ordering the content in tables, as illustrated by some ... · illustrated by some persian...

Reading the Fihrist. Ordering the content in tables, as

illustrated by some Persian manuscripts

by Jan Just Witkam(University of Leiden, The Netherlands)

Summer-School on Persian Codicology, Vienna(Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of

Sciences), 22-26 September 2008

In search of a specific Persian subject in the codicologyof Islamic manuscripts 1:=========================================

What seems to be a particular feature of Persian manuscripts, especially of the older period, is the addition, or sometimes inclusion, of a table of contents preceding the main text.

And sometimes also the addition of alphabetical indexes of several kinds which come after the main text.

Such indexes or tables of contents seem to be a specific Persian phenomenon and are far less prominently available in Arabic or Turkish manuscripts.

In search of the Fihrist 1: =========================================

In the manuscripts these additions are often called Fihrist, a word which in course of time has acquired many meanings: ‘list, bibliography, index, inventory, catalogue’.

A number of instances of such Fihrist’s will be studied here. From these it can be seen that such a Fihrist, which often occupy many pages (ten or more), may even exist as a separate entity, that the Fihrist may have been added to a text, whereas it may never originally have been part of that text.

In search of the Fihrist 2: =================================================

Preliminary corpus of manuscripts (Leiden), chronological order(references collected over the years):

Or. 281. Tadhkirat al-Awliya, Iran 8/14th century (?)Or. 286. Collective volume, 38 texts, Iran, before 782 AHOr. 18.161. Dhakhira-yi Khwarizmshahi, Iran, 8/14th century (?)Or. 23.361. Interpretation of dreams, by `Ali al-Ghaznawi, Iran, 8/14th centuryOr. 510. Qur’an, with Persian translation, and several additions, Iran, 864 AHOr. 102. Anwar-i Suhayli, Herat 919 AHOr. 296. Habib al-Siyar, Herat 974 AHOr. 271. Collection of musical texts, Istanbul 988 AHOr. 22.686. Alfaz-i Adwiya, followed by several additions, India, 11-12/17-18th century (?)

Tadhkirat al-Awliya’ by Farid al-Din Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-`Attar (d. after 586/1190). Manuscript undated, but possibly 8/14th century, this part added later. Fihrist, table of contents, with names of biographees. One of the manuscripts used by R.A. Nicholson for his edition (London/Leiden 1905).

source: MS Leiden, Or. 281, ff. 6b-7a

Kitab al-Hikma, in two chapters.

Anonymous work in a collective volume of 38 shorter Persian texts on Ethics, Adab, etc.

MS of before 782 AH (owners’ dates).

Title followed by table of contents (two chapter titles).

source: MS Leiden, Or. 286, f. 1b

Kitab Adab al-Muluk, in two chapters.


MS of well before 782 AH (owners’ dates).

Title followed by table of contents (two chapter titles).


Kitab al-Halal wal-Haram, in 18 chapters. At the end a list is given of undesirable and forbidden books.



Table of contents


Kitab Adab al-Islam, in 27 chapters.

Anonymous work in a collective volume of 38 Persian texts on Ethics, Adab, etc.


Table of contents


Table of contents(Fihrist) of theDhakhira-yiKhwarizm-shahi, the medical encyclopedia by Zayn al-Din al-Gurgani who dedicated it to the

Khwarazmshah Qutb al-Din Abu al-Fath Yamin al-Din (the ruler of Khwarizm, who reigned 490-521 AH).MS of the 8/14th century (?) Source: MS Leiden, Or. 18.161, ff. 4b-5a

Detailed table of contents of the first book of the Dhakhira-yiKhwarizmshahiby Zayn al-Din al-Gurgani. MS of the 8/14th century? Source: MS Leiden, Or. 18.161, ff. 5b-6a

End of the table of contentsof the second book of theDhakhira-yi Khwarizmshahiby Zayn al-Din al-Gurgani.

MS of the 8/14th century?

Would the tamam shud hereindicate that the table of contents is an entity separate of the text, and that it couldbe added or omitted in a discretionary way?

Source: MS Leiden, Or. 18.161, f. 112b

Beginning of the table of contents of a work on dream interpretation by Abu al-Hasan `Ali b. Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Ghaznawi.

MS of the 8/14th century?

First and last leaves of the MS are lost.

Source: MS Leiden, Or. 23.361, f. 1a

Sequel to the table of contents of a work on dream interpretationby Abu al-Hasan `Ali b. Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Ghaznawi. MS of the 8/14th century? Source: MS Leiden, Or. 23.361, ff. 1b-2a

Sequel to the table of contents of a work on dream interpretationby Abu al-Hasan `Ali b. Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Ghaznawi. The hamdala at the end may indicate that the table of contents is a separate entity. Source: MS Leiden, Or. 23.361, ff. 6b-7a

Qur’an, Arabic text with interlinear Persian translation. Beginning of guz’ 16. Dated 8 Muharram 864, copied by Muhammad b. Bayazid b. Ibrahim, with the laqab Sadr al-Hafiz al-Tabrizi.

source: MS Leiden, Or. 510, ff. 261b-262a

Additions to this Qur’an:

Statistics of the Qur’an.

Alphabetically arranged quantitative table of the letters occurring in theQur’an.

MS from Iran, dated 864.

source: MS Leiden, Or. 510, f. 516a


Statistics of the Qur’an, Prognostics of the Qur’an.

Sequel of the alphabetically arranged quantitative table of the letters occurring in theQur’an

Followed by the Fal, the divination on the basis of the Qur’anic text, here arranged by the first letter of the word chosen at random from the Holy Text.

MS from Iran, dated 864.source: MS Leiden, Or. 510, f. 516b


Division in seven equal parts of the Qur’an, arranged according to the seven days of the week (Friday through Thursday)

Followed by a survey of the sympathetical properties (khawass) of each sura of theQur’an, arranged by the sura.

MS from Iran, dated 864.


Polychrome manuscript of Anwar-i Suhayli, by HusaynWa`iz Kashifi (d. 910/1504-1505), dated Herat 919 AH, tableof contents source: MS Leiden, Or. 102, ff. 4b-5a.

Maqasid al-Alhan fi `IlmTa’lif al-Nagham wal-Awzan, by `Abd al-Qadir b. Ghaybial-Hafiz al-Maraghi, who dedicated the work to the Ottoman Sultan Murad b. Muhammad (d. 855 AH), table of contents.

MS dated Istanbul (?), 988 AH


Habib al-Siyar, by Khwandamir (d. 941 AH).

Manuscript undated, but the companion volume (by a different copyist) is dated beginning Rabi` II 974 AH, and was copied in Herat.

Survey of contents of the entire work, by volume (mugallad) and subdivision (guz’), given at the beginning of the first volume.

source: MS Leiden, Or. 296a, f. 10a

Fihrist added to Alfaz-i Adwiya. Pharmacopeia by Nur al-Din Muhammad `Abdallah b. Hakim `Ayn al-Mulk al-Shirazi, composed in 1038/1628-1629 and dedicated to the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan.

Fihrist, detailed table of contents of the pharmacopeia, with reference to the numbers on the leaves in the present manuscript.

MS undated, but of the 12/18th century?

source: MS Leiden, Or. 22.686 (2), f. 1a.

Addition to Alfaz-i Adwiya. Pharmacopeia by Nur al-Din Muhammad `Abdallah b. Hakim `Ayn al-Mulk al-Shirazi, composed in 1038/1628-1629 and dedicated to the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan.

Alphabetical index (Tafsil) of the illnesses treated, with mention of the appropriate medicins. Added to the main text. Occasional reference to the numbers on the leaves in the present manuscript.

MS undated, but of the 12/18th century? source: MS Leiden, Or. 22.686 (2), f. 11b.

Some research questions:

==============================================

- What should we consider a Fihrist? Only the actual table of contents, or also other types additions which aim to promote an ease reference? A clear definition is required.

- How ‘Persian’ is the Fihrist? The word is of Persian origin.

- Who is the maker of a Fihrist? The author of the text or the copyist of the manuscript?

- When did a Fihrist become part of a particular text, if it was a later addition?

- In what sort of texts an additional Fihrist is given?

- How to find more Fihrist’s?

- Combining evidence in manuscripts with evidence in documentary sources.

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