Description of the Manuscripts Used for This Critical Edition

For the present critical edition I have relied on thirteen handwritten manuscripts—among the oldest and finest copies of the work that have come down to us. Listed below in chronological order of transcription, they are as follows:

The first manuscript, designated “A”
– A codex held in the Berto Pasha Collection of the Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul, Turkey.
– Shelf mark: (56).
– Extent: 36 folios.
– Date of copying: 17 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 843 AH.
– Scribe: the name was originally entered and then erased; traces of the erasure remain visible.
– Script: a clear, handsome naskh hand.

Distinctive features

1. A complete and carefully executed copy.
2. It was read aloud to the author—may Allah have mercy on him.
3. The margins contain attestation notes in the author’s own handwriting.