A Rhymed Scientific Autobiography From the Manuscript Collection of the Bosniak Institute in Sarajevo

Abstract

Autobiography, be it in prose or verse, is a rare literary form in the classical Arabic literature of Bösniaks who wrote in Oriental languages. We came across a manuscript of a rhymed scientific autobiography, originating from the early 20th century, in the manuscript collection of the Bosniak Institute in Haşan ibn Şâlih ibn Haşan Ihlawnawī, is not mentioned in any one available catalogue of authors or transcribers, it was not possible to determine with certainty whether it was the author or transcriber of the manuscript. The auto- biography was vvritten in highly stylised artistic prose, often magnificently rhymed and rhythmised, with the exception of silsila (leamer-teacher chain back to the first teacher), which, also, keeps the characteristic tempo. This translation is an attempt to transfer, despite the artistic superiority of the original, a considerable part of the linguistic and stylistic values of this glorious ode to Science, and to transfer as much as possible the values of its fonu that ensures the high artistic merits for this autobiography.