and it was copied for his own use by the servant in need of Allah, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Umar al-Basyuni al-Shafi‘i. May Allah forgive him, his parents, his teachers, his loved ones, and all Muslims. O Allah, bless, greet, and favor our master Muhammad, his family, all his companions, and every prophet, messenger, and righteous person. Amen. It was transcribed from a manuscript that had been collated against one read aloud to the author and bears his autograph attesting to that reading. • Manuscript L: “End of Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar. Its author—may Allah preserve him—says: It was annotated by its author, Ahmad ibn Ali Ibn Hajar, who completed it on the first of Dhu al-Hijja 818 AH, praising Allah Most High and invoking plentiful blessings upon His Prophet, our master Muhammad, his family, and his companions. It was annotated for his own benefit by the poorest and most needy of his Lord’s slaves, Muhammad ibn Muhammad Suwaydakin al-Shafi‘i al-Qudsi, from a copy taken from an exemplar bearing the author’s own handwriting—may Allah preserve him—and it was finished …(a) in the sacred month of the year 838 AH.” On the right margin of the folio there is a certificate of reading and authorization penned by Ibn Hajar; it states: “All praise is due to Allah, and peace be upon His chosen servants. To proceed: The entire text of this commentary was read to me, with analytical study and exactness, by the virtuous and accomplished shaykh, the travelling hadith scholar, Kamal al-Din [Muhammad] known as Ibn Abi Sharif, in several sessions, the last of which occurred on the nineteenth of Jumada al-Ula in the year forty-six [eight-hundred and forty-six](b)… I have authorised him to transmit it from me and to teach it to whomever he wishes. I ask Allah to grant him felicity and to guide him to the path of right guidance. Written by Ahmad ibn Ali Ibn Hajar al-Shafi‘i, praising, blessing, and saluting.” On the opposite (left) margin there is additional text, apparently in the hand of Kamal Ibn Abi Sharif, but it is illegible because of the poor quality of the image. • Manuscript M: “Completion of the writing of Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar in the terminology of the people of hadith—authored by the shaykh, imam, chief exegete and leading traditionist, judge of judges, shaykh al-Islam, erudite scholar, peerless in his time, mainstay of the huffaz and the hadith scholars, Shihab al-Millah wa-l-Din, Abu al-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali, known as Ibn Hajar—may Allah preserve him—took place in the year 840 AH.” On the following folio there is a certificate of reading and authorization in Ibn Hajar’s hand; it reads: “All praise belongs to Allah, and peace be upon His chosen servants. To proceed: The entire Tawdih in hadith studies was read to me by its distinguished, learned, skilful author…” _________ (a) Three or four words unclear. (b) Illegible in the original; three or four further words are also unreadable.