An Evaluation of the Textual Edition of KITAB AL-MAWT WA KITAB AL-QUBUR
Absraction: This article deals with the textual
edition of the Kitab al-Mawt wa Kitab al-Quburby Ibn Abi al-Dunya, one of the
great Arab writers of the third century of Hijra. It is not easy to deal with
this works, since it is written not on the basis of its manuscript copies which
are not available. It is Leah Kinberg of University of Hayfa, Jerusalem, who
has made such a great attempt at reconstructing the Kita>b. Given the
absence of original manuscript copies, it would be questionable whether the
result is reliable. The term “reconstruction” itself is open to a lot of
questions. The number of material covered is a case in point. Kinberg’s
laborious endeavour to present this edition should be appreciated, since she
offers not only a made-product but also an interesting process through which
the edition comes to being as it is. This article seeks to appreciate and
evaluate to what extent Kinberg’s edition offers important principles in
reconstructing and editing scattered source material. The author concludes that
the absence of manuscript copies has made Kinberg difficult to reach an
original version, or to build even a stemma. Any doubt and suspicion are justifiable
and understandable. However, by exploring the “secondary” manuscripts, she has
succeeded in building her own method, regardless of its inadequacy, and her
endeavour has met a scholarly standard. This is not an “ideal text” edition as
the Anglo-American school has put it, but, unfortunately, it meets German
school’s orientation in the sense that this edition does not pretend to be
original.
Author: Sunarwoto
Journal Code: jpperadabanislamgg090001
