Alsaidia_828_Modified

The 'Abbasid governor of al-Ba?rayn was able to invade Oman and in 280/893 put an end to the disputed Ib??? imamate. Abu l-Mundhir does not mention this disaster for the Ib???s. The S?ra evidently was composed still during the imamate of ‘Azz?n b. Tamim between 278/891 and 280/893.

The edition of each of the texts is based on four out of five manuscripts kept in three private libraries in Oman، the S?lim? library in Bidiyya، the Sayyid Mu?ammad b. A?mad Al B? Sa?d? library in al-S?b and the collection of Shaykh Ahmad b. ?amad al-Khal?l?، the recent Grand Mufti of Oman.

1: ? Maktabat al-S?lim? no. 7، containing a collection of 'Um?n? Ib??? epistles. The front of the manuscript is torn and some pages are missing. It was completed on 9 ?afar 1122/8 April 1710 in the castle of Ibra in the time of Imam Sayf b. Sul??n al-Ya'rub?. The copyist is S?lim b. Kham?s b. Najj?d al- Mahilawi. The page size is 14×23.5 cm containing 26 lines. The volume now contains 653 pages and 75 epistles، with an index of the epistles at the beginning. The script is naskh?. The K. al-Rasf is on pp. 180 - 193، the K. al- Mu??raba on pp. 193 - 205 and the S?ra on pp. 143–152. The title of the epistles is written in red ink.

2:

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Maktabat Al B? Sa?d? no. 1358. Beginning and end of the manu- script are missing. The manuscript now contains 410 pages، each page measuring 20×18 cm and containing 28 - 29 lines. It is written in naskh? script with titles in red ink. The K. al-Rasf is on pp. 209 - 222، the K. al-Mu??raba on pp. 222 - 238 and the S?ra on pp. 7 - 16. The manuscript may be dated to the last half of the 12 th/18 th century.

3: ? Maktabat Al B? Sa?d? no. 2023. This manuscript contains 676 pages، each page measuring 34×22 cm and containing 23 - 24 lines. It was completed on 6 Jum?d? I 1183/7 Nov. 1770 by the copyist 'Abd Allah b. Sa?d al-Maskar?. The K. al-Rasf is pp. 48 - 62، the K. al-Mu??raba on pp. 62 - 79 and the S?ra on pp. 53 - 64.

4:، Maktabat al-Salim?، a photocopy of a manuscript containing a collection of Ib??? epistles. The present whereabouts of the manuscript is unknown. Each page measures 31×20 cm and contains around 23 lines. The script is naskhi. Beginning and end of the manuscript are missing. This manuscript does not contain the text of the S?ra.

5: Maktabat al-Khal?l?. The manuscript contains 283 folios and is written in naskhi script. It was completed on 29 ?afar 1131/21 Jan. 1719 by the copyist Saïd b. 'Abd All?h b. A?mad ?l B? Sa?d?. Each page measures 34×20 cm and contains 22 - 23 lines. An index at the beginning of the manu- script lists its contents of forty s?ras (epistles). The S?ra of Abu l-Mundhir is