Problems in Researching Persian Quadrines

From his old times, BāBā Afzaluddin Maraghi Kāshāni has been well-known for his poetry and especially for his Quadrines in addition to his authorship is other areas. However, the exact number of his poems or the accuracy of their attributions is not known. Some of his poetry has been recorded in other Diwans and some of the poems of others have been wrongly attributed to him as well. This problem of distinction is not unique to BāBā Afzal¬’s poetry. It is also true of other quadrines famous in the 6th and 7th centuries. Some works are attributed to more than one composers for some original manuscripts of the time of the author are lacking. Some historical and conceptual difficulties in this relation are unique to BāBā Afzal. These make the study of his works difficult. The present article tries clarify some of these difficulties.