Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 673Origin: As appears at close on p.523, dated Rabīʻ II 1153 [June-July 1741] "في ربيع الاخر سنه ١١٥٤".Accompanying materials: a. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas -- b. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda.Former shelfmark: From interior of upper cover and spine label, "IL 35" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in now silvery laid paper ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped mandorla (filled with vegetal composition, compare Déroche class. OSd 8), pendants and corner pieces along with tooled accents (strokes and rosette stamp) and border (rules flanking a series of s-shaped stamps) ; sewn in red and yellow (from around p.144) thread, four stations ; worked chevron endbands in red and yellow, only headband remains ; overall in somewhat poor condition with abrasion, lifting and losses of leather (particularly at board edges), delamination of boards, etc. ; repairs to spine, fore edge flap and board edges in black leather, also damaged.Support: European laid paper with 12-13 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 20 mm. apart (vertical), and watermark of crown above cartouche with name and grapes (raisin) below (see p.16, 54, 246, etc.), sturdy and dense, beige in color, well-burnished ; some staining and tide lines.Decoration: Illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening on p.16, consisting of rectangular piece with empty gold cartouche flanked by floral accents in gold and red on a blue ground surmounted by scalloped semi-circular piece (dome) filled with somewhat crudely executed floral vegetal decoration in gold, white, yellow and red on fields of blue and gold with red accents ; entire piece set into a well consisting of a series of colored bands (in red, gold, yellow, and white) with crosses repeated in black ; written area of incipit page surrounded by a gold frame, elswhere central written area and margins surrounded by a red rule-border ; keywords and section headings rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red inverted commas, discs, etc. ; some overlining in red.Script: Naskh ; two elegant Ottoman hands ; opening hand (through p.334) partially but irregularly seriffed with right-sloping head-serif on occasional lām or other ascender, marked effect of tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders, pointing (for two and three dots) in strokes or conjoined dots rather than distinct dots, some free assimilation of letters (dots) ; from p.335 to close (as well as table of contents, pp.4-14), another elegant naskh, seriffed with left-sloping wedge or barb head-serifs on most ascenders (vertical stroke of final kāf and even shaqq of medial or initial kāf also seriffed), effect of tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders, dramatic contrast of thickness between horizontal and vertical strokes, pointing (for two and three dots) in heavy strokes rather than distinct dots.Layout: Written in 31 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: III (6), 21 V(216), 2 IV(232), 3 V(262), i ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves and added leaves, mistakenly skips two pages between pp.423-424).Explicit: "اخره تفويض ايتمك استدكده زيد مجرد زراعت ايتدكلريمك حقوقلرينى ارا ايتمكله زراعت ايتمدكلرينك تفويضندن عمروى منعه قادر اولورنى الجواب اولماز"Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي احكم احكام الشرع على احسن الترتيب والنظام وجعل علماء الشريعة خلفاء رسوله في بيان الحلال والحرام ... وبعد فيقول الفقير الى رحمة ربه الغني محمد فقهى العينى لله در علامة زماننا ... مظهر الاحكام الربانية مفتي السلطنة العثمانية مولانا ابو الفضل عبد الله افندى اليكيشهرى فقد بذل جهده في الافتاء لذوي الحاجات ... واني لما استسعدت بخدمته [؟] العليا ... اردت ان ارتب هذا الكتاب المستطاب ليسهل الاطلاع على تفاريق الواقعات ... واثبت في الهامش نقل كل مسئلة ... فلما صار ذلك كتابا مرتبا ... سميته ببهجة الفتاوى ..."Title from opening matter (preface) on p.17.Ms. codex.Fine copy of the collection of legal decisions by Yenişehirli Abullah Efendi (d. 1742 or 3), compiled (with an Arabic preface) and annotated in Arabic by Muḥammad Fiqhī al-ʻAynī (fl. 1702). Table of contents provided at opening (pp.4-14).
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 1050Origin: As appears in colophon on p.18, transcription apparently completed 9 Ṣafar 787 [ca. 22 March 1385].Binding: Heavy boards covered in dark maroon leather ; Type III binding (without flap), tightback ; board linings and flyleaves in wove paper (notes, likely binder's notes, in pencil barely visible beneath board linings) ; upper and lower covers carry blind-tooled rule borders, cornerpieces and central circular ornament (outline only) ; now sewn in rose thread, seemingly over two recessed cords ; overall in good condition.Support: non-European (likely Arab) laid paper with 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical, somewhat indistinct) and grouped chain lines (threes and possibly twos) with roughly 9-10 mm. between chains and 42-50 mm. between groups, somewhat cloudy formation, quite sturdy, medium cream to buff in color, burnished ; opening leaf possibly of different paper type ; moisture damage, tears and creases, some repairs / fills.Decoration: Headings rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of three inverted commas.Script: Naskh ; clear Syrian or Egyptian hand in a thin to medium line (line thickness changes) ; mainly serifless with large curvilinear descenders (some sweeping), casually pointed (tāʼ marbūṭah often unpointed) with pointing in distinct or conjoined dots, alif maqṣūrah often pointed as yāʼ, ihmāl sign on sīn, shaqq of kāf often quite horizontal, free-standing alif often terminating in a left-ward foot, final alif often with tail or spur extending below baseline.Layout: Written in 15-16 lines per page.Collation: i, IV+1 (9), i ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.Colophon: "Scribal," reads "تمت منافع الاشربة في تاسع صفر سنة سبع وثمانين وسبعماية"Explicit: "واما من اراد ان يضيف اليه حوايج فليكن رمي [؟] الحوايج عند نضج الشعير ويغلى عليات حتى تخرج قوة الادوية منه ويرفع ويستعمل مع ما يوافقه من الاشربة نافع ان شا الله تعالى"Incipit: "بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم صفة شراب بسفايج ساذج عن طبيب مشهور بسفايج خضر المكسر طري اربع اواقى يرض وينقع في ما حار شديد الحرارة يوما وليلة ويغلي بنار هادية حتى يبقى منه مقدار ما يحل رطل سكر واوقية عسل ..."Title from 'title page' (p.1).Ms. codex.Fine, early copy of a work on potable medicaments, i.e. beverages or syrups (sharāb) attributed on the 'title page' to Amīn al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻUmar al-Sīwāsī al-Abhārī (d. 733/1333).
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 38Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; paper and hand suggest 15th century. Cover likely contemporary with transcript.Accompanying materials: Slip of European laid paper with excerpt in black ink (paginated pp.85-86).Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 18. Commentary on a work on theology by Al-Iji." ; "٣٩٤" on tail-edge of textblock.Binding: Pasteboards covered in red brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; doublure hinges and interior of envelope flap extending onto lower doublure in red brown leather with block-stamped vegetal pattern ; board linings in paper ; upper and lower covers carry blind-tooled central circular medallion consisting of a series of concentric circles formed with a crescent-shaped stamp, accents in same stampe, and border in s-shaped stamps and scored fillets ; design continues on envelope flap ; sewn in cream thread, four stations ; endbands virtually gone though traces remain ; in fair condition with abrasion, lifting and cracking of spine and fore-edge flap leather, some pest damage, repairs in blue cloth tape, and paper label bookplate pasted over upper cover.Support: non-European (Arab) laid paper with indistinct laid lines spaced 8 laid lines per cm. (20 laid lines in 25 mm.) ; chain lines grouped in threes running horizontally spaced roughly 10 mm. apart with roughly 43-45 mm. between the groups ; well-burnished with some burnisher's marks visible ; quite smooth ; some undissolved fibers.Decoration: Text rubricated with keywords, overlining, etc. in red ; occasional textual dividers in the form of red discs or inverted commas.Script: Naskh ; graceful hand ; sans serif ; mainly closed counters ; kāf mashkūlah preferred ; slight effect of tilt to the right ; some swooping tails ; initial hāʼ looking like two inverted commas.Layout: Written in 21 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: ii,13 IV(104), ii ; quire numbering in red ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals, appears on the recto of the first leaf for the second through the sixth quires, thereafter likely cut off ; entirely quaternions ; catchwords present, though occasionally lost to trimming ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes insert).Explicit: "هو الوقت المشروع اولا وبعد الوقت المطنون تضيقه قبل الوقت و اقره اليه اد [؟]"Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي شرع الاحكام وربطها بدلائل كلية وعلل تفصيلية للاحكام وابار معالم الدين بانوار الكتاب والخير ..."Title from inscription on front flyleaf verso.Ms. codex.Elegant copy of al-Abharī's gloss upon al-Ījī's (d. 756/1355) commentary on Ibn al-Ḥājib's (d. 646/1249) abridgement of his own Muntahá al-suʼl wa-al-amal fī ʻilmay al-uṣūl wa-al-jadal, on uṣūl al-fiqh. Copy ends abruptly and appears incomplete.
Recto: family letter, ca. 11th century, from Abraham to his son-in-law Elijah and his daughter אתוכלי, Itwakkilī (Arabic, but unattested as a name). There are many greetings and good wishes from various family members. The writer states that Elijah’s brother wanted to visit him, but had been prevented by the grape harvest (הבציר). He wants the couple to send a letter at the next opportunity. Also mentioned is a debt and ‘the time that the river rises’, probably a reference to the flooding of the Nile. A number of different names are mentioned: Elijah’s sister is Sitt al-Rūmī (שטירומי); also mentioned are Irini (אריני), Leon (לאון) and his wife Sitt al-Bayt (שטילבית), another son-in-law Kalev, a wife Meršini (מרשיני, vocalised) and a son Šemarya. Verso: address and several lines of unrelated Arabic.Condition: tornLayout: 11 lines (recto); 5 lines (verso)
Letter from Abraham Maimonides to the judge Nissim in Alexandria, instructing him not to let Abū Manṣūr b. Abū l-Ḵayr, the tax-farmer of Sanhūr, re-marry before he has paid back his previous wife’s delayed bridal gift. In the hand of Solomon b. Elijah (13th century).Condition: holesLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 6 lines (verso)
Recto: letter to the dignitary Jacob in Alexandria from Abraham b. Isaac Ibn al-Zūlāfī in Palermo. The right margin has continuation of piyyuṭ from verso. Verso: piyyuṭ for Passover with many biblical quotations. Jottings in Arabic script at the top of the page.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 26 lines (verso)
Letter from Abraham b. Isaac al-Andalūsī in Jerusalem to Nahray b. Nissim in Fusṭāṭ (c. 1065 CE).Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 25 lines + marginalia (recto); 3 lines (verso)
Recto: begging letter to Mevoraḵ b. Isaac from Abraham b. Jethro from Damascus. Verso: list of names, most of them bankers, including Abū l-Faḍl b. Ṣaḡīr, Abū Naṣr b. Abū Sulaymān and Abū ʿImrān Mūsā, the ḡulām of Ibn ʿAwkal, and a poem in praise of a merchant, followed by a dirge.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 38 lines + marginalia (recto); 36 lines, partly in 2 columns (verso)
Letter concerning the poll tax (ḵarāj), from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥaver to Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya b. Binyām. Mentions Abū l-Ḥasan and his brother, Moses al-Salām ha-Kohen, Peraḥya, Bayān and the mother of Bayān.Condition: Holes, rubbedLayout: 28 lines (recto); 4 lines (verso)
Recto: letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥebroni, on behalf of refugees from Hebron that are now in Bilbays. Abraham writes to Isaac b. Samuel ha-Sefaradi (active ca. 1090-1130 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, concerning the building of a new synagogue in Bilbays, replacing an old synagogue that had been torn down. The entire community joined forces to dismantle the synagogue and rebuild the new building. The letter lists the donations given by members of the community, and describes in detail the surrounding properties and their owners. A muslim judge initially objected to the construction of the new synagogue, so the community tactically rebranded their construction as a ‘home’, to which the judge had no objection. Verso: jottings of an Arabic philosophical text.Condition: StainedLayout: 52 lines (recto); 40 lines (verso)