King's Pote 23 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of al-Mukhtaṣṣ (an abridgement of al-Ghazzālī's Iḥyā ʿUlūm al-dīn).

Author: Ghazzālī, 1058-1111 غزالی

Abridger: Anonymous

Title: al-Mukhtaṣṣ (an abridgement of al-Ghazzālī's Iḥyā ʿUlūm al-dīn)

Title: المختص

Title: خلاصه احياء علوم الدّين

Language(s): Arabic

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Note concerning manuscript: Internal colophons state the names of the sections (around 40 in total): e.g. Kitāb al-ʿIlm; Qawāʾid al-ʿAqāʾid; Asrār al-Ṭahārah; Asrār al-Ṣalāt; Asrār al-Zakāt; Asrār al-Ṣawm; Asrār al-Ḥajj; Adāb Talāwat al-Qurʾān, etc. Numerous notes on separate pieces of paper are inserted into the ms, e.g. “23.1 Paper, in eights, 37 leaves, 17 lines; character 8 3/8 by 6 3/8”. Inserted into the end of the ms is a page in English handwriting containing a translation by C (?) A.E. Lea MA KCC dated 19.5.49. “Preface of the Abridgement of the Ihya ‘Ulum al-din [of Ghazzali], called al-Mukhtass…” “…The first quarter is Acts of Worship; the second is Customs; the third is Acts Causing Perdition; the fourth is Acts Bringing Salvation; each quarter comprises ten books….”. Browne: from the concluding words it appears to be only a portion of the work.

References

Browne no. 19

Palmer no. 23

Geschichte der arabischen Literatur C. Brockelmann 1892-1902 (2 vols. plus supplements) GAL I.422

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Dark cream paper.

Extent: c. 250 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 21.2 × 16 cm.

Dimensions (written): 17 × 10 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Condition

Worming.

Layout

17 lines per page.

Not ruled. Red rubrications. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: Naskh. Quality: Good (fully vocalized). Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions:

Occasional marginal corrections.

Binding

European style, plain reddish brown leather. Plain paper doublures. A flyleaf in European paper has watermark: "G.R.". Dimensions: 21.7 × 16 × 3.7 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 6.

History

Origin: Undated.

Provenance and Acquisition

The "Pote Collection" arrived in England from India in 1790 and was divided between the Colleges of Eton and King's, Cambridge, with the first half alphabetically going to King's. Both halves of the collection are now housed in Cambridge University Library on permanent loan. Most if not all of the manuscripts had previously been owned by Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri Polier (1741–1795).

Gift of Edward Ephraim Pote (d.1832) in 1788.

Record Sources

Manuscript description based on E. G. Browne, "A supplementary hand-list of the Muhammadan manuscripts, including all those written in the Arabic character, preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge", Cambridge, 1922 and E. H. Palmer, "Catalogue of the oriental manuscripts in the library of King's College, Cambridge", J.R.A.S. v.3 (1867), pp.105-131 enhanced with additional descriptions and corrections by Shiva Mihan.

Availability

All manuscripts of the Pote Collection are on permanent loan at Cambridge University Library. Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures consult Cambridge University Library. Contact near_eastern@lib.cam.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript

Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World