F. 57 (University Library, Cambridge University)
E. G. Browne Collection
Contents
Summary of Contents: رساله سید مهدی دهجی Some account of this remarkable tract will be found in my Materials for the
Study of the Bábí Religion (Cambridge, 1918), pp. 231-233 and 237. The author,
Sayyid Mahdi of Dahaj (near Shahr-i-Bábak), was eight years old at the time of
the Báb's "Manifestation" in 1844, and became a believer in him at the age of
thirteen. Though he never saw the Báb, he was acquainted with many of his chief
followers, such as Sayyid Yahyà of Dáráb, and in 1858 he went to Baghdad to visit
Subh-i-Azal, but was much more impressed by Bahá'u'lláh, whom he followed when
the schism came, and to whom he remained faithful for thirty-five years. When
Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892, the author, Sayyid Mahdi, espoused the cause of his son
Muhammad Ali, and repudiated the claims of 'Abbás Efendi 'Abdu'l-Bahá. His
long connection with the Bábí community from the earliest days renders his account
singularly full and detailed, and enables him to supply many interesting details not
to be found elsewhere. He was moved to write it by the perusal of the Persian
Introduction to my text of Hajji Mirza Jáni's Nagtatu'l-Kaf ("E. J. W. Gibb
Memorial" Series, vol. xv), which he desired to criticize in many details. Unfortu-
nately only the first half of his work reached me, and I do not know whether the
other half was actually written and not sent, or lost in the post, or whether old age
or illness prevented the fulfilment of his project. The MS., an autograph, comprises 291 pp. of 20'8 x 13 c. and 18 ll., and is
written in a clear nasta'liq, with long passages in red ink occurring at intervals.
From a passage on p. 254 it appears that it was composed in A.D. 1914. A letter
of seven closely written pages from the author is pasted in at the end. The text of
the book breaks off abruptly at the bottom of p. 291 after the account of the murder
of the Azalís, and in the middle of the account of the Iqán (see immediately below,
F. 58 and F. 59). My Introduction to the Nuqtatu'l-Kaf supplies the text to this
elaborate and valuable commentary, the loss of the second half of which is greatly
to be deplored.
Study of the Bábí Religion (Cambridge, 1918), pp. 231-233 and 237. The author,
Sayyid Mahdi of Dahaj (near Shahr-i-Bábak), was eight years old at the time of
the Báb's "Manifestation" in 1844, and became a believer in him at the age of
thirteen. Though he never saw the Báb, he was acquainted with many of his chief
followers, such as Sayyid Yahyà of Dáráb, and in 1858 he went to Baghdad to visit
Subh-i-Azal, but was much more impressed by Bahá'u'lláh, whom he followed when
the schism came, and to whom he remained faithful for thirty-five years. When
Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892, the author, Sayyid Mahdi, espoused the cause of his son
Muhammad Ali, and repudiated the claims of 'Abbás Efendi 'Abdu'l-Bahá. His
long connection with the Bábí community from the earliest days renders his account
singularly full and detailed, and enables him to supply many interesting details not
to be found elsewhere. He was moved to write it by the perusal of the Persian
Introduction to my text of Hajji Mirza Jáni's Nagtatu'l-Kaf ("E. J. W. Gibb
Memorial" Series, vol. xv), which he desired to criticize in many details. Unfortu-
nately only the first half of his work reached me, and I do not know whether the
other half was actually written and not sent, or lost in the post, or whether old age
or illness prevented the fulfilment of his project. The MS., an autograph, comprises 291 pp. of 20'8 x 13 c. and 18 ll., and is
written in a clear nasta'liq, with long passages in red ink occurring at intervals.
From a passage on p. 254 it appears that it was composed in A.D. 1914. A letter
of seven closely written pages from the author is pasted in at the end. The text of
the book breaks off abruptly at the bottom of p. 291 after the account of the murder
of the Azalís, and in the middle of the account of the Iqán (see immediately below,
F. 58 and F. 59). My Introduction to the Nuqtatu'l-Kaf supplies the text to this
elaborate and valuable commentary, the loss of the second half of which is greatly
to be deplored.
1.
The manuscript contains only the first part of this work.
Title: رسالۀ سيد مهدى دهجى
See sub classmark BBA. 1 in Browne's "Catalogue and Description of 27 Bābī Manuscripts (Continuation)", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Oct., 1892): 637-710.
Language(s): Persian
Physical Description
Form: codex
Support: Paper
Extent: 291 pp.
Dimensions: 20 × 18 cm.
Layout
18 lines
Hand(s)
Written in a clear nasta'liq, with long passages in red ink occurring at intervals.
History
Origin: 1322 AH; 1904 CE
Provenance and Acquisition
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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