Course 5: Reading the Audition Certificates of Precious Manuscripts - Day Three
Shaykh Salih al-Azhari distinguishes the audition list from the chain of transmission and original from copied-over auditions, illustrating the pitfalls with the case of the copy of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala attributed to the hand of al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman.
Manuscript Studies2024-12-29
Lesson Title: Understanding the Audition List and the Chain of Transmission in Arabic Manuscripts
Elements of the Lesson
Defining the audition list and the chain of transmission:
The audition list (tabaqat al-sama’): a certificate establishing that an individual attended a particular audition session, in which he received the book from a particular shaykh on a particular date.
The chain of transmission (isnad): the series of narrators linking the owner of the copy to the original author, made up of each shaykh naming his own shaykh until the author is reached.
The difference between the audition and the chain of transmission:
The audition concerns the actual attestation of the session in which the text was received.
The chain of transmission is the historical sequence of narrators.
The importance of the audition list:
It is considered proof that the book was received directly from the shaykh.
It is used to document texts and to analyze the soundness of copies.
Types of audition:
Original audition: based on an actual attestation of the session in which the audition took place.
Copied-over audition: a copy derived from the original audition, which may require further analysis to confirm that the information is sound.
Problems in editing manuscripts:
Relying on a copied-over audition may lead to errors in assessing the value of texts.
Example: the attribution of the handwriting of a copy to al-Rabi’ ibn Sulayman al-Muradi and treating the copy as being in his hand, which led to errors in editing the text.
How to benefit from the audition list:
Determining whether the audition is original before using it to establish the date of the copy or its attribution.
Avoiding building scholarly conclusions on copied-over auditions.
Practical examples:
Discussing the case of the copy of al-Risala by Imam al-Shafi’i, and analyzing the problem of attributing its handwriting to al-Rabi’ ibn Sulayman.
Closing Notes
The importance of precision in analyzing the audition list and the chain of transmission to avoid problems in scholarly editing.
The need to distinguish between original and copied-over auditions to avoid errors in attributing texts.