al-Qāḍī Abū l-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ
aš-Šifāʾ bi-taʿrīf al-Muṣṭafā
Richly illuminated manuscript in Arabic
Collated and commented text.
Reference to well-known commentaries in the margins
(mostly ʿAlī al-Qārī)
315 leaves at 17 lines
18.3 x 12 cm, paper binding
Order No.: MSS_153
Status: sold
Price: 7 000 € (excl. VAT)
Famous, important and controversial book about the physiognomy, personality and infallibility of the prophet Muḥammad. Kitāb aš-Šifāʾ is perhaps the most frequently used handbook about Muhammad's life. Generally known by its short title, aš-Šifāʾ, this work was so highly admired throughout the Muslim world that it soon acquired a sanctity of its own for it is said: "If aš-Šifāʾ is found in a house, this house will not suffer any harm ... when a sick person reads it or it is recited to him, Allah will restore his health."
Copyist: Ibrāhim b. Muḥammad al-Marzifūnī (Merzifonī) al-Istanbūlī [the first, that is “Merzifonī”, probably refers to the father and the second to father and son as well]. Copied at the madrasa Fayḍiyyah (Feyżīye Medresesi) in Istanbul, mid-Ṣafar 1176 h / 1762 AD.
Important manuscript of a widely spread text giving insight in the book culture and scholarship in 18th century Istanbul.
Detailed information about the collation. According to the colophon the manuscript is copied and collated from two reliable manuscripts, which in turn are themselves collated. The first was copied by a certain ʿAlī b. Aqbarṣ [?] and is now kept in the Taşköprüzade library, the second copy claims to be collated with a manuscript copied from the author’s copy.