V. 67 (University Library, Cambridge University)
E. G. Browne Collection
Contents
Summary of Contents: رباعیات سرمدی
ديوان مظهر رباعیات جامی A composite volume, containing (1) the Persian Diwan of a poet called Mazhar;
(2) a selection of the quatrains of Jámí; (3) the same of Sarmad in manuscript;
(4) a lithographed edition of the last-named, published at Dihlí in 1314/1897; (5) a
short prayer in Arabic. (1) The Díwán of Mazhar was given to me in Constantinople in April, 1908,
by Dr Rida Tawfiq (Riza Tevfiq). It comprises only 17 written leaves of 15'8 x 9'5
c. and 13 ll. and is written in a fairly good, small, modern ta'liq. From a brief
prose autobiography prefixed to the poems we learn that the author was an 'Alawi
by descent, Indian by habitation, of the Hanafi sect and the Naqshbandi Order. As
he states that he was sixty years of age at the time of writing (1170/1756-7), he
was presumably born about 1110/1698-9. The Diwan is incomplete, containing
only poems rhyming in alif, tá and dál. The first begins: آبی نزد بروی گرانخواب بخت ما، با آنکه گریه داد بسیلاب رخت ما The next three portions of the volume were given to me in 1920 by Umraosingh
Sher Gil, who selected and copied the quatrains of Jámí, and attempted to reconstruct
by conjecture (no MSS. being available) the faulty quatrains of Sarmad published
in the above-mentioned lithographed edition. (2) Of Jámi's quatrains (ff. 2-7) he gives only twenty, headed: بنام یزدان، انتخاب مرتبه از رباعیات جامی and beginning:
در مسجد و خانقه بسی گردیدم بس شیخ و مریدرا که پا بوسیدم
نی یکساعت ز هستی خود رستم نی آنکه
ز خویش رسته باشد دیدم
(3) The Quatrains of Sarmad are preceded by a short prose Preface (ff. 10-11)
from which we learn that the poet was a Jewish merchant of Káshán who migrated
to India, fell in love, assumed the guise and attributes of a qalandar, malámatí, or
antinomian darwish, and was ultimately put to death for refusing to wear any clothes
in 1072/1662 in the reign of Alamgir. About 150 of his quatrains are given, which
are arranged in an order differing from that of the lithographed edition, the corre-
sponding number of which is, however, added in the margin. Thus No. 1 in the
MS.No. 224 of the lithograph, and runs:در طور غزل طريق حافظ دارم
با فکر و خیال کس نباشد کارم نی جرعه کش باده او بسیارم
اما برباعيم مريد خيام This portion of the volume occupies ff. 10-50, beginning with a rudely-illuminated
title, followed by the preface above-mentioned, and ending with a symbolical drawing
signed "U. S. [Umraosingh]. 7. iii. 1920," described as "Life of Sermed symbolized,"
and representing, apparently, a fiery star, a burnt moth, a broken sword, on the hilt
of which a bee or fly is walking, and a smoking saucer (of opium ?) on the cross-bar
of a sort of retort-stand. Underneath is written the following hemistich of Sa'dí: همین بود انجام عشق ای پسر This is followed by the subjoined account of the labours of the editor and
transcriber: "These Quatrains of Sermed were restored, selected and arranged after reading
very many times, by Umraosingh Sher Gil, 1st January, 1920 "Red numerals to the right, in English, represent the serial numbers of the
quatrains in the little edition. "Note: the historical account is from the same lithographed edition, which does
not mention the source. "These quatrains of Sermed were selected after innumerable readings from the
collection of three hundred and twenty-nine quatrains in alphabetical order published
in 1897 at the Fárúqí Press, Dehli, by Sayyid Mohammad Ishaq. "I have tried to restore the text, which has many corrupt and erroneous readings,
partly, at any rate, due to the calligraphist of the little Press. I had no manuscript to refer to, and had to depend in this work on my own intuition. Some faulty readings
were easy of restoration by a slight addition or transposition of the words to bring
the verse into the right metre and meaning, which should not contradict the context;
but others were very difficult to guess, and a few-not quoted here-entirely escaped
my ingenuity. The selected quatrains here are arranged more or less in the topical
order, as well as what I conceive to be the chronological order of the poet's spiritual
development. "Umraosingh Sher Gil, 18th March, 1920." (4) The volume concludes with the little lithographed edition published at Dihlí
in 1314/1897, which comprises 80 pp, and is copiously annotated by Umraosingh,
who kindly presented me with these portions of the volume. (5) At the end of the volume is a short Arabic prayer, copied out for his private
use by a certain Sayyid Mustafà, "the servant of the shoes of the learned," whose
master Shaykh Muhammad Amín Naqshbandí had given him permission to recite
it once a day.
ديوان مظهر رباعیات جامی A composite volume, containing (1) the Persian Diwan of a poet called Mazhar;
(2) a selection of the quatrains of Jámí; (3) the same of Sarmad in manuscript;
(4) a lithographed edition of the last-named, published at Dihlí in 1314/1897; (5) a
short prayer in Arabic. (1) The Díwán of Mazhar was given to me in Constantinople in April, 1908,
by Dr Rida Tawfiq (Riza Tevfiq). It comprises only 17 written leaves of 15'8 x 9'5
c. and 13 ll. and is written in a fairly good, small, modern ta'liq. From a brief
prose autobiography prefixed to the poems we learn that the author was an 'Alawi
by descent, Indian by habitation, of the Hanafi sect and the Naqshbandi Order. As
he states that he was sixty years of age at the time of writing (1170/1756-7), he
was presumably born about 1110/1698-9. The Diwan is incomplete, containing
only poems rhyming in alif, tá and dál. The first begins: آبی نزد بروی گرانخواب بخت ما، با آنکه گریه داد بسیلاب رخت ما The next three portions of the volume were given to me in 1920 by Umraosingh
Sher Gil, who selected and copied the quatrains of Jámí, and attempted to reconstruct
by conjecture (no MSS. being available) the faulty quatrains of Sarmad published
in the above-mentioned lithographed edition. (2) Of Jámi's quatrains (ff. 2-7) he gives only twenty, headed: بنام یزدان، انتخاب مرتبه از رباعیات جامی and beginning:
در مسجد و خانقه بسی گردیدم بس شیخ و مریدرا که پا بوسیدم
نی یکساعت ز هستی خود رستم نی آنکه
ز خویش رسته باشد دیدم
(3) The Quatrains of Sarmad are preceded by a short prose Preface (ff. 10-11)
from which we learn that the poet was a Jewish merchant of Káshán who migrated
to India, fell in love, assumed the guise and attributes of a qalandar, malámatí, or
antinomian darwish, and was ultimately put to death for refusing to wear any clothes
in 1072/1662 in the reign of Alamgir. About 150 of his quatrains are given, which
are arranged in an order differing from that of the lithographed edition, the corre-
sponding number of which is, however, added in the margin. Thus No. 1 in the
MS.No. 224 of the lithograph, and runs:در طور غزل طريق حافظ دارم
با فکر و خیال کس نباشد کارم نی جرعه کش باده او بسیارم
اما برباعيم مريد خيام This portion of the volume occupies ff. 10-50, beginning with a rudely-illuminated
title, followed by the preface above-mentioned, and ending with a symbolical drawing
signed "U. S. [Umraosingh]. 7. iii. 1920," described as "Life of Sermed symbolized,"
and representing, apparently, a fiery star, a burnt moth, a broken sword, on the hilt
of which a bee or fly is walking, and a smoking saucer (of opium ?) on the cross-bar
of a sort of retort-stand. Underneath is written the following hemistich of Sa'dí: همین بود انجام عشق ای پسر This is followed by the subjoined account of the labours of the editor and
transcriber: "These Quatrains of Sermed were restored, selected and arranged after reading
very many times, by Umraosingh Sher Gil, 1st January, 1920 "Red numerals to the right, in English, represent the serial numbers of the
quatrains in the little edition. "Note: the historical account is from the same lithographed edition, which does
not mention the source. "These quatrains of Sermed were selected after innumerable readings from the
collection of three hundred and twenty-nine quatrains in alphabetical order published
in 1897 at the Fárúqí Press, Dehli, by Sayyid Mohammad Ishaq. "I have tried to restore the text, which has many corrupt and erroneous readings,
partly, at any rate, due to the calligraphist of the little Press. I had no manuscript to refer to, and had to depend in this work on my own intuition. Some faulty readings
were easy of restoration by a slight addition or transposition of the words to bring
the verse into the right metre and meaning, which should not contradict the context;
but others were very difficult to guess, and a few-not quoted here-entirely escaped
my ingenuity. The selected quatrains here are arranged more or less in the topical
order, as well as what I conceive to be the chronological order of the poet's spiritual
development. "Umraosingh Sher Gil, 18th March, 1920." (4) The volume concludes with the little lithographed edition published at Dihlí
in 1314/1897, which comprises 80 pp, and is copiously annotated by Umraosingh,
who kindly presented me with these portions of the volume. (5) At the end of the volume is a short Arabic prayer, copied out for his private
use by a certain Sayyid Mustafà, "the servant of the shoes of the learned," whose
master Shaykh Muhammad Amín Naqshbandí had given him permission to recite
it once a day.
1.
Title: Dīvān-i Maẓhar
Title: ديوان مظهر
The dīwān is incomplete and contains only the poems rhyming in alif, tāʼ and dāl.
Language(s): Persian
4.
Editor: Umraosingh Sher Gil
Title: Rubāʻīyāt-i Sarmad
Title: رباعيات سرمد
Litographed edition published at Dehli in 1314/1897
Language(s): Persian
Physical Description
Form: codex
Support: Paper
Extent: Ff. 17
Dimensions: 15.8 × 9.5 cm.
Layout
13 lines
Hand(s)
A fairly good, small, modern ta'liq.
History
Origin: 1120 AH; 1709 CE 990 AH; 1582 CE
Provenance and Acquisition
Given to E. G. Browne in Constantinople in April, 1908, by Rıza Tevfik, 1869?-1949.
The next three portions of the volume were given to me in 1920 by Umrao Singh Sher Gil (1870–1954).
Bequest of E. G. Browne.
Record Sources
Summary, physical description and provenance copied from R. A. Nicholson: A descriptive catalogue of the Oriental MSS belonging to the late E.G. Browne. Cambridge, 1932.
Availability
Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact Cambridge University Library Admissions). Contact near_eastern@lib.cam.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript
Funding of Cataloguing
JISC
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