DescriptionThe opening of this manuscript contains the celebrated introductory verses of ʿUnwān al-Ḥikam, also known as al-Nūniyya, a didactic poem by the renowned 11th-century Abbasid statesman and poet Abū al-Fatḥ al-Bustī (d. C.E. 1010). Composed in the Baḥr al-Basīṭ meter, the poem takes its title from its distinctive monorhyme scheme, in which every couplet ends with the Arabic letter nūn. These opening lines establish the work’s central theme: a profound meditation on character, ethics, and the transience of power, encapsulating al-Bustī’s philosophy of contentment and integrity. The poem achieved enduring fame across the Islamic world and was frequently copied and memorized for its moral teachings. Here, the verses are written in a clear naskh script, with the rhyming nūn vocalized in black ink to aid oral recitation and study. Folio 2r contains excerpts from a poem by Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Nuʿaym al-Haḍramī al-Qurṭubī (d. C.E. 1239), along with introductory lines from Alfiyyat Ibn Mālik in the margin. The poem actually begins on folio 2v, and the folios were probably misplaced at a later stage during binding. Although the manuscript is bound, it is in very precarious condition. The manuscript measures 21.3 cm in length, 14.8 cm in width, and 4.5 cm in height with a total 307 folios.
Extentff. 1r-6v
PlaceIslahul Uloom Arabic College, Kerala, India
Yeard. 1010
CitationAbyāt Daʿ al-Fuʾād min ʿUnwān al-ḥikam, Abū al-Fatḥ al-Bustī, MAC1/CM1, i, https://ari.nus.edu.sg/arabia-asia-archives/mac1-cm1-i/
