—many of them running to several lines—which hinders the reader’s grasp of Shaykh al-Islam’s words, as he will see for himself.
The manuscript is part of the Turkish collections kept in the ʿĀshir Afandi Library under catalog number (1154). A later correction altered the shelf mark: the original number was struck through and replaced with (1153), as noted at the beginning of the codex. The volume is a compilation of epistles by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—all of which have been printed. Some of them were extracted by Shaykh Muhammad Rashad Salim—may Allah have mercy on him—who also described the manuscript in the introduction to Jamiʿ al-Rasaʾil. Several of the epistles were copied in the year (735 AH), and our letter is found on folios (190 – 198).
This epistle may have escaped some researchers because, after consulting the opening of the manuscript and finding that portion already printed, they pay no attention to its middle or end, where it remains unpublished.
The printed edition of the epistle contains additions not present in the manuscript, and I have incorporated those additions here.