Mishkat al-Misbah [Niche of the Lamp].

8vo (155 x 210 mm). 66 ff. Arabic manuscript on paper. Black naskh script with important words and phrases marked in red. Modern full red leather with fore-edge flap ruled in blind. An anonymous commentary on Nasir ibn 'Abd al-Sayyid al-Mutarrizi's seminal treatise on Arabic grammar (syntax), "al-Misbah" (The Lamp, or The Light), also known as "al-Misbah fi al-nahw". - Born in Jurjaniyah, Khuwarizm (a Central Asian kingdom, now Khorazm oblast, Uzbekistan), al-Mutarrizi (1144-1213) was a renowned Hanafi and Mu'tazili scholar, linguist, grammarian, and lexicographer in the tradition of al-Zamakshari. His "Misbah" in particular left a lasting impression on the study of Arabic language and literature, which is evident from great number of commentaries written over the centuries and the several translations into other languages. The commentary at hand, whose title cleverly alludes to al-Mutarrizi's famous work, entirely corresponds to a contemporary copy at Yale (Hartfort Seminary, Arabic MSS 820) dated 1664. - Stronger worming and water damage, occasionally affecting the glosses (minimal text loss). Professionally restored and stabilized, each page lined with Japanese paper. - Cf. GAL I, 293.