First Edition unveils 780-year-old Al-Shatibiyyah manuscript

In its fifth episode, the programme showcases a rare manuscript titled “Fath al-Wasid fi Sharh al-Qasid”, a commentary on Al-Shatibiyyah poem by ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Samad, al-Sakhawi, al-Dimashqi, al-Shafi‘i. This commentary is the first known explanation of Al-Shatibiyyah in the various Quranic readings, copied in 632 AH.

Saeed Al Maadawi, General Supervisor of the House of Manuscripts, notes that the manuscript was copied during the author’s lifetime and has not been included in any published edition. It opens with:

"Praise be to Allah who made His Noble Book a guiding light when matters become obscure. In this book, by Allah’s power and might, I present an explanation of the poem of Sheikh Al-Shatibi, may Allah have mercy on him, known as ‘Harz al-Amani wa Wajh al-Tahani,’ summarising the benefits it contains and the excellence of its purposes, and I have named it ‘Fath al-Wasid fi Sharh al-Qasid.’"

Al Maadawi adds that the manuscript begins with the scribe’s notes naming Muhammad ibn Al-Sheikh and Ibrahim ibn Imad al-Din al-Maqri. At the end, it includes a colophon dated 982 AH, indicating the manuscript was 350 years old at that time, written in traditional naskh script.