Manuscript of The Choice Book of Fatwas (Kitab al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa) of 'Abd Allah ibn Mahmud Hanafi (1203 - 84), Egypt, 1425 CE / 827 AH, Manuscript: parchment, red and black ink on paper, Binding: leather, On loan from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Arab MSS 00087

Manuscript of The Choice Book of Fatwas (Kitab al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa) of 'Abd Allah ibn Mahmud Hanafi (1203 - 84), Egypt, 1425 CE / 827 AH, Manuscript: parchment, red and black ink on paper, Binding: leather, On loan from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Arab MSS 00087

This fifteenth-century copy of an important textbook in Islamic law is intricately annotated with the notes of a legal expert (Arabic, faqih) in Egypt who likely was using the book as a teaching tool. The notes are mainly case studies and problems in law, written in a skillful and highly educated hand. Perhaps the writer was planning to consolidate these notes into a published commentary of his own, to educate future generations through the book.

Abd Allah ibn Mahmud Hanafi (1203 - 84) (author)

Dimensions: 22 x 16 cm

Material: Manuscript: parchment, red and black ink on paper; Binding: leather

Fisher Arab MSS 00087

Egypt

Photographer credit: Courtesy of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

1425 CE / 827 AH

Arabic

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Manuscript of The Choice Book of Fatwas (Kitab al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa)