Copies of the manuscript a╥wāq al-ḏahab al-zama╠╤arī from the collections of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of sciences and the Oriental Department of Gorky Research Library of St. Petersburg State University Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

UDC 811.411.21

Вестник СПбГУ. Востоковедение и африканистика. 2017. Т. 9. Вып. 2

Hana Yafia Yousif Jamil, E. K. Akhmatshina

COPIES OF THE MANUSCRIPT ATWAQ AL-DAHAB AL-ZAMAHSARl FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL MANUSCRIPTS OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE ORIENTAL DEPARTMENT OF GORKY RESEARCH LIBRARY OF ST. PETERSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

Saint Petersburg State University, 7-9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation

This paper presents a study of oriental manuscripts. The study focuses on the life of famous scholar al-Zamahsari and one of his most important writings, Atwaq al-dahab, or Golden Necklaces of Exhortations and Sermons.

Al-Zamahsari's work is analyzed from the point of view of style and grammar. Three different copies of the manuscript are compared, two of which come from the collection of the Oriental Department of Gorky Research Library of St Petersburg State University and one from the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Refs 8. Figs 12.

Keywords: codicology, Arabic manuscript, manuscript copies, Arabic language, didactic literature.

СПИСКИ РУКОПИСИ АЛ-ЗАМАХШАРИ "ATWAQ AL-DAHAB", ПРИНАДЛЕЖАЩИЕ КОЛЛЕКЦИИ ИНСТИТУТА ВОСТОЧНЫХ РУКОПИСЕЙ И СОБРАНИЮ ВОСТОЧНОГО ОТДЕЛА БИБЛИОТЕКИ ИМ. М. ГОРЬКОГО СПбГУ

Хана Яфиа Юсиф Джамиль, Э. К. Ахматшина

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет,

Российская Федерация, 199034, Санкт-Петербург, Университетская наб., 7-9

Статья посвящена ставшему в последнее время чрезвычайно актуальным вопросу изучения и описания восточных рукописей. В настоящем исследовании собраны факты из жизни известного ученого ал-Замахшари, а также рассматривается одно из самых важных сочинений автора, которое носит название Atwaq al-dahab, или Золотые ожерелья наставлений и советов. В этом произведении ал-Замахшари описал положительные и отрицательные стороны общества в целом и отдельных его представителей в частности. Значимость произведения ал-Замахшари подтверждается тем, что впоследствии появилось несколько работ-подражаний его сочинению.

Авторы статьи проводят анализ содержания сочинения ал-Замахшари, выделяя стилистические и грамматические особенности текста, а также сопоставив тексты разных списков одной рукописи. Кроме того, в статье представлены наиболее интересные фрагменты сочинения, позволяющие составить впечатление о произведении ал-Замахшари в целом. В своей работе авторы рассматривают и описывают три списка сочинения ал-Замахшари Atwaq al-dahab: два списка из Восточного отдела библиотеки им. Горького СПбГУ, а также список из Института восточных рукописей Санкт-Петербурга. Иллюстрации соответствующих листов сочинения дают более полное представление об особенностях изученных списков. Библиогр. 8 назв. Ил. 12.

Ключевые слова: кодикология, арабская рукопись, списки рукописи, арабский язык, дидактическая литература.

Currently, research of written artifacts in oriental languages is increasingly timely and important. This has to do with the fact that scholars recognized the importance of knowledge contained in centuries old treatises on philosophy, history, philology, medicine and other human and natural sciences. Over the centuries, the number of written pieces

© Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, 2017

has experienced a steady increase filling private and public collections. The spread of writings prompts their proper storage and systematization.

Russian scholars had already studied al-Zamahsari's writings, e.g. B. Z. Khalidov, Al-Zamahsari (zhizn i tvorchestvo) (Al-Zamahsari: His Life and Writings) and B. Z. Khalidov & A. B. Khalidov, Biografia al-Zamahsari, sostavlennaya ego sovremennikom al-'Andarasbani (Al-Zamahsari's Biography Compiled by His Contemporary al-'Andarasbani). This study will go beyond the famous scholar's personality and also focus on one of his most important pieces, Atwaq al-dahab, or Golden Necklaces of Exhortations and Sermons.

Mahmud al-Zamahsari was the author of seventy works. He was born in 467 AH/1075 AD. and died in 538AH/1144 AD. The future scholar was born in a small place called Zamakhshar in Khwarezmia, which is now part of Turkmenistan, and grew in a poor but educated and religious family [1, p. 210]. 'Abd al-Tawab 'Aud mentions these facts attributing them to al-Zamahsari himself [2, p. 10]. Adventurer and scholar al-Muqaddasi noted that Khwarezm attracted a lot of scholars and literary figures of the time [3, p. 284-285]. Initially, al-Zamahsari's father taught him. Later, he went to school and traveled a lot when he grew up to increase his knowledge. Yaqut al-Hamawi mentions 'Abu al-Hasan al-Muzaffar al-Nisaburi and 'Ibn Garir al-Dabbi — among al-Zamahsari's teachers. The latter not only taught al-Zamahsari but supported him financially. Later, al-Zamahsari had a lot of disciples too [4, p. 1142].

Al-Zamahsari traveled to Bukhara, Khorasan, Isfahan, Baghdad, and Mecca, where he met outstanding people of his time. Some researchers noted that al-Zamahsari continued to study all his life. His good handwriting helped the young scholar to make his living.

Al-Zamahsari was married but had no children. He divorced his wife to dedicate his life to scholarly activities. 'Abd al-Tawab 'Aud says that the failure in his personal life made a great impact on his beliefs [2, p. 31]. He even made this the subject of some of his beits:

tazawwagtu lam 'a'lam wa 'ahta'tu lam 'usib

fa ya laytani qad muttu qabla al-tazwig

I married, not knowing what marriage was.

I wish I could have died before the wedding!

The scholar had two nicknames: Fahr Hawarizm the Pride of Khwarezm and Gar Allah God's Neighbor. Arab scholar and writer al-Zirikli suggested that the latter name was given to al-Zamahsari, because he lived in Mecca for quite some time [5, p. 76-77].

Al-Zamahsari had a physical impairment that he received as a child, he had lost his foot and used a wooden artificial leg. Several explanations are know of this impairment. Some historians believe that he lost one of his feet to a frostbite. B. Z. Khalidov points out that al-Zamahsari's disability was the result of him falling off the roof and breaking his leg, which had to be amputated [6, p. 548]. However, Yaqut al-Hamawi referred to an explanation allegedly given to him by al-Zamahsari himself that stated that the disability was his mother's curse who saw al-Zamahsari's cruel treatment of the bird he had caught and wished that he would suffer the same. According to contemporaries al-Zamahsari always carried a document as legal proof of his impairment [4, p. 2688].

As a young man, al-Zamahsari wrote several works that brought him fame. He sent his scholarly pieces and praising poems to various rulers including high-ranked officials with the court of Seljuq Sultans, to receive remuneration and a government position.

While he received money for his writings he never reached a high position protesting that the road to power was open to the ignorant but closed to scholars.

Al-Zamahsari was the author of geographic and Arabic-Persian dictionaries, a collection of maqamas, a collection of proverbs and sayings as well as numerous theological writings. Al-Zamahsari's Qur'an commentary, al-Kassaf fi al-Quran, which he completed in 1134, is the most debated of this works. Al-Zamahsari followed the Hanafi Madhab and subscribed to the Mu'tazilite theological doctrine. This work fully reflected his ideas. Despite the fact that al-Kassaf has often been called heretical, it remains one of the most serious scholarly works of this kind as the first example of scholarly textual analysis.

'Ibn Hallikan and al-Suyuti noted al-Zamahsari's breadth of knowledge and talked of him as a specialist in many fields.

In 1130, the scholar went on his second hajj to Mecca despite his physical disability going around Kaaba one hundred times [7, p. 66]. According to contemporaries, after each circle al-Zamahsari writes a chapter or, as he called them, maqala (article) of his piece Atwaq al-dahab. The work was written in the traditional Arab style of sag' (rhymedprose). We should remind our readers of al-Zamahsari's mastery of Arabic. His works are chac-terized by high style, imagery and rich language. Atwaq al-dahab is written in the style not accessible to every scholar. This is another evidence of his command of the language. In Atwaq al-dahab, the author describes positive and negative aspects of society as a whole and of some of its members.

Al-Zamahsari died in his home town of Khwarezm and was buried in Gurganj. Famous traveler 'Ibn Battuta wrote that he had visited that place and personally seen the scholar's grave.

How important was al-Zamahsari's Atwaq al-dahab is manifested by the fact that a number of pieces have since come out that imitated this work. Al-'Isfahani wrote a piece with the similar name of Atbaq al-dahab (Golden Dishes). The piece is written in a similar style on a similar subject. It also describes public morals but is longer than al-Zamahsari's work. Despite the fact that both writings were complete pieces, they complement each other in some parts [7, p. 67]. Famous Egyptian poet 'Ahmad Sawqi wrote a piece in 1951 that had reference points with al-Zamahsari's work both in content and in form called Aswaq al-dahab (Golden Markets).

We studied three copies of al-Zamahsari's, Atwaq al-dahab, or Golden Necklaces of Exhortations and Sermons: No.834 and No.797 from the Oriental Department of Gorky Research Library of St Petersburg State University and A-584 from the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St Petersburg.

First of all, it must be noted that the title of Atwaq al-dahab was not given by the piece's author. Al-Zamahsari wrote two pieces with similar titles: the collection of maqam, Kitab al-nasa'ih al-kibar (The Book of Important Exhortations) and Kitab al-nasa'ih al-sigar (The Book of Small Exhortations). Later, the latter became known as Atwaq al-dahab.

Both copies from the collection of the Oriental Department of St Petersburg State University belonged to Sheik al-Tantawi's collection [8, с. 28]. There is an inscription on page 2 in No.834 made by the copy owner:

tala' hadihi al-risala malikuha Muhammad al-Tantawi wa huwa fi bitrburg fi yaum al-sabt 3 gumadi ahar sanat 1256

Its owner Muhammad al-Tantawi read this treatise, St Petersburg, Saturday, 3 Jumadi, end of the year 1256.

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Fig. 1. Fragment of Copy No.834 with the inscription indicating that the copy was part of al-Tantawi's collection

Copy No.834 (sheets 1-13) is in a convolute; it is in good condition. The copy size is 22 cm x 14 cm. The paper is European, with water marks. The text is written in black ink, with headings highlighted in red ink. There comments on the margins in Arabic. The text includes carry-over words and an introductory basmalah. Neither the date nor the copyist's name are mentioned. Part of the text is vowelled.

The size of Copy No.797 is 21,5 cm x 15 cm. The copy is in good condition despite the yellowed paper. The paper is European, with water marks. The text is written in black ink, with headings highlighted in red ink. The text is inside a box drawn in red ink. Some sheets have comments in Arabic; the text has carry-over words. Neither the date nor the copyist's name are mentioned. The text is fully vowelled.

Copy A-584 from the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St Petersburg has the following size: 17,5 cm x 13 cm. The cover is made of cardboard. The text is written in black ink, with headings highlighted in red ink. There are grammatical and lexical comments in Arabic with corrected mistakes on the margins. The text of the piece starts with the back side of sheet 2. Articles, or chapters, are numbered till sheet 5. The text is fully vowelled.

Fig. 2. First Sheet of Copy No.797 The three copies start with the author's words:

allahumma 'inn! 'ahmaduka 'ala ma 'anzalta 'alayya min ni'matika wa 'ala ma 'azalta 'annl min ni'qmatika 'ala 'ann! lam 'akun ahlan li-al-'ula kunt bi-al-taniya 'awla God, I thank you for giving (me) of Your mercies; (for) removing Your wrath from me, although I did not deserve the former (i.e., Your mercy) but deserved the latter (i.e. Your wrath).

The word 'anzalta is replaced by its synonym 'azlalta in Copy A-584. Meanwhile the text is rhymed, e.g.: 'anzalta — 'azalta; min ni'matika — min niqmatika. The back of sheet 2 says:

'innaka mawla kull hayr wa muwl!h wa hafid kull say' wa mu'l!h You have all goodness, You give goodness. You elevate and bring down.

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Fig. 3. Beginning of Copy No. 834

Copy No.797 has a colophon on sheet 1, which is generally found at the end of a piece.

There is a verse by scholar 'Abd al-Rahman al-Marhumi in the colophon1:

maqalat Mahmud hakim nizamuha laha mantaq 'adb wa ma'na badi' 'ida 'aqil 'awmat 'ilayh bi-tarfiha tayammamha wa huwa al-sami' al-muti' wa laha dalil sahid li-musigiha bi-madhab haqq la 'i'tizal sani' 'afa allah 'an dak al-ganab fa-kam 'ata

Died in 1712.

Fig. 4. Beginning of Copy No. 797

bi-safi'at fih wa ni'm al-rafi'

'alayh sahab al-fadl yamtar da'iman

bi-marhmat fiha giyat muri'

The rhymes in Mahmud's articles are wonderful,

They have sweet language and marvelous meaning.

If these articles are given to a reasonable man,

He immediately washes himself with sand. He is obedient and humble.2 These articles have obvious proof that the man, who has written them,

2 It means "obedient to and humble before" God, since some chapters have religious content.

Fig. 5. Beginning of Copy A-584

Adheres to the right religious doctrine, Not to the horrible Mu'tazilite teaching.

May God forgive this man. How many times God has protected him! He is the best protector in the world! He3 is given countless blessings.

3 Reference to al-Zamahsari

Fig. 6. Sheet 1 of Copy No.797

We can derive from the above fragment that despite many sources some scholars, including al-Marhumi, believed that al-Zamahsari was not Mu'tazilite.

Fig. 7. Fragment of Copy No.797

The colophon on sheet 21 of Copy No.797 reads:

tamma Atwaq al-dahab li-qudwat al-'fadil fi al-'agm wa al-'arab 'Abi al-Qasim Mahmud ibn 'Umar al-Zamahsari tayyab Allah matwah

The piece Golden Necklaces is completed to become an example for worthy (people) from Arabs and non-Arabs. (Written by) Abi al-Qasim Mahmud ibn 'Umar al-Zamahsari. May he rest in peace!

Fig. 8. Last sheet of Copy No. 834 Copy No.834 has the following text on sheet 13:

wa al-hamd li-Allah rabb al-'alamin wa salla Allah 'ala 'afdal al-'anbiya' wa al-mursilin wa al-mala'ikat al-muqarrabin Muhammad al-nabi al-mustafa wa alih wa 'ahl baytih al-tayyibin al-tahirin wa sallam tasliman katiran katiran

Praise God, the Lord of the Worlds! May God bless the best of prophets and (God's) messengers, angels close to Muhammad — the chosen prophet — his noble family and kin. He (God) blessed him immensely.

Fig. 9. Last sheet of Copy A-584

The text of the last sheet number 16 of Copy A-584 is different from that of the other copies:

tammat al-risalat al-mawsumat bi-Atwaq al-dahab li-al-Zamahsarl Al-Zamahsart's treatise entitled Golden Necklaces is completed

Besides, there is the copy owner's seal on sheet 2, the back of sheet 7, the back of sheet 12, and the last sheet 16 that says:

This is the property of al-Ragi Fayd al-Samdi al-Sayh Ahmad Xiya al-Din Mustafa al-Halidi. Sin will be on those who will change it after hearing of it.4

It is worth noting that al-Zamahsari's work is not free from contradictions or statements we could hardly agree with.

Article number 23 in Copy No.797 has the following text on the back of sheet 7:

'ihdar min al-husuf wa al-kusuf wa la tastami' li-qawl al-faylasuf la ya'lu 'an yatahammaq wa 'an yaglu wa yata'ammaq

Fear a sun or moon eclipse and do not listen to the philosopher's speeches, for he behaves like a fool.

In other instance, al-Zamahsari urges to refrain from treatment and totally rely on God instead who can cure any ailment. For example, the author of the treatise writes in article 48 on the back of sheet 13 and on sheet 14:

tiqatuk bi-qawl al-tabib marad 'a sadd min maradik

Your belief in the doctor is more serious an illness than you own illness...

And later:

fa-'aktaruhum 'imma 'abd al-tabi'at wa 'imma 'abid al-salib fi al-bay'at

Most doctors are slaves of nature or Christians that worship the cross in the church.

Fig. 10. Fragment of Copy No. 797

Fig. 11. Fragment of Copy No. 797

4 Then whoever changes the bequest after hearing it, the sin shall be on those who make the change. Truly, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. (Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow), ayat 181).

At the same time, al-Zamahsari calls on people to act in a thought-through and weighted way, e.g. in article 21:

halumma 'ila istisarat 'aqlik fa-tabassar wa 'ila istiharat dihnik fa-tadabbar Use your reason, think, act consciously...

Fig. 12. Fragment of Copy No. 797

Al-Zamahsari's Atwaq al-dahab continues to interest scholars not only from the point of view of content but as a brilliant literary piece. This gives us reason to state that al-Zamahsari is rightly considered to be a talented and unique scholar of his time.

References

1. Yafia Yousif Jamil. Sochineniia, posviaschennye iazykoznaniiu iz rukopisnoi kollektsii A. K. Kazem-Beka [Manuscripts on lingustics from A. K. Kazem-Beck Oriental Manuscripts Collection]. Heritage of Mirza Kazem-Beck: History and Modernity. Kazan, 2015, pp. 206-219. (in Russian)

2. Abd al-Tawab Aud. Atwaq al-dahab fi al-mawaiz wa al-hutab [Golden Necklaces in Sermons)]. Cairo, 202 p. (in Arabic)

3. Sams al-Din al-Muqaddasi. Ahsan al-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim [The Best Guide to Countries/ The Best Guide to Climate]. 1425 AH. (in Arabic)

4. Yaqut al-Hamawi. Magma' al-'udaba [Encyclopedia of Literary Figures]. 1993. 3560 p. (in Arabic)

5. Xayr al-Din al-Zirikli. al-'Alam [OutstandingScholars]. Beirut, 2002. (in Arabic)

6. Khalidov B. Z. Al-Zamahsari (zhizn i tvorchestvo) [Al-Zamahsari: His Life and Writings]. Semitskie yazyki [Semitic languages]. Moscow, Oriental Literature Publisher, 1965, pp. 542-556. (in Russian)

7. Islamov Z. M. Sochinenie "Zolotye ukrasheniia" i ego vliianie na razvitie literatury narodov Vostoka ["Golden Necklaces" and Its Impact on the Development of the Literature of the Peoples of the Orient]. Research Journal Sociosphere, Edition 2, Penza, 2014, pp. 66-68. (in Russian)

8. Frolova O. B. Arabskie rukopisi vostochnogo otdela nauchnoi biblioteki SPbGU: Kratkii catalog [Arabic Manuscripts of the Oriental Department of St Petersburg State University Research Library: A Short Catalogue]. St Petersburg, 1996, 268 p. (in Russian)

For citation: Hana Yafia Yousif Jamil, Akhmatshina E. K. Copies of the Manuscript Atwaq al-dahab al-Zamahsari from the collections of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Oriental Department of Gorky Research Library of St Petersburg State University. Vestnik SPbSU. Asian and African Studies, 2017, vol. 9. issue 2, pp. 196-210. DOI: 10.21638/11701/spbu13.2017.207.

Received 10.11.2016 Accepted 28.02.2017

Контактная информация

Хана Яфиа Юсиф Джамиль — кандидат филологических наук; [email protected] Ахматшина Энеш Курбансейидовна — кандидат политических наук; enesh.bayramova@gmail. com, [email protected]

Hana Yafia Yousif Jamil — PhD; [email protected]

Akhmatshina Enesh Kurbanseiidovna — PhD; [email protected], [email protected]