Kajian Manuskrip al-Mu’tabar fi al-Hikmah (Kitāb al-Nafs) Karangan Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādi (547H./1152M.): Ke Arah Suatu Kaedah Suntingan Ilmiah Warisan Manuskrip Melayu-Islam

Producing a critical edition of a text is not merely an art. It is an important academic responsibility for bridging the past and the present. As any other academic and intellectual exercises, manuscript editing has its art and challenges. The different texts and languages demand different approaches and preparations. This article, which is based basically on writer s experiences in dealing with Arabic manuscripts, tries to expose the art of manuscript editing, especially Arabic manuscript, and of the same time attempts to propose appropriate procedures for editing Malay manuscripts. Some conceptual aspects related to the editing processes are also discussed