Delhi Persian 1085 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

ʻAqāʼid-i ṣāfīyah by Abū ʻAbd Allah Tirmiz̲ī

Summary of Contents: An extensıve treatıse on the Sufı doctrıne of the existence, nature and attributes of God described in the colophon as ʻAqāʼid al-ṣāfīyah and attributed (ff. 2r and 2v) to al-Shaykh al-ʻārif Abū ʻAbd Allāh Tirmiz̲ī - who cannot, however, be the famous 9th century mystic al-Tirmidhī on account of references to later authors, e.g. Abu al-Qāsim Gurgānīī (f. 92r) who died in 450/1058. The work is not divided into chapters. The author frequently quotes sayings of earlier Sufis to illustrate his arguments.

Author: Abū ʻAbd Allāh al-Tirmiz̲ī ابوعبدالله الترمذی

Title: ʻAqāʼid-i ṣāfīyah

Title: عقاید صافیه

Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم. الحمد الله الذی ادب العلماء بعزیمة خیر البشر و خببهم و سلمهم من الرخصة و المباحات و الاشر و سددهم و قومهم فی السراء و الصراء و الباساء.

Explicit: خاتمة الکتب شیخ ابوعبدالله الترمزی رحمة الله علیه در باب احوال کمال عقاید صافیه اهل ذوق که ازین منفعت یابند/ تمت تمت تم تم.

Language(s): Persian

Filiation:

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 276 ff.

Dimensions (leaf): 235 × 140 mm.

Dimensions (written): 165 × 85 mm.

Foliation:

India Office stamped foliation. The last folio is unstamped, with the number 277 written in pencil at the top left, suggesting a folio is missing from the end, which is supported by the catchword of f. 275v not matching 277r.

Collation

Catchwords.

Condition

Worm-eaten and damp-stained. Loose leaves and detached binding.

Layout

21 lines per page.

Hand(s)

Naskh; copied in black ink, with headings and the first word of some sections in red. Occasional spelling mistakes.

Additions:

A note on f. 1r records the title as ʻAqāʼid-i ṣaḥīfah with a valuation of 15 rupees.

Marginal comments and summaries.

Binding

Three-quarter leather binding with marbled boards. Paper paste-downs.

Seal(s):

Black Government of India Delhi MSS oval stamp (ff. 1r & 277r).

History

Origin: Undated, probably late 17th or 18th century; India

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 in1876

Record Sources

Based on A.J. Arberry's description in Drafts for Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. III, MSS Eur E207/4, f. 10r, and R. Levy 's description, Mss Eur E207/13, f. 2r. Revised by Sheida Heydarishovir

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contactBritish Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts seeFinding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World