Delhi Persian 599 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

Biography of the prophet Muhammad

Summary of Contents: A large fragment of an unidentified biography of Muḥammad composed possibly in the 14th or 15th century or at any rate after the death of Saʻdi (d. 1291 or 1292) who is quoted on f. 92r.

Incipit: (f. 1v): لؤی بن عدس بن غالب بن فهربن مالک بن النضر… بن ابی البشر آدم صلوات الله وسلامه علیه

Explicit: (f. 129r): و هر مردی که بر انحضرت بگذشتی که در جعبهٔ خود تیر داشتی انحضرت می فرمودی که بفروش تیرها را بابی طلحه

Colophon:

Incorrectly titled Tārīkh-i Tabarī [sic] on the fly leaf and on f. 5r.

Lacks beginning and end.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: ff. 130 (including the paper cover)

Dimensions (leaf): 254 × 185 mm.

Dimensions (written): 215 × 150 mm.

Foliation:

Pencilled foliation.

Collation

Catchwords on the bottom-left corners of the verso.

Condition

Somewhat worm-eaten and water-stained; repaired extensively, perhaps in the 18th century. Paper binding.

Layout

21 to 31 lines per page.

Hand(s)

Naskhī and nastaʻlīq in different hands; copied in black ink, with red headings.

Additions:

Note on f. 93v by a certain Muḥammad Bāqī Andakānī.

Some marginal notes and corrections.

Magic squares (3 x 3) on f. 129v prefixed by an inscription: ‘Whoever keeps this picture with him will be fortunate.’

Binding

Late 19th century paper binding.

Seal(s):

Black Government of India Delhi MSS oval stamp (ff. 2r, 129v).

History

Origin: Possibly 15th century. CE

Provenance and Acquisition

Purchased by the Government of India at sale organised by Delhi Prize Agents, 1859; administrative deposit India Office Library, 1876.

Acquired by the Government of India in 1876

Record Sources

Based on C.A. Storey's description in Drafts for Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. III, Mss Eur 207/5, ff. 115-20. Revised by Ursula Sims-Williams

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. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World