Or 15688

This volume contains the Ruzname, or perpetual almanac, of Şeyh Vefa (died 896 AH/1491 CE), a Sufi, scholar, and poet.

Şeyh Vefa was a celebrated holy personage who lived in the time of Sultans Mehmet II (ruled 848-850, 855-886 AH/1444-1446, 1451-1481 CE) and Bayezit II (ruled 886-918 AH/1481-1512 CE). His given name was Mustafa İbn-i Ahmed el-Sadri el-Konevi. Born in Konya, he devoted himself from his youth to a religious life, and had as spiritual guides Şeyh Muslihuddin Halife, İmamu’d-Debbağın of Edirne, and afterwards Şeyh Abdüllatif İbn-i Abdurrahman Kudsi (who died in Bursa in 856 AH/1452-53 CE). He became well-versed in various sciences, especially those of astronomy and music. Having been captured at sea while on his way to Mekke, he was taken as a prisoner to Rhodes, and afterwards ransomed to Karamanoğlu İbrahim Bey. He subsequently settled in İstanbul. By the time of his death in 896 AH/1491 CE, he was known for his piety. Sultan Bayezit, who wished in vain to see him in his lifetime, insisted on having his face unveiled after death in order to contemplate his features.

Şeyh Vefa arranged his Ruzname according to the latitude and longitude of Istanbul. It was highly popular and frequently copied. Commentaries of the work were written in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic. Along with texts and cetveller on days and months of the year and prayer times commonly found in copies of the work, the present volume also contains additional astronomical and astrological cetveller devoted to the finding of auspicious days/times for special worship and devotions, medical treatments, and farming. The folios may not be in their initial order, since the explanations (şerh) for some cetveller occur a number of folios after their appearance in the text. The contents are as follows:

f 2r: Der beyan-i ahkâm-i şerh ma‘a daire-i kabise (on leap years)

2v: Cetvel-i istihrac-i Leyletü’l-kadır (on finding the correct night of the ‘Night of Power’ from one Ramadan to the next)

3v: Der beyan-i ahkâm-i şerh ma‘a daire-i Nevruz-i sultani (On the vernal equinox)

4r: Cetvel-i Gurrename-i mergup (on first days of the month, attributed to Hazret-i Ali)

4v: Şerh-i ahkam-ı daire-i Nevruz-i sultani

5r: Ahkam-ı şerh-i daire-i kabisa

5v-10v: Perpetual calendar for Greek months (From March through January, but missing February)

11r: Cedvel-i marifet fi beyan-ı kısmet-i mah-i Yunani fi zill-i kadem el-salavat el-mülazıma (On prayer times)

11v-12r: Gurrename-i nücumi ve şer‘i (first days in terms of astrology and the sharia)

12v: Fi beyan-ı cetvel-i istihrac-i gurrename-i mergup

13r: Cetvel-i istihrac-i fasd ve hacamat (suitable times for phlebotomy and cupping, attributed to Galen)

13v: Fi beyan-i istihrac-i da’ir-i tabayı‘l-menazil-i kamer (On determining the 28 moon stations according to the Arabic astrological system, according to Abū Isḥāq Zajjāj)

14r-15v: Fi beyan-i şerh-i istihrac-i ricalu’l-gayb (On the location of the men or saints of the unseen, who meet on the 14th night of every lunar month, attributed to Ibn al-‘Arabī)

15v: Dua-yi ricalu’l-gayb (attributed to İbn ul-‘Arabī)

16r-16v: Fi beyani’ş-şerh-i ricalu’l-gayb da’iru’s-samin (attributed to ‘sages’ or ‘philsophers’ (hükema))

17r: Fi beyan-i suret-i dai’ratu’s-samin istihrac-i ricalu’l-gayb (attributed to the hükema)

17v: Cedvel-i marifet-i kısmet-i eyyam-i şühur fi temekkün-i seyyarat-i ruhu’l-azizu’l-hukema (On recognising the division of months into days according to the placement of planets (?))

18r: Fi beyan-i şerh-i istihrac-i da’ir-i nücum-i şükur (attributed to ‘Şeyh Mehmed’)

18v: Fi beyan-i suret-i da’ir-i nücum-i şükur (attributed to ‘Şeyh Mehmed’)

19r-21r: Fi beyan-i istihrac-i havass-i Kur’an-i azim (on the auspicious, healing, or other special qualities of chapters of the Quran)

21v-22r: Fi beyan-i şerh-i tasih-i (i.e. tashih-i) ruzname-i gürre-i fi-i (?) ve hazih cedvelü’l-mergub (may be instruction on modifying the ruzname for one’s own period)

There are several very good illuminated diagrams and tables in gold, red, green, orange, and black. See especially the diagrams on ff 2v, 3r, 4v, 5r, 13v, 15v, and 18v. There are markings, probably pertaining to divination by remil (geomancy), on 23v. Though undated, this copy is probably from the mid 12th century AH/18th century CE.