(Munich), N° 45 in Aumer's Catalogue, 105 ff., 19 lines=19 verses on a full page, written in large clear naskhí by Músá b. Yaḥyá b. Ḥamza al-Mawlawí, who completed the transcription at Damascus on the 4th of Shaʿbán, A. H. 706 (8th of February, A.D. 1307). This fine MS. of Book II sometimes distinguishes پ from ب and چ from ج, and almost invariably marks the post-vocalic ذ. Short vowels and other orthographical signs are frequently inserted.
By the courtesy of Dr. L. D. Barnett and Mr. E. Edwards of the British Museum and Dr. G. Leidinger, Director of the Manuscript Department in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, I was provided with excellent photographic copies of ABCD, for which the prayer أَقَرَّ ٱللّهُ عُيُونَهُم is the most fitting acknowledgement I can think of. On the whole, the four oldest MSS., ABC and ABD, are in substantial agreement. All of them have readings peculiar to themselves, but except in the case of C these are not very numerous or important. On the other hand, L, written a century after B, shows far greater variety and has already incorporated many new verses in its text. Therefore, as regards the First and Second Books, the question to be decided was this: Is any of the three MSS., ABC and ABD, superior in authenticity to the other two, and if so, to what
