Rare Arabic Manuscript Folios, 1800s - Friday Sermons with Juristic Glosses

An intriguing handwritten Arabic manuscript, comprising folios from a small-format khutbah (Friday sermon) manual. The text is organised by Hijrī months (e.g. Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, Jumādā al-Awwal), with the main sermons written in a neat naskh script, framed in double red ruling, and extensive marginal glosses (ḥawāshī) in a smaller hand.

The glosses preserve juristic and practical notes for the khāṭib (preacher), including explicit attributions to ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Maḥallī (عبد القادر المحلّي) and other references to the al-Maḥallī khutbah tradition. These notes illustrate the manuscript's function as a teaching and working tool: not only model sermons, but also legal reminders and delivery guidance.

Physical details:
- Folio size: 12 × 18.3 cm
- Text block: 8 × 12 cm, c.14-16 lines per page
- Layout: single column with double red frames
- Ink: black with red rubrication for titles, dividers and emphasis
- Script: naskh for the main text, tighter naskh for marginalia
- Support: laid handmade paper (chain & laid lines visible)
- Structure: at least one bifolio (two conjugate leaves) present, with continuous wrap-around glosses
- Production: unmistakably handwritten, with variable ink flow and hand-ruled borders

Content highlights:
- Sermons for the months of Jumādā al-Awwal and Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, with rubric headings such as al-khuṭbah al-ūlá li-shahr Jumādā al-awwal ("the first sermon for Jumādā al-Awwal").
- Typical khuṭbah openings praising God and affirming the message of Islam.
- Qurʾānic exhortations to taqwā (God-consciousness), such as laqad kāna lakum fī rasūlillāhi uswatun ḥasanah (Q. 33:21).
- Practical rulings in the margins, e.g. "If the imām delays, there is no (binding) prayer and speech is permitted."
- Named attribution: qāla ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Maḥallī... anchoring the sermons in the Egyptian Shāfiʿī milieu.

Date and context (best estimate):
While absolute dating is not possible without further analysis, the manuscript appears consistent with production between the 16th and 18th centuries, with the possibility of a later scholarly copy into the 19th century. Its juristic attributions suggest an Egyptian Shāfiʿī context, though similar khutbah manuals circulated across the Ottoman world and Maghrib.

Use and significance
This was not a decorative Qurʾān or presentation copy, but a working preacher's manual: compact, portable, annotated, and clearly used in mosque or teaching contexts. The combination of sermons, glosses, and attributions makes these folios a valuable witness to the transmission of Islamic preaching traditions in the early modern period.

Condition:
- Paper strong and stable, natural toning with age.
- Ink clear, red rubrication vibrant.
- Minor handling wear, consistent with regular scholarly use.
-No modern repairs noted.

Dimensions:
- Folio size: 12 × 18.3 cm
- Text block: 8 × 12 cm
- Approx. 14-16 lines per page

Materials & Era:
- Material: Handmade laid paper, ink (black and red)
- Script: Naskh
- Era: Early modern Islamic manuscript, c.16th-18th century (possibly 19th)
- Place: Likely Egyptian, Shāfiʿī milieu (al-Maḥallī attributions)

Special Features:
- Month-by-month khutbah cycle
- Rubricated titles and dividers in red ink
- Extensive marginal glosses with juristic rulings
- Explicit reference to ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Maḥallī
- Working preacher's manual with evident use

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