Deciphering Disregarded Verses: Ibn Nubāta’s (d. 768/1366) Unique <i>bullayqa</i> in Two Autographs by Ibn Ḥaǧar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449)

Abstract This study examines a little-known bullayqa – a playful variant of the zaǧal – by Ibn Nubāta al-Miṣrī (d. 768/1366), preserved solely in two draft manuscripts ( muswadda ) compiled by the famous ḥadīṯ- scholar Ibn Ḥaǧar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449) himself, in which he collected additional poems beyond Ibn Nubāta’s established dīwān . Absent from the dīwān , the bullayqa survives through the autographs of Ibn Ḥaǧar, which, by his own repeated attestations, are drawn largely from Ibn Nubāta’s original autographs. It is reported that Ibn Ḥaǧar admired Ibn Nubāta’s calligraphy and sought to emulate his script, cultivating a handwriting style that – while aesthetically refined – poses significant challenges to paleographic analysis, particularly in a muswadda . The article opens with a concise overview of the literary history of the bullayq , Ibn Nubāta’s involvement with this form, a short analysis of Ibn Ḥaǧar’s autographs, followed by a critical edition of the poem, a translation, and finally a close textual commentary. Facsimiles of Ibn Ḥaǧar’s autographs accompany the paleographic study.