Journal of Codicology and Manuscript Research (In persian: Pizhūhish/hā-yi nuskhah/shināsī va taṣḥīḥ-i mutūn)

Journal of Codicology and Manuscript Research (In persian: Pizhūhish/hā-yi nuskhah/shināsī va taṣḥīḥ-i mutūn)

Codicology and Genology of the Mystical Versified Biography of Masters "Ghawsiyya", by Baha al-Din Mattu

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Sayyed Vahid Mirmohamadi 1
Esmaeil Sadeghi dehcheshmeh 2
Ahmad Amin 2
saeid shafieioun 3
1 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran
2 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Iran
3 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
10.22034/crtc.2025.546587.1200
Abstract
Mystical Tazkirahs, known throughout their historical evolution by various titles such as Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, Vali-namah, and Awliya-namah, are considered one of the most important branches of Sufi literature. The Indian subcontinent, and particularly the region of Kashmir—renowned as "Little Iran" (Iran-e Saghir) due to the prevalence of the Persian language and literature—has been one of the primary centers for the formation and proliferation of this genre. Within this cultural context, the versified Tazkirah Ghawsiyyah, composed by Baha al-Din Mattu (d. 1247 AH), holds special significance as the third volume (daftar) of his Khamsah. This work, written in the Mathnavi (rhyming couplet) form and composed in the poetic meter of Khafīf Musaddas Makhbūn, is dedicated to narrating the lives and miracles (ahval and karamat) of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Jilani (d. 561 AH), known as 'al-Ghawth al-A'zam' (the Supreme Helper), and his direct and indirect followers, with a particular focus on those who lived in Kashmir. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology and based on the manuscript held at the Ganj Bakhsh Library in Islamabad (MS no. 8319), the present study conducts a codicological analysis of this work. Furthermore, within the framework of Tazkirah genology, it examines the work's formal and contextual aspects, compares it with other mystical tazkirahs composed in the Indian subcontinent by elucidating their similarities and differences, and thereby establishes the position of Ghawsiyyah as an example of a regional, versified mystical Tazkirah.
Keywords
Baha al-Din Mattu
Ghawsiyyah
Mystical Tazkirah
Codicology
Genology
Subjects
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Journal of Codicology and Manuscript Research (In persian: Pizhūhish/hā-yi nuskhah/shināsī va taṣḥīḥ-i mutūn)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 June 2026

  • Receive Date 12 September 2025
  • Revise Date 23 September 2025
  • Accept Date 08 October 2025
  • Publish Date 24 June 2026