A deacon in Cairo, Abīb worked as a copyist between 1756 and 1767, both in Coptic and in Arabic, for the archon NASĪM ABŪ SA'D IBN 'ABD AL-SAYYID and the priest al-Khazāyinī.
He is known from three manuscripts of the Coptic Museum of Cairo: (1) A large lectionary in Coptic for the month of Amshīr (Liturgy 317 [123 fols., 32 x 21 cm]; Graf, no. 689; Simaykah, Vol. 2, no. 228), completed on 1 Bashans A.M. 1472/7 May 1756, on commission from Nasīm abū Sa'd. The subscription (fol. 363) informs us that this lectionary is the third part of a lectionary for the second trimester of the Coptic year. (2) Another large lectionary in Arabic (Liturgy 320 [243 fols., 29.5 x 21 cm]; Graf, no. 691; Simaykah, Vol. 2, no. 232) for the weekdays of the first three months of the Coptic year (Tūt, Bābah, Hātūr), completed on 20 Tūbah A.M. 1474/26 January 1758, on commission from Nasīm abū Sa'd. (3) A smaller lectionary (Liturgy 52 [115 fols., 28 x 18 cm]; Graf, no. 70; Simaykah, Vol. 2, no. 236) in Arabic, for the fifty days following Easter. It was completed on 23 Baramhāt A.M. 1483/30 March 1767, on commission from the priest al-Khazāyinī, who bequeathed it to the Church of the Virgin of Hārit Zuwaylah.
Khalil Samir, S.J.
Note: The DACB uses the transliteration system of the Encyclopedia of Islam (2nd ed.), dropping the diacritical marks on the kha, dtaa, saad, and daad.
Bibliography:
Graf, G. Catalogue de manuscrits arabes chrétiens conservés au Caire. Studi e Testi 134, 27 (no. 70), 254 (no. 689), and 255 (no. 691). Vatican City, 1934.
The aforementioned article does not represent the official view of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. An official version is forthcoming from the Monastery of Saint Demiana on behalf of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Pope and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark.
