Lesson Title: Analyzing the Audition List and Identifying Originals and Secondary Copies in Manuscripts
Introduction
Shaykh Salih al-Azhari began the lecture with supplication and praise of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, then turned to the importance of this lesson within the series “Precious Crafts on Ancient Pages” (Sina’at Nafisa ‘ala Safahat ‘Atiqa). The Shaykh focused on reading and understanding the audition list (tabaqat al-sama’) and analyzing its elements, while deducing the rules concerning originals (usul) and secondary copies (furu’) in manuscripts.
Main Elements
1. The Concept of the Audition List
- Definition of the list: the list is a document recording the process of hearing, or of copying from one original copy to another, during the audition session.
- Original and secondary copy: the Shaykh explains that the copy used in the session is considered an “original” (asl) for those present, while it is considered a “secondary copy” (far’) in relation to the shaykh’s own exemplar.
2. Terms Associated with the List
- “Shahadtu ma mithaluhu” (I saw the following): used to express having seen an audition list copied from a particular original.
- The original (al-asl): the copy that was used in the session and which is relied upon as the reference for other copies.
- The blank space (al-bayad): leaving an empty space when a name or piece of information is not known.
3. Analyzing Audition Lists
- Verifying the copied-over list:
- The copying is sometimes done letter by letter.
- In other cases, there is abridgment or addition, depending on the person copying.
- Distinguishing between original and copied-over copies:
- The original copy is used directly in the session.
- The copied-over copy depends on the original copy and transfers it verbatim or with modification.
4. Using Terms in Editing Copies
- The importance of reading the names and terms in audition lists, such as “al-darb” (striking through), which means correcting errors or deleting repeated words.
- The role of the “license” (ijaza) as proof of the hearing or transmission of texts.
5. The Importance of Studying the Lists
- Building a genealogical tree of the manuscript copies (stemma) to determine the relationship between originals and secondary copies.
- The usefulness of understanding the lists for editing texts and linking them to the original copies.
Distinctive Points in the Lesson
- The Shaykh’s emphasis on the importance of titles and descriptions: the Shaykh discussed the use of the honorific titles attached to the persons mentioned in audition lists, stressing that no untrue descriptions should be added.
- Dealing with differences in names and lineages: the Shaykh explained the editorial method to follow when texts differ between sources.
- The issue of “addition in copying”: the Shaykh pointed out that any addition in copied texts is considered a defect and contradicts the method of editing.
Conclusion
The Shaykh concluded the lecture by inviting those present to reconsider the concepts of “original” and “secondary copy” and to use audition lists as a basic source for editing copies. He stressed the importance of scrutinizing what is copied from original copies and analyzing the relationships between different copies in order to build accurate conceptions of the manuscripts.