Wadh.Minasian 469 (The Ferdowsi Library, Wadham College, University of Oxford)

Summary of Contents: Taz̲kirat al-awliyāʾ is a mystical book in plain Persian prose, rhymed at some points, on the biography of the masters of Awliyāʾ and Sufi figures. It has an introduction and 72 chapters, each discussing the lifes, attitudes, thoughts, and speeches of one of the mystics and Sufi figures, whose virtues, preachments, and words of wisdom are included in this book. The first chapter is dedicated to the attitudes and speeches of [Imām] Jaʿfar Ṣādiq, and the 72th chapter to Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr Ḥallāj (died 309 AH). The authentic manuscripts of Taz̲kirat al-awliyāʾ up until the 10th century AH include only these 72 chapters, but additional chapters have been added after this time under the title of ذکر متأخران از مشایخ کبار (Mentions of the Latest Great Sufi Legends), which provide the attitudes and speeches of 25 mystics from the 4th and 5th centuries AH. The current copy has 70 chapters, each assigned to one of the Awliyāʾ, with the firts being Imām Jaʿfar Ṣādiq, the second Uways Qaranī, and the last Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr Ḥallāj.