Mūḍiḥ al-ṭarīq wa-qusṭās al-taḥqīq,
[late 16th or early 17th century].
موضح الطريق وقسطاس التحقيق، [اواخر القرن 16 او اوائل القرن 17م].
Description
- Language(s)
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Arabic
- Published
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[1570-1633]
- Summary
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Fine copy of the work on the most beautiful names of God (al-asmāʼ al-ḥusná) attributed to Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī (d.1255). Appears to end abruptly.
- Note
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Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 534
Origin: Lacks dated colophon though reading / study notice on 'title page' (p.5) may provide a terminus ante quem of 1633 (first part of Muḥarram 1043) ; paper, hand, etc. suggest late 16th or early 17th century.
Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas (pp.1-2) -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda (pp.3-4).
Former shelfmark: From interior of upper cover and spine label "IL 179" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).
Binding: Pasteboards now covered in shell marbled paper (mainly in blue and brown) with tan leather over spine (quarter binding) and traces of brown leather at edges / turn-ins ; now Type III binding (without flap) ; board linings in untinted wove paper over manuscript 'waste' ; sewn in white or light blue thread, very tightly bound ; worked chevron endbands in turquoise and magenta, quite good condition ; overall in somewhat poor condition with much abrasion, lifting and losses of paper, delaminiation of boards, etc.
Support: European laid paper with 7-8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 29 mm. apart (vertical), anchor in circle watermark with star or leaf above (65 mm. tall, see p.12, etc.), and "Z M" under trefoil countermark (see p.94, 98, etc., compare Ancre inscrite dans un cercle no.83A, pp.5, 92 in Velkov, Les Filigranes dans les documents Ottomans, appearing in a ms. copied in Istanbul, 1588) ; quite well-burnished to glossy, fairly thick and sturdy, dark cream in color.
Decoration: Keywords, section headings and abbreviation symbols rubricated.
Script: Naskh ; elegant, compact 'Syrian' or Turkish hand ; virtually serifless with very slight effect of tilt to the left, mainly curvilinear descenders, pointing mainly in distinct dots (though three dots represented by curved stroke), kāf mashqūqah preferred, some elongation of horizontal strokes and free assimilation of letters.
Layout: Written in 31 lines per page ; frame-ruled.
Collation: 14 V(140) ; exclusively quinions ; catchwords present except mid-quire ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts).
Explicit: "ثم يدعوا بهذا الدعاء اللهم يا من بيده مفاتيح الغيوب ... وان يهون على ما اسالك في السلاوك اليك انك جواد كريم رؤوف رحيم فان قدح الله في باطنك القيام ... فاعلم ان اسباب السعادة قد برزت اعلامها ... وان يسر فهمه على كل من طلب قصد"
Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي رسم دقائق الحقائق في لطائف صحف الاسرار واطلع شمس المعرفة من غيب الغيب ضياء للبصائر ... اما بعد ايها الطالبون السالكون القاصدون المحققون لما سأل سائلكم كيف السلوك بحقائق الاسماء وترتيب درجاتها في معارج الارتقاء ... فاجبت سائلكم [؟] بلسانكم ونطق لسان بياني بحقيقة بناتكم علي ان معارف الحقائق قد دثرت [؟] رسومها وانظمت علومها وعدت فهومها لعدم الناصح ... وسميت هذا الكتاب موضحا للطريق وقسطاس التحقيق ..."
Title from inscription on 'title page' (p.5) and opening matter on p.6.
Ms. codex.
Reading / study notice on 'title page' (p.5) in name of Ibrāhim ibn Ṣāliḥ, appears to be dated early Muḥarram 1043 [July 1633] in Ḥalab (Aleppo), reads "طالع فيه فقير عفوه ... عبده المنكسر ... ابراهيم بن صالح المجاور [؟] بالحجازية بحلب المحمية غفر الله له ولوالديه ... ولعمري ان فيه بعض تحريف ... من تصحيف جرى ذلك وحرر في اوائل شهر محرم الحرام من شهور سنة ۴۳ والف هجرة نبوية على مهاجرها الف الف صلاة والف الف تحية" ; former owner's mark on p.279 and p.284 in name of Asım Efendi-zade (عاصم افندى زاده) ; occasional marginal corrections and notabilia (side heads).
- Physical Description
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140 leaves :
paper ;
278 x 190 (193 x 117) mm
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