The first Arabic-to-Latin translations were mostly about divination

Evidence

The trouble with Islamic science was that much of it was not particularly scientific, even though enthusiastic translators in Spain evidently thought that it was. They translated works on astrology, alchemy, numerology, scapulimancy (divination from the cracks on scorched sheep’s bones), geomancy (divination from marks in the sand), haruspication (divination from entrails), and similar recondite practices. The earliest translations in Spain from Arabic all dealt with divination or with those parts of mathematics that would be necessary to practise divination. — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 65

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the celebratory narrative of the twelfth-century ‘translation movement’ that appears in many histories; worth comparing with standards like Peter Burke’s accounts.
• DEFINE: Defines scapulimancy, geomancy, and haruspication as divinatory practices.

Related

• Arabic-sounding Spanish translations signaled authenticity to Morisco readers. (similarity 0.78)