Author
Shaʻrānī, ʻAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Aḥmad, approximately 1493-1565 or 1566, Sha’arani, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad
Author Original
شعراني، عبد الوهاب بن احمد
Publication Date
1660
Publication Place
[Egypt?] -
Subject
Islamic law -- Interpretation and construction -- Early works to 1800, Manuscripts, Arabic -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
373 leaves : paper ; 290 x 185 (181 x 97) mm
Library
University of Michigan Library
Library Asset ID
1194772898
Record ID
990068052720106381
Library Location
UM Ann Arbor Libraries, University Library
Date
Possibly between 1660-1690
Notes
Ms. codex., Title from inscription on front flyleaf (p.1, now pasted to opening leaf over original 'title page')., Incipit: “Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, who made the purified Sharia a sea from which branch all the seas of beneficial sciences and gulfs... And after this, this is a balance of precious and high value in which I tried the like. It is possible to combine the apparently disparate evidence with the sayings of all the diligent scholars and their imitators, from the first to the last, until the Day of Resurrection as well, and it did not I know someone who preceded me in doing this in all other roles...”, Explicit: “And listen, my brother, to my advice and consider it carefully and adhere to the discipline of all the diligent imams so that they may take you by the hand in the horrors of the Day of Judgment. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and may God’s blessings be upon our master Muhammad and upon all his family and companions. God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs. There is no power nor strength except in God, the Most High, the Great.”, Colophon: “Authorial,” triangular, reads “The author said” May God Almighty have mercy on him for this book, the sheikh of the sect and the truth, the divine pole and the individual Samdani, Sheikh Abd al-Wahhab al-Shaarani, and his completion of it in detailing the holy month of Ramadan coincided with the capacity of the year nine hundred and sixty-six in guarded Egypt. V(365), IV(373); chiefly quinions; catchwords present ; foliation in pencil, Hindu-Arabic numerals, on verso of each leaf through 23; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (skips from p.277 to p.378, thereafter off by 100 pages) ; As suggested by foliation skips from 6 to 19 with one leaf left unfoliated, as well as a gap in the text and mismatched catchwords, roughly 12 leaves missing between pp.14-15; catchwords on p.13 and 14 have been covered, likely in a deliberate attempt to make mismatch and missing leaves less obvious., Layout: Written in 29 lines per page ; frame-ruled., Script: Naskh ; angular Egyptian [?] hand in a medium line; Partially (and irregularly) seriffed with right-sloping head-serifs on occasional free-standing alif and lām, slight effect of tilt to the left, elongation of horizontal strokes, pointing in distinct dots, alif maqṣūrah pointed as yāʼ, hamzah almost never written, foot / tail of lām flattened and parallel to baseline, final hāʼ often as stroke (closed counter), bowl of final nūn flattened and abbreviated, etc, Decoration: Illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening on p.2 consisting of rectangular piece with empty gold cartouche flanked by vegetable accents (in gold on once light-blue ground), surmounted by scalloped semi-circular piece (dome) with floral chains in gold, outlined in black with red and light-blue accents on fields of gold and light-blue along With green, red and blank central element, all surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) and set in a well of red and gold bands; title piece now obscured by leaf affixed to original 'title page' ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by a frame consisting of a narrow gold band flanked by black fillets, elsewhere written area surrounded by red-rule border; keywords rubricated; textual dividers in the form of three inverted commas (in red); Illustrated with several diagrams (see pp.61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67) mainly in mint green, red, and black, each with captions and extensive explanations., Support: European laid paper of several types; Opening type with 11 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 32-33 mm. apart (vertical), three circles topped by stylized crown watermark (“A” in middle circle, “D” at bottom, see p.4), triple mount countermark (see p.8), thin and crisp though sturdy, fairly transluscent, well-sized and burnished to glossy ; Another type with 9 lines laid per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 21-23 mm. apart (vertical), three circles with cross above watermark (“IB” in center circle, crescent in top circle, see p.74); Another type, beige to light brown in color with 7 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 35 mm. apart (barely visible, vertical), large crown-star-crescent watermark (120 mm. tall, see p.92), quite cloudy, floccular formation with knots and inclusions; type with another crown-star-crescent watermark (82 mm. tall, see p. 100), 9 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 21 mm. apart (vertical); other types with crown atop three circles watermark (see p.122), scrollwork or coat of arms watermark (p.160), circles topped by cross flanked by lions watermark (see p.222) and three crescents watermark (see p.240); significant ink burn in written area of opening quires (some to break through with losses); minor pest damage., Binding: Pasteboards covered in two different brown leathers (one lighter in shade than the other) with spine now covered in red leather; Type II binding (once with flap, now lost); upper board lining in beige laid paper; lower board lining in yellow-tinted laid paper; upper cover carries blind-stamped scalloped mandorla (filled with symmetrical vegetable composition) and pendants, along with tooled border (a series of s-shaped stamps flanked by rules); lower cover carries blind-stamped scalloped mandorla (filled with vegetable composition, compare Déroche class. OSh) ; sewn in cream thread, two stations; Fairly worked chevron endbands in cream and red, good condition; Overall in quite poor condition with flap lost, much abrasion and staining, delamination of lower board, pest damage, etc. ; composite cover (i.e. covers mismatched, upper cover perhaps recycled / reused), somewhat ill-fitting this manuscript with repairs in various leathers (some now damaged)., Former shelfmark: From interior of upper cover and spine label, "IL 380" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip)., Accompanying materials: a. Two acquisitions slips from Yahuda -- b. Inventory catalog slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas -- c. Slips of a page torn from a printed book., Origin: As appears in colophon on p.845, composition completed 30 Ramaḍān 966 [ca. 6 July 1559]. Date of transcription for this copy is not specified, though paper, hand, etc. suggest late 17th century. Shahādah statement provides a terminus ante quem of 1779., Kabīkaj invocation on upper board lining (“Oh Kabīkaj, save”); Partially effaced ownership statement on 'front flyleaf' or effective 'title page' (p.1, now affixed to opening leaf, obscuring original 'title page') reads “The property of Sayyid Abduh Ahmad known as...” [?] ; occasional marginal corrections, glosses and notabilities (side-heads); on p.846, inscription dated 15 Dhū al-Ḥijjah [?] 1193 [ca. 24 December 1779] carrying the shahādah and inscription providing death date for the author 5 Jumādá I 973 [ca. 28 November 1565] ; collation marks., Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 586
Sample Text
Fine early copy of al-Mīzān al-kubrá, al-Shaʻrānī's (d.1565) unabridged treatise on his theory of the equal orthodoxy of the four Sunni madhāhib, developed from his Kashf al-ghummah.
Son Dizinleme Tarihi
20251210
Biçim
Book, Manuscript, Available Online
Koleksiyonda
Yahuda Collection.
Referanslar
Brockelmann, C. GAL, II 335-8 (no.7), Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn, vi 285, Kropf, Evyn. "'Sensible Images': Pictograms in the Manuscript Transmission of ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī’s (d. 973/1565) al-Mīzān al-kubrā." In Visualizing Sufism: Studies on Graphic Representations in Sufi Literature (13th to 16th Century), edited by Giovanni Maria Martini (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2022): 263-298.
Elde Ediliş
Acquired in 1926 from the bookseller Isaac Benjamin S.E. Yahuda via purchase transacted on his behalf by his younger brother, the famous Orientalist and manuscript collector Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951).
Konular (Diğer)
Headpiece (layout features) -- 17th century
