15-20 Minute Paper
John D. Martin III and Elliott Hauser
Biographies
John D. Martin III – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John is a PhD student in the School of Information and Library Science at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include digital humanities in the Muslim world, mapping Islamic intellectual history, medieval Islamic theology and mysticism.
Elliott Hauser – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Elliott Hauser is a PhD student in Information Science at the University of North Carolina. He is interested in understanding and developing tools for subjective, conflicting, and uncertain datasets, including those used in academic and scientific research, and in developing tools and technology to deliver benefit to data-based research and analysis outside academia.
Abstract
The “magic square” or wifq (in Arabic, pl. awfaq) is a type of mathematical matrix invented separately by several ancient cultures and used in numerological and occult systems, but feature most prominently in the 13th-14th century CE Islamic world. We propose that they are best understood in terms of their computational properties and in turn can be used to better understand the roots of and possibilities for modern computational methods.
We would like to examine the wifq as a form of encoding technology. In the medieval Islamic mystical tradition awfaq were used to encode the names of God as well as other information. Practitioners in this tradition would have commanded an advanced understanding of algebra, geometry and discrete mathematics in order to construct and array the matrices. Their efforts are an example of what in the modern period would be labeled cryptographic encoding. The aims were the same as those of cryptographers: keeping certain information hidden from anyone without the tools to unlock it.
To facilitate computational research into awfaq and their properties, we have developed and continue to refine open source scripts and programs in an attempt to reframe the algorithms codified in the texts of medieval theurgist Abu-l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. Yūsuf al-Qurashī al-Būnī (d. 622/1225). This project serves as an example of the unexpected convergence of digital methods and digital scholarly perspectives with historical, cultural, and textual subjects.