Editing Manuscripts pertaining to the Noble Prophet’s Biography (Sīrah), the lives of luminaries, and history

Summary

This book collates the proceedings of the intensive training course on the critical edition of manuscripts organised by Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, in partnership with Dar al-Hadith al-Hassania Institute in Rabat. The course aimed to develop trained researchers, capable of performing critical editing, as well as elevating their motivation levels and increasing their knowledge and scholarly awareness, through introducing them to Islamic manuscripts dedicated to the Noble Prophet’s biography (Sīrah), the biographies of the Noble Companions (Ṣaḥābah) and the subsequent generation, i.e. al-Tabi‘īn, and the lives of luminary scholars, as well as manuscripts of history texts. The course elucidated the importance of these manuscripts from the scientific, historical and material perspectives, and their role in Arabic and Islamic culture and heritage.
The lectures addressed the topic of critically editing manuscripts on the Noble Prophet’s biography and history, the challenges faced by the editor and methods of overcoming these, as well as the approaches to editing unicum manuscripts and holograph copies. They compared the methods and approaches of early and contemporary editors in tackling the Prophetic biography, and the concept of abridgment (tahdhīb) in Arabic heritage, as well as published critical editions of history texts, and other important subjects.
In addition, the book includes a paper titled “Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr and his book, al-Tamhīd” that was delivered by Professor Bashar Awwad Marouf at the commencement of the course.