Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

Delhi Persian 1020 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

Miscellaneous mystical works and extracts, 13 works (a-m)

Contents

Summary of Contents: Untitled collection of thirteen treatises, homilies, moralising stories, and extracts, mostly mystical in subject, by Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Muḥammad Chishtī, written between 1003-7/1594-8. Transcribed in small, neat naskh. Copied by Dawlat Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad according to item m. Although not dated, some tracts are dated to between the range of 19 Ṣafar 1003-17 Ṣafar 1008/3 November 1594-8 September 1599. Therefore, this is an early volume that dates to the period the author flourished. Badly worm-eaten and water-stained; fragile. Seal impression (f. 34v) dated 1135/1722.
1. ff. 1v-3r

Item a.

Brief treatise on good moral conduct and the duties of javān'mardī or chivalry, for the larger purpose of combating unbelievers, by the author Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Quṭb al-Awliyāʾ Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Nuṣayr, known as Shaykh Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Miyān'jīv al-Fārūqī al-Chishtī.

Dated: 22 Rajab 1007/18 February 1599.

Language(s): Persian & Arabic
3. ff. 9v-12v

Item c.

Allegorical story of the woman flower-seller representing a worldly life and the detached travelling Ṣūfī representing the godly life.

The narrative is here attibuted to the saint Muḥammad Gīsūdarāz al-Ḥusaynī. However, in its present form, it is more likely to be the work of the present compiler, Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Quṭb al-Awliyāʾ Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Nuṣayr, known as Shaykh Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Miyān'jīv al-Fārūqī al-Chishtī.

Dated: 9 Shaʿbān 1007/7 March 1599.

Language(s): Persian
4. ff. 13r-18r
Language(s): Persian

Item d.

Allegorical story of travelling party that comes upon a lake. As others wade in, the protagonist spies a beautiful maiden and falls in love and concludes by the intervention of a forbiding voice. This is interpreted as a confirmation of the doctrine of vaḥdat or unity.

The story is here attibuted to the saint Muḥammad Gīsūdarāz al-Ḥusaynī, and further interpreted by the present author, Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Quṭb al-Awliyāʾ Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Nuṣayr, known as Shaykh Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Miyān'jīv al-Fārūqī al-Chishtī.

Dated: 19 Ṣafar 1003/3 November 1594.

6. ff. 22r-24r
Language(s): Persian

Item f.

Interpretations of the various allegories and legends in the light of Ṣufī ideas, including also the poet Rūmī's story of the elephant and the blind men, by the author Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Quṭb al-Awliyāʾ Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Nuṣayr, known as Shaykh Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Miyān'jīv al-Fārūqī al-Chishtī.

Not dated

13. ff. 32r-34v
Language(s): Persian and Arabic

Item m.

Brief homily on the virtue of reciting the Qurʾān with reverence and sincerity, by the author Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Quṭb al-Awliyāʾ Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Nuṣayr, known as Shaykh Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Miyān'jīv al-Fārūqī al-Chishtī

Dated colophon: completed by Dawlat Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad on 17 Ṣafar 1008/8 September 1599.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 34 ff.
Dimensions (leaf): 178 × 136 mm.
Dimensions (written):

Hand(s)

History

Origin: 19 Ṣafar 1003-17 Ṣafar 1008 (3 November 1594 - 8 September 1599) AH ; India

Record Sources

Based on unpublished description in Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. 3. Available on British Library Digitised Manuscripts, manuscript number: MSS Eur E207/3_f028r

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

Bibliography

Funding of Cataloguing

BL


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