Delhi Persian 307 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

Two Shiʻa treatises (a, b)

Summary of Contents: A composite volume containing two separate manuscripts: (a) Fawz al-najāt attributed to Muʻizz al-Dīn Ardistānī, and (b) a work by Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ʻAlī Bihbahānī.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: ff. iv+253+ii

Foliation:

India Office stamped foliation.

Binding

19th century three-quarter leather detached binding with grey marbled boards; paper pastedowns.

Seal(s):

Black Government of India Delhi MSS oval stamp (ff. 1r, 234r, 253r).

History

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

Delhi Persian 307a

Summary of Contents: Treatise arguing for the right of ʻAlī to be regarded as the Imām and successor of the prophet Muḥammad. Although neither title nor author are included in the text, this work can be identified as Fawz al-najāt attributed to Muʻizz al-Dīn Ardistānī. Dedicated to ʻAbd Allāh Quṭb Shāh (r. 1611-72) the work was completed in 1058/1648-9.

ff. 1v-233v

Author: Miʻizz al-Dīn Ardistānī معز الدین اردستانی

Title: Fawz al-najāt

Title: فوز النجات

Folios 232-3 are in a different hand.

R. Levy, Drafts for Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. III, Mss Eur E207/38, f. 49.

Language(s): Persian

Filiation: For another copy in the British Library, see Or. 1294 (Rieu 1879-83, p. 32).

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Unpolished paper.

Extent: 233 ff.

Dimensions (leaf): 320 × 200 mm.

Dimensions (written): 225 × 125 mm.

Collation

Catchwords.

Layout

ff. 1-231: 15 lines per page; ff. 232-3: 16 lines per page.

Hand(s)

Nastaʻlīq in two hands, copied in black ink, with headings in red.

Additions: Folio 1r contains three scrubbed out seals and a valuation of [Rs] 7.

History

Origin: Undated, late 17th or early 18th century CE. India

Delhi Persian 307b

Summary of Contents: A Shiʻa reply by Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ʻAlī Bihbahānī to the attack on mutʻah marriage made in Shāh ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz Dihlavī's Tuḥfah-'i Is̱nā-ʻasharīyah

ff. 234v-253r

Author: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ʻAlī Bihbahānī احمد ابن محمّد على بهبهانى

Title: Kashf al-shubhah ʻan ḥukm al-mutʻah

Title: کشف الشبهة عن حکم المتعة

Colophon: Colophon dated Jumādá al-avval 1250 AH (Sept/Oct 1834).

Folios 240-243 are out of order, the correect sequence being ff. 242, 240, 241, 243.

R. Levy, Drafts for Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. III, Mss Eur E207/38, f. 50.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Slightly polished paper.

Extent: ff. 234v-253r

Dimensions (leaf): 291 × 180 mm.

Collation

Catchwords.

Condition

Remargined.

Layout

16-17 lines per page.

Hand(s)

Nastaʻlīq; copied in black ink, with headings in red.

Additions: Some marginalia.

History

Origin: Jumādá al-avval 1250 AH (Sept/Oct 1834). India

Additional Information

Record Sources

Based on R. Levy's description in Drafts for Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. III. 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.

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