Asl al-Zurari by Abd al-Qadir al-Astawani - 19th Century Ottoman Manuscript Copied During Author's Lifetime

Aṣl al-Ẕurārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī

by ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad al-Asṭ̣awānī al-Ḥanafī
(1833–1896 CE / 1249–1314 AH)

[Damascus, Ottoman Syria, c. 1276–1314 AH / 1860–1896 CE].
1 folio + 1 bifolio (6pp.), Arabic manuscript on laid paper. Neat naskh script, 17 lines per page, rubricated headings in red.

£750

Description

A fragment from Aṣl al-Ẕurārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, an important but unfinished commentary on al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ by the Damascene Ḥanafī scholar ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Asṭ̣awānī (1833–1896 CE). The work was begun on 1 Shawwāl 1276 AH (1860 CE) in Damascus but remained incomplete at the author’s death in 1314 AH (1896 CE).

The commentary is notable for its sharp polemic against Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, whom the author frequently criticises and refutes.

The present fragment consists of one folio and one bifolio (six continuous pages) from Kitāb al-Īmān. Among the passages included are:

• The famous ḥadīth “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself”, with grammatical and theological annotations.

• The chapter Bāb ẓulm dūna ẓulm (“injustice beneath injustice”), with reflections on gradations of sin.

Written in a clear Ottoman naskh hand, with rubricated chapter headings.

Scribal Features

Diacritics and vowel marks are applied selectively, consistent with late Ottoman scholarly practice. Trained readers could easily supply the missing signs, and their absence reflects a functional working manuscript rather than any deficiency.

The Author

ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Asṭ̣awānī (1833–1896 CE / 1249–1314 AH) was a leading Damascene Ḥanafī scholar, jurist, philologist, and astronomer. He taught at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and studied under ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥalabī, Ḥasan al-Shaṭṭī, ʿUmar al-Ghazī, and Hāshim al-Tājī. He also travelled to the Ḥijāz, where he studied with Raḥmat Allāh al-Hindī and Aḥmad Zaynī Daḥlān. His unfinished Aṣl al-Ẕurārī stands as a testament to the vibrancy of hadith scholarship in late Ottoman Damascus.

Condition

Good. Minor wormholes, light staining, and slight fraying at the edges; text complete and legible. One page has the top left missing, though this does not impact the text.

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