MUHAMMAD B. QASIM AL-ANSARI, KNOWN AS AL-RASSAʿ (d. 894 H./1

MUHAMMAD B. QASIM AL-ANSARI, KNOWN AS AL-RASSAʿ (d. 894 H./1489 CE): SHARH HUDUD IBN ‘ARAFA NORTH AFRICA, LATE 19TH CENTURY. Arabic manuscript on vellum, comprising 53 folios, copied in brown ink in fine Maghribī script at a rate of 20 to 25 lines per page, with section titles inscribed in red within the body of the text, and marginal annotations in ink. The volume brings together at least two successive texts, the second of which is incomplete; a date given at the end of the first text—Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1300 (January 1883)—may correspond to the completion of this first part. Original flap binding in garnet-red leather; the covers are adorned with a central mandorla made of applied brown leather and cold-stamped, highlighted by a central gilt fillet; the spandrels feature gilt fleurons, and the binding is framed by triple cold-stamped fillets. Dimensions of the leaves: 23–23.5 × 18 cm; text area: 17.5 × 12 cm. Muḥammad b. Qāsim al-Anṣārī, known as al-Rassāʿ, a Maliki jurist born in Tlemcen in 819/1416 and died in Tunis in 894/1489, is the author of this commentary on the ḥudūd of Ibn ʿArafa, a prominent jurist from Tunis. The work aims to clarify the definitions and technical terminology of Maliki law. Condition report: In good overall condition. Water stains along the outer edges of the leaves, with a few tears. The binding is in fairly good condition despite some wear on the leather; the spine has a few tears. The leather pieces forming the mandorla are partially torn off.