The necessity of editing Qurat al Ayn

Qurrat al ‘Ayn is one of the classical Persian texts which compares Persian proverbs with Arabic proverbs. It also compares these proverbs with the Quran verses. This book has been edited and published based on two manuscripts; namely, the manuscript of the University of Tehran (1462) and the manuscript of Tabriz National Library (1531) by Amin Pasha Ejlali more than forty years ago. This study illustrates the imperfections of the previous edition by showing the differences between the old manuscripts and Ejlali’s edition. It also ascertains the necessity of a new edition of this manuscript. Editors of this new edition have used older handwritten versions of this book, like those of Homaei’s (1253), Fatih Library’s (1322), Mara’shi Library’s (1496), as well as two manuscripts of Ayasofya Library (1492 & 16th century). They have shown that choosing less important manuscripts, not recording the base manuscript’s words and even recording wrong or incomplete recording of the manuscripts used, are the most important drawbacks of the previous edition. Availability of older important manuscripts is another reason for the establishment of a new edition. This new edition proves that some of anecdotes and Persian or Arabic poems were missed in the older edition and also there are way better records to be published.