Lecture Title: Methodology for Dealing with Marginal Notes and Corrections in Ancient Manuscripts
Summary of the Lecture
The second lecture of the course “Reading Ancient Manuscripts” offers a practical explanation of a precious copy (nuskha nafisa) of al-Sharh al-Mutawassit ‘ala al-Alfiyya (the intermediate commentary on the Alfiyya) by Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Husayn al-‘Iraqi. Shaykh Salih Muhammad Abd al-Fattah al-Azhari focused on several phenomena in manuscripts, clarifying common errors and the techniques copyists used to document and correct texts.
Main Themes
1. Marginal Notes and Corrections: The Difference Between Them
- The marginal note (hashiya): its sign is placed above the word to indicate an external comment or clarification.
- The correction (tashih): a mark is placed between two words to indicate where something has dropped out of the text and is to be restored to the original text.
- The importance of the mark “صح” (sahh, “correct”) in confirming that the text in the margin is to be returned to the main text.
2. Copyists’ Marks and Their Meanings
- The nail-paring (qulamat al-zufr): a special form of the sukun, sometimes used as a clarifying mark and interpreted according to the context.
- A small ‘ayn under the letter: indicates that the letter is unpointed.
- A small ha’ beneath the letter: to indicate that it is unpointed (muhmal), carrying no dots.
- Linking the pronoun to its referent: marks copyists used to show what a pronoun refers to; these are common in copies made by non-Arabs.
3. Copyists’ Methods of Laying Out Texts
- Justifying the lines:
- If a word is long, it is divided between the line and its end, to avoid the page looking uneven.
- If a line is short, marks such as “=” are added to fill the gap.
- Stretching words: to fit the spaces while preserving the visual balance of the page.
4. Corrections in the Margins
- If a word or sentence has dropped out of the text, the copyist writes it in the margin with the mark “صح” (sahh).
- If a word in the margin is not accompanied by the mark “صح”, it is not incorporated into the main text.
5. Possible Errors and How to Deal with Them
- Similarity between words: such as the words “حرب” (harb, “war”) and “حزب” (hizb, “party”); the copyist clarifies the difference using special marks.
- Grammatical or linguistic errors:
- The copyist leaves the text as it is if the error was in the exemplar he was copying from, placing a “ضبة” (dabba) mark over the text to indicate the error.
- Sometimes the word “كذا” (kadha, “thus [in the source]”) is used in place of correcting the text.
6. The Importance of Studying Copyists’ Marks
- These marks show the extent of the copyist’s understanding of the text and his ability to transmit it accurately.
- Errors in understanding these marks can lead to inaccurate results when editing texts.
Lessons Drawn
- The importance of knowing copyists’ methods in order to understand manuscript texts.
- The need for caution when incorporating marginal notes into the main text.
- Strengthening the understanding of context by analyzing marks and symbols.
Recommendations
- Concentrating on studying the earlier lectures to understand recurring copying phenomena.
- Using copyists’ marks as a reference for understanding and accurately editing texts.
- Applying the methodology studied to other copies in order to practice the skills acquired.
This summary brings out the important elements of the lecture and allows it to be consulted as a reliable source for studying the science of manuscript editing.
All parts of Course 2: Reading Ancient Manuscripts - Shaykh Salih al-Azhari