The first folio preserves the opening of the book.
The last folio contains the end of the work, after which the copyist wrote:

“The book was brought to completion—by Allah’s praise and His assistance—on the fifth day of the blessed month of Shaʿbān in the year 758 AH, at the hand of the servant in dire need of Allah, Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Salmān al-Zarʿī al-Dimashqī. May Allah forgive him, his parents, and all Muslims, and may He show mercy to everyone who studies this volume and prays for its author’s pardon and compassion. All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings be upon His Messenger Muḥammad, his family, and his Companions. Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Patron.”

The copyist occasionally employed the catch-word system.

A number of marginal notes appear on some folios, but we found little profit in citing them.
The title page bears numerous ownership stamps and readers’ notes.

This is an exceptionally fine copy. Many of its words are fully vocalized, and Allah enabled us to use it to correct numerous misreadings and to recover many omitted passages. Regrettably, several quires are missing—between folios 32 and 33—and I have determined that this manuscript is the archetype of every copy of the abridgment that I have examined, for this very lacuna has passed into all subsequent manuscripts, and from them into every printed edition of the Mukhtaṣar.

I have designated this manuscript with the siglum “M.”