Al-Kishnawi studied at the Gobarau Minaret in Katsina before leaving for Cairo, Egypt in 1732, where he published in Arabic a work titled, "A Treatise on the Magical Use of the Letters of the Alphabet" which is a mathematical scholarly manuscript of procedures for constructing magic squares up to the order 11.[5]
Life
Muhammad al-Kishnawi's origins are unclear but his nisba, al-Danrankawi, suggests he was born in Dan Ranko, a town in the Hausa kingdom ofKatsina noted for its scholarship.[1] The town was also known for its association with the Wangara traders from Mali, who had established a presence in the area. The town was later sacked by Muhammad Bello during the Sokoto jihad and it no longer exists.[6]
Among his teachers were Muhamamd al-Wali al-Burnawi, a noted scholar from Kanem-Bornu, Muhammad Fudi, who was possibly the father of Usman dan Fodio, and Muhammad al-Bindu "Booro Binndi", another renowned scholar from Kanem-Bornu. He was famous in the central Sudan and attracted many students.[7]:15[8]:255–257[9] He was learned in many fields but specialised in the study of mathematics, numerology, magic squares (awfaq) and other esoteric sciences which he first studied under al-Bindu.[1]
Sometime before 1730, he left Katsina to embark on a pilgrimage to the Hijaz. He writes:
When the Deliverer of Destiny and Sempiternal Will delivered me, and the
Usher of Divine Mercy ushered me to visit His good Prophet, upon him be the best
of prayers and most devoted salutations, and to perform the pilgrimage of His holy
sanctified House, I stayed there for some time and grew through these prayers...
[and] spent of my duty to thank Him, the Gracious for variegating an areborerum
for me, a small utterance [shaʿrat lisānan] indeed for that greatest of graces [niʿam]
The journey to Mecca was arduous, and it was common for West African pilgrims to take breaks in Cairo before continuing their journey. This was a practice observed by notable figures like Mansa Musa, the famous Malian king, during his pilgrimage in the 14th century. Following a similar route, al-Kishnawi also stopped in Cairo before proceeding to Mecca and eventually settling in Medina.
During his time in the Hijaz, al-Kishnawi had the opportunity to meet and learn from scholars from various parts of the Islamic world. Around the years 1733-1734, he relocated to Cairo, where he found accommodation near Al-Azhar University. He dedicated himself to writing, and during his first four years in Cairo, he completed several notable works, including Al-Durr al-manẓūm, Bahjat al-āfāq, Bulūgh al-arab, and Durar al-yawāqī.
Al-Kishnawi became famous in Egypt, later becoming the teacher of Hassan al-Jabarti, the father of the renowned Egyptian historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (1753–1825).[10][9][1] Abd al-Rahman writes that his father “learned the art of numerical and literal magic squares and the art of fractions” from al-Kishnawi.
In 1741, al-Kishnawi died at the age of 42 in the home of Hassan al-Jabarti in Cairo. He was buried in the Hall of Scholars in Cairo.[11]
Do not give up, for that is ignorance and not according to the rules of this art ... Like the lover, you cannot hope to achieve success without infinite perseverance.[12]
Some of his notable works are:
Bulūgh al-arab min kalām al-ʿarab: a work on Arabic grammar dated to around 1736-7.
Bughyat al-mawālī fī tarjamat Muḥammad al-Wālī: a biography of Muhamamd al-Wali al-Burnawi (one of his teachers).
Three treatises on Durar al-yawāqīt fī ‘ilm al-ḥurūf wa’l asmā’.
Mughnī al-mawāfī ‘an jamī‘ al-khawāf: a numerological work on the magic square completed on 29 January 1733.
Al-Durr al-manẓūm wa khulāṣat al-sirr al-maktūm fī ‘ilm al-ṭalāsim wa’l-nujūm: his famous commentary on the three domains of the "secret sciences", completed on 20 December 1733.[8]:264–265[13]:141
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