RSPA 88 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

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India Office Library

Jones Collection

Royal Society Arabic and Persian

Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī, vol 2

1 copy of Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī

Language(s): Arabic

Title: Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī

Title: فتاوى عالم كيري

Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم. كتاب النكاح وفيه احد عشر باب. الباب الأول في تفسيره شرعا وصفته وركنه وشرطه وحكمه.

Explicit: وفيه نفع ولا ضر فيه لأحد له ذلك ويحوز كذا في الحمادية

Colophon: تم الربع الثاني من فتاوى عالم كيري

The second volume of an important collection of judicial decisions made by order of Aurangzeb.

The manuscript bears several seal impressions, including three on f1r made by Ḥāfiẓ Masʿūd Khān 1153 (1740), with a note saying he purchased the MS in 1162. This stamp was also found in MS87, which is the first volume of the Fatāwā, but is written in a completely different hand and bound in a different way. On f6r, there is also a stamp which appears to say " Abū al-Fatḥ Muḥammad Akram al-Dīn" dated 1107, regnal year 39 (1695) also found on MS RSPA 89 and 90.

On f6v, there is a beautiful gold illuminated headpiece depicting a gold cupola with illuminated flowers in various colours inside a multicoloured rectangle. Below, there is a gold rectangle in which William Jones has written "W. Jones".

Next to the headpiece, Jones has written "Fetāwīi 'Alamgirī Vol II".

Author:

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Text written on light cream coloured woven paper.

Extent: ff. i+572+ii

Dimensions (leaf): 305 × 200 mm.

Dimensions (written): 200 × 110 mm.

Foliation:

European numerals in pencil. Above this, and starting at [European] f6r, there is also pagination in black ink in Perso-Arabic numerals.

Condition

Whilst the MS pages are in relatively good condition, being largely repaired from their (extensive) worm damage, the binding is almost completely broken. The MS as it stands is in three main parts, where the binding has completely ripped apart. Further, f362 and f507 have come loose from the binding. The Royal Society sticker has also come loose from the binding.

Layout

Uniform layout of one column per side consisting of 23 lines per column. Colums are bordered by thin-line blue and red textboxes.

Hand(s)

Neat black-ink naskh with rubrications and red-ink indexing.

Decoration

Additions:

There are no marginal comments except for the scribe's own addition of missed words or corrections of spelling errors.

Catchwords are present on every page.

Binding

Brown leather European style Indian binding with gilt border and floral decoration down the spine. Broken in three places entirely; several pages are loose. The endbands are also almost entirely broken.

Accompanying Material

History

Origin:

Provenance and Acquisition

RSPA 1-118 were presented to the Royal Society in January 1792 by Sir William and Lady Jones. According to Wilkins, the MSS of Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrīwere presented to the Royal Society by Lady Jones.

The Royal Society's collection of 280 Persian and Arabic, and 86 Sanskrit manuscripts were transferred to the India Office Library in 1876.

1876

India Office Library

Record Sources

Manuscript description based on E. Denison Ross and E. G. Browne, Catalogue of two collections of Persian and Arabic manuscripts preserved in the India Office Library (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1902), p. 63 no. LXXXVIII

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

Funding of Cataloguing

Subjects

Islamic law

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