Ibn Rashiq al-Mursi (d.1296 AD), Kitab al-mir’at fi al-sab’ al-qira’at (The Book of the Mirror concerning the Seven Methods of Recitation), Andalusia, circa 1300

This rare survival is an important, early manuscript related to the Qur’anic science of Qira’at. Considered as one of the most noble sciences, the discipline is fundamental as it refers to the articulation of the words of the Qur’an, such as they were articulated by the Prophet.

The author, Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn ibn Rashiq al-Mursi was born in Murcia in 1230-31, which he left around the time of the Christian conquest of the city, moving to Almeria before settling in Ceuta in North Africa. He is said to have died in 1296-97 as part of a delegation from Ceuta to the Marinid sultan. While he was primarily known as a poet, he also authored the present text on the seven schools of Qur’an recitation, which he arranged in the manner of tables and he dedicated it to Abu’l-Qasim al-‘Azafi, the emir of Ceuta. His works and knowledge were held in high regard by his successors including the polymath Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib who praised the author as being one-of-a-kind and a wonder in analysis and invention (Enan, n.d. p.480). For further information on the author see Bencharifa 2008.

Very few manuscript copies of this text have been recorded and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the earliest recorded manuscript of the text with only one other copy recorded in the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library in Timbuktu, Mali (inv. no.2829). The illumination and script of that copy point to a later dating than the present manuscript. Both the present manuscript and the example in Timbuktu lack a diagram for surah al-Nas, ending the text with surah al-Falaq, and the present manuscript lacks its first leaf. Given the losses to the Timbuktu manuscript which survives in a damaged condition, the present manuscript presents a remarkably complete and early copy of this rare text.

Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib’s praise of the innovation of the author is evident in this text. The author has created two circular diagrams to illustrate the chains of transmission of the Qur’anic text. On the left-hand page, the diagram illustrates the transmission from the Prophet Muhammad to the seven readers. On the right-hand page, he illustrates the chains of transmission from the seven readers, through the fourteen transmitters to ‘Abu ‘Amr al-Dani. The tables that follow are arranged with a column dedicated to each of the seven readers and organised in order of the chapters of the Qur’an.

The use of tables and diagrams shows the almost scientific approach of the author who takes a conscious effort to aid learning among his readers. It is likely that Ibn Rashiq al-Mursi was inspired by early scientific works such as a twelfth century manuscript of Kitab al-Musta’ini sold in these rooms, 15 October 2003, lot 11. The circular diagrams are a particularly unusual feature, and the manuscript therefore shows an early usage of this arrangement in relation to the discipline of qira’at.

The legibility of the format of the text is supported by the clearly-written Andalusi script employed by the scribe. The script is comparable to early, Andalusian manuscripts such as a fragmentary copy of Ghazali’s Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din sold in these rooms, 25 October 2023, lot 8, and manuscript of Kitab al-Muwatta’ sold at Christie’s, London, 26 April 2018, lot 7. The calligraphy and the thick, burnished paper indicate that the copy was produced at the start of the fourteenth century, very shortly following the death of the author who died in 1296. There are notes inscribed throughout the manuscript indicating that it was compared against an autograph copy of the text.