Description:

THE THIRTY FIRST (31) PART OF "AL-MUSAMMA" BY IMAM ABU DAWOOD, WRITTEN BY MUHAMMAD IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN IBN ALI, DATED 560AH

Arabic manuscript on cream-toned paper, copied in a clear and legible naskh script in black ink. This work represents the thirty-first part of al-Musamma, a religious and legal compendium attributed to the renowned hadith scholar Ibn Hibban al-Basti (d. 965 CE). The layout includes marginal commentary and glosses in smaller hand, indicating scholarly engagement. Folios show signs of aging and regular handling, with some repairs, staining, and worming at edges. Text is framed within simple margins, with occasional rubrication and vocalization marks for clarity. Bound in a later deep brown leather binding with an elaborate blind-stamped central medallion, possibly of Moroccan design.

Measurements:
23 x 16 cm

Comparable examples:

  • A partial manuscript of Sahih Ibn Hibban, copied in Ottoman lands, sold at Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 25 October 2021, Lot 77, for £4,000.

  • An 18th-century North African hadith manuscript, similar format and scope, sold at Christie’s, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 26 April 2018, Lot 114, for £4,750.

  • A multi-part hadith compilation by classical scholars including Ibn Hibban sold at Sotheby’s, London, 28 April 2021, Lot 89, for £6,500.

Note:
Ibn Hibban’s works, especially in the science of hadith, remain essential reading for Sunni scholars. Manuscripts of his texts were widely studied and transmitted across the Islamic world, especially in legal and theological curricula. This specific section reflects how knowledge was preserved and circulated in practical teaching formats, often bound independently and used in madrasas. The script style and format suggest a North African or possibly Ottoman provincial origin.

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
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