The Book of the Prophet Daniel: Astrology, Divination, and Herbal Wisdom from the Medieval Arabic Tradition

The Book of Daniel the Prophet (Kitab Danyal al-Nabi) is a medieval Arabic work of Islamic folk astronomy and divinatory literature, attributed to the Prophet Daniel. This first complete English translation preserves the original structure and spiritual character of the manuscript.

The text encompasses zodiacal astrology and the twelve signs with their planetary rulers, calendrical calculations using the Abjad numerical system, celestial prognostication including interpretations of eclipses, meteors, thunder, earthquakes, and rainbows, and an extensive compendium of traditional medical remedies organized by body system.

Prayers, invocations, and religious formulae are presented with English translation, ALA-LC transliteration, and original Arabic script. Woodcut illustrations of the twelve zodiac signs are reproduced from the original manuscript.

This work belongs to a rich genre of pseudepigraphal texts from the medieval Islamic world, where ancient prophetic figures were credited with esoteric and celestial knowledge. It offers valuable insight into the intersection of Islamic spirituality, Hellenistic astrology, and traditional medicine.