Abstract Exploring monstrosity in the context of Islamic art offers many unexplored perspectives. Divs, a prominent group of Persian monsters that feature extensively in the richly illustrated manuscripts of the Islamic era, particularly in the Shahnama , merit a thorough examination. Such an analysis not only enhances our understanding of Islamic art in the Persianate context but also contributes to the broader field of monster studies. This study focuses on the painting Tahmuras Defeats the Divs attributed to Sultan Muhammad, demonstrating the visual language that enables audiences to hear the divs’ voice. This voice, which emphasizes the independence of the image from the text it is presumed to illustrate, reveals how the painter deliberately sought a more balanced perspective towards these monstrous beings, moving beyond the traditional human-favoured viewpoint that advocates their suppression. Sultan Muhammad achieved this by celebrating their pictorial diversity, highlighting their emotions and interactions, and, most significantly, centring them in the composition. Employing Nichols’s theoretical framework, this study demonstrates how the image functions as the unconscious of the text, exposing what the text attempts to conceal. Additionally, using Genette’s theory of hypertextuality, the research suggests that thematic extension and stylistic expansion were the strategies by which the painter transformed the Shahnama ’s verbal narrative into a dynamic visual work. This painting challenges the assumption that monsters deserve condemnation solely for embodying otherness, instead encouraging a deeper understanding of their significance. By reinterpreting a pivotal illustration from the Shahnama , this study offers a nuanced understanding of the interplay between text and image, challenging prevailing assumptions in Islamic art historiography. Moreover, this analysis broadens the field of monster studies by examining how Persian monsters such as divs disrupt binary categorizations and invite deeper reflection on otherness and identity.
Abstract This article presents a preliminary catalogue of documents from the Mūsā al-ʿAlamī Collection ( MAC ) preserved at the Institute for Palestine Studies ( IPS ), Beirut Library. The collection, which is in a pristine state, is examined here through an initial scrutiny of its content and layout, with the aim of highlighting its significance and drawing the attention it rightly deserves. Its importance lies in its vast historical framework, the diversity of document types it contains, and its inclusion of materials in both Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. This catalogue of the collection’s 238 documents represents only a first step in the academic exploration of MAC ; nevertheless, it serves a vital purpose by making the collection accessible to scholars seeking to undertake in-depth research into its entirety or selected parts.
Abstract In a recent study, Ala Vahidnia has argued that similar to how the Quranic reading tradition of Nāfiʿ shows a strong connection Maliki school of jurisprudence, other reading traditions may have also showed a close connection with the school of jurisprudence originating in the same region. In particular, she argues that the Awzāʿī school of jurisprudence may have had a close connection to the reading tradition of the Syrian Ibn ʿĀmir, and that when the Awzāʿī school made it to al-Andalus, Ibn ʿĀmir's tradition came along with it. To support this hypothesis, Vahidnia claimed to have found an Andalusi manuscript, BnF Arabe 6982, which follows the reading tradition of Ibn ʿĀmir rather than that of Nāfiʿ. This article shows that this analysis is flawed. By systematically evaluating the variant readings found in the manuscript against readings that are reported to be unique to Nāfiʿ and Ibn ʿĀmir respectively, it is shown that the manuscript consistently aligns with Nāfiʿ and deviates from Ibn ʿĀmir. Thus, the manuscript rather than challenging the notion that Nāfiʿ was dominant in the region, instead further affirms it.
Abstract This article re-examines the early Qurʾānic manuscript BnF Ar. 6982 in light of recent discussions concerning its affiliation with a particular reading tradition. While previous scholarship has focused primarily on identifying the manuscript’s reading tradition, this study argues that the manuscript is more fruitfully understood through the broader concept of scribal tradition. By integrating evidence from vocalization, dotting practices, rasm , and verse-counting ( ʿadd al-āy ), and interpreting these features in light of al-Dānī’s accounts of early Qurʾānic manuscripts, the study demonstrates that BnF Ar. 6982 preserves the Medinan scribal tradition described in classical sources as having been transmitted to the Islamic West. Together with its distinctive early Maghribi-Andalusi features, the manuscript provides material evidence for an intermediate historical stage in the formation of the Andalusi Qurʾānic manuscript tradition. The study thus proposes scribal tradition as a complementary analytical framework alongside reading tradition for investigating the history of Qurʾānic manuscript transmission.
تهدف المقالة إلى التعريف بنصٍّ تاريخي كان في حُكم المفقود، وتم العثور عليه مدمجاً على وجه خاطئ مع نسخة مخطوطة من كتاب تاريخ ابن خلدون، وهي قطعة تخلو من العنوان أو اسم مؤلفها، وتبيَّن أنها تعود للقسم التاريخي من كتاب الثغر الباسم في صناعة الكاتب والكاتم للسحماوي (868 هـ /1464 م ). يتناول النص المكتشف حقبة متأخرة من الدولة المملوكية، مكملاً الفجوة التي وقعت في النُسَخة الوحيدة التي جرى تحقيقها ونَشْرها، وهي تُغطّي أحداث السنوات من 779 هـ / 1377 م وحتى سنة 841 هـ / 1437 م، قدّم فيها المؤلف ـ على نحو مركَّز وانتقائي ـ استعراضاً عاماً لأبرز الأحداث السياسية، بما في ذلك دسائس الحاشية في البلاط والقرارات الإدارية والاضطرابات والتهديدات الخارجية، خاصة حركات التتار بزعامة تيمورلنك التي تابعها بعد وفاته ابنه شاه رخ، وأخبار الحملات المصرية في البحر الأبيض المتوسط منذ العام 796 هـ / 1394 م والتي انتهت إحداها في سنة 829 هـ /1426 م بأسر ملك قبرس جانيوس لوزنيان (Janus Lusignan) ، مع ذكر بعض الكوارث الطبيعية كالأوبئة والزلازل . وإضافة لتحقيق النص، فتشمل الدراسة وصفاً للمخطوطة المكتشفة والمحفوظة بمكتبة السليمانية ضمن خزانة داماد إبراهيم باشا رقم 866 ، وتُسلط الضوء على مدى أهمية النص المكتشف في استدراك الضائع من الكتاب، ومساهمة مؤلفه السحماوي كمعاصر للأحداث ـ إلى جانب أقرانه من المؤرخين المعاصرين له ـ في إثراء الفهم التاريخي عن الدولة المملوكية في أواخر عهدها . كما توجه الدراسة الأنظار إلى نص آخر مُنتزع من كتاب السحماوي قام باستلاله أحد المماليك ونَسَبه لنفسه وقدَّمه في عمل مستقل ّكهدية لخزانة السلطان قانصوه الغوري .
