Abstract The study of Middle Eastern manuscripts requires an understanding of provenance, materials, and techniques, as well as the history and philosophies of the Middle East. The removal of many manuscripts from their context, along with transcription errors and language differences, creates barriers to understanding the origins and significance of traded manuscripts. This paper examines the methods for contextualising and attributing provenance to a copy of Silsilat al-Zahab by Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414–1492) from The University of Melbourne Library collection. While the library catalogue estimates the manuscript’s publication date between 1800 and 1899, an analysis of the colophon, marginalia, and ownership notes suggests a possible publication date of 1751, when it was part of the Indian Mughal library during the reign of Aḥmad Shāh Bahādur. This book entered the English book market before moving to its current location. Examining textual marginalia and linking this to provenance and the trade in manuscripts expands knowledge of this volume and provides perspectives for those interested in tracing manuscripts and recording their transmissions.

Abstract The characteristic of vocalizing the third person singular masculine pronoun hāʾ with -u (ḍamma) in words where the pronoun hāʾ is preceded by -i (kasra) or -ī (yāʾ)—e.g. aḫīhu, fīhu, min amrihu—and in words where the hāʾ is attached to a jussive (majzūm) verbal form—e.g. nuʾtihu, nuṣlihu—is widely attested in early Qur’anic manuscripts. The present article is an attempt to demonstrate that although the use of -u for the hāʾ in question is evident in such manuscripts, in practice different approaches to using ḍamma for this pronoun are to be found. Using ḍamma for this type of masculine singular pronoun can be imagined as occurring at several levels and we find varying degrees of adherence to this practice: the highest level includes manuscripts where it is used for all masculine singular pronouns. The next level is those that exclude bihi from this rule. The third level, in addition to bihi, excludes any words preceded by a preposition. In addition to these three categories, there is a group of manuscripts that reveal the use of -u (ḍamma) for the hāʾ as the primary reading and instances of -i (kasra) as an anomalous and odd reading. The final category is manuscripts that have -u (ḍamma) for the enclitic pronoun -hāʾ, according to the above three levels, not as the primary reading but as the secondary reading. This article considers the five categories and the wide temporal spectrum of this practice of vocalizing masculine singular pronouns in manuscripts, spanning at least between the 2nd/8th and 4th/10th centuries. It also extracts data from Islamic literary sources on the approaches taken by readers (qāriʾs) and grammarians, raising the possibility that vocalizers in early Islamic centuries mainly followed an indigenous grammatical system rather than the readings of particular qāriʾs.

Abstract This article provides a description and edition of MSS Leiden Or. 14.545 b–c. Radiocarbon dating (14C dating) pinpoints the manuscript to an early period in Islamic history, and this is affirmed by its palaeographical and codicological features. As a result of its dating, it has received considerable attention from scholars and the media. This study confirms the manuscript’s direct relationship with MSS Paris, BnF Arabe 331 and St. Petersburg, National Library, Marcel 3. A verse count analysis was carried out in order to establish its origin. There is evidence that the manuscript journeyed from al-Fusṭāṭ in Old-Cairo to Beirut in Lebanon before finally settling in Leiden in the Netherlands. For several reasons, it was difficult to determine the exact origin of the manuscript.

‮المستخلص‬‎ ‮حاول المقال إنجاز دراسة كوديكولوجية في مخطوط موجود بمكتبة برلين هو ”المنزع البديع في تجنيس أساليب البديع“ لأبي محمد القاسم السجلماسي (توفي بعد ‭٧٠٤‬هـ)، من خلال دراسة ظهرية المخطوط والتركيز أساسا على خوراج النص والتملكات، وعددها ستة منها الواضح والمبتور والمطموس بسبب ترميم يدوي بلصق الورق أو بسبب التشطيب على المكتوب. لقد بيّنت الدراسة نصوص التملكات ورحلة المخطوط بين دمشق والقاهرة وتونس وبرلين، وطبيعة المتملكين وهم من العلماء أمثال حسن العطار وخالد الزهاني ومحمد بيرم الرابع التونسي.‬‎

‮المستخلص‬‎ ‮تعرض هذه المقالة لنصوص تُنشر لأول مرة عن صناعة الأحبار وطريقة تركيبها باستخدام المواد الأساسية المختلفة، إضافة لبعض الوصفات المتصلة بالكتابة على المخطوط ومحو الكتابة، مما ورد في مخطوطة كتاب «التذكرة» لقطب الدين النهروالي (ت ‭٩٩٠‬هـ/ ‭١٥٨٢‬م)، وهي نماذج جيدة تُضاف إلى ما وصلنا من تركيبات الحبر وصناعته. وتهدف هذه المقالة إلى إطلاع الباحثين على الوصفات التي أوردها النهروالي، والتعريف بها وبمضمونها ومدى أصالتها وقيمتها، ومحاولة الكشف عن مصدره الذي أخذ عنه، أم أنها من مجرباته الشخصية ومما تعاطى عمله بمعرفته الذاتية؟‬‎

Abstract It was only during the Ottoman period, beginning in 1517, that seals gained popularity in the Arab world as a means to document people’s interactions with books. Some seals came alone while others accompanied handwritten notes. Some spelled out their purpose clearly through formulations such as “min kutub”, “hāḏā mā waqafa” or the like; others contained only pious formulae and a name. But even the latter are generally assumed to denote ownership or endowment. In this article, I present the example of a seal that belonged to a judge in early Ottoman Egypt. I will argue that the seal did not denote ownership of the books on which it is found, and I will attempt to show that it was used by its owner in the process of an inventory of Cairo’s endowed libraries. I will also discuss what this insight could mean for interpreting the history of books and collections through seals.

Abstract Illustrated and illuminated manuscripts of the Dalāʾil al-khayrāt from Southeast Asia are an invaluable resource for our understanding of the painting tradition of this region. The many copies now kept in various institutions attest to its popularity, while the lavish treatment often given to manuscripts indicates the high regard local communities had for this text. The types of images featured are similar to those from other parts of the Islamic world, yet these images, as well as the decorative illumination, also reflect local artistic styles. This paper examines a selection of Southeast Asian manuscripts of the Dalāʾil al-khayrāt dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, situating them both within the broader context of manuscript production and usage, and the pietistic landscape of the region.