al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ

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Al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ


See also: al-Ṯurayyā [the Head and the Two Hands]

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

The Arabic asterism al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (الكَفّ الجَذْماء), ‘the Amputated Hand’. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.

al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (الكَفّ الجَذْماء), ‘the Amputated Hand’, is the southern hand of the larger Arabic constellation al-Ṯurayyā, with its terminal group in Cetus and a connecting line through Taurus.[1][2]

Concordance, Etymology, History

al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ is recorded in the accounts of the larger figure in the anwāʾ works of Ibn Qutayba, Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī, and al-Marzūqī, and in al-Ṣūfī’s Kitāb al-kawākib. The passages below retain their surrounding anatomical context.

Variants Latin / European

  • Caph AlGjedmâ, Hyde (1665)[3] (p. 44).
  • El-khaf el-dschedsmâ, Ideler (1809)[4] (p. 207).
  • al-kaff al-djadzmâ, Schjellerup (1874)[5] (p. 201).
  • Al Kaff al Jidhmah, Allen (1963)[6] (p. 162).
  • al-kaff al-ǧaḏmāʾ, Kunitzsch (1961)[7] ((no. 137), p. 72).

Etymology

Name English Arabic
al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ In Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. ǧ-ḏ-m (جذم),[8] we read:

“Al-ǧaḏm is cutting. … Al-ǧaḏam is the verbal noun of al-aǧḏam al-yad, that is, the one whose fingers have gone from both hands.”

And s.v. k-f-f (كفف): “Al-kaff means ‘hand’ and is grammatically feminine.”

جاء في «لسان العرب»، مادة «جذم»:

«الجَذْم: القَطْع. … والجَذَم: مَصْدَرُ الأَجْذَم اليَدِ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي ذَهَبَتْ أَصابعِ كَفَّيْهِ.»

ومادة «كفف»: «والكَفُّ: الْيَدُ، أُنثى.»

Sources and Identification

Ibn Qutayba

Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE), Hyderabad edition (1956)[1] (pp. 32–34):

English Arabic

Al-Ṯurayyā has two hands. One is called al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (“the Amputated Hand”)—it lies below al-Šaraṭān, with al-Baqar (“the Oryxes”) to its right—and consists of scattered stars extending to al-Ṯurayyā.

«للثُّرَيَّا كفان، يقال لإحداهما: الكَفُّ الجَذْمَاءُ، وهي أسفل من الشَّرَطَيْنِ، وعن يمينها البَقَرُ، وهي كواكب متفرقة تتصل بالثُّرَيَّا.»

Al-Ṣūfī

Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. Khalid Al-Ajaji (2021)[2], Cetus and Perseus:

English Arabic

The Arabs call the stars in the head [of Cetus], from the first to the sixth, al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ, by which they mean the hand of al-Ṯurayyā. This is because they found two lines of stars extending from al-Ṯurayyā. One runs northwards, passing through most of the stars of the Bearer of the Ghoul’s Head [Perseus] until it reaches the bright stars on the back of al-Nāqa (“the She-Camel”), which constitute the constellation Ḏāt al-Kursī (“the Lady of the Chair”) [Cassiopeia]. They likened the bright stars on the She-Camel’s back to henna-dyed fingertips and called this hand al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb (“the Henna-Dyed Hand”).

The other line extends southwards from al-Ṯurayyā, passing through the four stars arranged in a row at the point where the Bull [Taurus] is cut off, and ends at these six stars on the head of Cetus. They likened this line and the stars on the head to an amputated hand because of its shortness and because it does not extend as far as the northern line. They likened al-Ṯurayyā to a head between two hands.

«والعرب تُسمِّي الكواكب التي في الرأس من الأول إلى السادس: الكَفَّ الجَذْمَاءَ، يريدون به كف الثُّرَيَّا؛ وذلك أنهم وجدوا سطرين من كواكب يمتدان من عند الثُّرَيَّا: أحدهما نحو الشمال فيمر على أكثر كواكب ممسك رأس الغول حتى ينتهي إلى الكواكب النيِّرة التي على ظهر النَّاقَةِ، وهي كوكبة ذَاتِ الكُرْسِيِّ، فشبهوا النيِّرة التي على ظهر النَّاقَةِ بأنامل مخضوبة، فسموا هذه اليد: الكَفَّ الخَضِيبَ، والآخر يمتد من عند الثُّرَيَّا نحو الجنوب، فيمر على الأربعة المصطفة التي على موضع القطع من الثَّوْرِ، وينقطع عند هذه الستة على رأس قِيطُسَ، فشبهوا هذا السطر والكواكب التي على الرأس بيد جذماء لقصرها، ولأن امتدادها دون امتداد السطر الشمالي، وشبهوا الثُّرَيَّا برأس بين يدين.»

Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī

Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE), ed. al-Qaysī and al-Dulaymī (1996)[9] (p. 83)

English Arabic

When you face al-Ṯurayyā, you see a line of stars to your right and left, extending northwards from it in a curve until it reaches al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb (“the Henna-Dyed Hand”). Al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb consists of five[10] irregularly arranged stars. This line is called Yad al-Ṯurayyā al-Yumnā al-Mabsūṭa (“the Outstretched Right Hand of al-Ṯurayyā”). In this representation, it resembles a human hand extended upwards, not held entirely upright but bent somewhat. Al-Ṯurayyā has another hand of the same form, extended southwards, called al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (“the Amputated Hand”) because it is short and does not extend far. They say that al-Ṯurayyā is the head between the two hands.

In its right hand—the complete one—are stars that are the brightest within it. Among them is al-ʿĀtiq (“the Upper Shoulder”), the closest to al-Ṯurayyā; then al-Mankib (“the Shoulder”); then al-Mirfaq (“the Elbow”). Beneath al-Mirfaq is a small star called Ibrat al-Mirfaq[10] (“the Tip of the Elbow”), positioned like the corresponding part of a human elbow. There, too, is al-Maʾbiḍ (“the Inner Elbow”), resembling the inner bend of a human elbow. The portion between al-Mirfaq and al-Mankib is called ʿAḍud al-Ṯurayyā (“the Upper Arm of al-Ṯurayyā”).

Beyond al-Mirfaq is al-Miʿṣam (“the Wrist”), which resembles a patch of cloud. The portion between al-Mirfaq and al-Miʿṣam is called al-Sāʿid (“the Forearm”); the diminutive form al-Suwayʿid (“the Little Forearm”) is also used. Then, beyond al-Miʿṣam, comes al-Kaff (“the Hand”), namely al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb, which, as I told you earlier, consists of five irregularly arranged stars.

«وإذا استقبلت الثريا نظرت إلى سطر من كواكب عن يمينك ويسارك قد امتدت من لدنها في الشمال على انعطاف حتى اتصلت بالكَفِّ الخَضِيبِ، والكَفُّ الخَضِيبُ كواكب خمسة[10] مـختلفة النظم، ويُسَمَّى هذا السطر: يَدَ الثُّرَيَّا اليُمْنَى المَبْسُوطَةَ، كأنها في التمثيل يد الإنسان قد مدَّها صعدًا ولم ينصبها كل النصب، ولكن عطفها بعض العطف، ولها يدٌ أخرى على هذه الصفة ممدودة نحو الجنوب تسمى: الكَفَّ الجَذْماءَ، لقصرها وأنه لا امتداد لها، ويقولون: الثُّرَيَّا الرأس فيما بين اليدين. وفي يدها اليمني - وهي التامة - كواكب، وهي أنور ما فيها، فمنها: العَاتِقُ، وهو أقربها إلى الثُّرَيَّا، ثم المَنْكِبُ بعده، ثم المِرْفَقُ، وتحت المِرْفَقِ كوكب صغير يقال له: إبْرَةُ المِرْفَقِ[10] بمنزلة مرفق الإنسان، وهناك أيضًا: المَأْبِضُ، مثل مأبض الإنسان، ويقال لما بين المِرْفَقِ والمَنْكِبِ: عَضُدُ الثُّرَيَّا، وبعد المِرْفَقِ المِعْصَمُ، وهو كاللطخة من السحاب، ويقال لما بين المِرْفَقِ والمِعْصَمِ: السَّاعِدُ، ويصغر أيضا فيقال: السُّوَيْعِدُ، ثم الكَفُّ بعد المِعْصَمِ، وهي الكَفُّ الخَضِيبُ التي أعلمتك قبل أنها خمسة كواكب مختلفة النظم.»

Al-Marzūqī

Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE), ed. al-Dulaymī (2002)[11] (vol. 2, p. 344):

English Arabic

There is a line of stars extending northwards in a curve [until it reaches al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb (“the Henna-Dyed Hand”). Al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb consists of five irregularly arranged stars. This line is called Yad al-Ṯurayyā al-Yumnā al-Mabsūṭa (“the Outstretched Right Hand of al-Ṯurayyā”). It has another hand of the same form, extended southwards,][12] called al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (“the Amputated Hand”) because of its shortness. They call al-Ṯurayyā the head between the two hands. In the right hand are stars that are its brightest, among them[12] al-ʿĀtiq (“the Upper Shoulder”), which is the closest to al-Ṯurayyā; then al-Mankib (“the Shoulder”); then al-Mirfaq (“the Elbow”)[; and beneath al-Mirfaq is][12] a small star called Ibrat al-Mirfaq (“the Tip of the Elbow”). There, too, is al-Maʾbiḍ (“the Inner Elbow”).

In the human body, ibrat al-mirfaq is the end of the forearm bone from which the cubit is measured. The other extremity, which bends when you draw your forearm towards you, is called al-qabīḥ. As the poet said:

Where the ibra meets the qabīḥ.

The inner hollow between them, into which the forearm folds, is called al-maʾbiḍ; the same term is also used for the corresponding part of the knee. [The portion between al-Mirfaq and al-Mankib is called ʿAḍud al-Ṯurayyā (“the Upper Arm of al-Ṯurayyā”). Beyond al-Mirfaq is al-Miʿṣam (“the Wrist”), which resembles a patch of cloud.][12] The portion between al-Mirfaq and al-Miʿṣam is called al-Sāʿid (“the Forearm”); the diminutive form al-Suwayʿid (“the Little Forearm”) is also used. Then, beyond al-Miʿṣam, comes al-Kaff (“the Hand”), namely al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb, the hand of al-Ṯurayyā.

«وهناك سطرٌ من كواكب امتدّت في الشَّمال على انعطاف [حتى اتصلت بالكَفِّ الخَضِيبِ، والكَفُّ الخَضِيبُ كواكب خمسة مختلفة النظم، ويُسَمَّى هذا السطر: يَدَ الثُّرَيَّا اليُمْنَى المَبْسُوطَةَ، ولها يدٌ أخرى على هذه الصفة ممدودة نحو الجنوب][12] تُسَمَّى: الكَفَّ الجَذْمَاءَ لقصرها، ويقولون للثُّرَيَّا: الرّأس فيما بين اليدين، وفي اليمنى كواكب هي أنورها، فمنها[12] العَاتِقُ وهو أقربها إلى الثُّرَيَّا، ثم المَنْكِبُ بعده، ثم المِرْفَقُ[، وتحت المِرْفَقِ][12] كويكب صغير يقال له: إبْرَةُ المِرْفَقِ، وهنالك أيضًا: المَأْبِضُ. فأما إبْرَةُ المِرْفَقِ من الإنسان فهو طرف عظم السَّاعد وهو الذي يذرع منه الذراع والطرف الآخر الذي يُثْنَى إذا قبضت ذراعك إليك يقال له: القبيح، قال: حَيْثُ تَلاقِي الإبْرَةُ القَبِيحَا ويقال لباطنهما الذي ينثني عليه الساعد: المَأْبِضُ، وكذلك هو في الركبة، [ويقال لما بين المرفق والمنكب: عضد الثريا، وبعد المرفق المعصم، وهو كاللطخة من السحاب،][12] ويقال لما بين المِرْفَقِ والمِعْصَمِ: السَّاعِدُ، ويُصَغَّرُ أيضًا، فيقال: السُّوَيْعِدُ. ثم الكَفُّ بعد المِعْصَمِ، وهي الكَفُّ الخَضِيبُ، كَفُّ الثُّرَيَّا.»

Star identifications

The identifications from the anwāʾ descriptions are proposed by Khalid Al-Ajaji. Those from al-Ṣūfī’s account follow the commentary in his 2021 edition of Kitāb al-kawākib, in the section on Cetus. The comparison retains the differences recorded in the parent article.[2]

Name Description in anwāʾ sources Identification from anwāʾ descriptions Identification from al-Ṣūfī’s description
al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ A group of scattered stars extending to al-Ṯurayyā, lying below al-Šaraṭān, with al-Baqar to its right; see the discussion below. λ, α, γ, δ, ξ2, μ Cet with ο, ξ, 4, 5 Tau as the connection to al-Ṯurayyā. λ, α, γ, δ, ξ2, μ Cet with ο, ξ, 4, 5 Tau as the connection to al-Ṯurayyā.

Discussion

The following passages describe the positions of al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ and al-Baqar and their relationship to al-Ṯurayyā:

English Arabic
Ibn Qutayba said:[1]

Al-Ṯurayyā has two hands. One is called al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ (“the Amputated Hand”). It lies below al-Šaraṭān, and to its right is al-Baqar (“the Oryxes”); they are scattered stars extending to al-Ṯurayyā.

قال ابن قتيبة، رحمه الله:

«للثُّرَيَّا كفان، يقال لإحداهما: الكَفُّ الجَذْمَاءُ، وهي أسفل من الشَّرَطَيْنِ، وعن يمينها البَقَرُ، وهي كواكب متفرقة تتصل بالثُّرَيَّا.»

He also said:[1]

Opposite al-Dabarān are stars called al-Baqar.

وقال أيضًا:

«وحذاء الدَّبَرَانِ كواكب، يقال لها: البَقَرُ.»

Al-Marzūqī said:[11]

And [Ibn al-Aʿrābī] said: To the right of al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ is al-Baqar, below al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ and connected to al-Ṯurayyā.

وقال المرزوقي، رحمه الله:

«وقال [ابن الأعرابي]: عن يمين الكَفِّ الجَذْمَاءِ البَقَرُ، أسفل من الكَفِّ الجَذْمَاءِ متّصلة بالثُّرَيَّا.»

Al-Ṯaqafī said:[9]

As for al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ, it lies below al-Šaraṭān. To its right are scattered stars called al-Baqar, extending to al-Ṯurayyā.

وقال الثقفي:

«فأما الكف الجذماء فهي أسفل من الشرطين، وعن يمينها كواكب متفرقة يقال لها: البقر تتصل بالثريا.»

Ibn Qutayba’s description leaves some uncertainty about the referent of its final clause, “they are scattered stars extending to al-Ṯurayyā.” This description may refer either to al-Baqar, the nearer antecedent, or to al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ, the principal subject of the passage. In the latter reading, the references to al-Šaraṭān and al-Baqar describe the position of the hand, after which the final clause returns to the hand itself. His separate statement that stars called al-Baqar lie opposite al-Dabarān provides a further positional description to consider.[1]

The corresponding passages in al-Ṯaqafī and al-Marzūqī must also be considered. Al-Ṯaqafī’s wording more directly attaches the connection to al-Baqar, which he describes as scattered stars to the right of al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ.[9] Al-Marzūqī, quoting Ibn al-Aʿrābī, likewise places al-Baqar to the right of and below al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ, describing them as connected to al-Ṯurayyā.[11] These passages prevent the final clause in Ibn Qutayba’s account from being assigned unequivocally to the hand itself.

Nevertheless, the descriptions of the complete figure provide grounds for understanding al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ as connected to al-Ṯurayyā. Al-Ṯaqafī describes a northern line of stars extending from al-Ṯurayyā to al-Kaff al-Ḫaḍīb, followed by another hand “of the same form,” extending southwards and called al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ.[9] Al-Ṣūfī is more explicit: the southern line extends from al-Ṯurayyā, passes through the four stars at the truncated end of Taurus, and terminates at the six stars on the head of Cetus. He states that this line and the stars on the head together were likened to an amputated hand because their extension is shorter than that of the northern line.[2] Thus, in his account, the southern hand comprises both the terminal group and the line connecting it to al-Ṯurayyā.

The interpretation adopted here also takes account of the figure’s coherence. The designation “a hand of al-Ṯurayyā” is more readily understood if the hand is linked to the central figure, rather than treated as an isolated group. In the reconstruction presented here, no separate group in this region provides an alternative connection to al-Ṯurayyā. This supports the reconstruction, although it does not establish the grammatical referent of the final clause in Ibn Qutayba’s sentence.

Al-Ṯaqafī’s wording should also be assessed in light of his stated editorial method. Although he frequently draws on Ibn Qutayba, he does not always reproduce his wording verbatim. In his preface, he describes his work as bringing together what his predecessors had dispersed, making accessible what they had left remote, abridging what they had treated at length, and treating fully what they had neglected.[9] This declared method allows for compilation, condensation, and reformulation. His version may therefore preserve an interpretation of the earlier description rather than its exact wording; the preface alone, however, does not establish that this particular passage was reformulated.

The two readings imply competing identifications of the same connecting line. In the reconstruction presented here, only one line of stars in this region provides the connection to al-Ṯurayyā: it must belong either to al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ or to al-Baqar. The descriptions cannot therefore be reconciled simply by treating both groups as independently connected to al-Ṯurayyā.

The interpretation adopted here assigns this line to al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ. This follows al-Ṣūfī’s explicit description of the southern line and the stars on the head of Cetus as together forming the amputated hand.[2] It also accords with al-Ṯaqafī’s description of a southern hand extending from the central figure, parallel in conception to the northern hand.[9] On this reading, Ibn Qutayba’s final clause describes al-Kaff al-Ǧaḏmāʾ, while the references to al-Šaraṭān and al-Baqar locate it in the sky.[1] The passages that instead attach the connection to al-Baqar preserve a competing account, rather than an additional connection.

Reference

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 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. Digital edition.
  3. ↑ Hyde, Thomas. Tabulæ Long[itudinis] ac Lat[itudinis] Stellarum Fixarum. Oxford: Henry Hall, 1665.
  4. ↑ Ideler, Ludwig. Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen. Berlin, 1809.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ Allen, Richard Hinckley. Star Names — Their Lore and Meaning. Dover edition, 1963.
  7. ↑ Kunitzsch, Paul. Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1961.
  8. ↑ لسان العرب، ابن منظور (توفي 711 هـ)
    Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711 AH / c. 1312 CE). Lisān al-ʿArab.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 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.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Dark red text marks corrections to corrupt readings in the printed edition of al-Ṯaqafī’s text. The edition reads ḫafiyya (خفية, “faint”) in place of ḫamsa (خمسة, “five”). The reading ḫamsa is supported by the later wording of the same passage and by al-Marzūqī’s account; moreover, the stars in question are bright, not faint. The edition also reads Ibrat al-Mankib (إبرة المنكب, “the Tip of the Shoulder”) in place of Ibrat al-Mirfaq (إبرة المرفق, “the Tip of the Elbow”).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 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.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Al-Marzūqī, Al-Azmina wa-l-amkina, ed. al-Dulaymī, vol. 2, p. 344. Text in square brackets is missing from the printed edition and has been supplied from the corresponding passage in Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī’s text. The other text marked in dark red corrects the printed reading fīhā (فيها, “in it”) to fa-minhā (فمنها, “among them”), following Ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī.
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