Variations in the Manuscripts of Kitāb al-Fāshūsh fī Aḥkām Qarāqūsh: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study investigates variations in the Manuscripts of Kitāb al-Fāshūsh fī Aḥkām Qarāqūsh. It compares linguistic data from ten manuscripts focusing on the registerial differences between Al-Suyūṭī' and Ibn Mammātī, and on Middle Arabic forms employed in their texts. Each manuscript is analyzed from the perspectives of textual criticism and sociolinguistics. Adopting a philological approach, this study has also made use of other fields, such as codicology, paleography, and corpus linguistics. Manuscripts have been compared to classify, date, and trace their origins. The study traces the anecdotal chain of transmission down through the generations to understand the development of this unique humorous folk narrative. The findings of this study reveal significant differences between Ibn Mammātī's manuscript and Al-Suyūṭī's manuscripts. However, they demonstrate similarities, too. The multidisciplinary approach used in this study has been influential in identifying many of the scribes examined and in highlighting some facts related to the manuscripts' intricate history of authorship. This study postulates that MS 59 Majāmīʿ Raṣīd is the oldest manuscript in the corpus. It is more faithful to the original and rifer with Middle Arabic than Al-Suyūṭī's manuscripts.