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.
