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Or 4950
- Record Id:
- 032-003460823
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-003460823
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100085825119.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100171513554.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Or 4950
- Title:
-
Two Christian Arabic theological treatises
- Scope & Content:
-
The manuscript contains two early attempts to defend and explain Christian doctrines and practices in a time when Islam was increasingly gaining influence in social and intellectual spheres. In this context, the biblical and Patristic heritages were aptly adapted to meet the challenges posed by Muslims and reformulated in the Arabic language to answer the needs of Chalcedonian communities in the Near East. At least one of the tracts is composed by the well-known theologian Theodore Abū Qurra (died after 816 CE).
Part 1: Theological treatise/treatises commonly referred to as al-Jāmiʿ wujūh al-īmān (الجامع وجوه الإيمان) or Summa theologiae arabica (fols. 1r-197v). It has been suggested that the author is anonymous, that it was composed by Abū Qurra, and that it was collected or composed by Stephen of Ramle ;
Part 2: A treatise on the veneration of icons by Abū Qurrah (fols. 198r-237v). This text was authored by Abū Qurra.
Contents:
The beginning of the introduction is missing. The anonymous tract consist of 25 chapters on Christian doctrines and practices, whereas the second tract, by Abū Qurra, offers biblical and rational arguments for the veneration of icons.
Colophon: Fol. 197v, lines 6-21.
تم المصحف بعون الله وقوته ون(٦) تم المصحف بعون اللـه وقوته ونعمته (٧) وكان كمال كتابه في اول يوم من ذقمبرس (٨) يكون من حساب سني الدنيا على ما يقبل في (٩) كنيسه القيامه بيت المقدس سنه ست الاف (١٠) وثلثمايه وتسعه وستين ومن سني الاكسندرس سنه (١١) الف ومايه وثمنين. ويكون من سني العرب (١٢) في شهر ربيع الاول من سنه اربع وستين وماتين. (١٣) كتبه الخاطى المسكين الحقير اصطافني (١٤) بن حكم يُعرف بالرملي في سيق مارى حريطن (١٥) لمعلمه الاب الفاضل الطهر الروحانى انبا بسيل (١٦) عمره الله. اذا انت قرات فاذكرني لا (١٧) تنسا لا نسيك الله واقامك عن يمينه واسمعك (١٨) ذلك الصوت البحي المحبوب المفرح اذ يقول (١٩) تعالوا يا مباركى ابى رثوا المُلك المُعد لكم من قبل (٢٠) انشا العالم يكون لنا ذلك بشفاعه مرتمريم الطاهره (٢١) ومارى يحنا وصاوات جميع الابا الابرار امين وامين
The second text is dated rabīʿ al-awwal 264 hijra = 877 CE or possibly 876 CE; fol. 197v, see there further dating systems.
- Collection Area:
- Oriental Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-003460823", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Or 4950: Two Christian Arabic theological treatises" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-003460823
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-003460823
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- Codex; fols. 237
- Digitised Content:
- http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100171513554.0x000001 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Arabic
- Scripts:
- Arabic
- Start Date:
- 0876
- End Date:
- 0877
- Date Range:
- 876-877
- Calendar:
- Gregorian
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment
Dimensions: 200 x 160 mm leaf [ 150 x 110 mm written]
Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil
Lines per page: 21 lines
Script: Rather angular script with a few New Style (curvy) tendencies.The scribe’s name is Stephen of Ramle, who was active in Mar Chariton in the Palestinian desert (fol. 197v).
Ink: Black-brown ink, with rubricated headings and decorations in red
Decoration: flowers at the bottom part of the manuscript at the end of the first treaty. Crosses/diamonds made out of four red dots are used at the beginning and end of a rubric.
Binding: British Museum binding
Condition: Waterstains, wormholes, etc. Good condition, a few small wholes.
Marginalia: a few notes by a later Arabic hand.
Quires: normally quaternions
Quire marks: Sporadically, Greek numberings in the bottom of the recto of a new quire.
- Source of Acquisition:
- Bought of the Rev. C. March (?), December 14, 1895
- Finding Aids:
- Ellis, A. G. and Edwards, E. Descriptive List of the Arabic manuscripts acquired by the Trustees of the British Museum since 1894, (London: British Museum, 1912) p. 69.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)