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The History and Provenance of an Early Manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf Dated 1268 (1851–52)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

William McCants  and
Kavian Milani
William McCants
Affiliation:
Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University
Kavian Milani
Affiliation:
Department of History at George Mason University
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Iranian Studies , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 431 - 449
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Copyright © 2004 The International Society for Iranian Studies

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References

1 In 1892 Browne asked Subh Azal (see below) about the identity of the author of the Nuqtat al-kaf. He replied, “The history to which you allude must, by certain indications, be by the uplifted and martyred Hajji for none but he wrote (such) a history.” Browne inferred that Subh Azal was speaking of Hajji Mirza Jani. See Browne, Edward Granville, Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf: Being the Earliest History of the Babis compiled by Haji Mirza Jani of Kashan (Leiden, 1910), 3–4Google Scholar.

2 Soon after the book's publication, ‘Abdu'l-Baha’—the eldest son of Baha'u'llah, and the head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892 to 1921—dismissed the Nuqtat al-kaf and especially its introduction as an Azali-inspired forgery and instructed a number of prominent and scholarly Baha'is to write refutations of the book and forward them to the Baha'i scholar, Mirza Abu al-Fadl (for ‘Abdu'l-Baha’s reaction, see Ishraq-khavari, ‘Abdul-Hamid, Ma'idih-yi asmani (Tehran, 129 BE/1973) 5: 206–10Google Scholar; for Abu al-Fadl's role, see Mihrabkhani, Ruhullah, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fadl Gulpaygani (Hofheim-Langenhain, 1988), 427)Google Scholar. A number of Baha'is carried out ‘Abdu'l-Baha's wishes, with the most significant apology written by Mirza Na‘im Sidihi and Mirza Hasan-i Adib as early as 1911–1912. In a letter dated 16 Shawwal 1330 (September 28, 1912) Mirza Abu al-Fadl mentions that he had written five or six sections of a refutation (which was later incorporated into his Kashf al-ghita’) when he received a letter from Ibn Abhar (a prominent Baha'i) and correspondence from Adib and Na'im. Abu al-Fadl relates that these men informed him that they had found a copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf and discovered the identity of its author and scribe: Mirza Mustafa, a Babi scribe living in Tehran. See Gulpaygani, Mirza Abu al-Fadl, Rasa'il va raqa'im, ed. R. Mihrabkhani, (Tehran, 134 BE/1978), 452–3Google Scholar. As we will see, it is certainly possible that they had discovered a manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf in Mirza Mustafa's handwriting, but their attribution of authorship to him was premature.

3 In 1974, Muhit-i Tabataba'i argued that the Nuqtat al-kaf was actually a combination of two originally separate works: a theological treatise and a history (see his “Kitabi bi nam ba nami taza,” Gawhar, (1353/1974) 11–12: 952–61Google Scholar). Tabataba'i points out that in the first part, a theological treatise, the author states that it was written 1277 years after the ba‘tha (Muhammad's call to prophethood). Depending on how this is calculated, it gives us the date of either 1267/1850–51 or 1264/1848 (see MacEoin, Dennis, The Sources for Early Babi Doctrine and History (Leiden, 1992), 147–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar). In the historical part of the Nuqtat al-kaf, the author mentions that 1270 years have passed since the Hijra, thus giving us the date of 1270/1853–54. Since the latest date mentioned is 1270 (1853–54), Tabataba'i conjectures that in this year someone combined an earlier theological treatise with a historical work written around 1270/1853–54. MacEoin agrees with this hypothesis, although he differs with Tabataba'i over who might have authored the work (Sources, 151). Abbas Amanat and Juan Cole also agree with Tabataba'i's hypothesis, but they differ from him and MacEoin in that they posit that the book might have been redacted later. Thus, Amanat believes that much of the material was written in the early 1850s but some passages detailing the leadership of the Babi community in 1851 may have been redacted in the 1860s (see his Resurrection and Renewal (Ithaca, 1989) 423). Going beyond Amanat, Cole argues that the work which was written in the 1850s was definitely redacted in the 1860s (“Nuqtat al-Kaf and the Babi Chronicle Traditions,” Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, 2, no. 6 (1998)Google Scholar, http://www.h-net.org/∼bahai/notes/vol2/Babihist.htm).

4 Browne used two manuscripts of the Nuqtat al-kaf acquired by Comte de Gobineau and purchased by the Bibliothèque Nationale in 1884 after his death. One incomplete manuscript was appended to the end of a copy of the Bab's Persian Bayan. The Persian Bayan ends with a colophon dating it to 1279 (1862–63). Although the incomplete copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf does not have its own colophon, we can surmise that it was appended to the 1279 Persian Bayan sometime soon after this date. The other copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf in the Bibliothèque is complete but has no date.

5 Kavian Milani offers some new insights on the authorship of Nuqtat al-kaf in his forthcoming “The Bab's Stay in Kashan: A Critique of the Nuqtatu'l-kaf Based on the Kashan Pericope,” Baha'i Studies Review.

6 There is no birth date for Mirza Mustafa although both Bamdad and Qasimi say that he died in 1339/1921 when he was over eighty years old. See Bamdad, Mahdi, Sharh-i hal-i rijal-i Iran dar qarn 12, 13, 14 hijri (Tehran, 1974) 6: 264Google Scholar, and Ali Muhammad Qasimi's brief biographical notice on Mirza Mustafa written in 1351/1932 and published in the introduction of Mirza Mustafa's Pasukh (Refutation) of Zayn al-Muqarribin (see below) published online at H-Baha'i: http://www.h-net.org/∼bahai/arabic/vol5/zayn/zaynresp.htm).

7 Sa‘id Kahn Kurdistani, “Notes on Babi Mss. by Dr. Saeed Khan,” (William McElwee Miller Papers, box 4, envelope labeled “Notes on Babi Books by Dr. Saeed,” Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library), 31. William McCants recently discovered the envelope containing these detailed notes by Kurdistani on the history of each manuscript in his private collection. William Miller (see below), in a footnote of his The Baha'i Faith: Its History and Teachings, mentions that the “Notes of Dr. Sa'eed” are located at Princeton (xix, n. 17). Although they are not separately catalogued, they are located in box 4 of William Miller's papers in an envelope marked “Valuable! Notes on Babi Books by Dr. Saeed.” Miller acquired these notes and Kurdistani's collection of Babi manuscripts while he was living in Iran and later donated them to Princeton University. The notes, numbering over thirty pages, are not only valuable for information on the background of many of the manuscripts in the collection; they also contain unique biographical information on Azali and Baha'i figures. Miller translated all of these notes (excluding a few Arabic passages). McCants hopes to publish Miller's rendition after comparing it with the original and translating the Arabic passages that Miller excluded.

8 Kurdistani, “Notes,” 31, and Balyuzi, Hasan, Edward Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith (London, 1970) 34Google Scholar, n. 3, citing a letter from Mirza Mustafa to Browne (see Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental Mss. Belonging to the Late E. G. Browne, ed. Nicholson, R. A. (Cambridge, 1932), 81Google Scholar). Zayn had become a Babi in 1851 (see Balyuzi, , Eminent Baha'is in the Time of Baha'u'llah (Oxford, 1985), 274Google Scholar).

9 Balyuzi, Eminent Baha'is, 275.

10 Apparently Zayn later wrote Mirza Mustafa a letter and tried to convince him of Baha'u'llah's claims (Kurdistani, “Notes,” 32). In reply, Mirza Mustafa wrote a lengthy refutation in 1337/1919 that has recently been published online (see note above).

11 That Mirza Mustafa was engaged in clandestine efforts to spread his faith is demonstrated by the account of a well-known Baha'i poet, Na'im, who says that he first heard about the Bab's teachings and obtained copies of his writings through his fellow townsman, “Mulla Isma'il” (Mirza Mustafa). See Sulaymani's, ‘Aziz'u'llah Masabih-i hidayat (Tehran, 123 BE/1967) 3: 140Google Scholar.

12 This episode is related by Kurdistani (“Notes,” 1). Here Kurdistani writes that even though Mirza Mustafa converted, “we knew that he was at heart a Babi, and only outwardly Christian.” For more information on Mirza Mustafa's conversion, see Momen, Moojan, “Early Relations between Christian Missionaries and the Babi and Baha'i Communities,” in Studies in Babi and Baha'i History (Los Angles, 1982), 60–63Google Scholar.

13 Bamdad, 242–243. This date squares with Mirza Mustafa's own testimony. In the Descriptive Catalogue of manuscripts owned by E. G. Browne, Nicholson mentions a note written by Browne who states that Mirza Mustafa disclosed his real name to him as Isma'il-i Sabbagh of Sidih and said that he fled the persecutions in Isfahan about 35 years ago; Browne received this note along with several manuscripts on September 15, 1922 (see Descriptive Catalogue, 81). For general details on the 1890 persecution of Babis and Baha'is in Isfahan, Sidih, and Najafabad, see Browne, Edward Granville, A Traveller's Narrative (New York, 1930), 400–412Google Scholar; and Momen, Moojan, The Babi and Baha'i Religions, 1844–1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (Oxford, 1981), 284–91Google Scholar.

14 Kurdistani asserts that the Zill al-Sultan cut off his ear in order to appease the people and save Mirza Mustafa's life (“Notes,” 3).

15 Bamdad, 243; Qasimi, introduction. Qasimi says that Akhund Tari hid Mirza Mustafa in his brother's cellar.

16 Bamdad, 243; Qasimi, introduction. Mazandarani, a Baha'i historian, gives a brief biographical notice of an Azali named Sayyid Aqa Khan Talkhunchih'i of Isfahan who also had a severed ear and moved to Tehran after a wave of Baha'i executions in 1296 (1879). Although Mazandarani's date does not match that of Mirza Mustafa's flight, he must certainly be talking about him since he reports that this man also took the name “Mulla Mustafa” and worked as a scribe of Babi and Azali writings (Zuhur al-haqq [Tehran, 1974. Digitally reprinted, East Lansing, MI: H-Bahai, 2001] 8: 505).

17 Qasimi, introduction. Kurdistani notes that during his time in Cyprus, Mirza Mustafa was very agitated by the behavior of his daughter's husband, who, according to Mirza Mustafa, “had thirty prostitutes as his companions” (Kurdistani, “Notes,” 1).

18 In an English note appended by Kurdistani to a copy of Tarikh-i jadid that Mirza Mustafa had transcribed, he writes: “The witness is M. Mostafa the writer of many Babi mss[.] he is a reliable man, though now/owns [sic] has got tired of Babism and all his own sufferings.” The note is dated Dec. 18, 1911 (see folio 228a, Tarikh-i jadid, vol. 8, Islamic Manuscripts, Third Series, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library).

19 Yonan, Isaac, The Beloved Physician of Teheran (Nashville, 1934), 22–23Google Scholar. The Beloved Physician is a hagiographical biography of Kurdistani written by one of his relatives through marriage, Isaac Malek Yonan. Yonan was a professor at Urumiyya College in Urumiyya in the north-western part of Azerbaijan. The college was established around 1878 by the American Presbyterian Mission.

20 Yonan, 28–73; Miller, William, Ten Muslims Meet Christ (Grand Rapids, 1969) 15–35Google Scholar.

21 Miller, Ten Muslims, 35.

22 See “ ‘Ayn al-Dawla,” EIr.

23 Yonan, 73–6; Miller, Ten Muslims, 35.

24 Yonan, 88–89. Yonan does not supply a date but Miller says that Kurdistani left for Urumiyya in the winter of 1901 (Ten Muslims, 36).

25 Yonan, 89.

26 Yonan, 90.

27 Miller was a Presbyterian missionary in Iran who wrote a number of exposés on the Baha'i religion.

28 Miller, Ten Muslims, 37. Whatever the nature of Kurdistani's personal grudge against the Baha'is or his view of their religion, he did not refrain from providing them medical treatment after his move to Tehran. One of his Baha'i patients, Hasan Balyuzi, writes: “The present writer, having been Dr. Sa‘id Khan's patient in his boyhood, remembers him well; the doctor's probity was unquestionable” (Balyuzi, Browne and the Baha'i Faith, 34, n. 3).

29 Miller, Ten Muslims, 36.

30 Miller, Ten Muslims, 38.

31 By 1912 Kurdistani had put Browne in touch with Mirza Mustafa, from whom the professor also commissioned a number of manuscripts from him. Regarding the size and significance of Mirza Mustafa's collection, Browne writes:

For several rare manuscript works I am indebted to an old Babi scribe of Isfahan, resident at Tihran, with whom I was put in communication by Dr Sa‘id Khan of Hamadan, who, though coming of a family of mullas, is a fervent Christian, while preserving in true Persian fashion a keen interest in other religious beliefs. This old scribe, a follower of Subh-i-Azal, seems to have been in close touch with many Babis in all parts of Persia, and on several occasions when persecutions threatened or broke out to have been entrusted by them with the custody of books which they feared to keep in their own houses, and which in some cases they failed to reclaim, so that he had access to a large number of rare Babi works, any of which he was willing to copy for me at a very moderate charge (Browne, , Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion (Cambridge, 1918), xiGoogle Scholar); diacritics removed in conformity with the style of Iranian Studies).

32 Perhaps Kurdistani first learned of the existence of the Nuqtat al-kaf from the introduction and appendices of Browne's edition of the Tarikh-i jadid; there the British orientalist argued that the Tarikh-i jadid (written by a Baha'i) was a distorted revision of the Nuqtat al-kaf (Browne, , New History (Cambridge, 1893), Introduction, xxviii-xxixGoogle Scholar). If so, Kurdistani would no doubt have wanted a copy of a history that would challenge Baha'i historiography, particularly concerning the successorship of Subh Azal. The polemical value of the work was further enhanced after Browne published his edition in 1910. Soon after, ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ denounced it as a complete Azali forgery (see note above). Since Kurdistani was aware of early manuscripts of the Nuqtat al-kaf that preceded the Baha'i-Azali split, he knew that the publication of such statements by ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ might cast the latter in a negative light. Thus, in a letter to William Miller written November 17, 1929, Kurdistani tells him about one such statement in Bada'i‘al-athar, a journal kept by one of ‘Abdu’l-Baha's amanuenses, and promises to send him a copy once he has obtained the book from a Baha'i acquaintance (Letter from Saeed Khan to William Miller dated 11-17-29, box 4, “Miller Papers”). So far we have been unable to find the specific comments of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ that Kurdistani mentions in his letter.

33 Tabataba'i learned that Kurdistani's Assyrian servant stole a copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf from him in 1315/1946; however, Kurdistani considered it to be defective. See MacEoin, Sources, 146.

34 Kurdistani, “Notes,” 16. In this and a later quotation, we have modified Miller's translation for accuracy and transliteration (see footnote 7 for details on the translation). Despite Kurdistani's assertion, NK1327 is not substantially different from NK1268, including its treatment of the Badasht episode. This is further evidence that Kurdistani did not compare the two manuscripts carefully (see below).

35 This manuscript consists of 172 folios and it is catalogued as vol. 38, Islamic Manuscripts, Third Series, although it bears Kurdistani's old catalogue number of 264. This may be the same manuscript cited by Bayat, Mangol as “Tarikh-i babiyya” in her Mysticism and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qajar Iran (Syracuse, 1982), 208Google Scholar. If so, it appears that she confused this manuscript with some other text as it contains no reference to Mirza Malkum Khan's association with Babis in Baghdad after his exile from Persia (Bayat, 149).

36 The manuscripts are catalogued as vols. 1-47, Islamic Manuscripts, Third Series, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

37 NK1327, 171a.

38 It is possible that this is also the manuscript that Mirza Mustafa mentioned in a letter to E. G. Browne dated March 9, 1912. In this letter, he tells Browne that he had obtained the published edition of the Nuqtat al-kaf. Before this time, he writes, he possessed three manuscripts of the Nuqtat al-kaf: one was a partial copy of one of the Paris manuscripts (loaned to him by Nicolas), his own defective copy, and a manuscript from “the friends in Naraq” dated 1267/1850–1. Mirza Mustafa then says that he made two complete copies based on these manuscripts and sent one to the “American College” and the other to Kurdistani (MacEoin, Sources, 145–146). Since Mirza Mustafa's original letter has been lost and we have to rely on MacEoin's summary of Browne's notes on the letter (for which he gives no archival reference), it is difficult to resolve the discrepancies between this letter and the colophon of NK1327. First, the dates of the manuscripts do not match. It is of course possible that Browne misread the date of the Naraq manuscript in Mirza Mustafa's letter; the loss of the original, however, makes it impossible to conclusively resolve the discrepancy. Second, Mirza Mustafa also mentions that he had sent a copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf to Kurdistani before seeing Browne's edition. Perhaps he later retrieved the manuscript from Kurdistani and compared it with the published version. This would explain why he later added a final postscript to the NK1327 colophon mentioning that he had compared it with the published text. An alternative explanation is that NK1327 and the copy of the Nuqtat al-kaf sent to Kurdistani by Mirza Mustafa are two different manuscripts. If these two manuscripts were identical, Kurdistani would certainly have known that Mirza Mustafa was the scribe of NK1327, which he does not.

39 Browne's manuscripts of the Nuqtat al-kaf are not dated. However, Kurdistani also says that the published edition is based on a 1269 AH manuscript in Paris; he must be referring to Suppl Pers. 1071, the only complete manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf that Browne consulted when preparing his edition.

40 Vol. 43, Islamic Manuscripts, Third Series, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library. The Princeton cataloger has erroneously dated the manuscript 1248 A.H. The cataloger simply misread a Persian 6 as a 4. The NK1268 manuscript has 181 folios.

41 Kurdistani is mistaken here. The manuscript was actually held at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

42 ‘Abd al-Husayn Ayati (Avarih) was a Baha'i historian who left the religion and later published an exposé on it called Kashf al-hiyal. In it, he mentions seeing a manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf in Kurdistani's possession that was written “one year before the death of Hajji Mirza Jani” and identical to the edition published by Browne. See Kashf al-hiyal, 4th. ed. (Tehran, 1340 Sh./1961), 139, cited by MacEoin, Sources, 146.

43 Hasan-i Niku was a Baha'i and a close friend of Avarih who also left the religion and wrote several tracts against it.

44 Kurdistani, “Notes,” 5 (we have modified Miller's translation). Two scraps of paper bearing Kurdistani's handwriting that were found tucked between the pages of the Princeton 1268 text are further confirmation that he is talking about this manuscript.

45 NK1268, 180b.

46 For example, the handwriting and content of the marginal notes in NK1268 (12b, 72b, 98b) are identical to those in NK1327 (11b, 64b, 88b). These notes are all based on the published edition of the Nuqtat al-kaf.

47 Nuqtat al-kaf, 199.

48 NK1268, 137b; NK1327, 125a.

49 This apology must not have been part of the Nuqtat al-kaf proper since Mirza Mustafa does not transcribe it in his NK1327. Moreover, we have not been able to find this apology in the text of NK1268 or any other manuscript.

50 NK1268, 114b.

51 NK1268, 111a.

52 NK1268, 111a.

53 NK1268, 137b and 137x, a.

54 NK1268, 95a.

55 NK1268, 95b and 98a.

56 NK1268, 94a and NK1327, 84b.

57 Nuqtat al-kaf, 138.

58 NK1268, 98a; NK1327, 88b.

59 Nuqtat al-kaf, 135.

60 NK1268, 96a; NK1327, 86b.

61 NK1268, 160b.

62 NK1327, 149a–149b.

63 The word used for wife here is kawch. The word khassih is more problematic but it may indicate a first wife (for example, see Steingass under khass mahal).

64 Both pages have chain lines and both have scrolls with words pertaining to the size of the paper. Page 144 reads “UNIVERSAL” while page 128 says “FOOLSCAP.” 144 also contains a very faint coat-of-arms.

65 There are two identical, oval imprints on 154a and 169a that seem to contain English letters, but they are too faint for the naked eye to distinguish.

66 Cole, “Nuqtat al-Kaf.”

67 Nuqtat al-kaf, 239.

68 Nuqtat al-kaf, 258.

69 Nuqtat al-kaf, 266.

70 Momen, The Babi and Baha'i and Baha'i Religions, p. 34; Cole repeats the same argument (“Nuqtat al-Kaf and the Babi Chronicle Traditions,” online).

71 See footnote 3.

72 Nuqtat al-kaf, 272.

73 Nuqtat al-kaf, 234–235.

74 Amanat, Abbas, Pivot of the Universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896 (Berkeley, 1997), 142 and 154Google Scholar.

75 Amanat, Pivot, 162.

76 Nuqtat al-kaf, 130.

77 See Kashani, Muhammad Taqi Lisan ul-Mulk Sipihr, Nasikh al-tawarikh (Tehran, 1377) 1:913–914Google Scholar. The events in Zanjan and the fate of its governor as narrated by Sipihr appears to be more cautious (and perhaps more accurate) than the version narrated by the Nuqtat al-kaf. Sipihr, for instance, does not mention that the woman was married, nor does he mention that the governor was sodomized. On the other hand, the more embellished account presented in the Nuqtat al-kaf may have been based on popular gossip.

78 NK1268, 148b.

79 Divan-i Hafiz, ed. Muhammad Qazvini and Qasim Qani (Sina, Tehran, nd.), 102:

80 NK1327, 136a.

81 Nuqtat al-kaf, 217.

82 NK1268, 118a; NK1327, 106b. See Dekhoda's entry on bastiyan.

83 Gacek, Adam, The Arabic Manuscript Tradition: A Glossary of Technical Terms and Bibliography (Leiden, 2001), 30CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

84 Kurdistani, “Notes,” 10.

85 Browne, Traveller's Narrative, 412–419.

86 Two pages from the original text by this author might survive as part of NK1268. As mentioned above, folios 128 and 144 are the only pages with watermarks. They are also written in a different handwriting than the rest of the manuscript. Are these original pages of the first draft of the Nuqtat al-kaf? As stated above, we have not yet been able to date the watermarks so we do not know when these pages were added to NK1268; thus, it is also possible that they are later additions to the text, perhaps replacing damaged pages.

87 Tabataba'i conjectured that it was written by Hajji Muhammad Rida’ (“Kitabi bi nam,” 958, 960). MacEoin surmises that the historical portion of the Nuqtat al-kaf was written in Baghdad in 1270/1853–54 by two or three people and an earlier theological treatise was later added to it (Sources, 151).

88 Amanat argues that the historical portion was written by one or more authors (including Hajji Mirza Jani) in the early 1850s but also says it is possible that some parts may have been edited in the 1860s, particularly those pertaining to the immediate period after the Bab's death (Resurrection, 423). Cole also accepts that there was a version of the Nuqtat al-kaf containing both the historical and theological treatises in the early 1850s, but argues that it was definitely redacted in the 1860s (“Nuqtat al-Kaf and the Babi Chronicle Traditions,” Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, 2, no. 6 (August 1998)Google Scholar, http://www.h-net.org/∼bahai/notes/vol2/Babihist.htm).