[IO Islamic 1647] محفل الاصفيا و مجمع الاوليا

مجمع الاوليا

This manuscript is now IO Islamic 645 in the India Office collections.

[metadata: Hermann Ethé, Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, 2 vols. (Oxford: India Office, 1903): volume 1, number 1647 here with notations and hyperlinks].

645

Majmâ-alauliyâ (مجمع الاوليا) .

An almost complete copy of a hitherto unknown, extremely large and interesting biographical work, containing the lives of all the most renowned Saints, religious heroes, and great mystic Shaikhs, with its full title : محفل الاصفيا و مجمع الاوليا , usually styled مجمع الاوليا or even مجمع فيض , the latter title being a chronogram , fixing the date of the composition of this work in A.H. 1043 (A.D. 1633, 1634) ; see fol.3b, l. 3 sq. Only one leaf is missing in the beginning, the initial words لمعه ايست از لمعات حقيقت ….corresponding to fol . 2a, l. 3 in the following copy and the last few leaves are greatly injured and partly torn away. The work was compiled by ‘Alî Akbar Ḥusainî Ardastânî, see fol. 1a. l. 7 sq., and dedicated to the emperor Shâhjahân; see fol. 2b, first line sq. It is divided into a muḳaddimah, twelve bâbs (each preceded by a complete index), and a khâtimah, viz.:

مقدّمه محتوى بر بيان اصطلاحات صوفيّه و مقامات عشره و بيان طوائف اقطاب و اوتاد و ابدال و ما يناسب ذلك ( On Ṣûfic terminology, the ten maḳâmât or stations, and the classes of Aḳṭâb or ‘poles,’ of Autâd or ‘props,’ of Abdâl or ‘lieutenants,’ etc.), on fol.3b.

باب اوّل در ذكر خلفاء راشدين و ائمّۀ اثنا عشر و صحابۀ مهاجر و انصار و تابعين و تُبّع تابعين و برخى از اولاد حضرت سيّد كائنات ( The first four Khalîfs, the Imâms, the companions of the Prophet, the Tâbi’în or successors of the companions, the Tubba’ Tâbi’în or successors of the Tâbi’în, etc., beginning with Abûbakr and ending with Abû Ṭâhir Muḥammad bin Yaḥyâ bin Żafar, who was born A.H. 466=A.D. 1073, 1074, altogether 304 biographies ), on fol. 18a.

باب دوم در ذكر خواجه حسن بصرى و من ينتسب اليه من المشايخ ( Khwâjah Ḥasan Baṣrî, whose death is fixed here in A.H. 120, or according to others in A.H. 106 (A.D. 738 or 724) , and the leading Saints of his order, ending with Muḥammad bin Fâdhab, altogether 143 biographies, of which three, however, are cancelled in the text), on fol. 146b.

باب سيوم در ذكر سلطان ابراهيم ادهم و من ينتسب اليه من المشايخ (Sulṭân Ibrâhîm Adham, whose death is fixed here in A.H. 166 or 162 = A.D. 782, 783, or 778, 779, and the leading Saints of his order, ending with Abûbakr Yazdâniyâr Urmawî, the originally last Shaikh Abû Isḥâḳ Shâmî having been cancelled, altogether sixty-three biographies), on fol. 240a.

باب چهارم در ذكر شيخ معروف كرخى و من ينتسب اليه من المشايخ (Shaikh Ma’rûf Karkhî, whose death is fixed here in A.H. 261 = A.D. 875, and the leading Saints of his order, ending with Sayyid Ibrâhîm Khûzistânî, altogether seventy-four biographies), on fol. 273b.

باب پنجم در ذكر سلطان بايزيد بسطامى و من ينتسب اليه من المشايخ (Sulṭân Bâyazîd Bisṭâmî, who died A.H. 261 = A.D. 875, according to a less trustworthy source already A.H. 234, and the leading Saints of his order, ending with Sayyid Ḥaidar bin ‘Alî Âmulî, altogether fifty-four biographies), on fol. 305a.

باب ششم در ذكر سيّد الطائفة شيخ جنيد بغدادى و من ينتسب اليه من المشايخ ( Shaikh Junaîd Baghdâdî , who died A.H. 297 = A.D. 909, 910, and the leading Saints of his order, ending with Shaikh Abû ‘Abdallâh, Ṭâḳî, altogether ninety biographies ), on fol. 335a.

باب هفتم در ذكر سلسلۀ حضرات خواجها و مشايخ تركى (Shaikhs of the Naḳshbandî order and Turkish Shaikhs, from Khwâjah Yûsuf Hamadânî, whose death is fixed here in A.H. 555 =A.D. 1160, to Shaikh Muḥammad Ma’ṣûm, who was born A.H. 1007= A.D. 1598, 1599, and thirty-five years old at the time when the author wrote this part of his work, altogether 162 biographies), on fol. 374b.

باب هشتم در ذكر مشايخ عصر غوث اعظم شاه محيى الدين شيخ عبدالقادر جيلانى (Shaikh Ghauth-i-a’żam Muḥyî-aldîn ‘Abd-alḳâdir Jîlânî, died A.H. 561 = A.D. 1166, his contemporaries and followers down to Shaikh Mûsâ bin Mâhîn, altogether sixty-five biographies), on fol. 453b.

باب نهم در ذكر مشايخ سهرورديّه و كبرويّه و چشتيّه (Shaikhs of the Suhrawardî, Kubrawî, Ćishtî orders, from Shaikh Shihâb-aldîn Suhrawardî, who died A.H. 632 = A.D. 1234, 1235, to Khwâjah Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Yûsuf Ćishtî whose birth is fixed here in A.H. 507, and his death in A.H. 597 = A.D. 1113-1201, altogether sixty-four biographies), on fol. 508b.

باب دهم در ذكر مشايخ دهلى و گجرات و غير آن از ممالك هندوستان (Shaikhs of Dihlî, Gujarât, and other parts of India, from Khwâjah Mu’în-aldîn Ḥasan Sijzî , who died A.H. 633, 6th of Rajab or , less correctly , Dhû-alḥijjah, A.D. 1236, March 16 or August 11, to Shaikh Jauhar Sirhindî, who died A.H. 1027=A.D. 1618, altogether 277 biographies), on fol. 592a.

باب يازدهم در ذكر شعرا (Poets, beginning with Amîr Ḳâsim-i-Anwâr, who died A.H. 837 = A.D. 1433, 1434, and ending with Bâbâ Kamâl Khujandî; the last date is A.H. 835 = A.D. 1431, 1432, that of the death of Shaikh Abû-alwafâ , one of Khujandî’s Pupils , altogether thirty-six biographies, being a selection only of such as were great mystic Shaikhs at the same time ) , on fol. 756b.

باب دوازدهم در ذكر نساء عارفات (Female Saints, from Râbi’ah ‘adawiyyah of Baṣrah to Bîbî Auliyâ, a contemporary of Sulṭân Muḥammad Tughluḳ, buried in Dihlî, altogether thirty-eight biographies), on fol. 814a.

خاتمه در ذكر فضائل و مناقب اهل بيت طاهرين و خلفاء راشدين و شمّۀ از احوال خضر و الياس (On the excellent qualities and virtues of the house of ‘Alî and the first four Khalîfs, together with some discourses on Khiḍr and Ilyâs), on fol. 833a.

The list of authorities, used by the author, is as follows (see fol. 3a, compared with and supplemented by the following copy, fol. 5a):

فتوحات مكّيّه

فصوص الحكم

نصوص اصابه فى معرفة الصحابه

نقش نصوص

عوارف

طبقات سلمى

كشف المحجوب

فصل الخطاب

نفحات الانس

حاشيۀ مولانا عبدالغفور لارى بر نفحات

رشحات

شرح لمعات

تذكرة الاوليا

تأريخ امام يافعى

ملفوظات خواجه عبدالخالق غُجْدوانى

مقامات حضرت خواجه بهاء الدين نقشبند

ملفوظات مخدوم جهانيان

سلسلة العارفين و تذكرة الصدّيقين

جواهر الاسرار

رسالۀ اميريّه

رسالۀ عبهريّه

مناقب مرتضوى

ملفوظات شيخ شرف يحيى مُنْيرى

اسرار المشايخ

اسرار الاوليا

جامع التواريخ

تأريخ آئينۀ سكندرى

اصطلاحات صوفيّه (left out in the following copy)

مكتوبات حضرت شيخ احمد كابلى سرهندى

اخبار الاخيار (also left out in the following copy )

كلمات الصادقين (again left out in the following copy )

ترجمۀ عوارف

ترجمۀ فتوح الغيب

رسالۀ امام قشيرى

رسالۀ اعلام الهدى) رسالۀ امام الهدى: (in the following copy

جامع الاصول (الوصول: (in the following copy

كشف ثعلبى

عين المعانى

اربعين خدابادى

شرح گلشن راز

شرح تعرّف

حلية الاوليا

معجمة الكبير

كشّاف

صحيح مسلم

صحيح بخارى

حقائق سلمى

تفسير قاضى بيضاوى

كتاب الانساب

حدائق الحقائق

تاريخ امام بخارى

تأريخ مشايخ صوفيّه

مناقب السادات(left out in the following copy )

شرف النبوّة

مشارق الانوار (left out in the following copy )

سير كبير

جوامع الحكمة

خلاصة السير

حسن الآداب

رسالۀ خواجه گرگ

عيون المجالس

كتاب الجواهر

آثار نسرين

درجة العلما (left out in the following copy)

روضة العلما

قصص بخارى

غربب السير

مناهج

تهذيب الكامل

كفاية شعبى

دلائل النبوّة

شواهد النبوّة

دستور الحقائق

تمهيد

عين الحقيقة

غنية الطالبين

قوت القلوب

مخزن الساعات

لوائح

شروح لامية ‘

This copy, which exhibits at the end as date only the 2nd of Rabî’-alawwal, A.H. 1043 (A.D. 1633, September 6 ), i.e. the date of the completion of the work itself, is undoubtedly in its principal parts the author’s own first sketch or, ‘brouillon,’ as the whole aspect of the MS. unmistakably proves. Almost in every page portions are struck out and either replaced by others on the margin or restored later on, which gives quite a unique value to the MS. There are besides numerous marginal corrections and additions. The actual number of biographies, according to our counting, is 1370; on fol.3a, first line, the author states that he intends to enumerate 1000 and -biographies (هزار و), carefully avoiding any exact statement. In the following copy this passage has been filled in, and 1511 is given as the proper number, which exceeds that in the present copy 141, but may very well be correct with regard to a later revised and enlarged edition, of which the following copy is, no doubt, an imperfect specimen.

Rather peculiar are the chronological dates given in this work; they often entirely differ from those commonly fixed upon by standard authors.

No. 1647, ff. 939, ll. 19; Nasta’lîḳ, by different hands; size, 125/8 in. by 61/4 in.

[ed note: Warren Hastings]