Risālat al-Ṣūfī fī al-kawākib (Arabic:رسالة الصوفي في الكواكب, "Epistle of al-Ṣūfī on the Stars"), is an 10-11th-century poem, probably composed in Rayy, Iran. It was authored by Ibn al-Ṣūfī, or most probably one of his sons.[1][2] It is a poetic supplement to Ibn al-Ṣūfī's astronomical opus The Book of Fixed Stars, in the urjūza genre.[3]
The text is known from a 13th century manuscript, possibly composed in Baghdad, now in Tehran, Reza Abbasi Museum (RAM M. 570), also called "RAM al'Sufi". It is stylistically dated to circa 1225.[1] An inscription in the manuscript gives a date of AH 554 (1159 CE), but this is probably a later interpolation.[4]
The manuscript has various depictions of the constellations, using various human and animal figures.[5] Several of the figures are wearing Turkic clothing, such as Centaurus, who has a Turkic sharbush headgear.[6]
Another Qajar copy exists, dated ̣to 1894 (Tehran, Majlis Library, no. 5099).[7]
![Centaurus and Lupus. Ibn al-Ṣūfī, p. 72. Centaurus has a Turkic sharbush headgear.[6]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centaurus_and_Lupus._RAM_Ibn_al-%E1%B9%A2%C5%ABf%C4%AB%2C_p._72.jpg)
![Centaurus (detail) with a Turkic sharbush headgear and clothing.[6]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centaurus_and_Lupus._RAM_Ibn_al-%E1%B9%A2%C5%ABf%C4%AB%2C_p._72_%28detail%29.jpg)
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