Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 430Origin: Lacks dated scribal colophon ; decoration, paper, etc. suggest 16th century.Former shelfmark: "524 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on interior of upper cover ; "231" inscribed in pencil on 'title page’ (p.1).Binding: Pasteboards faced in marbled paper (in red and green) with red leather over spine, fore edge of upper board, and fore edge flap ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in untinted European laid paper ; sewn in dark pink thread, four stations ; overall in fair condition with some abrasion, lifting and losses of leather and paper, etc.Support: non-European laid paper with roughly 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical, indistinct) and no chain lines plainly visible, cloudy formation, quite thin though sturdy, burnished ; staining and tide lines ; back flyleaf in European laid paper with "GFA" under eagle watermark.Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening on p.2 consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying the basmalah flanked by floral vegetal accents in gold, yellow, red and white on a field of blue (approaching lapis lazuli), surmounted by larger rectangular piece with empty gold cartouche and surrounding floral vegetal accents in gold, red, and light blue on a field of blue bordered in bands of red and heavy gold interlace, itself surmounted by a scalloped triangular piece or hasp continuing the floral vegetal design ; larger rectangular piece and triangular piece are set in an elaborate well of gold, red, green, and blue bands and surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue ; written area throughout gold-flecked and surrounded by a gold frame with outer gold and blue rules.Script: Nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand ; serifless with characteristic descent of words to baseline and superscripting of final words and letters ; elongation of horizontal strokes ; contrast in thickness of horizontal and vertical strokes.Layout: Written in roughly 9 lines per page, three of ḥadīth text and six of the Persian verse paraphrase with the hemistiches of four lines of verse divided and arranged on the diagonal ; written area divided to set off the ḥadīth text and elucidation ; frame-ruled.Collation: IV-1 (7), I (9), i ; quaternion (anomalous, "missing leaf" possibly pasted to leaf carrying incipit page) followed by single bifolium ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.Explicit: "لا يشبع المؤمن من دون جاره صدق هر که در خطه مسلمانی باشد از نقد دین گر انمایه... اربعینهاى سالکان جامی هست بهر وصول صدر قبول منست از فضل حق عجیب و غریب که بدین اربعین رسی بوصول"Incipit: "صحیح ترین حدیثی که راویان مجالس دین ... این چهل کلمه است ازان کلمات که سهولت فهم و حفظ را بنظم فارسی ترجمه گر ده می آید امید ... لا ؤمن احدكم حتى يحب لاخيه ما يحب لنفسه هر کسی را لقب مکن مؤمن گرچه از سعی جان وتن کاهد ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Fine copy of Jāmī's verse paraphrase of forty ḥadīth.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 432Origin: As appears in colophon, copied by Muḥammad Zakarīyā Samarqandī with transcription completed in the year 1256 [1840 or 41].Former shelfmark: "548 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on recto of front flyleaf ; "233" inscribed in pencil on 'title page'.Binding: Heavy pasteboards covered in painted lacquerwork, spine in black leather ; Type III binding (without flap) ; doublures in fine painted lacquerwork of composition evoking book cover design with central mandorla and pendants (filled with flowers and leaves in shades of pink and green on a black ground) set in a red ground with swirling floral vegetal pattern in gold and surrounded by border in black with white dots and flanking gold fillets (composition of upper doublure mirrors that of lower doublure) ; upper and lower covers bear paintings of nearly identical floral composition in mirror image to one another on an orange or bronze background, namely a central cluster of peonies, poppies, etc. with roses, poppies, buds, and other floral forms all in shades of pink and white with leaves in various shades of green, and surrounded by decorative bands with floral motifs in various sizes on bands of red and black ; sewn in pink thread, four stations ; overall in fair condition with some abrasion and losses to lacquerwork and pasteboard, text block almost fully detached from cover, etc. ; cover large for textblock and perhaps not original.Support: Quite heavy wove paper ; surfaced dyed pale blue and pale green.Decoration: Illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening consisting of rectangular piece with empty cartouche and flanking vegetal accents (all in gold) set between heavy gold bands and surmounted by a scalloped semi-circular piece (dome) filled with swirling floral vegetal decoration and surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) all in gold ; written area (and panels within) surrounded by gold rule-border ; ḥadīth text, preface and closing matter chrysographed.Script: Nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand ; serifless with characteristic descent of words to baseline and superscripting of final words and letters ; elongation of horizontal strokes.Layout: Written mainly in 9 lines per page, three of ḥadīth text and six of the Persian verse paraphrase with the hemistiches of four lines of verse divided and arranged on the diagonal ; written area divided to set off the ḥadīth text and elucidation ; text of preface in 8 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: V+I (12) ; quinion with added single bifolium ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads "على يد ضعيف الفقير الحقير كتبه العبد المذنب محمد زكرياى سمرقندى غفر الله تعالى ذنوبه ١٢٥۶"Explicit: "لا يشبع المؤمن من دون جاره صدق النبي هر که در خطه مسلمانی باشد از نقد دین گر انمایه ... تمت الاربعين حديث مع ترجمه اربعینهاى سالکان جامی هست بهر وصول صدر قبول بنود از فضل حق عجیب و غریب که بدین اربعین رسی بوصول ... ما تازه گناهیم و عطای تو قدیم است"Incipit: "صحیح ترین حدیثی که راویان مجالس دین ... اما بعد این چهل حدیث کلمه است ازان کلمات که سهولت فهم و حفظ را بنظم فارسی ترجمه گر ده مي آید امید ... لا يؤمن احدكم حتى يحب لاخيه ما يحب لنفسه هر کسی را لقب مکن مؤمن گرچه از سعی جان وتن کاهد ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Elegant copy of Jāmī's verse paraphrase of forty ḥadīth.
Abstract: "Treatise on Ḥanafī lawAbstract: completed on 27 Jumādá II 969 March 1562 (see end of textAbstract: fol. 337a). The text is preceded on fol. 12a-15a by what appears to be a description of contentsAbstract: written by the same hand as the main text (beginning wanting). Fol. 332 is an addition with Abū Ḥanīfah's WaṣāyāAbstract: written by Aḥmad ibn Khalīl in Ṣafar 1145."Binding note: Brown leather over paper pasteboards for upper and lower covers, and envelope flap. Central blind stamped scalloped mandorla filled with a floral arabesque, with two pendants on the vertical axis on covers. Blind stamp on the envelope flap. Yellow paper pastedowns.Ms. codex.Title from preamble of text (fol. 17a, l. 5-6).Physical description: 19 lines per page. Written in small naskh with elements of nastaʻlīq in black ink with use of magenta. The text is framed within a single line in magenta. Thin dark cream European paper with watermark; some leaves dyed in light yellow or green. Quinions; catchword on the verso of each leaf. Table of contents on fol. (i)b-11b. Handmade label with inscriptions on the upper cover. Foliation in black ink using Arabic numerals (starts with "2" on fol. 12a). Foliation in pencil using Western numerals (omits the first fol.).Inscription in Western numerals in pencil on fol. (i)a: "62".Origin: According to colophon, copied by Aḥmad ibn Khalīl ibn Muṣṭafá, and completed in the night of Friday 24 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1143 June 1731 (fol. 337b; the colophon is inscribed within a circle consisting of two lines in red ink).Beginning as extant: الشرع والادد القاعدة الثانية اذا اجمع الحلال والحرام غلب الحرام الحلال وبيان ما يقزع عليها من اشباه ... 15أ ... بسم ... الحمد لله على ما انعم وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد واله وصحبه وسلم وبعد فان الفقه اشرف العلوم قدرا واعظمها اجراExplicit: على رأس شجرتين فتقطع نصفين رحمه الله تعالى وهذا آخر ما اوردنا من كتاب الاشباه والنظائر فى الفقه على مذهب الامام الاعظم ابى حنيفة النعمان ... وكان الفراغ من تأليفه فى السابع والعشرين من جمادى الآخرة سنة تسع وستين وتسعماية وكانت مدة تأليفه ستة اشهر مع تخلّل ايام توعك الجسد والحمد لله ... الى يوم القيام وكتبه مؤلفه بيده الفانية زين بن نجيم الحنفى ... هذا آخر ما قاله المؤلف ... بجاه نبيه محمد ومصطفاه وآله واصحابه ومن والاهBeginning of text fol. 332a: بسم ... قال ابو حنيفة ... لابنه حماد ... يا بنى ارشدك الله تعالى وايدك اوصيك بوصايا ان حفظتها
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 1058Origin: As appears in colophon on p.38, transcription completed in the last days of Muḥarram 898 [ca. November 1492].Binding: Limp brown leather covers with dark brown leather over spine (type of quarter binding) ; Type III binding (without flap), tight back though not fully flush with text block (ill-fitting or deliberate squares) ; now linings (potentially once flyleaves) in what appears to be European laid paper ; now sewn in white thread, not original ; overall in good condition with minor abrasion, etc.Support: non-European (possibly Persianate) laid paper with roughly 8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal, fairly straight) and chain lines only rarely visible in pairs (see p.32) ; only somewhat cloudy furnish with inclusions and bits of fiber visible, heavy and sturdy, quite well-burnished to glossy.Decoration: Keywords and headings rubricated.Script: Naskh-nastaʻlīq (talik) ; chiefly a clear Turkish / Turkic hand ; serifless with effect of words inclining slightly to the right, elongation of horizontal strokes, foot of lām, kāf, etc. quite curvilinear, kāf mashqūqah preferred with shaqq (curving upward) on even final kāf, final tāʼ marbūṭah often given as tāʼ maftūḥah, point of final or free-standing nūn set either down at center or floating above tall bowl, very casually pointed with pointing for two dots typically via conjoined dots, etc.Layout: Written in 19 lines per page (single column) ; frame-ruled (impression of ruling board quite evident).Collation: III-2+3 (7), IV (15), IV-1+4 (26) ; 19 original leaves (paginated 1-38) with 7 added leaves, 3 at the opening of the codex, 4 at the close ; original composition of opening gathering uncertain due to repairs ; mainly quaternions originally ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, center of lower margin of each text page ; added leaves at opening and close of codex not paginated.Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads "تم الكتاب بعون الملك الوهاب فى اواخر شهر محرم سنه ٨٩٨ اللهم اغفر لكاتبه ولقاريه ولمن نظر فيه آمين رب العالمين تم"Explicit: "يكون محتويا الى النساء ويكون محفوظا عن اذى الجن والارواح وغيرها والله اعلم بالصواب واليه المرجع والمآب"Incipit: "لما راينا ان الجزء الاول المختص باسرار الرجال انتهى الى آخره على ما تقدم ذكرها وفصولها لزمنان [كذا] نذكر ايضا فى اسرار النساء التي تدعو الى موافقهن وتوجب الميل اليهن..."Title from opening matter on p.1.Manuscript codex.Fine copy of a treatise of materia medica attributed to Galen, including a number of recipes for drugs intended to treat various sexual conditions.
Manuscript. Persian and Arabic. Caption title. Scribe not identified. Gift of A.A. Kachif, Nov. 20, 1930. Written in Iran. Paper; thick, polished light cream color paper with no watermarks; elaborate floral unwan in gold, blue, red, and white with wide borders of a similar floral pattern and similar colors of fol. 1b and 2a; an outer border of two very thin lines accompanies all the text on facing pages; the text itself is enclosed in a border of black, white, gold, and red; floral section headings in gold, red and blue; lines of the text are separated by a cloud design in gold; text in black ink with small red overlining of some letters; catchwords. Nastaʻliq; in written area 13 x 7.5 cm. Fol. 1b-24a. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M100. Binding; dark brown half leather with lacquered papier-mâché floral design on a copper colored background surrounded by contrasting green, red and green borders also with floral designs; inner sides of cover also lacquered with a paintings of dark pink roses on a brown background. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldRecord origin: Image descriptions based in part on Topsfield, A. (2007), Paintings from Mughal India.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 885Origin: As appears in colophon on p.969 (and at close of باب الف ممدوده on p.978), copied by Mathurādās Khatrī, date not specified ; decoration, paper, etc. would suggest late 18th or early 19th century.Accompanying materials: a. Scrap cut from a Luzac catalog page with description and price for this manuscript "PERSIAN AND HINDUSTANI MSS. 175 Bahar i ʻajam. The well-known Persian dictionary. MS. Folio. Over 1000 pp. Leather binding. The colophon is dated A.H. 1243 ( = A.D. 1827), under the reign of Muhammad Akbar Shâh (II.) £2 10s." (paginated pp.1-2) -- b. Recycled card with handwriting of Emilie Savage-Smith [?] "ʻunwān or illum. frontispiece or heading." (paginated pp.3-4) -- c. Scrap of paper with title in ink "Bahār i ʻAjam." (paginated pp.5-6) -- d. Slip with note "Persian MSS (Heyworth-Dunne?) No Husselman or Meredith-Owens notes" (paginated pp.7-8).Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 34Binding: Pasteboards covered in deep red leather ; Western style binding ; pastedowns and flyleaves in untinted wove paper ; upper and lower covers carry delicate gold-tooled border in a rope pattern ; spine stamped "BUHARE | UJUM" ; now sewn in white thread over three cords ; worked chevron endbands in yellow and blue, good condition ; overall in somewhat poor condition with upper cover fully detached, some abrasion, staining, lifting of leather, etc.Support: non-European laid paper with 10 laid lines per cm. (vertical or horizontal, fairly distinct, some curving) and irregular chain lines faintly visible, sturdy, well-burnished, dark cream in color ; flyleaves / added leaves in wove paper.Decoration: Splendid illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.10 consisting of rectangular piece with cartouche (carrying the basmalah) flanked by pendants and delicate swirling floral vegetal decoration in blue, red, orange, and white on a gold ground, surmounted by scalloped w-shaped piece filled with more elaborate swirling floral vegetal decoration in red, orange, white, blue, green, etc. on grounds of gold with blue, green and white accents, itself surmounted by a pendant filled with similar decoration as well as fine vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue, entire piece set into a well consisting of a rather heavy gold band outlined by narrow bands of orange and gold defined by black fillets ; written area throughout surrounded by a gold frame with innermost red rule, and outer red and blue rules, further blue rule defines margin ; keywords and headings rubricated ; overlining or two-teeth abbreviation symbol in red.Script: Nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand in a medium line ; serifless with slight effect of words descending to baseline, elongation of horizontal strokes, pointing (two and three dots) mainly in distinct or conjoined dots.Layout: Written in 21 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: ii, 14 IV(112), III (118), IV+1 (127), 12 IV(223), IV+2 (233), 26 IV(441), II (445), IV+1 (454), 3 IV(478), IV-1 (485), iii ; chiefly quaternions ; lacuna on p.458 marked with "ص" ; p.970 prior to opening of Bāb-i alif-i mamdūdah left blank ; lacks proper catchwords but last word of final line on the verso of each leaf is usually repeated at the beginning of the first line on the following recto ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts).Colophon: "Scribal," reads "الحمد لله والمنة که باتمام رسید منتخب کتاب بهار عجم تالیف استادی مخدومی تیک چند بهار بخط فقیر حقیر اضعف العباد متهراداس قوم کهتری فقط"Incipit: "مهار آفرینی که کلبرک ... دیباچه اصل بهار عجم سپاس و ستایش ایزد متعال را در خور که هريکى ار افراد انسان ..."Title from opening matter (p.11) and colophon (p.978).Ms. codex.Elegant copy of the dictionary of words and idioms used by the Persian poets compiled by Tīk Chand Bahār (d.1766) with added preface.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 894Origin: As appears in colophon on p.189 (accompanied by scribal verses), copied by Murtaz̤á ibn Muḥammad with transcription completed in 1073 [1662 or 3].Accompanying materials: a. Slip with description (in hand of E. Husselman ?) "ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad, called Jāmī. Bahāristān | Have many parts of the Haft Awrang, and some other poems, but apparently not this in Mich. MS. Isl." (paginated pp.1-2) -- b. Slip of paper with description in hand of G. Meredith-Owens "MO 18 Bahāristān of Jāmī | copied in 1073" (paginated pp.3-4) -- c. Slip with note "counted for 1968/69 Annual Report" (paginted pp.5-6) -- d. Slip with note "Persian MSS (Heyworth-Dunne?) with Husselman and Meredith-Owen notes" (paginated pp.7-8).Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 43Binding: Boards covered in grey mottled (sponge-stained look) paper with green fading to tan leather over spine and board corners (half binding) ; Western style binding ; pastedowns and flyleaves in untinted laid paper ; spine accented with raised bands and gold-stamped title, author and shelfmark "BEHĀRI- STĀN E DJĀMĪ | MS. 1073" ; head edge of text block gilt ; sewn in white thread, over recessed cords ; stuck-on endbands ; overall in fair condition with slight abrasion, loss of pigment, etc. ; not original, note on upper pastedown describes rebinding.Support: European laid paper of a few types ; opening type with 7 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 27-28 mm. apart (horizontal), and watermark of three crescents (about 80 mm. long, perpendicular to chains, see p.24, 30, 84, 42, etc.) ; another type with 8-9 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 26-28 mm. apart (horizontal), and crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.38, 42, 54, 56, 190, etc.) ; another type with 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain line spaced 26-28 mm. apart (horizontal) and three crescents watermark (75 mm. tall, perpendicular to chains, see p.118, 150, etc.) ; all quite sturdy, dark cream in color, well-sized and burnished.Decoration: Keywords and headings rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red discs ; written area of incipit page surrounded by red rule-border.Script: Naskh with influence of nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand in a medium line ; mainly serifless with slight effect of tilt to the left, exaggerated elongation of horizontal strokes, curvilinear descenders, pointing (two and three dots) mainly in strokes rather than distinct dots, occasional effect of words descending to baseline ; hand changes just before close (pp.187-189) to a more compact nastaʻlīq.Layout: Written in 13 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: iv, V (10), 2 VI(34), 4 V(74), VI (86), I (88), iii ; quinions and senions ; catchwords present ; text of p.26 apparently mistakenly entered by the copyist upside down (dotted lines provided for navigational clues) ; foliation in black ink, Western numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts and flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads "تمت الكتاب بعون الله الملك الوهاب على يد الضعيف عباد الصمد مرتضى بن محمد غفر الله له ولوالديه ولمن دعا له بالمغفره ... سنه ثلث وسبعين بعد الالف سنه ۱۰۷۳ ..."Incipit: "چو مرغ امر ذی بالی ز آغاز نه از نیروی حمد آید به پرواز ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Fine copy of Jāmī's collection of sayings, anecdotes, short notes and stories.
Poems. Manuscript. In Persian. Title from fol. 1a. Date from cover. Written by Ghulām Ismāʻīl. Written in Afghanistan. Paper; modern cream color paper; black ink; some sections written diagonally; no catchwords. Nastaʻliq; 15 lines, with some pages of fewer lines written diagonally. Binding is marbled paper over cardboard; light tan leather spine; text block separated from binding.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 71Origin: As appears in opening on pp.24-25, assembled over the course of nearly three years then set down by the author in 1161 [1748]. A note on 'title page' (p.23) indicates that this ms. is a draft (مسودة) of the work, as attested by the layout and numerous lacunae, likely in the author's hand.Accompanying materials: Two scraps each with notes, etc. (paginated pp.111-112 and pp.569-570).Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 152. Bahr al-fatawi."Binding: Pasteboards covered in red leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in yellow laid paper ; upper and lower covers bear blind-stamped central mandorla with rosettes accenting linear pendants and frame in tooled fillets ; sewn in brown thread, two stations ; endbands in red and blue, tail band in fair condition, head band in poor condition with losses and exposed core ; in poor condition with significant abrasion (even gashes), lifting and cracking of leather, lower cover detaching at spine, etc.Support: European laid paper with 11 laid lines per cm. (vertical) and chain lines spaced 26-28 mm. apart (horizontal) ; crown and grapes watermark ; lightly burnished.Decoration: Keywords, section headings and vocalization rubricated ; overlining and textual dividers in the form of inverted commas in red.Script: Nastaʻlīq (talik) ; fine Turkish / Eastern Anatolian hand ; characteristically sans serif with effect of slight tilt to the left and of words descending to baseline, mainly closed counters, many sweeping descenders and elongated horizontal strokes, pointing (for two and three dots) mainly in strokes ; opening partially vocalized in red ink.Layout: As may be expected of a draft or rough copy (مسودة), the number of lines per page varies widely throughout.Collation: i, III+1 (7), 6 IV(55), VI (67), 3 V(97), II+1 (102), V+1 (113), V (123), IV (131), V (141), III (147), VI (159), 2 IV(175), VI (187), V (197), VI (209), 2 VIII (241), VI (253), III (259), IV+1 (268), VIII+1 (285), V (295), IV (303), III (309), VI (321), 2 IV (337), IV+1 (346), V (356), II (360), III (366), V+1 (377), 4 IV(409), III (415) ; numerous lacunae (unmarked) as may be expected of draft or rough copy (مسودة), regularly appearing between chapters ; catchwords present ; foliation in red ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.Explicit: "فان كانت حية فالثلثان للاختين والسدس للام والسدس الباقي للاخت لام ولا شحاء للاخ لاب الذي هو القائل وان كانت ميتة فالسدس الباقي له"Incipit: "احمد الله الذي جعل المجتهدين المتقدمين هداة المؤمنين ببيان الاحكام ... اما بعد فيقول الفقير الى عفو ربه الغني الشهير بقاضي زاده محمد الارزني مولدا ومحتدا المفتي بمدينة ارزن الروم برتبة قضاء حلب الشهباء لما ضاقت منطقة التحرير عما كتب في كتب الفتاوى وقصرت يد القدرة عن ضبط ما حرر فيها جمعت بقدر الوسع من وقت افتائي فيها بعض واقعات الفتوى وغيره في مجموعة غير مرتبة الى قريب من ثلثين سنة ثم بيضها في سنة احدى وستين ومائة والف من تردد لدي من الفضلاء شكر الله سعيه فصارت مجموعة كبرى وبحرا ذخارا فسميتها ببحر الفتاوى راجيا ان تكون ذخيرة العقبى وعازما على الطافي بها بعد هذا بعض واقعات الفتوى بعناية الله تعالى ..."Title from opening (pp.24-25).Ms. codex.Fine draft or rough copy (musawwadah) of an extensive collection of legal decisions assembled and set down by Qāḍīʹzādah Muḥammad al-Arzanī, muftī in Erzurum. A detailed table of contents precedes the text (pp.9-16).
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 1036Origin: As appears in final colophon on fol.210a, copied by Faḍīl ibn Jalāl al-Dīn Nāʼīnī (see colophon at the close of juzʼ II for his full name "فضيل بن جلال الدين بن ابن حاجى محمد طاهر ابن خواجه احمد ولد سلغور شاه ولد عماده شاه ولد سلغور شاه نائينى"). Transcription finished ("tamma kitāb Baṣāʼir al-darajāt...) 1 Rabīʻ II 1072 [ca. 24 November 1661]. According to colophon following juzʼ III on fol.173a (p.345), copied in a school in the quarter / district (محله) of al-Karrān (perhaps in Isfahan).Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 185Binding: Pasteboards faced in blue-green paper with red goatskin over spine and board corners (half-bound); Type III (without flap); pastedowns and flyleaves in what appears to be European wove paper with an embossed mark in French cursive italic script "Super Cour d'Auvergne. TSL[?]"; very worn, upper cover detached from text block, entire case detaching from textblock at spine; poor condition.Support: non-European (likely Persian) laid paper with laid lines running horizontally and spaced roughly 8 laid lines per cm., no chain lines visible plainly enough for measuring; many inclusions; flyleaves and pastedowns in a European wove paper with impressed mark in French cursive italic script "Super Cour d'Auvergne. TSL[?]".Decoration: Section headings rubricated ; overlinings and occasional textual dividers in the form of numeral khamsah in red.Script: Naskh ; fine, neat Persianate hand; essentially serifless (though occasionally serif on alif of lām alif ligature), point of final and free-standing nūn set down within wide, angled bowl (reminiscent of nastaʻlīq), pointing in distinct dots, curvilinear descenders, superscripting of final letters and words.Layout: Written in 14 lines per page; frame-ruled (impression of ruling board evident).Collation: i, 25 IV (200), IV+2 (210), i; chiefly quaternions; catchwords present; leaves between each of the four ajzāʼ left partially blank and unmarked, but with no apparent loss of text; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied in cataloguing).Colophon: [final] "Scribal," triangular, reads: "تم كتاب بصائر الدرجات بحمد الله وعونه وحسن توفيقه والحمد لله وحده [؟] والصلوة على من لا نبي بعده وذلك في غرة شهر ربيع الثاني سنة اثنان وسبعين والف وكتبه العبد الاذل المحتاج الى رحمة الله الغني ابن جلال الدين اكبر فضيل نائيني عفي عنهما" ; flanked by scribal verses in Persian, reading: "اي انكه ته اطالع مسعود بود دانى كه مرا از توچه مقصود بود يك فاتحه ازبهر نويسنده بخوان تاعاقبت كار تو محمود بود ان شاء الله" and duʻāʼ in Arabic, reading: "اللهم اغفر وارحم لكاتبه ولصاحبه برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين"Explicit: "قال قلت للرضا ان قوما من مواليك سالوني في ان تدعو الله لهم فقال والله اني لاعرض اعمالهم على الله في كل يوم"Incipit: "باب في العلم ان طلبه فريضة على الناس محمد بن الحسن المعروف بمموله عن ابراهيم بن هاشم عن الحسن بن محبوب يزيد بن علي بن الحسين عن ابيه عن ابي عبد الله عليه السلام قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه واله طلبه العلم فريضة على كل مسلم الا وان الله يحب بغاة العلم"Title from final colophon on fol.210a.Ms. codex.Collection of Traditions on the characteristics of the Ithná ʻasharī Shīʻī Imams by Abū Jaʻfar Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṣaffār (d.902 or 3), divided into four ajzāʼ (juzʼ 1 through juzʼ 4) with a colophon following each.
Manuscript. Persian. Title from fol. 1a. Scribe not identified. Possibly written in India. Date on fol. 1a; manuscript may be older. Paper; medium cream color paper with no visible watermarks; fol. 1b has floral unwan in gold, blue, red and white contains the Basmalah; text block enclosed in ruled border of one thin blue and one wide gold line; text itself is set off by single gold line on either side; hemistichs and sections are also separated by a thin gold line; black ink, section titles in red; catchwords. Nastaʻliq; 19 lines in written area 16.5 x 6.3 cm. Fol. 1b-114a. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M76. Binding is tan paper over boards with black cloth spine and corners. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.