In this forty-first installment of the series entitled “Reading Manuscript” (Nuskhih-khwānī), the author examines the content of several manuscripts. Some of the subjects addressed in these texts include: the price of a book in the year 1333 AH; the rescue of a manuscript from the flood of 1238 AH in Kirmānshāh; a poem about the ministry of Sulṭān al-‛Ulamāʾ and verses on the date of his death; Mahdism and the issue of opposition to oppression; hostility toward knowledge within layers of our civilization; a scholar in 743 AH who anticipated the advent in the years 745–749 AH; Sheikh Khiḍr Kurd and his prediction of the rule of al-Malik al-Ẓāhir; the Persian literacy of Abū Hurayra and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya; ‛Umar’s directive to the people of Kūfa on using the Persian word “matars” (do not fear); the term “Nardashīr” in a ḥadīth of the Prophet; a poem against ‛Alī Akbar Burqāʿī for participating in the Vienna Peace Conference; and a poem depicting a debate between a sheikh and a drunkard.

In this forty-second installment of the series titled Manuscript Readings, the author examines the texts of several manuscript fragments. Among the topics discussed are: – the date of death of a scholar;– an Arabic proverb in which the name of Ṭabaristān appears;– a note by Bāstānī Rād concerning Mustawfī al-Mamālek;– a note about the killing of Murshed-Qulī Khān by Shāh ‛Abbās in Shāhrūd;– a saying: “When you give your best knowledge to the baker, yet he will not give you even a single loaf of bread”;– a note regarding the divorce of Surayyā;– poems by Shabīb al-Asad in praise of Amīn al-Sulṭān;– a biased report about Amīr Kabīr in a contemporary source;– a statement attributed to Nāṣir Khusraw rejecting bodily resurrection;– and the account of the martyrdom of al-Shahīd al-Thānī by an eyewitness, Quṭb al-Dīn Nahrawālī.

In this current writing as the 36th part of the "Manuscript Reading" series, the author provides a comparative analysis of several manuscripts. The texts covered in this issue are as follows: A Brief Travelogue to the Holy Shrines The Death Date of Sheikh Morteza Ansari The Onslaught of Locusts in the Year 1254 AH in Karbala and 1267 AH in Shiraz, Narrated by an Eyewitness "The Western Apparent Justice" a sign of Imam Zaman’s Appearance A Book in the Handwriting of Aḥsāī in the House of Seyyed Kāẓim Rashtī A Treatise on the Table of Knowledge of Dates, Written in the Year 961 AH The Death Date of Mohammad Shah Qajar A Note from Abolqasem Tughri Yaghmaei A Supplication for Relief from Grief and Sorrow, Dated 1264 AH A Note from Zanjan, Dated 1337 AH

In this installment of the Manuscript Studies series, the author examines several historical manuscripts. Some of the key topics covered in these texts include: A valuable note by Ismāʿīl Khātūnābādī critiquing both Sufi opponents and jurists. A note by an Imāmī scribe from mid-8th century AH in Shiraz. An interesting colophon from a manuscript of ‛Allāmah’s Qawā‛id, dated 1019 AH in Isfahan. A letter from a muḥaddith (hadith scholar) to Badī‛ al-Zamān Furūzānfar and Furūzānfar’s response. Poems by ‛Abdī Beyg Shīrāzī concerning Sufis. A note at the beginning of a manuscript regarding the war between Shāh Ṣafī and the Ottomans. Several Persian phrases found in Ḥanafī fiqh texts on the topic of ‛itq (manumission of slaves). An explanation of the Fifth Ṣaḥīfah from the book Ṣaḥāʾif al-ʿĀlam. A critical strategic error of Sulṭān Muḥammad Khwārazmshāh in provoking the Mongols. Abū al-Qāsim Zanjānī, Sheikh al-Ḥaram (d. 471 AH), and an old Iranian proverb. This study contributes to the ongoing exploration of historical manuscripts and their significance in Islamic and Persian intellectual history.

Among the rare manuscripts prepared for the library of Jalal al-Din Iskandar (the grandson of Timur Gurkani), is a collection of poems and writings compiled in 813 AH, which is now housed in the Gulbenkian Museum Library in Lisbon. This precious manuscript contains two separate volumes bound together, one dedicated to poetic works and the other to writings. The poems in the first volume include works by prominent Persian poets and scholars from the 5th to the early 9th century, written by two scribes of Iskandar Mirza’s court: Hassan al-Hafiz and Mahmoud al-Hosseini. Among the poems in this anthology are seven quatrains attributed to Khayyām and 22 quatrains attributed to Mahasti Ganjavi, which we introduce and examine in this article. Additionally, we provide a brief report on the quatrains section of the manuscript.

Sa’d al-Din Varavini's version of Tabari’s Marzbannameh by Espahbod Marzban bn Rostam is one of the major texts in Persian prose heritage. Three revisions of the work have been published over the last century, but there is not a very authentic correctd versoin. Being accessable the old precious manuscript dated back to Thursday, 10 Ramaza, 698 (AH), no. 216 in Istanbul Archeology Museum, it becomes clear that three other corrected manuscripts bear many mistakes, omitted parts, added materials, vague contents, mis-reasings, and changes. This issue makes it necessary to correct the manuscript again. This manuscript is so far the oldest known version of Marzbannameh in the world. So, this the first time that this valuable version is introduced in detail. This study introduces the most ancient manuscript of Marzbannameh and tried to examine and discuss its unique features under headings the scribe and the scribing date, the writing stle of letters, the illustrations of the manuscript. Examining his manuscript shows the vast changes, omitions, additions, vague points, and mis-understandings of other three manuscripts of Marzbannameh. Some examples are provided at the end of the paper.

Among the manuscripts of Qareman Library in Turkey, there is a Persian manuscript on asceticism and mysticism, which belongs to 7th A.H. This work- which based on the clues and the significations of it, has been written in the second half of 6th A.H.- is of significance in many aspects; the text structure, the number of parables, quatrains and Persian couplets, the manuscript’s prose, and the author’s tone. Evidently this manuscript can be the basis for innovative researches in the field of khanqahi and mystical writing.

Jungs (manuscript anthologies) and other old miscellanies are invaluable sources in literary research and the process of critical editing (taṣḥīḥ) of texts. Many scattered poems and writings have been preserved within these works, and at times they provide unique copies of ancient texts. However, placing excessive trust in such sources without scrutinizing their accuracy and authenticity can lead to distortions of the original text. Jungs are typically the result of private compilations and may contain errors, subjective interventions, or alterations by copyists or compilers. Therefore, it is essential to approach jungs and similar old collections with careful attention and caution, treating them primarily as auxiliary sources. Only through such an approach can one approximate the original text and safeguard the scholarly integrity of the edition.

Biography is one of the common branches of the Persian literature and history, which aims at providing and compiling a collection including one of the significant aspects of the Iranian culture and wisdom. One of the sparkling and brilliant periods of biography is Qajar era. In this era compiling the life account of the poets was considered as a criterion for assessing the rhetorics and talent. Byana-al-Mahmoud is the title of a biography belonging to Qajar era. It was compiled with the effort of Mahmoud Mirzayeh Qajar, the fourteenth son of Fath-Ali-Shah, and author of Tazkaratol-Shoarayeh-Safinatol-Mahmoud.The manuscript of this book is kept in 'manuscripts section' of the central library of Tabriz University. Taking account of the historical and literary significance of this work, the present paper attempts to provide an introduction to the history of biography and the main features of this manuscript, and to emphasize the revival, revision and publication of one of the Iranian literary heritages.

The editors of Pharmaceutical Sciences would like to thank all of our reviewers and particularly our top reviewers who have contributed to the journal in 2019. . .