Is Dhul Qarnayn, Alexander the Great? Reflecting on Muhammad Rāghib al–Ṭabbākh�s contribution on a translated manuscript discovered in Timbuktu on Dul Qarnayn

This article emanates from a manuscript found in Timbuktu and digitised. The digitised version was subsequently translated by a team of translators and published as a book: Qissat Dhul Qarnayn [Tale of the two-horned one]. The most important question raised in reading this manuscript was the identity of Dhul Qarnayn. Subsequently to this manuscript being published as a book, a book written by Muḥammad Rāghib al-Ṭabbākh in 1949 in Arabic was examined, and it detailed a comprehensive scholarly study of the different views among scholars at that time about Dhul Qarnayn and Alexander the Great. This article reflects on the views of Muḥammad Rāghib al-Ṭabbākh in his book together with the manuscript found in Timbuktu and brings together views that attempt to establish and understand who Dhul Qarnayn is or was and his adventures. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article elaborates on a topic that has been discussed by historians and theologians of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths. It forms part of the discussion on apocalyptic literature. Within the Islamic context, it is often discussed among scholars dealing with the exegesis of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Some Sufi scholars tend to discuss it as well. It has intrigued some archaeologists. It highlights some civilisational issues at the time.http://www.ve.org.zaam2018Science of Religion and Missiolog

Muqaddimat al-Ṭirāz al-manqūsh fī maḥāsin al-Ḥubūsh, [17th century?].

Fine copy of the treatise in prose and verse on the eminence of the Ethiopians (Abyssinians, Ḥubūsh).Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 592Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; paper, hand, etc. suggest 17th century. Ownership statement on 'title page' suggest rough terminus ante quem of 1723.Former shelfmark: From interior of upper cover and label on lower cover, "IL 239a" (likely supplied by Yahuda).Binding: Pasteboards covered in shell marbled paper (mainly in shades of brown and blue with pink and yellow accents) with brown leather over spine, fore edge flap, and edges/turn-ins (framed binding) ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in untinted laid paper ; sewn in pink thread, four stations ; worked endbands in pink and beige, only traces remain ; overall in somewhat poor condition with much abrasion, staining, some lifting and losses of paper and leather, etc.Support: European laid paper with 7-8 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 27 mm. apart, and anchor in circle watermark (see pp.52-53) ; sturdy, not especially thick, well-burnished to glossy ; staining and some pest damage.Decoration: Keywords rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red discs and inverted commas.Script: Naskh ; elegant Turkish or 'Syrian' hand with slight effect of tilt to the left, thickness and elongation of horizontal strokes, pointing in distinct dots, mainly curvilinear descenders (though some more rectilinear, i.e. rāʼ), rightward descenders tapered, kāf mashqūqah preferred (even final kāf).Layout: Written in 19 lines per page, occasionally divided to two columns to set off verses ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, 6 V(60), III-1 (65), i ; almost exclusively quinions ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Explicit: "وقال بعضهم وبي ذا الرشا الحبشي المي سبي عقلي وكلمني طلامه [؟] ويتم مهجتي لكن بشرط وكان الشرط اخره سلامه تم الكتاب بعون الملك الوهاب والحمد لله وحده"Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي خلق الانسان صلصال من حماء مسنون وفضل بعضه عن بعض فهم بذلك يتقاوتون ... وبعد فيقول العبد الفير الى الله الصمد علاء الدين محمد بن عبد الباقي البخاري القاضي خاني المكي خطيب المدينة المنورة سابقا ... نسخ لي في هذه الايام الشريفة ... اعي عام احد وتسعين وتسعمائة من الهجرة النبوية ان الف رسالة يستدل بها على فضل الحبوش ... فكنت التقط الفرائد من مناقبهم واجمع الفوائد من محاسنهم مما جاء في ذلك الاحاديث الشريفة والآيات والفوائض اللطيفة والابيات الى ان طفرت برسالتي الشيخ ... جلال الدين السيوطي ... واستغنيت بهما عن سائر الكتب والعدد وانتخبت من احاديثهما ما لا بد منه في المطلوب واضفته الي ما قد كان عندي من مكتوب فصارت بفضل الله تعالى من احسن الرسائل وانفع الوسائل وسميتها بالطراز المنقوش في محاسن الحبوش ..."Title from 'title page' (p.3) and opening matter (preface) on p.6.Ms. codex.University of Michigan Library. Manuscripts & papyri : an exhibition arranged for the XXVII International Congress of Orientalists, Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 13-19, 1967. (Ann Arbor, MI [?], 1967),Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Fine copy of the treatise in prose and verse on the eminence of the Ethiopians (Abyssinians, Ḥubūsh).Mode of access: Internet.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).Virtually effaced ownership statement on 'title page' (p.3) dated 1126 [1714] or 1136 [1723 or 4] ; another ownership statement on 'title page' (p.3) in name of Aḥmad Rāshid al-Maʻarrī [?] ( احمد راشد المعري ) ; occasional marginal corrections ; following close of text on p.132 (originally left blank), instructions under the heading "باب محبة وقبول عجيب" for inflaming love in another person's heart and bringing love between two people using an egg which should be washed, inscribed with a charm (magical formula), wrapped in a rag, and buried

al-Niṣf al-awwal min Kitāb al-Jāmiʻ al-Ṣaḥīḥ, [early to mid 18th century?].

Fine, large-format copy of the first half of the Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Bukhārī's celebrated collection of traditions.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 17Origin: As appears in colophon on fol.444a (p.909) copied by ʻAlī bin ʻAlī al-Kutubī. Date of transcription not specified. Paper may suggest early to mid 18th century. Compare D-Dl Mus.3154-D-1 and D-Dl Mus.3154-D-5, autographs of Antonio Duni dated 1744 and 1746 (cf Répertoire International of the Sources Musicales = RISM and CatChiesa 1765) and consider A 3 marks in Velkov and Andreev, Filigranes dans les documents ottomans. I Trois croissants (p.62).Accompanying materials: Several slips and scraps with excerpts, glosses, pen trials, etc. numbered by paginator (pp.39-40, pp.125-126, pp.391-392, pp.545-546, pp.663-664, pp.679-680, pp.715-716, pp.771-772, pp.819-820).Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 51. Sahih of Bukhari, vol.i."Binding: Pasteboards covered in tan brown leather (goat) ; Type II binding (with flap) though more of a wrapper ; doublures, flap lining, and spine lining in a fine illuminated block-stamped pattern, grid of squares with small rosette and vegetal designs in alternating squares ; upper and lower covers bear blind-stamped, scalloped mandorla with vegetal decoration (compare Déroche class. OAi 4) and pendants, blind-stamped scalloped lozenges with vegetal decoration (compare Déroche class. OSd 5) as corner pieces accompanied by pendant accents, and gold-painted roll border consisting of a series of s-shaped stamps ; composed of loose quires, not affixed to one another or to cover (wrapper), each quire individually sewn in yellow, rose or red thread, four stations ; in fair condition with some abrasion, staining, lifting of leather, etc.Support: European laid paper with 7-8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 28 mm. apart (vertical), and watermark of three crescents / tre lune (perpendicular to chains, 78 mm long, see p.1, 12, 134, etc) with countermark "A F 3" (or "A F Z") under trefoil with F slightly raised (see p.6, 8, 136, etc) ; fairly thick and well-burninshed ; first leaf fully detached.Decoration: Fine illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) on fol.1b (p.1) consisting of rectangular piece surmounted by semi-circular piece (dome) ; rectangular piece carries empty gold cartouche flanked by floral vegetal accents in gold, red, and green on fields of blue ; semi-circular piece is filled with floral vegetal pattern in gold, white, light blue, pink, yellow and red on fields of blue and green, bordered in gold, green, and red and surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue with red accents ; entire headpiece is set in a well of interlace in black and white ; written area of incipit and facing page bordered in frame consisting of alternating gold bands and red, green, and gold fillets ; elsewhere throughout written area is surrounded by rule-border consisting of red and blue fillets ; occasional textual dividers in the form of red inverted commas ; text rubricated with keywords ("حدثنا", "باب", etc.), section headings, overlining, etc. in red.Script: Naskh ; clear Egyptian or Ḥijāzī hand [?] hand ; virtually serifless with effect of slight tilt to the left, pointing in distinct dots quiteliberally spaced, hamzah at midline or seated at baseline rather than seated on alif, elongation of horizontal strokes, descenders somewhat flattened, extensively vocalized.Layout: Written in 25 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: 44 V (440), III (446) ; chiefly quinions ; final two leaves left blank ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts and skips from p.175 to 178 and from 303 to 306).Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads: "اخر النصف الاول من كتاب الجامع الصحيح تصيف ابي عبد الله محمد بن اسماعيل البخاري ويتلوه اول النصف الثاني مناقب عبد الله ابن مسعود على يد افقر العباد الى عفو ربه الفقير علي بن المرحوم علي الكتبي عفي عنهما بمنه وكرمه وحسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل وصلى الله على محمد واله وصحبه اجمعين تم"Explicit: "مناقب سالم مولى ابي حذيفة حدثنا سليمان بن حرب ... استقرئوا القرآن من اربعة من عبد الله بن مسعود فبدأ به وسالم مولى ابي حذيفة وابي بن كعب ومعاذ بن جبل قال ولا ادري بدأ بابي اوبمعاذ"Incipit: "باب كيف كان يبدو الوحي الى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ..."Title from colophon on fol.444a (p.909).Ms. codex.Velkov, Asparoukh and Stephane Andreev. Filigranes dans les documents ottomans. I Trois croissants [= Водни знаци в Османотурските документи. I Три луни] (Sofia: Bibliotheque Nationale "Cyrille et Methode" Comission Archeographique Bulgare Section Orientale, 1983),Fine, large-format copy of the first half of the Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Bukhārī's celebrated collection of traditions.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired by purchase along with Abdul Hamid Collection (funds donated by Horace Rackham).Bookplate of British Museum, London on inner front cover,"British Museum, London. No. 51. Sahih of Bukhari, vol.i." ; circular seal impression with figure of goat/gazelle in purple ink as well as inscription "235" in Western numerals on 'title page' fol.1a (p.1) ; also on 'title page' fol.1a (p.1), ownership statement dated 1219 [1804 or 5] in name of al-Sayyid Ibrāhīm Bāshā ibn al-Sayyid Ismāʻīl Aghā ibn al-Shaykh al-Ḥājj Yūsuf Afandī (Seyit İbrahim Paşa b. Seyit İsmail Ağa b. Şeyh Yusuf Efendi) accompanied by oval seal impression on fol.1a (p.1), statement reads "من تمليكات اضعف العباد السيد ابراهيم باشا بن السيد اسماعيل اغا بن الشيخ الحاج يوسف افندى قدس الله سره سنة ۱۲١٩", inscription in seal only partially legible ; numerous glosses and some marginal corrections ; collation statement on fol.11a (p.21) reads "بلغ مقابلة على نسخة صحيحة جدا"

al-Niṣf al-awwal min Khulāṣat al-fatāwá, [873, i.e. 1469].

First volume of the collection of Ḥanafī fatwas by Ṭāhir ibn ʻAbd al-Rashīd al-Bukhārī.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 67Origin: As appears in colophon on p.746, copied for himself by Muḥammad ibn al-Shujāʻī Shāhīn al-Bishlāqī [al-Bashlāqī ?] al-Ḥanafī. Transcription completed ("ʻallaqahu li-nafsih ... wa-kāna al-farāgh min taʻlīqih ...") 8 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 873 [ca. 19 June 1469] in Damascus.Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 52. Decisions of Bukhari."Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap, now lost) ; doublures and doublure hinges in dark brown leather, block-pressed with intricate vegetal design ; upper and lower covers carry blind-tooled medallion accented with gold dots, filled with geometric strapwork design having three elongated intersecting dodecagons and a six pointed star, and surrounded by interlace band and a series of small lobes with strokes at the spandrels (perhaps most comparable to Weisweiler type 49) ; a fine border of stamped interlace accented by gold dots and framed by tooled fillets, along with corner pieces complete the design ; sewn in cream thread, two stations ; fine chevron endbands in red and cream, fair condition ; in fair condition with much abrasion, staining, cracking and lifting of leather, delamination of boards, shrinkage, etc.Support: non-European (Arab) laid paper of perhaps two types, one with chain lines (vertical) grouped in threes with roughly 32-38 mm. between the groups and 8-10 mm. between the chains (see p.2, 6, etc.) and laid lines (horizontal) spaced roughly 8 laid lines per cm., the other likewise with chain lines grouped in threes with roughly 39-43 between groups and 10-12 between chains (see p.746, 747, etc.) and 7-8 laid lines per cm. ; burnished and quite thick and heavy ; significant moisture damage and staining, even obscuring text in latter quires ; flyleaves in European paper with crown-star-crescent watermark (compare Heawood 1132).Decoration: Section headings and some notabilia (side-heads) rubricated ; overlining and textual dividers in the form of inverted commas (alone and in threes forming triangles) in red.Script: Naskh ; fine Syrian hand ; virtually serifless ; slight effect of tilt to the left ; many closed counters ; freely ligatured ; inverted caret as an ihmāl sign to distinguish sīn ; three dots in the form of an vertically elongated inverted comma ; bar of kāf (shaqq) very often disconnected.Layout: Written in 19 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: ii, IV+1 (9), 5 V(59), IV+1 (68), 2 V(88), V-1 (97), 10 V(197), IV (205), 4 V(245), III+1 (252), 2 V(272), V-1 (281), 9 V(371), II+1 (376), ii ; chiefly quinions ; final three leaves left blank ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals (begins with ١ on 'title page'/fol.2a/p.3) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads: "علقه لنفسه العبد الفقير الى الله تعالى محمد ابن الشجاعي شاهين البشلاقي الحنفي بدمشق المحروسة زادها الله شرفا وصانها من جميع الافات بمحمد واله وكان الفراغ من تعليقه نهار الاحد ثامن شهر ذي الحجة من شهور سنة ثلاث وسبعين وثمان مائة والحمد لله وحده وصلى الله على سيدنا [؟] محمد واله وصحبه وسلم تسليما ابدا ورضي الله عن اصحاب رسول الله اجمعين"Explicit: "القرض في كل عددي متقارب وفي كل كيلي ووزني ولا يجوز قرض الحيوان والعقار والخشب وما كان متفاوتا الكل في الاصل والله اعلم. اخر الجزء الاول من الخلاصة الفتاوى ويتلوه الجزء الثاني الاخير [؟] والثاني كتاب الاجازات ان شاء الله تعالى"Incipit: "الحمد لله خالق الارواح والاجسام وجاعل النور والظلام ... وقال الامام الزاهد ... افتخار الملة والدين ... طاهر بن احمد بن عبد الرشيد البخاري نور الله تربته ... وقد كتبت كتب في هذا الفن احدهما تسمى بخزانة الواقعات والثانية تسمى كتاب النصاب فسألني بعد ذلك بعض اخواني ان اكتب نسخة قصيرة يمكن ضبظها وتيسير حفظها فكتبت هذه النسخة ... وسميتها كتاب الخلاصة ..."Title from inscription accompanying table of contents on fol.1a (p.1).Ms. codex.Brockelmann, C. GAL,First volume of the collection of Ḥanafī fatwas by Ṭāhir ibn ʻAbd al-Rashīd al-Bukhārī.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired by purchase along with Abdul Hamid Collection (funds donated by Horace Rackham).Bookplate of British Museum, London on upper doublure, "British Museum, London. No. 52. Decisions of Bukhari." ; circular seal impression with figure of goat/gazelle in purple ink as well as inscription "62" in Western numerals on front flyleaf ; on paper pasted on ’title page’ (fol.2a/p.3), a detailed waqf statement in the name of al-Sayyid ʻAbd Allāh Adīb (Abdullah Edip), known as Jannatʹzādah (Cennet-zade), qāḍī of Erzurum, accompanied by his seal, reads: "وقفت وقفا صحيحا شرعيا بشرط ان لا يخرج من دار الكتب الذي بنيته في اتصال داري الا لعلماء نفس ارضروم ان احتاجوا اشد الاحتياج بكفيل مرعى اورهن قوي وانا الفقير اليه عز شانه السيد عبد الله اديب الشهير بجنت زاده القاضي بمدينة ارضروم عفى [كذا] في سنة اثنى وستين ومائتين والف" ; two other distinct seal impressions on fol.2a (p.3) ; marginal corrections, notabilia (side-heads) and glosses appear occasionally throughout ; collation marks "بلغ" appear only rarely ; occasionally text for rubrication appears in the margins, elsewhere cut off

al-Juz’ al-sādis min Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, [791, i.e., 1389].

Fine copy of a sixth volume of al-Bukhārī’s celebrated collection of traditions opening in the 18th bāb of Kitāb faḍā’il al-ṣaḥābah and ending in the 6th bāb of Kitāb tafsīr al-Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah (Bāb man kāna ʻadūwan li-Jubrīl). Description provided by Noah Gardiner.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 492Origin: As appears in colophon on p.457, copied by Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad [?] al-Amāsī al-Ḥanafī with transcription of this volume finished 2 Jumādá II 791 [ca. 29 May 1389].Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas (paginated pp.1-2) -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda (paginated pp.3-4) -- c. Slip with a note in English and Arabic "Should be beg. of كتاب مناقب الانصار" (paginated pp.23-24).Former shelfmark: From spine label, upper doublure and recto of opening leaf (p.5) "IL 234" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Semi-limp dark brown leather with red leather over spine and edges/turn-ins (leather edged / leather framed binding) ; Type II binding (with flap though now lost) ; doublures in tan leather with tooled border ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped mandorla with pendants and tooled border ; originally sewn in white thread, two stations, though most threads are now lost ; in extremely poor condition with textblock coming undone and staining, abrasion and losses (mainly flap) to cover which is extremely small and likely was never attached to this textblock ; housed in box for protection.Support: non-European (likely Arab) laid paper with 20 laid lines in 25 mm. (vertical) and grouped chain lines (horizontal) of which are visible a set of 4 chain lines (10-13 mm between each), a set of 3 chain lines (8 mm. between each) and a single chain line 11 mm. from the bottom of the leaf (likely part of another group), with 21 mm. between the set of 4 and the set of 3 and 71 mm. between the group of 3 and the single line.Decoration: Section headings, sigla, and signes-de-renvoi (particularly those inscribed by the copyist) rubricated.Script: Naskh ; elegant Mamlūk-era hand, probably Egyptian ; virtually serifless ; alifs generally straight and sans serif, but sometimes with a slight left foot ; somewhat rectilinear descenders ; mainly closed counters ; the lām-alif al-warrāqīyah is used ; on joined alifs (e.g. in نا endings and word-phrases beginning with بال) the base of the alif often drops below the baseline ; largely vocalized.Layout: Written in 15 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: I (2), V+1 (13), 20 V(213), V+3 (226) ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present ; quire numbering in the form of full words appears beginning at p.53, though partially lost to trimming ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts).Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads: "اخر الجزء السادس من صحيح البخاري رحمه الله من تجزيه عشرة اجزاء * يتلوه في اول الجزء السابع باب قوله ما ننسخ من آية او ننساها ان شاء الله تعالى الحمد لله وحده وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وآله وصحبه وسلم وكان الفراغ من هذا الجزء يوم الجمعة ثاني جمادى الاخرة سنة احدى وتسعين وسبعماية كتابة ومقابلة على يد احمد بن محمد بن محمد[؟] بن عثمان الأماسي الحنفي لطف الله به بمنه وكرمه"Explicit: "فخرج عبد الله فقال اشهد ان لا اله الا الله وان محمدا رسول الله فقالوا شرنا وابن شرنا وانتقصوه قال فهذا الذي كنت اخاف يا رسول الله"Incipit: "باب مناقب عمار وحذيفة حدثنا مالك ابن اسماعيل حدثنا اسرائل عن المغيرة عن ابراهيم علقمة قال فصليت ركعتين ثم قلت اللهم يسر لي جليسا صالحا فأتيت قوما فجلست اليهم فإذا شيخ قد جاء حتى جلس إلى جنبي قلت من هذا قالوا أبو الدرداء فقلت إني دعوت الله أن ييسر لي جليسا صالحا فيسرك لي قال ممن أنت قلت من أهل الكوفة قال أو ليس عندكم ابن أم عبد صاحب النعلين والوساد والمطهرة وفيكم الذي أجاره الله من الشيطان [يعني] على لسان نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم أو ليس فيكم صاحب سر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الذي لا يعلمه أحد غيره ثم قال كيف يقرأ عبد الله والليل إذا يغشى فقرأت عليه والليل إذا يغشى والذكر والأنثى قال والله لقد أقرأنيها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من فيه إلى في"Title from 'title page' (p.9) and colophon (p.457).Ms. codex.Quiring-Zoche, Rosemarie. "How al-Buḫārī's 'Ṣaḥīḥ' was edited in the Middle Ages: ʻAlī al-Yūnīnī and his 'Rumūz'". Bulletin d'études orientales, 50 (1998): 191-222.Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Fine copy of a sixth volume of al-Bukhārī’s celebrated collection of traditions opening in the 18th bāb of Kitāb faḍā’il al-ṣaḥābah and ending in the 6th bāb of Kitāb tafsīr al-Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah (Bāb man kāna ʻadūwan li-Jubrīl). Description provided by Noah Gardiner.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired in 1926 from the bookseller Isaac Benjamin S.E. Yahuda via purchase transacted on his behalf by Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951), his younger brother.An explanation of the abbreviation symbols (their origin in al-Yūnīnī's manuscript, the chain of transmission/transmitters they represent, etc.) employed as signes-de-renvoi throught out the text appears on the recto of fol.2 (p.7) ; Kabīkaj invocation appears on 'title page' (p.9) ; numerous collations marks and statements appear (see pp.53, 120, 128, 135, 366, 412, etc.) in name of the copyist and one Muḥammad al-Barakhtī [?] (see p.457)

[al-Jāmi al-ṣaḥīḥ ... etc., 851, i.e., 1447].

Elegant copy of an odd twelfth volume of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (opening at p.89 in the first bāb of Kitāb al-Taʻbīr and closing with the final bāb of Kitāb al-Tawḥīd) preceded by a quite imperfect odd seventh volume of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (as extant, opening in Bāb Jawāz akhdh al-ujrah ʻalá al-ruqyah bi-al-Qurʼān wa-al-adhkār of Kitāb al-Salām and closing in Bāb Dhamm dhī al-wajhayn wa-taḥrīm fiʻlih of Kitāb al-Birr wa-al-ṣilah). Upper board lining carries a contents listing for a manuscript previously bound in this cover (very obviously ill-fitting this manuscript).Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 491Origin: As appears in colophon on p.406, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī copied by Ibrāhīm ibn Mājid ibn ʻAbd Allāh al-Barādi‘ī al-Ramlī with transcription completed 23 Rabī‘ I 851 [ca. 8 June 1447] in Damascus, where he was residing.Accompanying materials: a. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda (pp.1-2) -- b. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas (pp.3-4) -- c. Slip marking opening of extract from al-Bukhārī in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas (pp.87-88) -- d. Small scraps left by inventory cataloguer (pp.225-226 and 241-242).Former shelfmark: From inner front cover, p.5 (once 'opening' leaf), inner back cover, and spine label, "IL 235" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in light brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in dark blue (indigo) laid paper ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped mandorla (filled with assymetrical vegetal composition, compare Déroche class. OAi) and pendants, along with tooled rosette accents and rule-border ; design continues on flap ; sewing mainly gone but originally in two stations ; endbands gone ; overall in somewhat poor condition with abrasion, staining, lifting and losses of leather (mainly at spine), fore edge flap detaching, etc. as well as simply serving as a wrapper for this textblock (never fully attached) and grossly ill-fitting (most likely reuse of a cover made for a different manuscript, smaller in size ; see possible contents listing on upper board lining).Support: non-European laid paper in at least two types ; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim extract on a well-burnished and quite smooth paper with roughly 6-7 laid lines per cm. (20 in 30 mm., vertical) and grouped chain lines (possibly in threes and twos) with 9-14 between chains and 42-58 between groups (horizontal), some leaves yellow tinted, leaf carrying pp.79-80 delaminating, moisture damage resulting in minor blocking, possibly a second type as well ; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī on a lightly burnished paper, thick and sturdy with roughly 7-9 laid lines per cm. (vertical, fairly diffuse, curved and sagging) and chain lines grouped in threes with 8-9 mm. between chains and 57-66 between groups (horizontal) ; replacement bifolium supplying pp.317-18 and 323-324 in European paper with scrollwork/coat of arms watermark with diamond flanked by C’s at center (compare motif as appears in Heawood no. 3728), crown and flanking plumes over "EAM" [or "FAM" ?].Decoration: Keywords and abbreviation symbols (mainly sigla) rubricated ; some section headings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim chrysographed.Script: Naskh ; two elegant 'Syrian' hands ; hand supplying opening work [likely an extract from Muslim] serifless and fairly vertical, with curvilinear descenders (many sweeping), pointing in distinct dots, elongation of horizontal strokes, closed and open counters ; hand supplying al-Bukhārī virtually serifless (though slight right-sloping head-serifs appear irregularly) with slight effect of tilt to the left and occasional slight effect of words desending to baseline, pointing in distinct dots, alif following qāf often curving up and above ; partially vocalized.Layout: Written in 15 lines per page ; frame-ruled (impression of misṭarah evident).Collation: [a poor, haphazard assemblage of anomalous quires, initially entirely out of order according to the extant catchwords and text, none fully intact, only a few bifolia intact] (40), V-1 (49), 14 (189), V-1 (198) ; chiefly quinions (where intact and discernible) ; quire numbering in the form of whole words with catch title in the upper outer corner of the recto of the opening leaf of each quire (mainly for Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, though appear twice in opening extract from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, indicating the 2nd and 20th quires of the seventh volume, see p.33 and p.61) catchwords present in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts and entered prior to collation and proper rearrangement of the quires in the opening section such their order is now pp.31-34, 71-72, 65-68, 73-74, 81-82, 79-80, 5-6, 29-30, 75-76, 63-64, 47-48, 39-40, 45-46, 37-38, 69-70, 77-78, 51-52, 13-22, 27-28, 35-36, 49-50, 83-86, 23-26, 41-44, 57-60, 55-56, 53-54, 61-62, 7-12 according to the catchwords and text as it appears in the Istanbul 1911-1915 edition).Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads "تم الجامع الصحيح لمحمد بن اسماعيل البخاري رحمة الله عليه والحمد لله والصلاة على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على يد اضعف الخلق واحوجهم الى عفو الله ورحمته العبد الفقير الذليل الحقير ابراهيم بن ماجد بن عبد الله البرادعي الرملي المقيم يومئذ بدمشق ووافق الفراغ من نسخه يوم الخميس ثالث عشرين من شهر ربيع الاول سنة احد وخمسين وثمانمائة وبالله التوفيق وهو حسبي ونعم الوكيل وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد واله وصحبه اجمعين"Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. composite codex.Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GALElegant copy of an odd twelfth volume of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (opening at p.89 in the first bāb of Kitāb al-Taʻbīr and closing with the final bāb of Kitāb al-Tawḥīd) preceded by a quite imperfect odd seventh volume of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (as extant, opening in Bāb Jawāz akhdh al-ujrah ʻalá al-ruqyah bi-al-Qurʼān wa-al-adhkār of Kitāb al-Salām and closing in Bāb Dhamm dhī al-wajhayn wa-taḥrīm fiʻlih of Kitāb al-Birr wa-al-ṣilah). Upper board lining carries a contents listing for a manuscript previously bound in this cover (very obviously ill-fitting this manuscript).Mode of access: Internet.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).Labels (partly gone) on upper cover and spine with shelfmarks, title, etc. ; glosses, marginal corrections, and notabilia (side-heads) ; collation notes in opening work (see p.76) ; possible expunged waqf statement at head of several leaves (see p.168)