Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

Delhi Persian 1178 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

Miscellaneous works on Sufism, 3 works (a-c)

Contents

Summary of Contents: Collection of miscellaneous Persian works on Sufism, comprised of heterogeneous parts from differing sources. Volume not dated; individual items dated (items a and c), ranging 7 Rabīʿ al-Avval 1189-25 Ramaz̤ān 1206/9 May 1775-17 May 1792. Summary of contents on flyleaf Ar, duplicated with some variation on flyleaf Bv. Varied nastaʿlīq hands. Stamped foliation and earlier Persian foliation. Lacks original binding. Original text cropped, cut and remounted with new margins in gutter. Folios subsequently rebound in IOL red half leather binding, stamp dated 11 Dec 1935. Folios damaged by wormholes, later repairs, substantially cropped margins, and occasional stains. Labels from the earlier wrapper remounted at beginning. IOL microfilm 3957.
1. ff. 1v-24v

Item a.

Treatise guiding the aspirant novice on Sufism based on the pronouncements of the Indian saint, Naṣīr al-Dīn Maḥmūd ibn Yaḥyá Avadhī, called the Chirāgh-i Dihlī (d. 757/1356), compiled by one of his close disciples and khalīfah or successor, Shāh Muḥibb Allāh.

The work is divided into ten sections, each termed majlis.

Dated colophon (f. 24v): completed Monday, 25 Ramaz̤ān 1206/17 May 1792.

Clear and elegant nastaʿlīq on thin paper. Verses organised into two columns; rulings in red and black.

Extensive annotations on folio 1r explaining the significance of the work.

Language(s): Persian & Arabic
2. ff. 25v-33r

Item b

Treatise on mystical love by the ʿAyn-i Quz̤āt-i Hamadānī, that is, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad Miyānajī (d. 525/1131), who was the pupil of Aḥmad Ghazzālī.

Not dated at end. See colophon to item c.

Scribal nastaʿlīq.

Language(s): Persian and Arabic
3. ff. 33v-43r

Item c

Treatise summarising the principles of Sufism falsely ascribed to the ʿAyn-i Quz̤āt-i Hamadānī, that is, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad Miyānajī (d. 525/1131), who was the pupil of Aḥmad Ghazzālī. Accordingly, Arberry attributes the work to the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī, Khvājah Khvurd ibn Khvājah Muḥammad Bāqī, a contemporary of Shaykh Aḥmad Fārūqī Sihrindī/Sarhindī (d. 1624).

The work is divided into three qism of irregular length that are further subdivided into faṣl, and the whole concludes with a khātimah.

Dated colophon (f. 43r): completed by Ḥuz̤ūr Allāh Kashmīrī, 7 Rabīʿ al-Avval 1189/9 May 1775.

Scribal nastaʿlīq.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 43 ff.
Dimensions (leaf): 178 × 130 mm.
Dimensions (written):

Hand(s)

History

Origin: 7 Rabīʿ al-Avval 1189-25 Ramaz̤ān 1206 (9 May 1775 - 17 May 1792) 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 E207/2_f019r

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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