Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 231Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; decoration and calligraphy reminiscent of the Timurid style characteristic of late 15th century Herat ; paper would also suggest late 15th or possibly early 16th century ; binding would suggest 16th century.Former shelfmark: "224 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on interior of upper cover ; "196" inscribed in pencil on 'title page' (p.1).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in lined paper pasted over brown leather doublures, likely with leather filigree appliqué, see interior of envelop flap ; upper and lower covers carry large gold-stamped panel stamp (repeated twice to fill the entire area) filled with symmetrical vegetal design incorporating chi clouds, as well as border in a series of lozenge- and rosette-shaped stamps with outermost series of tooled s-shapes ; sewn in red thread, two stations ; overall in somewhat poor condition with lifting and losses of leather, abrasion, staining, etc.Support: non-European (likely Persian) laid paper with roughly 7 laid lines per cm. (vertical) and sporadic chain lines mainly visible only in short lengths ; thick and sturdy though crisp ; well-sized and burnished ; machine laid paper stabilizing opening leaf carries an embossed mark (or "imitation watermark") reads "اثر جديد عهد همايون".Decoration: Exquisite illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.2, consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying sūrah heading in white and defined by looping white banding (with black crosses) on grounds of gold and lapis lazuli overlaid with swirling vegetal pattern, all bordered in a series of elaborate bands in gold, white, lapis lazuli, black, red, turquoise, etc. ; surmounted by a narrower rectangular panel carrying lozenges filled with delicate vegetal decoration, itself surmounted by an uppermost semi-circular piece (dome) evoking half of an eight-lobed piece (defined by looping white banding) in gold and lapis lazuli with arabesque in turquoise and further swirling vegetal decoration, all surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) ; simpler illuminated headpiece consisting of rectangular panel with cartouche carrying the sūrah heading in white on a gold ground flanked by accent pieces in gold and lapis lazuli with swirling vegetal pattern and surrounded by bands of white, gold, blue, red, etc. appears at opening of each sūrah thereafter (p.16, p.28, p.37, and p.43) ; verse dividers in the form of interlace rosettes in gold with black, red, and blue accents appear throughout ; marginal decoration in the form of roundels in blue, green, and gold with "عشر" in white 'Kufic' script, other roundels in gold and blue with what appears to be "خمس" in white (many effaced) ; written area throughout surrounded by elaborate frame consisting of a series of narrow bands in gold, light blue, dark brown to red, turquoise, and lapis lazuli ; floral decoration in blue, gold, red, and black reminiscent of the central decorative panel and pendants of a book cover flank the centered lines ; upper, middle, and lower large lines chrysographed (vocalization in black).Script: Fine calligraphic specimen ; elegant Persian hand ; lines in upper and lower panels of each page in muḥaqqaq, line in central panel in thuluth, lines in intermediate panels in naskh, sūrah headings in riqāʻ ; partially seriffed (mainly right-sloping wedge head-serif) ; fully vocalized.Layout: Written in 9 lines per page with uppermost, middle, and lowermost large lines filling the column width and two sets of three compact lines centered between them ; frame-ruled.Collation: 3 IV (24) ; exclusively quaternions ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied during digitization).Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.5. p.43-p.47 : Sūrat al-Nabaʼ.4. p.37-p.43 : Sūrat al-Mulk.3. p.28-p.36 : Sūrat al-Wāqiʻah.2. p.16-p.28 : Sūrat al-Fatḥ.1. p.2-p.16 : Sūrat Yāsīn.Elegant copy of a selection of sūrahs (suwar) from the Qurʼān, namely Sūrat Yāsīn (36), Sūrat al-Fatḥ (48), Sūrat al-Wāqiʻah (56), Sūrat al-Mulk (67) and Sūrat al-Nabaʼ (78).
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 247Origin: Lacks dated colophon but cover, paper and hand suggest roughly 15th century.Binding: Heavy pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; doublures in orange paint with geometric stamped pattern in blue and red ; doublure hinges in shell marbled paper in pink and blue ; upper and lower covers carry large incised and gold-painted scalloped mandorla (filled with floral design or geometric design) with pendants in the form of three sepaled calyxes, corner pieces and elaborate tooled border ; likely 15th century (compare Chester Beatty MS 3571 in Bosch, Carswell, & Petherbridge, no. 67 p.184) ; sewn in black (or very dark blue) thread, two sewing stations ; in fair condition with some minor abrasion and severe negative draw (warping) of both upper and lower cover as well as envelope flap.Support: non-European (likely Arab) laid paper with chain lines in groups of three, roughly 9-10 mm. between the chain lines and 58-60 mm. between the groups (see p.42 etc.) ; laid lines spaced roughly 20 laid lines in 20-21 mm. ; sturdy, burnished, with many inclusions and whole fibers visible within sheet ; front flyleaf in European laid paper with anchor (in circle with trefoil above) watermark (likely 16th or early 17th century, compare Heawood 1 and 2).Decoration: Illuminated titlepiece on fol.1a (p.3) in gold and blue consisting of two rectangular panels (bearing title in white with gold outline on field of blue) separated by a medallion filled with floral design ; accents consisting of gold flowers on fields of blue fill the remainder of the piece, with borders of black dashes on white bands ; ansae in the form of roundels accompany the rectangular panels and a semi circular piece sets off the medallion ; on fol.1b (p.4) illuminated rectangular panel carries opening following the basmalah ; textual dividers in the form of gold rosettes with blue accents ; throughout, written area bordered in frame consisting of gold band outlined by black fillets with outermost blue fillet ; text partly chrysographed with headings, keywords, etc. in gold and partly rubricated with keywords in red ; other keywords and headings appear in blue.Script: Naskh ; fine Mamlūk Syrian or Egyptian hand ; bold and stiff ; sans serif ; the lām alif al-warrāqīyah preferred ; mainly open counters ; fully vocalized ; some headings in script approaching muḥaqqaq, seriffed.Layout: Written in 5 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, III+2 (8), 6 V (68), V+2 (80) ; chiefly quinions ; middle of the quire marks in the form of al-khamsah al-ghubīrīyah appearing on the upper part of the left-hand leaf ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil (supplied during digitization, numbers flyleaves).Explicit: [1] فهذه الاسما هي التي استخرجها سفيان وغيره من القرآن العظيم لكنها اذا عدت كانت ماية اسم غير اني وجدت منها اسما واحدا مكررا وهو خبير ذكر مرة في آل عمران ومرة في الانعام فلهذا كانت ماية تمت اسماء الله الحسنى. [2] كذا رواه النسائي والاحاديث المذكورة كلها من صحيح مسلم والبخاري تم الكتاب المبارك والحمد لله وحده وحسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل.Incipit: [1] قال الله تبارك وتعالى ولله الاسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها ... [2] قال الشيخ الامام العالم الحافظ ضيا الدين ابو عبد الله محمد بن احمد بن عبد الواحد ابن احمد بن عبد الرحمن المقدسي ... الحمد لله حمدا يوافي نعمه ويكافي مزيده ... اما بعد فان بعض اخواني سألني مرة بعد اخرى ان اجمع كتابا في الطب مما صح عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وما روى من ذلك في الكتب المشهورة فاجبته الى مسألته ورايت ان ابتدئ باحاديث الكفارات وان الامراض لرفع الدرجات ومحو السيئات ذكر خيرة الله تعالى للعبد فيما ابتداه اخبرنا ..."Title from titlepiece on fol.1a (p.3).Ms. codex.3. fol.80a-80b : [blank].2. fol.13a-fol.79b : Kitāb al-Ṭibb al-nabawī / Ḍiyāʼ al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Wāḥid al-Maqdisī.1. fol.1a-13a : al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná mustakhrajah min al-Qurʼān al-ʻaẓīm.A work on prophetic medicine (or the Prophet's medicine) by al-Maqdisī (d.1245) preceded by a short treatise of uncertain authorship on the beautiful names of God.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 248Origin: As appears in colophon on p.69, copied by Ḥamzah ibn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb in 828 [1424 or 1425], likely in Egypt. As appears in patronage statements/ex libris on p.6 and in titlepiece on p.13, copied for Karīm al-Dīn, perhaps al-Wazīr al-Ṣāḥib Karīm al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Karīm ibn Kātib al-Manākh (d.852/1448) (see Ibn Taghrībirdī, Ḥawādith al-duhūr, sanat ithnatayn wa-khamsīn wa-thamānimiʼah, shahr Rabīʻ al-Ākhir).Former shelfmark: "۱۱۹" on paper label on upper cover (repeated in pencil on titlepage for al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná, p.7).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red-brown leather with spine and edges/turn-ins in dark brown leather of similar color ; Type III binding (without flap) ; flyleaves and pastedowns in yellow-tinted European laid paper ; upper and lower covers bear stamped and gold-painted scalloped mandorla with vegetal composition (compare Déroche class. NSd 7) ; sewn in red thread, four stations ; overall in fair condition with staining, abrasion, some lifting of leather at edges, etc.Support: non-European laid paper (likely Egyptian) with 7-8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal) and chain lines grouped in threes (vertical) with 9-11 mm. between the chains and 37-42 mm. between the groups ; alternating tinting of the bifolia ; flyleaves in a yellow tinted European laid paper with 8-9 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 28 mm. apart (horizontal) and moon in shield with face in profile and 'B G' watermark as well as in an untinted European laid paper with 9 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 26-27 mm. apart (vertical), and watermarks of spread eagle and coat of arms with lion rampant in shield with crown above ; numerous repairs.Decoration: Rectangular panel at opening (p.6) carries poetic patronage statement (خدمت بها من قد سما بفعاله واقواله ما بين قارئ وكاتب كريم يعادي الباخلين وانه بمصر عزيز صاحب وابن صاحب) accented by cloud bands and swirling arabesque ; on p.7, illuminated titlepiece for al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná in the form of a rectangular panel with accompanying ansa (in this case, roundel) carries title in white (الاسما الحسنى نفع الله بها) with gold outline set among gold vegetal design on a field of blue ; entire piece is framed by a heavy gold band and blue rule ; on p.12, at close of al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná a fine illuminated tailpiece in gold and blue in the form of an almond-shaped panel flanked by illuminated rosettes carries inscription in white (تمت الاسما) ; on p.13, exquisite illuminated titlepiece for al-Burdah consisting of a large rectangular panel divided to smaller rectangular panels carrying the title and ex libris (الكواكب الدرية في مدح خير البرية صلى الله عليه وسلم برسم خزانة المقر الاشرف العالي المخدومي الصاحبي الكريمي كريم الدين عظم الله شأنه) in white set in lozenge-shaped cartouches with flanking roundels filled with vegetal design in gold on fields of blue ; ansa in the form of a roundel accompanies uppermost panel ; textual dividers in the form of illuminated rosettes with blue and red accents appear throughout ; keywords occasionally chrysographed ; for each of bayt of al-Burdah, saṭr in black and ʻajuz rubricated ; written area of incipit and facing page of al-Burdah surrounded by frame consisting of gold band and heavy blue rule ; tailpiece in the form of a rectangular panel carrying the colophon follows al-Burdah on p.69 and closely resembles opening rectangular panel (p.6).Script: Text of al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná in fine Mamlūk naskh, tailpiece in script resembling 'Eastern Kufic' ('broken cursive' or New Abbasid Style, NS) ; titlepiece for al-Burdah in thuluth, saṭr of each bayt in muḥaqqaq, ʻajuz in fine Mamlūk naskh ; fully vocalized ; glosses (takhmīs, mainly in Turkish, ending abruptly at p.28) in naskh-nastʻalīq, varying hands.Layout: Written in 6 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: ii, II (4), III (10), VII (24), III+3 (33), ii ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals begins with incipit page (p.14) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads: "تمت البردة الشريفة بحمد الله تعالى وعونه على يد الفقير الى الله تعالى حمزة بن عبد الوهاب غفر الله له ولوالديه وللمسلمين اجمعين وذلك في عام ۸۲۸".Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Fine copy of Qaṣīdat al-Burdah by al-Būṣīrī (d.1294–7?) with later takhmīs mainly in Ottoman Turkish. Preceded by al-Asmāʼ al-ḥusná (with numerical values for each name) and following by notes and excerpts.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 467Origin: As appears in colophon on p.648, transcription of first section (through p.648) completed 24 Rabīʻ II of an unspecified year (lacuna follows سنة). As appears in colophon on p.1063, second section copied by Ismāʻīl ibn Muḥammad al-Zurqānī ( اسماعيل بن محمد الزرقاني ) with transcription completed ("wa-qad faragha min katbih...") 7 Rabīʻ II 976 [ca. 29 September 1568].Accompanying materials: a. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda.Former shelfmark: From inner front cover (upper doublure) and fore edge label, "IL 304" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; doublures in brown leather ; upper and lower covers carry large blind-stamped mandorla (filled with symmetrical vegetal decoration, reminiscent of Déroche class. NSd 5) and pendants, along with gold-tooled border in a series of s-shaped stamps ; sewn in pink thread, two stations, most quires loose ; overall in somewhat poor condition and ill-fitting with much staining, abrasion, lifting and losses of leather, delamination of boards, etc. ; repair to fore edge flap in a tooled red leather apparently taken from the spine of another book ; other repairs in tan and red leathers.Support: non-European laid paper of several types ; opening type with 9 laid lines per cm. (horizontal) and chains either grouped (on the order of 9) or very closely spaced 13-14 mm. apart (V), well-burnished to glossy, brown in color, sturdy and fairly transluscent ; next type with both laid and chain lines quite diffuse, roughly 7 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), possibly grouped chains lines (in threes) with 11-12 mm. between chains and 39 mm. between groups, much lighter in color, thicker, sturdier and more opaque, burnished to glossy ; from p.350 on still a different paper, lighter in color with 8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal) and chain lines possibly very closely spaced if not in large group, 14 mm. apart ; final section (from p.650) on another thin, crisp, well-burnished, brownish paper with 7 laid lines per cm. (vertical or horizontal) and chain lines spaced roughly 39 mm. apart ; opening flyleaf in a European laid paper with 7 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 29 mm. apart (vertical), and anchor in circle watermark with six-pointed star above (66 mm. tall) ; staining and tidelines ; pigment burn to break-through at frame surrounding written area.Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening on p.4 consisting of rectangular panel carrying the basmalah in gold muḥaqqaq on a dark blue ground accented with swirling arabesque in green, surrounded by border of gold bands (the innermost with red accents) flanking a series of crosses on white, set off by adjacent palmette (ansa) in the margin ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by gold frame with outermost blue rule ; keywords, sūrah headings (final section) and abbreviation symbols (two-teeth stroke, signes de renvoi, etc.) rubricated.Script: Nastaʻlīq and naskh ; three main hands ; opening through p.398 (where hand abruptly changes) in a fine nastaʻlīq, serifless, fairly vertical though with slight effect of tilt to the right and of words descending to baseline, some elongation of horizontal strokes, mainly closed counters, pointing (two and three dots) in strokes rather than distinct dots ; from p.398 to p.522 another fine nastaʻlīq, serifless with dramatic tilt to the right, scarcely pointed, mainly closed counters, sweeping descenders ; from p.522 through p.569 again opening hand, then back to second hand ; final section (from p.650 to close) in an elegant Egyptian or 'Syrian' naskh, serifless and compact with slight effect of tilt to the left, many closed counters, pointing (for two and three dots) in distinct or conjoined dots, rounded with curvlinear descenders.Layout: Written in 32 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, IV-1 (7), 2 IV(23), III+2 (31), 5 IV(71), IV+1 (80), 2 IV(96), I (98), 12 IV(194), 6 V(254), I (256), 2 IV(272), III+1 (279), 6 (285), II (289), 3 (292), 2 V(312), V+2 (324), 20 V(524), IV-1 (531) ; catchwords mainly cut off, but present in final section ; leaves between sections left partially blank (see pp.198, 648-49) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Colophon: [opening section] "وقع الخلاص [؟] من تحريره في اربع وعشرين من الشهر ربيع الاخر من شهور سنة ___ اللهم اغفر لمن دعى لمحرره والناظر فيه والديهما ولمن قال ... برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين" ; [final section] "Scribal," triangular, reads "وقد فرغ من كتبه اقل خلق الله تعالى واحوجهم الى رحمته العبد الضعيف اسماعيل بن محمد الزرقاني غفر الله له ولوالديه ولجميع المسلمين امين يوم الاربع المبارك سابع شهر ربيع الثاني سنة ست وسبعين وتسعمائة وحسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل ولا حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى اله وصحبه وسلم م م"Explicit: "ظلم عليه الامر وندم وتاب فهذا اخر ما قصدت ايراده في هذه السطور مع اعترافي في كل الامور بالقصور وان الكشف عن اوجه تلك المخدرات ابتدائه لمثلي من احدى المنكرات ولكن للمجتهد اجر ... وانا اسأل الله تبارك وتعالى التجاوز عن خطرات الاوهام وعثرات الاقلام ... والحمد لله المنعم اولا واخرا والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين محمد واله واصحابه العز المحجلين وعلى من اتبعهم باحسان الى يوم الدين"Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي علم القرآن خلق الانسان علمه البيان ارسل رسوله بالهدى ودين الحق ... نريد ان نشرح مشكلات كتاب الكشاف ونحيط حجاب الخفاء عن مباحثة اللطاف ... قوله الحمد لله سيجئ معنى الحمد لله ..."Title from inscription on front flyleaf (p.1).Ms. composite codex.Elegant copy of what appears to be a commentary of uncertain authorship (though possibly by Abū Ḥafṣ ʻUmar ibn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī al-Fārisī, author of a commentary entitled al-Kashf ʻan mushkilāt al-Kashshāf) upon al-Kashshāf, the renowned commentary on the Qurʼān by Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʻUmar al-Zamakhsharī (d.1144).