Durar al-Fara'id Sharh Kitab al-Qala'id fi Tashih al-Aqa'id [Unique Pearls: an explanation of the Book of Pendants in correcting the beliefs].

Large 4to (210 x 264 mm). 248 ff. Arabic manuscript on paper. Black naskh script with some important words and phrases picked out in red, others (such as titles) penned in a larger calligraphic script. Roughly 18th century full leather intricately ruled in blind, medallions stamped in blind. A very early manuscript of this commentary on the author's own work, the "Kitab al-Qala'id fi tashih al-aqa'id", an expansive work on Muslim theology, the Islamic creed, and the oneness of God. The author, al-Mahdi Ahmad bin Yahya al-Murtada al-Hasani al-Yamani (1363 or 1374-1436), died only nine years before this manuscript was copied, making this a very early version of the text. - Al-Mahdi Ahmad bin Yahya was a scholar and imam in Zaidi, in what is now Yemen. He came from a scholarly family: his sister was also a writer, the poet Dahma bint Yahya (d. 1434), and a brother and uncle were both recorded as scholars. Al-Mahdi himself produced a prolific oeuvre of encyclopedic work and commentaries on a range of subjects, many on theology or jurisprudence. Many of his important writings were completed during a period of political imprisonment, after a coup removed al-Mahdi from power. He eventually escaped, and his work survived. - Covers worn; a few minor stains, otherwise in remarkably good condition.