Author
the prolific Egyptian jurist and historian Jalāl al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr al-Suyūṭī
Publication Date
4 Muharram 918
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
209 x 130 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Or 12830
Record ID
vdc_100099022516.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
4 Muharram 918
Notes
A compilation of hadiths, reports, verses and comments on the subject of archery by the prolific Egyptian jurist and historian Jalāl al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr al-Suyūṭī (Jalal al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, d. 1505). This work (see title on ff. 1r, line 2, and 1v, line 7) covers topics including the construction and use of the bow and arrow, excerpts on the science of archery al-Ṭabarī (Al-Tabari, given as al-Ṭabaristānī [Al-Tabaristani]), archery terminology, and riddles (puzzle) referring to the bow.
This text preserves sections from
Awthaq al-Asbāb fī al-Ramy bi-al-Nushshāb
(The most reliable reasons for shooting crossbows) by ‘Izz al-Dīn ibn Jamā‘ah (Izz al-Dīn Ibn Jama’ah, d. 1416), an earlier archery treatise otherwise lost, as well as the entire text of a unique
maqāmah
on the bow in rhymed prose, by Ismāʿīl ibn Jamāl al-Dīn al-Isbahānī (Ismail ibn Jamal al-Din al-Isbahani, fl. 6th/12th century).
The copy was completed on 4 Muḥarram 918 (22 March 1512), seven years after the death of the author (see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, below, f. 35v).
Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-4):
Praise be to God who made archery
The best equipment for jihad and an incentive to learn it
He promised to increase...
Ends (f. 35v, lines 2-8):
...And what he brought out bears witness to him
Al-Daylami from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them both
Raised when people extend their hands to something
Of weapons, except that the bow has an advantage over it, by God
I know, and God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs, and may He pray
May God bless our master Muhammad
And his family and companions, peace and blessings be upon him
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 35v, lines 9-13):
And the emptiness of it agreed
On Thursday
Fourth of Muharram
Opening
Year 918
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Edinme Kaynağı
Acquired by the British Museum, 1963
Köken
Sharīf Ghālib ibn Sharīf Zayd al-ʿAbd, Amir of Mecca [?] (أمير مكة شريف غالب ابن شريف زيد العبد): his note, with date 1129/1716-17 (f. 1r);
Erased and illegible ownership note, with date in Eastern Arabic numerals '77' (f. 1r);
Amīr al-Umarāʾ al-Sayyid Khayr al-Dīn (أمير الأمراء السيد خير الدين): his purchase note with date Ramaḍān 1285/December 1868-January 1869 (f. 1r).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Studies:
Brockelmann, Carl,
History of the Arabic Written Tradition: Volume 2, trans. by Joep Lameer. Handbook of Oriental studies. Section one, The Near and Middle East; volume 117/
2 (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2016), p. 168
Al-Sarraf, Shihab, 'Mamluk Furūsīyah Literature and Its Antecedents',
Mamluk Studies Review
, 8 (Chicago: Middle East Documentation Center, The University of Chicago, 2004), pp. 141-200 (see pp. 152, 171)
