[ARABIC BÂHNÂMA - THE BOOK OF SEX] Kitab ruju' al-shaikh ila sibah fi al-quwwâti 'ala al-bah. [i.e., The return of the old man to youth through the power of sex].

Complete title: [ARABIC BÂHNÂMA - THE BOOK OF SEX] كتاب رجوع الشيخ إلى صباه في القوة على الباه / Kitab ruju' al-shaikh ila sibah fi al-quwwâti 'ala al-bah. [i.e., The return of the old man to youth through the power of sex].

SEMSEDDIN AHMAD B. SULEYMAN IBN-I KEMÂL [KAMALPASHAZÂDE] (1469-1534).

[N.p.], [Cairo - Egypt], [N.d.; circa 1880].

Original burgundy quarter calf. Royal 8vo. (24 × 16 cm). In Arabic. 144 p., sporadically ills. Light wear to the head and tail of the spine; pages slightly toned; occasional contemporary marginal notes. Overall, a very good copy.

A 19th-century lithographed edition of this renowned medieval Arabic Bâhnâma, attributed to the Turkish scholar and translator Ibn Kemal (1469-1534). According to the celebrated bibliography Kasf al-Zunûn by Kâtib Çelebi, and as stated on this edition's title page, the work was composed under the patronage of Sultan Selim I (Selim the Steadfast) in 1519, during the early 16th century. Widely circulated in manuscript form and later printed in the Ottoman and Arab worlds, it remained one of the most popular manuals on sexual health in Islamic literature. Rare commercially.

This treatise belongs to the tibb al-bâh (sexual medicine) genre of Islamic literature and is devoted in particular to the restoration and enhancement of sexual vitality in advanced age. The work opens with a theoretical discussion of the nature of sexual power (quwwat al-bâh) within the framework of humoral medicine, examining the effects of aging, temperament (mizâj), diet, and lifestyle on sexual health.

Subsequent sections present a systematic classification of the causes of sexual weakness, including coldness of temperament, bodily dryness, excessive fatigue, illness, and emotional distress. The author then proposes a wide range of therapeutic approaches, emphasizing compound remedies (mujarrabât) derived from vegetal, animal, and mineral substances, such as herbs, seeds, spices, oils, and musks.

The text further includes detailed instructions for the preparation of electuaries, syrups, oils, pastes, and ointments intended to strengthen sexual desire, increase semen production, and prolong sexual performance. Dietary regimens, aphrodisiac foods, bathing practices, massages, and lifestyle recommendations are integrated throughout the work.

Divided into two main sections (the first devoted to men and the second to women), the treatise also addresses a broad array of topics, ranging from undergarments and the selection of perfumes to aphrodisiacs and foods; from marriage and conception to beauty and types of sexual intercourse; from women’s hair dyes and makeups to men’s fingers; from women's instincts to men’s leadership qualities, and many other subjects.

Although numerous institutional holdings exist according to the WorldCat (978441012 & 1159964082), this book is extremely rare on the market.