Three Manuscripts of Muḥammad ibn ˓Alī al-Sanūsī in the Istituto per l'Oriente C. A.

Nallino in Rome
Author(s): Laura Bottini
Source: Oriente Moderno , 2016, NUOVA SERIE, Anno 96, Nr. 2 (2016), pp. 197-210
Published by: Istituto per l'Oriente C. A. Nallino

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 Œ'
■ď'
£ ft ORIENTE
C.A. NALLINO

MODERNO
ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210
BRILL brill.com/ormo

Three Manuscripts of Muhammad ibn cAh al-Sanūs

in the Istituto per l'Oriente C. A. Nallino in Rome

Laura Bottini
Università di Catania

lbottini@unict.it

Abstract

In Rome, the Istituto per l'Oriente houses the library belonging to one of the most
important scholar of the last century, Carlo Alfonso Nallino who, during his life, col-
lected a large amount of printed and lithographed books as well as a small number of
manuscripts in Arabic. The Iqãz al-wasnãn fi L-'amal bi-l-hadltwa-l-Quťan by al-Sanūsī,
the only manuscript copy identified so far, is part of this small collection. My intent is
to present its description along with the description of other two manuscripts acquired
by Nallino containing two works written by the same Sufi scholar, al-Salsabīl al-maln
fi l-tarâïq al-arbaīn and al-Manhal al-rāwī al-rďiq fi asānīd al-'ulüm wa-usül al-tarďiq.

Keywords

Arabic manuscripts - Muhammad ibn Alī al-Sanūsī - Carlo Alfonso Nallino - fiqh -
iģtihād

Carlo Alfonso Nallino (1872-1938), outstanding Italian scholar of the last cen-
tury, owned a very sizeable library which is housed at present in Rome, in the
Istituto per l'Oriente, entitled to the same Arabist. His library covers almost all
fields of traditional Islamic literature but it also contains non-Islamic works.1

1 His library was enriched, between 1938 and 1974, by new book acquisitions promoted by his
daughter Maria Nallino. The Nallino Collection includes about 8,000 volumes, 10,000 off-
prints, 272 maps, relating especially to Lybia, a collection of photos and postcards and, finally,
private papers mainly consisting of private correspondence and study materials. For the last
Nallino legacy see Baldinetti, A. Carte private di Carlo Alfonso e Maria Nallino. Inventario.

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2016 | DOI 10.1163/22138617-12340104

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198 BOTTINI

It consists
antique boo
books, main
characters.
prepare a c
the Istitut
tain three w
hiģrī, Muha
Sanüsiyyah
Of the abo
know these
or through
single exem
Quťan (The
and the K
Collection
are not the
far like th
are one of
the Iqãz ha
a descripti
al-maìn fi 1
and the Ki

Roma, Istitut
per l'Oriente"
prospettive d
2 The catalogu
and Rossini m
collection. Th
also photogra
Karšūnī; the c
3 See Viker,
Brotherhood
ings of al-San
4 Vik0r. Sufi
Sudanie Afric
1994, p. 168) c
5 Vikar. Sufi
I found a man
University in

ORIEN

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN <ALÍ AL-SANŪSl 199

(The clear and thirst-quenching spring on the chains of knowled

dations of ways).6
These three Arabic manuscripts are part of a very small collec
to Carlo Alfonso Nallino who, in constituting it, did not have on
able source. As he has noted on some inner covers of his man
sometimes he purchased a manuscript from a bookseller, som
a personal manuscript copy of a text of his interest during his
Arab world, or sometimes he received it as a gift from a colleag
of the Salsabïl whose previous owner was Romeo Campani, an
who gave it to Nallino in May 1921.7
On the inner covers of the manuscripts he also noted informa
ing the manuscripts as archeological objects. He sometimes p
codicological data on styles of handwriting, on the binding and
ing. He recorded information on the dating, the copyist and the
He also noted, interested as he was in the intellectual content of
integrity of the text or its omissions and lacunae, a preliminary
his own manuscripts with other manuscript copies or printed ed

The three entries here presented contain the following infor

three main sections: the first section includes the title, the inci
an essential bibliography, the colophon and the dating; the
offers a codicological description of the three items along w
tion of one page of the manuscripts under description. Closi

6 Of these three works by al-Sanūs! we have a printed edition but not a trul
in particular Muhammad's grandson, the future King of Libya, collected
another five survived works belonging also to his grandfather and publ
the title al-Magmü'ah al-muķtārah min mu'aJlaJat al-ustād al-ďzam a
Muhammad ihn All al-Sanüsl in Beirut in 1968.
7 For example in 1934 he made a copy of part of the Kitāb ai-inņāf by A
manuscript copies preserved in the National Library of Cairo; Hasan Husnl
governor of Nābel, copied excerpts from al-Rihlah by al-'Abdari dealing w
Tripolitania as well as excerpts from al-Durrah al-ķafīrah min šu'arā1 al
both to Nallino on 18th January 1937. Nallino Archives N 1/2, 4, u. Baldinetti,
8 Sagaria Rossi, V. "Nallino codicologo". In: Giornata di studio Cario Aifonso N
p. 173-185; Nallino, C.A. "I manoscritti arabi, persiani e turchi della Bibl
Torino" and "I Manoscritti arabi, turchi e siriaci della R. Accademia delle Sc
Memorie delia R. Accademia delie Scienze di Torino. Classe di scienze morali
logiche , s. lì, L (1900), 1-91, 92-101 e 103-04.
9 See Nallino Archives N 1/2, C 1/4 (fascicule entitled by Nallino "Muh. b. 'A
ķa<Jiriyyah e muhammadiyyah; etc.") and, for example, Manhal section be

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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 200 BOTTINI

paragraph
reading no
history of

Iqãz

Arabic Inv. can 4489

īqāz al-wasnânfîl- 'amai bi-l-

al-Hattābī al-Hasanl al-Idiîsî (1
Law, juridical methodology,
In this text al-SanūsI reflect
odology and in particular o
Îqœz, his longest and most d
introduction (f. 2a-i6a/p. 3-30
'an al-a'immat al-a'lām by I
tively on the Koran and the S
p. 49-69) snd taqlld (f. 35a-57a
p. 113-125) where he quotes at

Basmalah (f. lb/p. 2).

Incipit (f. ìb/p. 2)

I * "t w . 1
SJcłP 4Ä I» Oļjlfllt * All . 4&'
» *> . * .

j tyL-á* • as'^J U
*L 0J'
.» «•
J
* «•
ju-Jl •• «• "
* »

ļ 'jï Aj AÌ'
jy *'j¿? ' j ^>o jii[ U j j

1 o Vikor. Sufi and Scholar. 221-223.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN <ALĪ AL-SANŪSl 201

<A1j*it4¿*£Íjá j+JLÍA+j^òJ^ Js« 1*1 • ^Aj l Al L*j 1 j ' ^*

. <a'¿-j XiOAaj jljJl j ^ jli-^jll J¿'A1

.. • * t * •• 1 " * t ••
^J>-J (3 • dj^ t • l J^Axil

Ábi ¿ JÜI īj^jl Á¿J' jjtá' í

ijlļjl» ÁJUl j*J y&i

JLoJU. iVîj 2uji- VJ ¿ JÜI ^VL ^ d?' " «•

(3 .]ajjl¡' ^ >^-1 ļj Lj Jjìll *JL2>- jL ¿

¿ ¿JÜ1 O.UI . £līrļ ¿iail pOj ij ¿ v^iCJI ^1 £ 3^1
¿ ►LUJ UjjCJł^.AŁ.^jJi» ijj LjJjSll . J^-iSiVî VJ

. A' Jļ, p>j&- j

Explicit (f. 63a/p. 125)

U J^tj la.^a.:,* ļv^> jLa^llj

*'4^'Ú^'^{j0j¿''S*J$' U 1 JO^ j y^' ^ J -J
jv¿i Lü jy*' ^(š4
.L^i ¿*>JL¿>j L^ip j^'

11 On the margin it is added: aLj ^~' J já q* a* ^Ls 'j

is in the edition of Beirut 1986. Nothing is said in its Introdu
copies utilized.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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 202 BOTTINI

i}'^ ' y^

pf*j
•r>
Bibliography: gal, S il 883; Peters, R.* "Idjtihād and taqlld in 18th and
19th Century Islam", Die Welt des Islams , 20, 3-4 (1980), p. 131-145; Vikar, K.S.
"The Writings of Muhammad ibn 'All and Ahmad al-Sharlf al-Sanūsī", Arabic
Literature in Africa, 3 (1987), p. 80-90; Idem, "The Sanûsiyya Tradition". In: The
Writings of Eastern Sudanie Africa to C. 1900. Vol. 1 Arabic Literature of Africa .
O'Fahey, R.S. (ed.). Leiden, Brill, 1994, p. 166-177; Idem, Sufi and Scholar on the
Desert Edge . Muhammad All al-Sanüsl and his Brotherhood . London, Hurst &
Co., 1995; Idem, "Opening the Maliki School. Muhammad b. ťAlí al-Sanūsī's
Views on the madhhab", Journal of the Libyan Studies , 1, 1 (2000), p. 5-17; Idem,
"El šayķ en el papel de muģtahid: ¿una concepción sufi del iģtihād?" In: El
Sufismo y las normas del Islam . Trabajos del TV Congreso Internacional de

fig. 1 f. ib, incipit

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN VALĪ AL-SANŪSĪ 203

Estudios Jurídicos Islámicos : Derecho y Sufismo (Murcia 2003)

(Edición y traducción). Murcia, Editora Regional de Murcia, 20
Idem, "Opening the Maliki school. Muhammad b. 'All al-Sanūsf
madhhab". In: Islamic Philosophy and Theology: Critical Conc
Thought Vol. iv: Eclecticism, Illumination and Reform. Netton, I.R
& New York, Routledge, 2007, p. 294-310.

Manuscript tradition: Nallino Collection 4489.

Editions: Algiers, al-Matba'ah al-ta'alibiyyah, 1332/1914, edit
al-Šarīf al-SanūsI; Cairo, Matba'at al-Hiģāzī, 1357/1938, edited b
Idrls al-Sanūsī; Cairo, Maktabat al-Qāhirah, i960; Benghazi, Dā
1967; Tripoli, čāmi'at al-Sanūsī al-islāmiyyah, 1962, Wizär
l-taqāfah, 1388/1968; Beirut, Dār al-kitāb al-lubnānī, 1388/1968, w
lection al-Maģmū'ah al-muhtārah min mďallafat al-ustãd al-ďza
sayyid Muhammad ihn 'All al-SanüsV, Beirut, Dār al-qalam, 1406/
editions are prefaced by the same biographical sketch, taken from
al-ģalīlah fi l-tďrlf bi-imãm al-tarląah al-sanüsiyyah by Abū
Muhammad ibn ťísá al-čazā'irl, printed the first time in the first
ïqœz.
Colophon (f. 63a/p. 125)

* * •» *
ü- ^ * iż*
A) jÁf- * *"* svolil
"* »** *• * "* *"* "

.N X MJL-ww y!ji £ Ir

Copied on the 4th Šawwal 1293/

al-MāqIqI al-Maģīdī al-Mālikl a
Maghribīj in black ink with ru
words on the verso of each leaf.

Paper, 220x158 mm; modern pagination in black ink (p. 126), f. 63 (my
foliation).
Quires: Quires not numbered; 2 quinions, 1 quaternion in addition a single-
ton at the beginning of the quire (f. 21/p. 41), 2 quinions, 1 quaternion and in
addition two singletons (one at the beginning of the quire, the other in the
middle); bifolium with two singletons at the beginning.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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204 BOTTINI

Watermark
eye and eye
two swords
"Pordenone"
Page layout
Binding: Th
inside a bin
paper; on t
three frame
dle one, the
and two in
Notes: The
is also in th
ink; f. 63b/
(ex.: f. ib, 2
Condition:

Historical
another ipo
(Muhamma
and anothe
number (B
handwritte

al-Salsabll

Arabic Inv. can 5972

Kitãb al-Salsabll ai-main fí l

al-Hattābl al-Hasanī al-ldrīsl (
Sufism, Sûfî brotherhoods,
In this text the founder of
tify, through the knowledge
authority. But the Salsabīl in n

ORIENTE MODER

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN CALÎ AL-SANŪSĪ 205

also an analysis of forty Sûfî brotherhoods and a description of the

and practices.12

Basmalah (f. lb/p. 1).

Incipit (f. íb/p. i)

JUI it-Jill tju- Jte j

j ^ 0*x>- O«- ¿o li ^l^ ūļjiil çih&âl

«• •• •*•••• •*

¿li y¿'
> »

^^(Jr4 jüj
aSI ^S" J |A*ll ^ 0j>t/L»j <*£»«
. jl^ií ^iļj ' jluJuv J 4»'>**0'j
l~Jļ, J*^jj^l>¿ 4Jò' J^^&íl$>* J J Ü J^
¡y jaJLSI I Sj) *1^ j S^xp Sjl>"1, j
^ 1 pj 1^>1 ^}JJ l^Jļ, ç jbll ļj» l* jj jJl 43jLÜ1

&ji'$' J^JUl l^^iij J' >JU!i* Ir > Jtil

Explicit missing. End of the text (f.3ob/p. 59)

.4Ìj3(j

Bibliography: see īqāz.

Manuscript tradition: 1) Alexandria, al-Maktabah al-baladiyyah, Tasawwuf
3803 ģīm (dated 6 Rabf 11 1303/12 January 1886, ff. 110), which was copied by
Muhammad ibn Saham ibn Muhammad al-Māqīqī; 2) Cairo, Dār al-kutub,

1 2 See Viloar, Sufi and Scholar on the Desert Edge. 229-231; Idem, "The Sanûsiyya Tradition". 171.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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 206 BOTTINI

■ ! iiliSHBBIII

FIG. 2 fia.

Tasawwuf wa-ahlãq diniyyah 2562 (undated, al-Naģģār, al-Turuq al-süfiyyah)',

3) Rabat, Bibliothèque générale 1097 [D1521], dated Ša'bān 1303/May 1886
(ff. 105); 4) Yale, L496, undated, ff. 71; 5) Rome, Nallino Library, 5972.
Editions: Riyad, Maktabat al-Haramayn, 1859; Cairo, Matba'at al-ma'āhid,
1344/1926, 1325/1935 on the margins of Bugyat al-maqasiď, Beirut, Dār al-kutub
al-lubnānī, 1388/1968, included in al-Maģmū'ah al-muhtārah min mu'allafāt
al-ustād al-ďzam al-imãm al-Sayyid Muhammad ibn 'All al-Sanüsl (based on
a manuscript copy dating back to November 1926 by the hand of Muhammad
Yahyà ibn Muhammad 'All al-Wafaì);13 Tarābulus, Wizärat al-i£lām wa-1-
taqäfah, 1388/1968; Beirut, Dār al-kutub al-'ilmiyyah, 2015 edited by Mahmūd
Muhammad Halaf.

Colophon not supplied.

Maģribī in black ink with rubrications and textual dividers in red ink.
Paper, 222x156 mm; modern pagination in Arabic numerals in pencil and
violet ink: p. I+58; page 19 was skipped, therefore the pages are: I+59; f. 30
(my foliation).
Quires: Not numbered; 3 quinions.

13 See Vikar, Sufi and Scholar. 229 n. 20. The collection (at-Magmiťah al-muhtārah) was
republished several times.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 197-210

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN cALl AL-SANŪSĪ 207

Watermark: Moon in a shield (ex.: f. 2, 3/p. 2, 4), countermark: A

5/p- 1» 8).
Page layout: Writing area 176x112 mm; 29 lines; 28 lines (examples on f.
22a/b, 24b/p. 41, 42, 46).
Binding: The manuscript has never been sewn; the gatherings are col-
lected inside a paper, cover of Sarkls's Mu'ģam al-matbū'āt al-'arabiyyah wa-l-
mu'arrabah , 1928.
Notes: The title is on f. ia/p. 1, written in red ink as is the author's name.
The title is repeated in the text (f. lb/p. 1). F. 27b/p. 52 is blank except for the
first line and an oblique line in black ink. This copy is not complete; in fact
the copyist omits the last three brotherhoods stopping his transcription work
to the čištiyyah (f. 3ob/p. 58), the 37th brotherhood as Nallino also wrote in a
note on the inner cover. Correction notes and abbreviations.
Condition: good.

Historical notes: On f. ía/p. I two names: the first, Muhammad al-Qādī, is in

red ink; the second, Muhammad Muhammad 'All and another word not read-
able, is in black ink. On f. ía/p. I three written sections, the first in red ink, the
other two in black ink. On the lower inner cover Nallino wrote the title and the
author's name; he notes that this copy was a gift from Romeo Campani (May
1921). On the same inner cover aI/6/5972w.14

al-Manhal

Arabic Inv. can 5973

Kitāb al-Manhal al-rāwī a

by Sayyid Muhammad ib
(1202/1787-1276/1859).

14 Romeo Campani sent to Nallin

work in April 1920. On the last p
nel 1919 dal dr. Romeo Campani;
nente a un indigeno; sull'origina
comprende l'introduzione (p. 1-3
See Nallino Archives C1/4, fascicu
muhammadiyyah; ecc." and Suppl.

ORIENTE MODERNO 96 (2016) 1

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208 BOTTINI

Sufism/Tra
This text a
collects th
authority o
devoted to
refers not o
including t

Basmalah (f
Incipit (f. i

jl>-l Ijw^* . j J 4J0I

ļj» jI>ł. .fcx.il Jļ»t

» *> p p p

ļv

^'i [sic]

Explicit missing.

» » »

.Aji

Bibliog
Manu
munaw
(f. 236
948 (f
(f- 48)
Editio
mazw
includ

ORI

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THREE MANUSCRIPTS OF MUHAMMAD IBN £ALĪ AL-SANŪSĪ 209

FIG. 3 J. 47b

al-Sayyid Muhammad ibn 'All al-Sanūsī; s.L, Dār al-tawfîq

al-ûlà, 2011.
Translation: 'Kitab el Assaniď by Griguer J. "Le Senoussisme dans l'Islam",
Cahiers Charles de Foucauld , 19 (1950), p. 109-143.15
Colophon not supplied.
Maģribī 'm black ink with rubrications, textual dividers in red ink; catchwords.
Paper, 244x172 mm; no foliation, no pagination; ff. 50 (my foliation).
Quires: Not numbered; 5 quinions.
Watermark: Moon face in shield (ex.: ff. 5, 11, 20, 30, 46, 50), countermark: AG
(ex.: ff. 3, 10, 29, 48).
Page layout: Writing area 165x115 mm; 21/22 lines.

15 According to Vikar (Sufi and Scholar on the Desert Edge. 231-232 n. 24; 276; Idem, "The
Sanùsiyya Tradition". 169) this translation was based on the Algiers (and Aix) manuscript.

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 210 BOTTINI

Binding: Th
in a paper w
phie arabe b
Notes: f. ia
in black in
f. 5b. The la
pletely wri
in the mar
(bayãd bi-l-
for the pre
copy here u
cibn al-fiqh
f. 45b up t
Very few
14a, 46a).
Condition: Good except for a big dark stain in the middle of f. 19-23.

Historical notes: On the lower inner cover the title and the author's name
handwritten by Nallino in black ink; on the same paper in pencil "1/6/5973"
Nallino in a flypaper notes some information on the Manhal and his manu-
script copy.16 In a strip of paper in Italian and Arabic some information on
other works by al-SanūsI. Inside the copy a manuscript letter dated Rome
23th May 1935 by Vittore Pisani.

16 I quote his words: "Questo ms. del Manhal, in caratteri maģribini, contiene per intero
gli asānld dell'autore riguardanti il hadlt (inclusa la biografìa di Maometto), il tafsīr
e il çûfismo, solo omettendo due tabelle: a) quella dei grandi mistici secondo la regola
fyalwatiyyah, che è a p. 130 dell'altro ms. nashl e che trovasi anche in Rinn [Marabouts et
Khouan, Algier, 1884?]; b) la šaģarah dell'autore, che chiude la trattazione dei fralwatiyyah,
a p. 135 dell'altro ms. La fine del ms. coincide con parte dell'ultima linea di p. 159 del ms.
nasķī, il quale poi, p. 159 ult-166, contiene la làhiqah fì labs al-ķirqah wa talqln ad-dikr,
con la quale quel ms. si chiude. La ķātimah promessa alla fine di questo ms. (p. 159 ulL
dell'altro) non esiste nei due mss. Alla fine il nostro ms. ha la rubrica: wa amma cilm
al-fiqh, a cui nulla segue. Essa non è nel ms. nasļ)!". In this quotation Nallino refers to
another exemplar of the Manhal copied by Šālim b. Qā<Jī BanģāzI Muhammad 'Amir on
12th March 1917 in Bengasi. On p. 166 Nallino notes that it was made from a copy dated
5 Muharram 1291/22 February 1874. See Nallino Archives, Suppl. Ail 2.

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