No label defined (Q4335060)

A mosque has to be oriented towards Mecca by Moslem law. Hence, the determination of the correct direction is not only a matter for astronomers but also for lawyers. The work detailed in this paper is a treatise on the subject by a Malikite lawyer Abu `Ali al-Mattīyī, dated to the first part of the twelfth century that is interesting because it reviews the works of about 30 of his precursors. There is no computational work, the references to such are sparse and avoid complication by simplifying assumptions (e.g., having Jerusalem, Medinah and Mecca all on the same meridian). The editor has added a useful table of the directions recommended or mentioned in the work for about 15 places and compares it to the computed values. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0855.00012].