al-Juzʼ al-thānī min Kitāb Mafātiḥ al-ghayb fī tafsīr al-Qurʼān al-majīd, [late 13th or early 14th century?].

Fine copy of a second volume of al-Rāzī's celebrated commentary on the Qurʼān, from the opening of Sūrat al-Baqarah (2) through verse 144. Description provided by Noah Gardiner.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 464Origin: Colophon provides no information on copyist or date of copying ; paper suggests late 13th or 14th century. An ownership notice below the colophon on fol.157b (p.316) appears to be dated 709 [1309 or 10] and provides a rough terminus ante quem.Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas. -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda.Former shelfmark: From inner front cover, "IL 350" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in laid paper ; upper and lower covers carry tooled central circular decoration (shamsah) with neither lobed edge nor pendants but filled with geometric interlace forming an octagonal pattern incorporating epigraphic stamps (compare Weisweiler 17-20) ; these stamps are repeated at the four corners of the elaborate blind-stamped border consisting of a series of vegetal stamps separated by incised fillets (compare no.31 as well as nos. 32-35 in Bosch, et al.) ; sewn in yellow then blue thread, two stations ; headband gone, tailband in blue largely survies ; in poor condition ; upper cover is extremely worn and has suffered losses ; spine has been partially repaired with a red, fabric-based tape ; portion of fore-edge flap remains, though it has been covered with a different brown leather, as has the rest of the spine ; threads of the first few quires are loose.Support: non-European (Arab?) laid paper, the lines of which are difficult to describe neatly ; horizontal laid lines 20 in roughly 27 mm. ; chain lines may be sets of three and two, with chains spaced 12-15 mm. apart, distance between the groups is difficult to discern.Decoration: Text rubricated with section headings and keywords (e.g. "المسئلة الخامسة" or "قوله تعالى") in red ; three circles and single circles appearing in margin (likely collation marks) also in red.Script: Naskh ; elegant Yemeni hand (?) ; unvocalized and very casually pointed ; most notable for the frequent horizontal elongation of letters, e.g. sīn within a word, tāʼ, thāʼ, and bāʼ at the ends of words, etc. ; descenders are often quite elongated and curvilinear and final descender letters (ahdāb) are often disproportionately larger than other letters.Layout: Written in 25 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, V-1 (9), III (15), 14 V(155), I (157), i ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present, appear throughout the first quire, in all subsequent quires appear only on the verso of the final leaf of each quire ; catchword at fol.115b (p.232) does not match with what follows, which may indicate a missing quire ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," reads: "تم الجزء الثاني بحمد الله ومنه وفضله ويتلوه [؟] في الجزء الثالث قوله سبحانه وتعالى حيث ما كنتم قولوا وجوهكم سطره والحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة على اشرف المرسلين محمد خاتم النبيين واله وصحبه اجمعين وسلم تسليما كثيرا"Explicit: "المسألة الثانية عشرة إذا توجه إلى جهة ثم تغير اجتهاده وهو في الصلاة فعليه أن ينحرف ويتحول ويبني لأن عارض الاجتهاد لا يبطل السابق، فكذلك فيمن صدق مخبراً ثم جاء آخر نفسه إليه أسكن فأخبره بخلافه، فهذا ما يتعلق بالمسائل المستنبطة من هذه الآية في حكم الاستقبال والله أعلم"Incipit: "قوله تعالى الم فيه مسألتين المسألة الاولى اعلم ان الالفاظ التي يتهجي بها اسماء مسمياتها الحروف المبسوطة"Title from 'title page' fol.1a (p.3).Ms. codex.Brit. Mus. Suppl.Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Bosch, Carswell, & Petherbridge. Islamic Bindings and Bookmaking (1981),Fine copy of a second volume of al-Rāzī's celebrated commentary on the Qurʼān, from the opening of Sūrat al-Baqarah (2) through verse 144. 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.Ownership statements on fol.1a (p.3) include "من كتب محمد بن كمال الدين الكبيسي ..." in name of Kamāl al-Dīn al-Kubaysī and "من منن الله اللطيف على عبده الضعيف المعترف بالخطا الفقير عطا العلوانى عفي عنه" in name of ʻAṭā al-ʻAlwānī ; collation statements "بلغ مقابلة", "قوبل وصح", "بلغ معارضة بالاصل", etc. (supplied in virtually the same hand, likely that of the copyist) appear at the end of each quire, bottom right corner of the verso of the last leaf, except for the final quinion and bifolium (see fol.9b (p.20), etc.) ; possible collation marks (three circles and single circle) appear in the margins ; study/reading (?) notice date 709 [1309 or 10] appears below colophon on fol.157b (p.316) reads " تامله [؟] الفقير الى الله الغني احمد بن اسمعيل بن عبد الله بن محمد المفتى المالكي تجاوزه الله عز شانه في شهور [؟] سنة تسع وسبعمائة ..." ; waqf statement on back flyleaf (p.318) reads "وقف هذا الكتاب عبد الرحمن افندى بن شيخ مصطفى وقفا صح لا يباع ولا يرهن فمن بدله بعد ما سمع وانما اثمه على الذين [كذا] تحرير في اواسط شهر رجب سنة ثمانين ومئتين وألف ..." ; occasional corrections throughout

Kitāb fī faḍāʼil al-Shāfiʿī, [1034, i.e. 1625].

Fine copy of the well-known hagiographical work by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.1210) on the life and merits of al-Imām Abū ʻAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʻī (d. 820), the eponym of the Shāfiʻī school (madhhab).Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 604Origin: As appears in colophon on p.323, copied by Manṣūr al-ʻAṭṭār [?] with transcription completed 20 Rabī II 1034 [ca. 30 January 1625].Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda.Former shelfmark: From interior of upper cover "IL 270" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark blue cloth with black leather over spine (quarter binding) ; Type III binding (without flap), approaching Western style (not flush with text block, etc.) ; pastedowns and flyleaves in brown wove paper ; upper and lower covers bear embossed emblems of the Ottoman Empire - upper cover, what appears to be the tuğra / ṭughrā of the sultan [Mahmut II ?] and lower cover, crescent and star ; resewn over cords in white thread, six stations ; overall in somewhat poor condition with spine leather lifting (printed waste used in spine lining and lower hinge), splitting and deteriorating, minor abrasion and staining of cloth, some spine slant (slightly cocked).Support: European laid paper with 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 26 mm. apart (horizontal), and anchor in circle with trefoil above watermark (see p.28, 29, etc.) ; dark cream in color, fairly crisp though sturdy, well-burnished to glossy (in vicinity of p.179 extremely smooth and glossy) ; some staining.Decoration: Keywords, section headings, and abbreviation symbols rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red inverted commas or discs (occasionally in threes).Script: Naskh ; clear 'Syrian' or Egyptian [?] hand ; virtually serifless (though occasional rightward serifs appear on freestanding alif, lām, etc.) and quite rounded, pointing in distinct dots, curvilinear descenders, kāf mashqūqah preferred (even final kāf), partially vocalized.Layout: Written in 21 lines per page.Collation: ii, V-1 (9), 15 V(159), II+1 (164), ii ; chiefly quinions ; quire numbering in the form of whole words in the upper outer corner of the opening recto of the second and third quire, thereafter in the form of Hindu-Arabic numerals (red or black ink) ; catchwords present though often lost to trimming ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.Colophon: "Scribal," reads "على يد منصور العطار غفر له ولوالديه في عشرين ربيع الثاني من شهور سنة ۱۰۳۴"Explicit: "فنثبت ان الذي طنوه [؟] حجة لهم فهو حجة لنا عليهم والله اعلم واعلم ان الفرض [في] تعيين المسائل وتعديدها لا يليق بهذا الكتاب ولما وصلنا الي هذا الموضع فلنقطع كلامنا وحامدين لله تعالى ومصليين على رسوله محمد المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى اله واصحابه وسلم تسليما كثيرا"Incipit: "قال الشيخ الامام ... فخر الملة والدين ابو عبد الله محمد بن عمر الرازي برد الله مضجعه الحمد لله الذي لا خالق للاشياء الا هو ولا رازق للاحياء الا هو ... اما بعد فقد سألني جماعة من افاضل الاصحاب والكابر الانساب ان اصنف مختصرا ملخصا من فضائل الشافعي المطلبي رضي الله عنه وفي ترجيح مذهبه فصنفت هذا المختصر ..."Title from 'title page' (p.1).Ms. codex.Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Fine copy of the well-known hagiographical work by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.1210) on the life and merits of al-Imām Abū ʻAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʻī (d. 820), the eponym of the Shāfiʻī school (madhhab).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.Several ownership statements on 'title page' (p.1), at least four of them effaced (one dated 1279 [1862 or 3]), and one legible in name of ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Pīr [?] al-Sankawī [Sangāwī ?] ( عبد الرحمن بن پير السنكوى [؟] ) ; collation marks and notes ("لغ مقابلة على حسب الطاقة والامكان", etc.) on verso of final leaf of practically every quire ; marginal corrections (with signes de renvoi) ; added excerpts at close "كتاب فيه مسائل ابي حاتم رضي الله عنه" (pp.326-328)

Kitāb al-khamsīn fī uṣūl al-dīn : manuscript, [1771 or 2] /

Explanations of fifty doctrines of Islam and proofs supporting their veracity.Gilded ʻunwān and colophon; text rubricated and enclosed in wide gold borders; marginal commentary in red ink in another hand.Date in colophon.GAL,Explanations of fifty doctrines of Islam and proofs supporting their veracity.Mode of access: Internet.AnonymousProlific author on theology, philosophy, and exegesis. One of the most famous Muslim theologians.Purchased in Cairo, 1924. Once part of the personal manuscript collection of Sultan Abdülhamid II of Turkey

Tafsīr Sūrat al-Fātiḥah nuqila min Tafsīr al-kabīr, [1238, i.e. 1823].

Fine copy of the commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥah taken from Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's (d.1210) great commentary on the Qurʼān, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb or al-Tafsīr al-kabīr.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 465Origin: As appears in colophon on p.214, copied by Muḥammad ʻAlī with transcription completed 20 Shaʻbān 1238 [ca. 2 May 1823], likely for Muḥammad Saʻīd who is mentioned as owner in the colophon.Accompanying materials: a. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda -- b. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas.Former shelfmark: From inner front cover (upper doublure), front flyleaf (p.1), and spine label, "IL 55" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red leather ; Type III binding (without flap) ; doublures in dark red leather ; upper and lower covers carry border in a series of tooled fillets ; inscriptions referring to contents in black ink ( "الفاتحة | فاتحة الكتاب" ) on upper cover ; sewn in cream thread, eight stations, sewn over narrow, thin cloth strips ; worked endbands in cream and pink, some damage ; overall in somewhat poor condition with significant staining, moisture damage, some lifting and losses of leather (at board corners especially), detached at spine (including lower cover), etc.Support: non-European (likely Persian or Indian) laid paper with 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical, curved) and single chain lines spaced 28-30 mm. apart (horizontal, somewhat irregularly visible) ; thin and transluscent though sturdy, crisp, cloud formation, some inclusions, beige in color, well-burnished to glossy ; staining and tidelines.Decoration: Keywords, section headings and abbreviation symbols (mainly stroke above words of interest) rubricated ; some overlining in red.Script: Naskh ; elegant Persianate hand ; mainly serifless with very slight effect of tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders (some sweeping), occasional slight effect of words descending to baseline, many open counters, pointing (for two and three dots) mainly in distinct dots, some free assimilation of letters, bowl of final nūn somewhat wide with point set just down inside.Layout: Written in 15 lines per page.Collation: iv, 12 IV (96), IV-1 (103), iv ; almost exclusively quaternions ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular and triangular, reads "تم تفسير سورة الفاتحة نقل من تفسير الكبير للامام فخر الدين الرازي رحمة الله تعالى عليه بعون الله الوهاب عز ذكره في شهر شعبان فتحت فيه ابواب الجنان يوم الجمعة مضت منه عشرون يوما سنة ۱۲۳٨ الف وماتان وثمان ثلثون بعد هجرت النبي صلى الله عليه واله وامه ابيه رب اغفر وارحم لمن قرأ هذا الكتاب ونظر فيه ولكاتبه محمد علي ولمالكه مجازا محمد سعيد ولوالديه واحسن اليه واليهما تم"Explicit: "بدليل قوله الست بربكم قالوا بلى وصفة الرحمن لوسط حالهم وصفة الملك لنهاية حالهم بدليل قوله لمن الملك اليوم لله الواحد القهار والله اعلم بالصواب واليه المرجع والمآب"Incipit: "اللهم يا رب يا حي يا قيوم يا بديع ... الكلام في سورة الفاتحة وفي ذكر اسماء هذه السورة وفيه ابواب الباب الاول اعلم ان هذه السورة لها اسماء كثيرة ..."Title from colophon on p.214.Ms. codex.Brit. Mus. Suppl.,Ḥājjī Khalīfah. Kashf al-ẓunūn,Brockelmann, C. GALFine copy of the commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥah taken from Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's (d.1210) great commentary on the Qurʼān, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb or al-Tafsīr al-kabīr.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.Possible former owners' mark on 'title page' (p.9) in name of Aḥmad ibn al-Sayyid al-Shaykh Manṣūr al-Rifāʻī al-Madanī ( احمد ابن السيد الشيخ منصور الرفاعي المدني ) above what appears to be an effaced owners' mark ; ownership (and possible patronage) statement in name of Muḥammad Saʻīd provided in colophon (p.214), "...ولمالكه مجازا محمد سعيد ..." ; fairly clean copy