Kitāb al-Hidāyah, [1132, i.e. 1720].

Careful copy of Marghīnānī's celebrated commentary on his Bidāyat al-mubtadiʼ, a treatise on Ḥanafī law.Origin: As appears in colophon on p.906, copied by Khalīl ibn Ibrāhīm. Transcription completed ("thumma waqaʻa al-farāgh min taswīd hādhihi al-awrāq...") in Erzurum, 10th Shaʻbān 1132 [June 1720].Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 145. Al-Hidayah."Binding: Cover missing (Type II, with flap) though spine is mostly intact ; majority sewn in yellow thread, two stations, final quires sewn in red thread ; chevron endbands in yellow and red, intact and in fair condition ; housed in box for protection.Support: European laid paper of several types, with three crescents watermark, three circles watermark (crown, crescent, fleur de lis, heart), grapes with crown and initials "I F", etc. ; mainly 9-10 laid lines per cm. (horizontal) and chain lines 26-27 mm. apart (vertical), well-burnished to glossy ; much staining, tears and creasing.Decoration: Section headings rubricated ; text being commented upon overlined in red ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by red rule-border ; textual dividers in the form of red inverted commas.Script: Naskh ; clear, bold Turkish hand ; virtually serifless though occasional head-serifs appear without regularity ; strong effect of tilt to the left ; mainly closed counters ; final nūn often forms shape of numeral khamsah (۵) ; occasional superscripting of final letters in final word of line ; two dots in the form of a curved line ; hand changes in latter quires (around pp.517-813), very similar to main hand though smaller and more compact.Layout: Written in 27 lines per page ; frame-ruled (impression of ruling board evident).Collation: ii, IV (8), 24 V(248), IV (256), 2 V(276), IV+2 (286), 16 V(446), IV (454) ; chiefly quinions ; appears to lack roughly seven quires between pp.856-857 (catchwords do not match and foliation skips from ۴۲۷ to ٥۰۸) ; leaf with pp.515-516 and final three leaves left blank ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals (begins with ۱ on page facing incipit page (p.23), skips ٥, skips from ۱۹۰ to ٢٠٠, skips a leaf between ٢٥٦ and ٢٥٧, etc.) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied during digitization, includes front flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads: "الحمد لله على التمام وعلى رسوله افضل التحية والسلام في بلدة ارضروم على يد خليل بن ابراهيم وعليهما رحمة الرحيم في الدارين ثم وقع الفراغ عن تسويد هذه الاوراق في سنة اثنى وثلثين ومائة بعد الالف من الهجرة النبوية في شهر شعبان المعظم في اليوم العاشر غفر الله له ولوالديه واحسن اليهما واليه في الدارين بحرمة سيد الثقلين تم تم تم"Explicit: "هذا لان القليل لا يمكن الاحتراز عنه ولا يستطاع الامتناع عنه فسقط اعتباره دفعا للحرج كقليل النجاسة وقليل الانكشاف بخلاف ما اذا كانا نصفين او كانتا الميتة اغلب لانه لا ضرورة والله اعلم بالصواب"Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي اعلى معالم العلم وعلامه واظهر شعائر الشرع واحكامه ... وقد جرى على الوعد في مبدأ بداية المبتدي ان اشرحها بتوفيق الله شرحا ارسمه بكفاية المنتهى فشرعت فيه والوعد يسوغ بعض المساغ وحين اكاد اتكئ عنه اتكاء الفراغ تبينت فيه نبذا من الاطناب وخشيت ان يهجر لاجله الكتاب فصرفت عنه العنان والعناية الى شرح اخر موسوم بالهداية ..."Title from inscription accompanying close on p.906.Ms. codex.Careful copy of Marghīnānī's celebrated commentary on his Bidāyat al-mubtadiʼ, a treatise on Ḥanafī law.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired by purchase along with Abdul Hamid Collection (funds donated by Horace Rackham).Bookplate of British Museum, London slipped inside final leaf, "British Museum, London. No. 145. Al-Hidayah." ; circular seal impression with figure of goat/gazelle in purple ink as well as inscription "81" in Western numerals on fol.1a (p.1) ; on blue-tinted paper pasted on 'title page' (p.21), 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 بيت الكتب الذي بنيته في اتصال داري الا لعلماء نفس ارضروم بكفيل مرعى اورهن قوي وانا الفقير السيد عبد الله اديب الشهير بجنت زاده القاضي بمدينة ارضروم في سنة اثنى وستين ومائتين والف" ; numerous marginal corrections and glosses