- The first Paris manuscript (yāʾ), no. (2590), comprises (38 folios), with (25 to 26) lines per page and approximately ten words per line. The title page bears the inscription: “A Treatise: Governance according to the Sharia for the Welfare of the Ruler and His Subjects, authored by Shaykh al-Islam ...” Beneath the title are several ownership inscriptions, including: “From the books of Abd al-Qādir ibn Ahmad (1)—may Allah show him kindness.” After it is written: “Praise be to Allah. It then came into the possession (2) of Yahyā ibn Sālih al-Basīr—may Allah Almighty pardon him—through purchase from the eminent and learned master—may Allah direct him to every good—dated to the month of Rabī al-Awwal, 1191 AH.” Three further ownership inscriptions follow.
It is a carefully executed copy containing few errors. It was copied in the Yemeni city of Dhamār in (782 AH). Its colophon reads: “Copied for the learned Sayyid ... the eminent and brilliant scholar, unrivalled in his age and peerless, al-Izzī Izz al-Dīn, scion of pure forebears and heir to the learning of the ... Muhammad ibn Sulaymān ibn Muhammad ibn Sulaymān, al-Hamzī by lineage and al-Adlī by school. Its transcription was completed in the protected city of Dhamār during the latter half of Dhū al-Hijja, in the year seven hundred and eighty-two. May Allah forgive its owner and ... and their parents and the Muslims ...” Then, in the margin of the page, appears: “Its collation against the exemplar from which it was copied was completed to the extent possible ...” This manuscript agrees with the Azhar manuscript described below (zāy).