	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). Original Arabic 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. English translation 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-ʿāna; below al-ʿāna, and to its right, is a star called al-Sullam.
Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE) gives the following account (vol. 2, p. 348). Original Arabic 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. English translation 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”). 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.
Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE) Original Arabic (description of Pisces) وتُسَمَّى كواكب الخيط من الثامن إلى التاسع عشر [من كوكبة السمكتين]: الرِّبْقُ. English translation The stars of the cord—from the eighth through the nineteenth [of Pisces]—are called al-Ribq.

Stars Identification

Source	Identification	Comment
Ibn Qutayba	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 ibn Qutayba and ibn ʿāṣim al-Ṯaqafī.
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.