From Scribal Error to Textual Introduction al-Karsi and Minhaju’l-Muzakkirin

Abstract

This study provides a textual analysis of Minhâcü’l-müzekkirîn ve Mi‘râcü’l-muhazzirîn, a work written in the genre of sermon and guidance (wa‘z and irshād) in 15th-century Anatolia, while also addressing the debates surrounding the identity, nisbah (attributive title), and chronology of its author, Ibrahim b. Husayn al-Karsi. The primary objective of the research is to correct the erroneous information inherited in bibliographic sources since Katib Çelebi in light of manuscript copies, thereby placing the author in his true historical context. In addition to a literature review, the study employs comparative analysis and paleographical examination methods on the copies found in the Manuscript Libraries of Türkiye. Based on classical sources such as Kashf al-Zunun, Hadiyyat al-Arifin, and Mu‘jam al-Muallifin, the examinations demonstrate that the common nisbah “al-Farazi” in the literature stemmed from a scribal error, and the correct nisbah is “al-Karsi” (from Kars). This conclusion is supported by the fact that the copies were transcribed in various Anatolian cities. The chronological hesitations in classical sources have been resolved thanks to the oldest manuscript copy dated 840/1436 identified in Niksar, proving the invalidity of the 880/1475 record in the literature and demonstrating that the work was composed at an earlier period. Consequently, this research presents the rich content of the work to the scholarly world while correcting centuries-old chronological and onomastic errors..