Add MS 5986

This volume contains a Hurufi tract treating especially the mystical meaning hidden behind the letters of the Qur'an, composed by Refi'i.

The author designates himself by his mahlas only, which occurs on ff 27r, 29v, and 34r. He appears to have been a disciple of Seyit İmadüddin Nesimi, a well-known Sufi, who took his mahlas from his native place, Nesim, a district near Baghdad, and was put to death in Aleppo in 820 AH (1417-18 CE), in consequence of some verses which the Ulema pronounced as blasphemy. Some indications point to Refi'i being from Preveza (contemporary Greece), while elements of his poetry that bear similarity to Azerbaijani dialects have led other scholars to surmise that he might have been an Azeri from Şirvan.

In his epilogue, Refi'i speaks of his spiritual guide with the greatest reverence, and alludes, on ff 27r-v, to the persecution that he suffered.

The poem was completed on the first Friday of Ramazan 811 AH (January 1409 CE), as stated in various verses on f 28r.

The poem contains, as the author explains further on (f 28v), passages translated from the following three works: ᶜarshnāmah (عرشنامه) by Faẓlullāh Astrābādī, who died in 804 AH (1401-02 CE); the Jāvidānnāmah (جاودننامه) by Afẓāl Kāshi, who died in 707 AH (1307-08 CE); and the Maḥabbatnāmah (محبتنامه).

The margins contain Arabic texts from the Qur'an or Aḥādīth alluded to in the poem.

This manuscript was likely copied in the 17th century CE.