RSPA 107 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

The poetical works of al-Mutanabbī.

The date given for al-Mutanabbī's death in the rubric is wrong and confusing. It should read 354AH. Perhaps the scribe began writing the manuscript in 1033AH.

F.158v-159r is a series of recipes for various herb mixes written in a less formal register of Arabic and with numerical glyphs. This appears to be the same hand as the one that wrote the ownership note (on f159r) in 1701.

There are two important notes from owners. The first, on f1v, says في نوبة فقير الطاف الملك العلي محمد البكري الحموي ابن كيد علي في ربيع الأول سنة 1183. The second (f158r): – ملكه من فضل ربه" المغين عبده السيد حسين ابن الحاج علي الحموي من بني الاعوج عفي عنه مولاة في شهر محرم الحرام في افتتاح سنة 1113. For comparison, the date in the colophon translates to 10th March 1664/1st Muḥarram 1054.

This manuscript was received by Jones as a gift from a certain ʿAbd al-Raḥman Beg whom Jones discusses in some of his letters. The man was unknown to him. ʿAbd al-Raḥman Beg wrote a prefatory poem in the manuscript, which it would appear was translated by Jones; although the translation has been ripped out, a small part of it remains clearly visible on the previous (absent) folio. Underneath the poem, Jones wrote "I received this valuable manuscript by the hands of Mr. Howard to whose care it was entrusted in June 1774 at Venice by Mr. W. Montagu. It was a present from Abderrahman Beg who wrote the Arabick verse in this page, which are so flattering to me that I can hardly translate them without blushing. W.J. 3rd October 1774."

ʿAbd al-Raḥman Beg has written out a large sheet of the poetic metres (for Jones?) that is just folded loose in the manuscript.