Mashallah ibn Athari

Masha'allah ibn Atharī (c.740–815 AD) was an eighth-century Persian JewishIslam and Science, by M. H. Syed, p. 212 astrologer and astronomer from the city of Basra (now located in modern day Iraq) who became the leading astrologer of the late 8th century. The Arabic phrase ma sha`a allah indicates acceptance of what God has ordained in terms of good or ill fortune that may befall a believer. His real name was probably Manasseh or Jethro, and Latin translators named him Messahala (with many variants, as Messahalla, Messala, Macellama, Macelarma, Messahalah). The crater Messala on the Moon is named after him. Science historian Donald Hill writes that Mashallah was originally from Khorasan.Donald R. Hill. Islamic Science and Engineering, 1994. p10. ISBN 0-7486-0457-X

Life and works

As a young man he participated in the founding of Baghdad in 762 by working with a group of astrologers led by Naubakht the Persian to pick an electional horoscope for the founding of the city. He wrote over twenty works on astrology, which became authoritative in later centuries at first in the Middle East, and then in the West when horoscopic astrology was transmitted back to Europe beginning in the 12th century.

Mashallah wrote works on Astral sympathies, otherwise known as astrology. Of his over 20 works, few remain. Only...
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