Or 16617 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

A treatise on the fiqh (jurisprudence) of menstruation, prolonged menorrhoea and childbirth in regard to ritual purity. An inscription on f. 18v, apparently in the author’s own hand, gives his name as Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī al-Sharīf al-Baghdādī. Ṭuhriyya comprises a muqaddima, three bābs, respectively covering the above three topics, subdivided into faṣls, and a tatimma.

This work appears to be very rare. Because it is not concerned with medicine as such, it is not mentioned in the bibliographies of Fonahn or Najm-ābādī, or in the medical sections of Munzavī FNKh I or Storey, PL.

Begins: Basmala Ḥamd-i pāk az dilhā-yi pāk sazāvar-i Āfarīdgār-i pāk ṭahurat ṣifātuh va ẓahurat āyātuh ki ba-ḥukm-i Va yuḥibb al-mutaṭahhirīn pākān-rā dūst mīdārad... Ammā ba‘d Īn risāla īst musammāt ba-Ṭuhriyya ki jihat-i jam‘ī az muṭahharāt-i nās dar ba‘żī mabāḥis-i ḥayż va istiḥāża va nifās nivishta shuda va bar sih bāb murattab gashta

Ends: Har khūnī ki ba vilādat-i avval dīda tā dah shabānrūz har chi dīda tamām-i nifās-i avval avval ast Va khūnī ki ba vilādat-i ākhir dīda tā dah shabānrūz-i dīgar har chi būda tamām-i nifās-i ākhir ast Tammat házih al-risālat al-sharīfa

Other contents: f. 1r, inscription describing the scope of the work (Risāla dar bayān al-ḥayż va l-istiḥāża), and ownership inscription of Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ va Ruqayya; 19v, a bayt of verse in Arabic: Sayughnīnī llazī aghnāka ‘annī * fa-lā faqr yadūm va lā ghinā’.

Colophon, f. 18v. Dated Jumād al-avval (sic) 957/August 1550.

Calligraphic nasta‘līq. 14 lines. Chapter headings in yellow gold; subheadings and text dividers in red. Good beige paper of medium thickness. Holes in the upper margins of f. 9-13; light damp staining. The position of the catchwords shows that the margins have been cut down slightly. 19 folios. 18 x 11 cm.; text lines 115 x 72 mm. Dark maroon morocco binding with flap, worn; European-style gilt ornamentation at centre and in borders.

Purchased from Christie's South Kensington (6 October 2008, Lot 299).