نشریه آینه پژوهش
سال سی و پنجم شماره 7 (پیاپی 210، بهمن و اسفند 1403)

This article, written in the form of a correspondence, examines the ambiguity surrounding the internal connection of the thirty-seventh anecdote in the second chapter of Gulestān. The study clarifies the logical relationship between the humorous sub-story embedded within the main narrative and the overall theme of the tale.Additionally, it explores how the conversation between the jesting woman and the blind man relates to the dialogue between the jurist and his father. The paper also provides a linguistic analysis of certain elements within the main anecdote.

This article provides a brief introduction to the Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) project, based at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. The USTC aims to identify and catalog printed books published between 1450 and 1700 CE. In this study, the author discusses the history of cataloging and identifying the earliest printed books in Europe, offering a list of the first Persian books recorded in this project.

Sufi literature has been present across many parts of the Islamic world since the 3rd century AH and has always had both supporters and opponents. The influence of Sufism has varied across different historical periods, as has the intensity of opposition to it. The conflict between Sufis and other intellectual groups—whether philosophers, jurists, or others—has given rise to a substantial body of critical and polemical literature.The present treatise, likely dating to the 11th or 12th century AH in the Indian subcontinent, is one such work. Like many similar writings, it contains valuable historical and bibliographical information. This unprinted treatise sheds light on a significant chapter in the longstanding debate over Sufi doctrines, practices, and related literature, offering insight into the criticisms and challenges Sufism faced in this context.

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.

The late Shahrām Hedāyat, in a brief article, challenged the conventional understanding of the term mashīd (commonly translated as "lofty" or "splendid") in the phrase qaṣrin mashīd (Q. 22:45), arguing that this interpretation is unsound. Drawing on comparative evidence from Semitic languages, he proposed that, contrary to prevailing translations and exegetical interpretations, the word mashīd actually conveys the meaning of "destruction, ruin, and collapse" (Adabistān, no. 17). His claim was met with criticism from Sayyid Jaʿfar Shahīdī, sparking a scholarly exchange between the two. Their debate continued in several issues of Adabistān magazine in 1991 (issues 19, 23, and 24). However, since these discussions were not published under a dedicated title but rather appeared as scattered reader correspondence and commentary, they did not receive the attention they deserved. This installment of Broken Mirrors revisits and reevaluates their arguments, shedding light on the nuances of their linguistic and exegetical perspectives.

Abū Jaʿfar was one of the most esteemed booksellers in Qom, operating a small bookstore for many years in the Quds Passage on Eram Street, near the shrine of Ḥaḍrat Maʿṣūmah. His shop specialized in Arabic books, and many specialized, seminary, and university libraries in Qom relied on it for their acquisitions.Abū Jaʿfar was a unique figure, distinct from other booksellers. His bookstore served the scholarly community of Qom for over two decades but was permanently closed following his passing during the difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic.The following relatively detailed note recounts the author's personal acquaintance with Abū Jaʿfar while also shedding light on a brief chapter in the history of one of Qom's libraries. The piece was originally written approximately four years ago on the day of Abū Jaʿfar’s passing and is now published in Ayeneh Pazhuhesh with slight modifications and revisions.

This article examines a difficult verse from the Shāhnāmeh, analyzing the factors contributing to its interpretive challenges. By prioritizing the readings found in the oldest extant manuscripts, the study investigates the causes of scribal errors and textual distortions introduced by copyists and editors of the Shāhnāmeh. The research demonstrates that the original form of the verse, contrary to the opinion of most modern editors and in accordance with the preference of Mostafa Jeyhooni is: "Sar-e sarkashān andar āmad be-khwāb / Ze tāzīdan-e bādpāyān bar āb"(From the swift yet smooth movement of the horses on the water, the warriors grew drowsy.)The alternative readings tāsīdan and nāhīdan, proposed by some editors, are shown to be corrupted and erroneous. Furthermore, it is argued that, according to Jeyhooni’s analysis, the verse that follows this line—marginalized in the Moscow and Khāliqī-Muṭlaq editions—is in fact authentic and serves as one of the early examples of the concept of "imaginary play" (bāzī-yi khiyāl).

The newspaper Fekr-e Āzād was a periodical published in Mashhad during the late Qajar era under the management of Aḥmad Bahmanyār Kermānī. In previous issues of Khurāsāniyyāt, we compiled and published poems that had appeared in this journal but were absent from other sources, presenting them in chronological order. In this issue, we feature a qaṣīda by Dr. Ghulām-Ḥusayn Yūsufī, the renowned Persian literature scholar at Mashhad University, written in honor of his mentor, Aḥmad Bahmanyār. Yūsufī composed this qaṣīda during his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Literature, University of Tehran.Additionally, this issue includes a qaṣīda and a rubāʿī by Aḥmad Bahmanyār, two qaṣīdas by ʿAlī-Akbar Gulshan Āzādī, a qaṣīda by Badīʿ al-Zamān Furūzānfar, and a poem by Mīrzā Āqā Khān Khushkīsh. Furthermore, we present a critique by Amīr Shahīdī on one of the poems by Muḥammad-Taqī Bahār.

This study examines and critiques various interpretations regarding a verse from Khāqānī’s Tarsāʾiyyah (Christian Ode), specifically:"Be-pākī-ye Maryam az tazwīj-e Yūsuf / Be-dūrī-ye ʿĪsā az peywand-e Īshā/Ashyā/‛Īshā" In manuscript copies, the last word of this verse is commonly recorded as ‛Īshā or Ashyā, and commentators have diverged in their interpretations. Supporting the arguments of Akbar Ḥeydariyan and Sayyid Jawad Murtazāʾī (2017), I argue that both ‛Īshā and Ashyā are corrupted versions of Īshā. Furthermore, I demonstrate that many explanations provided by scholars—including interpretations such as "worldly attachments," "womb," "‛alaqah" (the embryonic mixture of semen and blood), "a modified form of Īshūʿ or Yashūʿ, meaning the pseudo-Jesus who was crucified," or "the name of a woman whom Jesus (PBUH) was accused of being involved with"—are neither substantiated nor well-reasoned. I also show that the earliest documented occurrence of the word ‛Īshā dates back to the 9th century AH and that Persian lexicographical works originating in the Indian subcontinent played a significant role in promoting this erroneous reading. By analyzing commentaries and lexicons compiled in India, I argue that ‛Īshā is a fabricated lexeme resulting from the corruption of the original Īshā. Among the interpretations proposed, the view of Ḥeydariyan and Murtazāʾī (2017) stands out as the most well-supported and convincing, identifying Īshā as the father of David (PBUH) and, according to the genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Luke, the grandfather of Joseph the Carpenter. Their reading of the verse suggests that in the first hemistich, Khāqānī absolves Mary (PBUH) of marital union with Joseph, thereby negating any paternal relationship between Jesus (PBUH) and Joseph. In the second hemistich, as a continuation of the same thought, he denies any genealogical link between Jesus (PBUH) and Īshā, the father of David and the ancestor of Joseph the Carpenter. In other words, the negation of a paternal lineage between Jesus and Joseph logically implies the absence of any ancestral connection between Jesus and Īshā (i.e., the lineage recorded in the Gospels). Despite its strong evidentiary basis, the argument of Ḥeydariyan and Murtazāʾī has been overlooked due to its convoluted and overly verbose presentation. Finally, while acknowledging their interpretation as plausible, I propose an alternative possibility: Īshā might be a rendering of the Biblical Hebrew term אשה , meaning "woman" (specifically a wife or consort). Accordingly, the intended meaning of the hemistich would be: "By the purity of Jesus (PBUH) from any marital bond with a woman or consort."

Throughout history, from the advent of historiography to the modern era, numerous general histories have been written across the Islamic world. In Iran, the 8th and 9th centuries AH witnessed the production of significant encyclopedic historical works, such as Jāmi‛ al-Tawārīkh, Rawḍat al-Ṣafā, and similar texts. These works, sometimes highly detailed and sometimes abridged, covered the history of Iran, Islam, Transoxiana, and even India, often including accounts of the rise of Islam, the Prophetic biography, and the history of the caliphs. Remarkably, some of these historical works, authored by Sunni historians, also included biographical accounts of the Twelve Imams. Lub Lubāb al-Tawārīkh is one such example—a concise compendium of Islamic history. In this study, we present the section of the text related to the Imams as evidence of the deep-rooted presence of Twelve-Imam Sunnism (Tasnnun-e Davāzdah Imāmī).

In the eleventh issue of the Neveshtegān series, we first present evidence from an ancient translated Quran manuscript, an early exegetical translation of the Book of Ezekiel in Hebrew script, and some Neo-Persian Zoroastrian texts. These sources indicate that the Middle Persian verb wičārdan, meaning "to separate," has survived into New Persian but has not been recorded in lexicons. The study also explores the semantic evolution of this verb and phonetic transformations in the attested forms. The second section focuses on the adjectival/demonstrative pronoun im and its rare remnants in early writings, along with an analysis of its survival in modern Iranian languages.

Since the 19th century, some scholars have speculated that the structure of Kitāb al-ʿAyn by Khalīl ibn Aḥmad was influenced by Sanskrit phonetics. However, Stefan Wild has further elaborated on this hypothesis in greater detail.This article presents a translation of selected passages from his work that specifically address this subject.

A key challenge facing modern hadith scholars engaged in contemporary hadith studies is the lack of explicit reference by Sheikh Ṭūsī to the content and substance of the hadith-based evidences underlying his rulings in Kitāb al-Ḥudūd of Al-Khilāf. Specifically, in Issue 18 of this work, it remains unclear which traditions he relied upon, as he merely employs the vague and generalized expression wa-akhbāruhum ("and their reports") without citing the sources of these hadiths. This issue is not unique to Issue 18 but is present in several other rulings throughout Al-Khilāf, creating a broader challenge for textual interpretation. Thus, it is imperative to adopt a scientific approach and establish a methodologically sound and justifiable framework for addressing this challenge. The primary objective of this research is to elucidate the principles and systematic process for retrieving, analyzing, and deducing the probable hadith-based evidences for this specific issue. The model developed here serves as a test case, offering a methodology that can be applied to similar issues within Al-Khilāf and other early Imāmī legal compendia.

The series of articles published under the title “ Ishārāt wa Tanbīhāt “ is an opportunity to present various critical, bibliographic, and historical research essays, each of which is serves as a brief and independent essay on a specific and distinguished topic. This seventh installment includes three critical articles on entries found in the Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam and The Great Islamic Encyclopedia. The first two notes highlight some inaccuracies and deficiencies in three entries from The Great Islamic Encyclopedia, while the third article addresses the same corrupted phrase in both the Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam and the Encyclopedia of Persian Language and Literature, emphasizing the need for correction.

The hadith ‛Alī Ma‛a al-Ḥaqq in the encyclopedic work ‛Abqāt al-Anwār belongs to an unfinished manuscript section that has only recently become available to researchers. This section consists of unorganized notes and scattered records, primarily transcribed by scribes unfamiliar with the terminology, resulting in a disordered and error-ridden text.Recently, a portion of these records, which exhibit better coherence, was selected by an institution in Qom and published under the grand title of "Correction, Research, and Commentary," being praised as "an exceptional scientific study." However, an examination of this work reveals that the printed text is not only selectively edited but also suffers from distortions, transcription errors, and irregularities in the reading of the manuscript. The principle of scholarly fidelity in presenting the text has been severely compromised. Additionally, negligence in collation and editing, typographical mistakes, and a rushed publication process have undermined the integrity of this distinguished work, rendering its content unreliable. A critical review of this flawed and error-laden edition calls into question the credibility of the printed version and highlights the urgent need for a more rigorous scholarly edition.

The Dīvān of Khāqānī was first published in two volumes in Lucknow, India, in 1293 and 1295 AH. This edition included a commentary on Khāqānī’s poetry by Sayyed Muḥammad Ṣādiq ‛Alī Riḍwī Lucknawī, who used the pen name "Ghālib." According to a note he wrote at the end of the Rubā‛iyāt section, the task of annotation and resolving the difficulties of Kulliyāt-e Khāqānī was assigned to him by Munshi Nawal Kishore. Unfortunately, this edition of Khāqānī’s poetry became interwoven with the works of other poets, a phenomenon most evident in the rubāʿiyyāt section. Previously, in my article “The Asīr’s Quatrains in Khāqānī’s Dīvān”, published in this same journal, I identified and introduced 22 Quatrains belonging to Asīr Shahristānī that were mistakenly included in this edition. Moreover, some of these spurious Quatrains from the Lucknow edition have also found their way into later printings of the Dīvān of Khāqānī. In the present study, I introduce 39 additional Quatrains from this edition, which were in fact composed by Ṣarfī Kashmīrī, a 10th-century poet. In some of these Quatrains, Ṣarfī’s pen name has been altered to "Khāqānī" or "Khāqān," further complicating the textual attribution.

Issue 208 of Ayeneh-ye Pazhoohesh featured a critique by Sayyid Ali Kashefi Khansari on the book Nakhustīneh Chāp-hā-ye Iran (The First Printed Books of Iran). The present article is a response from the author of the book to this published critique.