Abu 'Abdullah al-Quda'i (d.1062 AD), Kitab shihab al-akhbar (on Prophetic traditions), copied by 'Ali ibn Sharwan ibn 'Ali al-Qazwini, probably Iraq, late Ilkhanid or early Jalayirid, dated 10 Shawal 741 AH/5 April 1341 AD

Acquired by the present owner circa 1990s.

Muhammad ibn Salama al-Quda’i (d.1062) was a distinguished diplomat, jurist, historian, and Qur’anic exegete, who lived in Fatimid Cairo. Al-Quda’i held senior positions in government, and his functions included: scribe in the chancery of the vizier al-Jarja’i ‘Ali ibn Ahmad, and some sources claim he was the vizier’s deputy; judge over Sunni subjects; and emissary to the Byzantine court when he travelled to Constantinople in 1055 AD (Qutbuddin 2016, pp.xxvi-xxvii).

Our author was also a highly respected scholar, composing numerous texts, and of them Kitab shihab al-akhbar was his most famous work. The text deals with “testaments, maxims, counsels, and directions for refined behaviour ascribed to the Prophet Muḥammad” (ibid.). The text comprises an assemblage of approximately 1200 aphoristic Prophetic sayings, arranged thematically into eleven chapters. The selection privileges themes of ethical, moral and didactic content (adab), such as wisdom, conduct, justice, restraint, governance, and social comportment, reflective of the author’s own refined adab sensibilities.

This copy of the text is notable for its courtly presentation, copied on high quality paper and illuminated in a manner associated with contemporaneous courtly Qur’an manuscripts. The hand of the scribe is neat and balanced, though the scribe himself is unrecorded. The evident concern for the presentation of this manuscript indicates that it was intended for an owner of high rank. The illuminated dedication roundel formed of interlaced arches on f.1a supports this. For petalled rosettes of similar format and palette in fourteenth century Qur’an manuscripts, see a Qur’an produced in Maragheh, Persia, dated 1338 AD, James 1988, p.175, cat. no.61, and a miniature Qur’an attributed to fourteenth century Iraq, sold in these rooms, 25 October 2025, lot 18.

Though the name is lacking, or partially obscured, its inscriptions are in praise of a ruler with exalted titulature. The presence of the roundel suggests that the manuscript was either originally intended for the library of a royal, early Jalayirid sultan, or entered such a collection at some point after its production.

Manuscripts of Kitab shihab al-akhbar are recorded in Brockelmann, GAL, I, p.343, SI, pp.584-5, though manuscripts of the text of this quality are rare.