The Sorcerer Scholar: Sirāj al-Dīn al-Sakkākī between Grammar and Grimoire

Abstract

Sirāj al-Dīn al-Sakkākī is the author of two books—one famous, and one now virtually unknown. If we read his famous work on language, the Miftāḥ al-‘ulūm, in dialogue with his neglected work on magic, the Kitāb al-Shāmil, a powerful picture emerges of the author himself. We can see in both the Miftāḥ and in the Shāmil that Sakkākī constructs his authority in the turbulent world he lived in by presenting himself both as a master of the Arabic language (necessary to understand the word of God) and a master of dangerous occult sciences. He presents both subjects as the exclusive domain of a talented and privileged few. His own background as a Persian-speaking metalworker nevertheless remains apparent, as we see him wrestle with the power of language and magic, and the sources from which this power is derived.