Tāj al-tarājim
Author: Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi
Editor: Abrar Ahmed Shahī
Pages: 65
ISBN: 9789699305269
Dimensions: 255 × 165 mm
Edition: 2021
Shaykh al-Akbar
Ibn al-Arabi
Ibn al-Arabi Foundation
Critical Arabic Edition
PDF – Book
In our research on the manuscript Taj al-Tarajim, we have relied on seven different manuscript copies. Among these, two are first-class copies, three are second-class, and two are third-class.
In this regard, we are very grateful to Mrs. Jane Clark of the Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford, for sending us these manuscripts. We are also especially thankful to Ustazh Sultan Abd ul Aziz al-Mansub and his team for their review of the researched text based on these manuscripts and for their work in verifying and correcting the text.
we have divided these manuscripts into two categories:
These are the manuscripts that are directly copied from the original manuscript of Shaykh al-Akbar, or were transcribed within a century of the Shaykh’s life or death. They typically present the best text and are mostly copied directly from the original manuscript. We consider these the best manuscripts for any edition and include all variations from these in the footnotes.
These are the manuscripts that are not directly copied from the original manuscript or were transcribed centuries after Shaykh’s life or death. While they still present good text quality, we treat them as corroborative evidence. Sometimes, these manuscripts may contain errors, which is why we do not include all variations in the footnotes.
It is believed that this manuscript is part of a collection (majmūʿah) in which most of the treatises were written by the Shaykh al-Akbar himself, though scholars hold differing and contradictory opinions on this claim. In our view, it is not the Shaykh’s handwriting, although it is a script that resembles his. We believe it is a collection written by a companion of the Shaykh.
This collection is housed in the Yusuf Agha Library in Konya. In the collection, the book Taj al-Tarajim is item number six. The prevailing opinion is that this collection was written between the years 602 AH [1205 CE] and 617 AH [1220 CE], and most of its treatises were written in the city of Malatya. This is the very collection that led to the founding of the Ibn Arabi Society for the purpose of collecting the manuscripts of the Shaykh al-Akbar. This collection was stolen. Then, through various events, in the year 2000, several treatises from this same collection—including Jawāb Suʾāl Ibn Sawdakīn, Kitāb al-Bāʾ, Kitāb al-Khuṭbah, and Ḥilyat al-Abdāl—were found being auctioned in London. Upon being informed, they were returned to their original library. The remaining treatises are still available on microfilm.
As for the book Taj al-Tarajim specifically, the text is written with the embellishment of full diacritical marks (iʿrāb). The script resembles that of the Shaykh al-Akbar. From the very beginning of the manuscript, it is clear that attention was paid to pause marks, although this practice is not maintained as consistently later on. There are 17 lines per page. The words can be read with great ease, and the diacritics in particular make it even easier. In a few places in the margins, there are signs of corrections and comparisons.
At the end of the treatise, the following text is recorded:
“Completion occurred in the city of Malatya on the evening of Thursday, the nineteenth of Shawwāl in the year six hundred and seventeen [December 27, 1220 CE]. May God benefit its scribe and its reader, through His grace. Amen. Verily, He is Generous and Noble. It has been collated with the original, and praise be to God.”
This text makes it clear that this is not the original master copy (uṣūl) of the treatise, as the original would have many other distinguishing marks. In our personal opinion, this is the finest copy of this treatise, and it can be relied upon completely.
This collection, housed in the Aya Sofya Library, is a precious and rare compilation of treatises by the Shaykh al-Akbar. It contains three treatises and one chapter from the Futūḥāt. It was copied by the scribe Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sharwānī in the month of Shaʿbān, 649 AH [November 1251 CE] in the city of Konya.
Red and black ink are used in the script. The text is written in a clear black Naskh script that is easy to read. Throughout the margins, there are signs that it was used for comparison (with other manuscripts).
At the end of the book, the following text is present:
*“Completion occurred in the city of Konya—may God protect it—on the morning of Sunday, the fifth of the month of Shaʿbān in the year six hundred and forty-nine [November 1, 1251 CE]. Written by Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Sharwānī, may God forgive him. (And in the margin): It was read aloud to our Shaykh, Ṣadr al-Dīn, may God be pleased with him.”*
In our opinion, this is the finest copy of this treatise.
This is also an excellent copy of this treatise. On page 79 of the manuscript, its copy date is recorded as Dhu al-Hijjah, 721 AH [December 1321 CE].
Black and red ink are used in the script. The main text of the book is written in black ink, while the headings are highlighted in red ink. In the margins, there are occasional signs of corrections.
At the end of the book, the following text is inscribed:
*“Written by the poor, humble, and incapable servant who possesses for himself neither benefit nor harm, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Haqq ibn Abd (…) ibn Abd al-Haqq ibn Abd (…) al-Tuzari. He wrote it in the last ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year seven hundred and twenty-one [December 1321 CE]. He wrote it for himself in protected Cairo (al-Qāhira al-Maḥrūsa). May God benefit him with the knowledge and secrets it contains, and may He grant him the ability to follow what was brought by our Master Muhammad, the Chosen Prophet, peace be upon him and upon his good, pure, and excellent family.”*
From this text, it is clear that it was copied in the city of Cairo, Egypt. In our opinion, this is an excellent copy of this treatise.
This manuscript is written in Maghrebi script and is an ancient copy of the book. According to the statement of Osman Ismail Yahya, this manuscript was written during the lifetime of Sheikh Akbar, but we couldn’t find any specific phrase to confirm this claim. According to the research by Gerald Elmore, this is an old and meticulously crafted text, a view we concur with. According to researchers from the Ibn Arabi Society, it is believed that this manuscript was written before the year 700 AH.
The text is written in a very small script on large-sized pages, making it extremely difficult to read without a magnifying glass. The treatise Taj al-Tarajim begins on page number 6 and continues to page number 10. There are sporadic signs of collation and correction in the margins.
All these books and treatises are in the same handwriting, yet nowhere in this entire collection is the name of the scribe or the copy date recorded. Osman Yahia stated that this collection was copied by a disciple of the Shaykh al-Akbar and was read in the presence of the Shaykh. However, Gerald Elmore, the Ibn Arabi Society, and I have not found any historical evidence to confirm this claim. On the first page, the list of all these books and treatises is given the title “Intuitive and Investigative Treatises” (al-rasā’il al-dhawqiyyah wa al-taḥqīqiyyah).
This manuscript is part of a collection that includes 34 books and treatises by Shaykh al-Akbar and Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī. It was copied by the scribe ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn ʿAlī between the years 791-793 AH [1389-1391 CE]. At the beginning of the collection is a table of contents written in the scribe’s hand, and the collection was copied following this same order.
Two types of ink, red and black, are used in the manuscript. The scribe wrote it in a small script on large pages, so the complete treatise spans only 12 pages. The manuscript shows no marginal annotations (ḥāshiyah) nor any signs of having been collated with other copies.
At the end of the book, the following text is recorded:
*“Completion occurred in the city of Konya, in the retreat center (zāwiyah) attributed to the Verifying, Perfect, Gnostic, and Arrived Master, Shaykh Ṣadr al-Dīn—may God be pleased with him—on the second of Shaʿbān in the year seven hundred and ninety-one [July 25, 1389 CE].”*
This indicates that this copy was made in the year 791 AH in the city of Konya, at the retreat center of Shaykh Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī. It is entirely possible that it was copied from an original manuscript held within this very zāwiyah. Thus, its importance is further heightened.
This copy, written in a Naskh script, is part of a private library’s collection in Pakistan. The Ibn Arabi Foundation possesses a complete scanned image of this manuscript.
It was copied in the year 814 AH [1411 CE] in the city of Zabid, Yemen. The scribe copied it alongside many other books and treatises by the Shaykh al-Akbar, the number of which exceeds sixty. The entire collection was copied onto large-sized pages. In this collection, Taj al-Tarajim spans from page 575 to 586.
The style of handwriting suggests the copy was made in haste. In the margins, there are occasional signs that it was used for collation. Red and black ink are used in the manuscript. The copy date is not recorded at the end of this specific book, but it is mentioned frequently throughout the larger collection.
This copy, written in a Naskh script, is also of significant importance. It was part of the Rifaiyah Library collection, which was later purchased and preserved by the Leipzig University Library. It was reportedly acquired from Damascus in 1853.
It comprises thirty pages. The manuscript is very beautifully copied. Headings are clearly highlighted in bold black ink, and the main text is also easily readable. In a few places in the margins, there are signs of corrections.
Neither the beginning nor the end of the manuscript contains any record of its copy date, etc., making it difficult to estimate the period it originates from. We have included it among the third-grade manuscripts and have recorded its variant readings sparingly in the footnotes.
