Wadh.Minasian 353 (The Ferdowsi Library, Wadham College, University of Oxford)
Oriental Manuscripts Minasian Collection
Collection 44
A collection of two prayer works.
Physical Description
Extent: 125 ff.
Binding
Black leather, 11 × 17 cm, front + back cover, leather + pasteboard.
Condition
Back cover detached from the copy.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Donated to The Ferdowsi Library by Dr Caro Minasian in 1972.
1) Persian Catalogue Sequence Number 123
Contents
Summary of Contents: This is a collection of various prayers recommended by the author for the travellers to say before, during and after traveling to holy and blessed tombs.
ff. 3b-15b
Language(s): Persian
Prayers
Title: Bayān-i ādāb-i safar
Title: بیان آداب سفر
Incipit: بدانکه چون شخصی ارادهٔ حج یا ارادهٔ یکی از مشاهد مقدسه و یا غیر آنها کند باید که قطع علاقه کند…
Explicit: … اللهم انی اعوذ بک من و عثاء السفر و کابه المنقلب و سوء… ||
References
Sequence Number in the Persian Catalogue:
- FAW 123
Physical Description
Support: Western paper (plain), natural buff, regular thickness, one size.
Dimensions (leaf): 16.5 × 10 cm.
Dimensions (written): 12 × 6 cm.
Collation
ff. 3b-15b
Layout
12 lines per page
ff. 3b-15bHand(s)
Nastaʿaliq and Naskh, two hands, regular. Anonymous
Decoration
Rubricated lines above some expressions.
History
Origin: Unknown place of origin; 13th century AH; 19th century CE
2) Persian Catalogue Sequence Number 179
Contents
Summary of Contents: Miftāḥ al-falāḥ is one of Shaykh Bahāʾī's works on prayers which was compiled in 1015 AH in the city of Ganja. As reported in Az-Zareeʿa, there have been several translations of this work into Persian to date, including the translations by Āqā Jamāl Khvānsārī, Ṣadr al-Dīn Tabrīzī, Mullā Aḥmad Shīʿī Gīlānī, ʿAllāmah Muḥammad ʿĀmilī, and Amīr Ḥusayn Kirmānī. Each translation has a different dedicatee, including Shāh Ṣafī the second, Shāh ʿAbbās, ʿAlīkhān Bayk son of Bahrām Sulṭān ʿAzāldīnlū, and Shāhzādah Baygum, a Ṣafavid princess. The incipit of this copy is defective, and it is not clear from the rest of the content who the translator was. However, as the copy was dedicated to Shāh Sulṭān Ḥusayn Ṣafavī, it can be deduced that this translation is different to all other translations of Miftāḥ al-falāḥ, belonging to a translator whose name is not known to us. The translator has noted that Miftāḥ al-falāḥ in the original Arabic had not been of any use to the public, and so a number of translators had already carried on to address this issue and translate it. However, he decided to translate it himself since other translations were not of use either.
ff. 16a-125b
Language(s): Persian
Prayers
Title: Tarjumah-'i Miftāḥ al-falāḥ
Title: ترجمهٔ مفتاح الفلاح
Incipit: ||… القدر شیخ بهاءالدین محمد عاملی است قدس الله روحه بزبان فصاحت بیان عربی تصنیف شده بود و جمعی را که از حقایق و دقایق آن زبان…
Explicit: … الهواء و تملا الارض والسماء و صلی الله … یا ارحم الراحمین.
References
Sequence Number in the Persian Catalogue:
- FAW 179
Physical Description
Support: Western paper (plain), natural buff, regular thickness, one size.
Dimensions (leaf): 16.5 × 10 cm.
Dimensions (written): 12 × 6 cm.
Collation
ff. 16a-125b
Layout
12 lines per page
ff. 16a-125bHand(s)
Naskh, one hand, large. Anonymous
Decoration
Names of prayers rubricated.
History
Origin: Unknown place of origin; 13th century AH; 19th century CE
Additional Information
Record Sources
This record was created by Dr Mohammad Emami based on the information published in the Persian catalogue by Dr Ali Mir-Ansari (Catalogue of the Persian and Arabic Manuscripts in the Ferdowsi Library, Wadham College, University of Oxford (Minasian Collection), Tehran: Miras-e Maktoob, 2016).
Availability
Entry to the Library is permitted upon presentation of a valid university ID card (for admissions procedures, please visit Wadham College Library, Persian Studies Section). Please Contact persian.library@wadham.ox.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript.
Funding of Cataloguing
Wadham College (University of Oxford)
Key to Abbreviations
- FAW:
Please fill out your details.