except for the second part—bear a stamp reading:

“The Egyptian Khedivial Library.”

Each part also bears the following inscription in a comparatively fine, modern hand:

“Sarghatmish’s Commentary—First Batch.”

An endowment inscription appears on some of its parts—namely parts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 21—and reads as follows:

“The servant in need of Allah Most High, the illustrious, most noble and exalted al-Sayfī Sarghatmish, commander of the amirs’ guard, al-Malikī al-Nāsirī—may Allah extend his shade and bring his deeds to a righteous close—has endowed, made inalienable, dedicated for public use, and given in charity the entirety of this blessed part of the commentary on the Noble Quran by Imam Abū Jafar Muhammad al-Tabarī (may Allah have mercy on him), one of a set of twenty-two parts. It is endowed for those engaged in sacred learning and those residing at the Hanafī school adjoining the Mosque of Ibn Tūlūn, which is associated with the aforementioned noble dignitary—may Allah be gracious to him and forgive him, his parents, and the Muslims—so that they may benefit from it in their studies and copy from it by night and day. No one wishing to consult or copy from it shall be denied access, provided that it is not removed from the aforementioned school. It shall neither be sold, pledged, gifted, exchanged, nor altered. This is a valid and lawful endowment, by which the donor seeks the Face of Allah Almighty. May Allah accept it from him. ‘Whoever alters it after hearing it, its sin falls only upon those who alter it. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’

[al-Baqarah: 181]”

This is a fine manuscript, copied in a good naskh hand. The ruling is uniform throughout all its parts, with 23 lines per page, and its folios are of medium format.

The first part (shelfmark 11935):

It comprises (218) folios. It begins at the opening of the work and ends midway through the commentary on the words of Allah Most High in Surah al-Baqarah:

“And when you said, ‘O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allah openly,’ a thunderbolt struck you while you were looking on.”

[al-Baqarah: 55]

Its end is truncated, with the missing commentary on the remainder of the verse amounting to approximately a folio and a half; the first part ends on the verso of folio (218).