Analisis Filologi Terhadap Aspek Rasm, Ḍabt dan Qirā’āt dalam Suntingan Manuskrip al-Quran Sumbawa oleh Shaykh al-Maqāri’ Tuan Haji Hassan bin Ismail

Islamic Philological Analysis of Rasm, Ḍabt, and Qirā’āt in the Editorial Revision of the Sumbawa Qur’anic Manuscript by Shaykh al-Maqāri’ Tuan Haji Hassan bin Ismail

Abstract

The preservation of the Qur’anic text throughout Islamic history has relied not only on oral transmission but also on rigorous textual traditions encompassing rasm, ḍabt, and qirā’āt. Within the Malay-Islamic world, Qur’anic manuscripts constitute significant intellectual and cultural artefacts that reflect the transmission of Qur’anic scholarship across generations. Nevertheless, existing studies have predominantly focused on codicological and artistic dimensions, while the philological contributions of local scholars involved in manuscript verification and textual correction remain insufficiently explored. This study aims to analyse the philological dimensions of the editorial revision undertaken by Shaykh al-Maqāri’ Tuan Haji Hassan bin Ismail on the Sumbawa Qur’anic Manuscript, with particular attention to the aspects of rasm, ḍabt, and qirā’āt, and to evaluate his scholarly contribution to the preservation of Qur’anic textual authenticity in the Malay world. Employing a qualitative philological approach, the study conducts textual analysis and comparative examination of the manuscript against the 1924 Cairo Muṣḥaf edition, supported by archival documents, manuscript annotations, and classical works on rasm and qirā’āt. The findings reveal that Shaykh al-Maqāri’ implemented a systematic editorial methodology through textual emendations, marginal annotations, and corrective insertions aimed at standardising orthographic forms, refining recitational markings, and clarifying recognised qirā’āt variants. His revisions demonstrate adherence to the principles of rasm ʿUthmānī, accuracy in ḍabt conventions, and preservation of authoritative qirā’āt traditions. More significantly, the study highlights that his editorial interventions extended beyond technical corrections, embodying a sophisticated Islamic philological practice rooted in scholarly verification (taḥqīq) and textual authentication. The research argues that Shaykh al-Maqāri’s work represents a continuation of the Islamic manuscript verification tradition in Southeast Asia and provides valuable evidence of the intellectual authority exercised by local Qur’anic scholars in safeguarding the integrity of the Qur’anic text. Consequently, the study contributes to the growing discourse on Qur’anic manuscript studies, Islamic philology, and the intellectual history of the Malay-Muslim world.