Gurgani, Mirsayyidsharif. Ta’likat Mir Sayyid Sharif fi sharh-e shamsiya [Commentaries of Mir Sayyid Sharif in Shamsiya Explanation]. Tehran (?)., n.d. Commentaries added in 1283 H. [1866].

Octavo (ca. 22x16,5 cm). Lithographed edition. 48 unnumbered leaves. Text and commentaries on the margins in Arabic: main text in ruq’ah script, commentaries - in nastaaliq script. Weak typography stamp on verso of the first leaf. Pastedown endpapers are leaves from a different printed work, the front one includes lithographed portraits of a Persian warrior and a Persian lady. Period brown full sheep with worn paper title label on the spine. Binding weak on the front hinge, paper slightly age toned,
otherwise a very good copy in very original condition.

Rare work with no copies found in Worldcat. Interesting 19th century Persian edition of “Sharh-u al-Risalah al-Shamsiyah” - a treatise on logic and religious philosophy, by a prominent Persian encyclopedic writer, theologist and astronomer Mir Sayyid Sharif. Born under the name of Zeinuddin Ali al-Gurgani in the Persian city of Astarabad, he became a professor of theology in Shiraz and a close friend of such outstanding Islamic theologians as Mulla al-Fanari (1350-1431) and Al-Taftazani (1322-1390). Al-Gurgani became known for his treatises on the purity and ideal concepts of conservative Islam, commentaries and remarks on Islamic law, and the problems of kalam (“Islamic scholastic theology”).

This book is Al-Gurgani’s commentary on the work by his friend, Qutb al-Din Muhammad (b. Muhammad al-Razi al-Tahtani; d. H 966/1364 AD), titled “Tahrir al-Qawa’id al-Mantiqiyah fi Sharh al-Risalah al-Shamsiyah” [Analysis of Logical Rules in the Explanation of al-Shamsiyah Letter], being itself a critical analysis of “al-Risalah al Shamsiyah” by Shams al-Din (d. H 780/1378 AD). Al-Gurgani’s book is supplemented with commentaries on the margins; the names of the calligraphers are mentioned, but not identified. The book deepens Islamic philosophical concepts, such as the meaning of primary idea, nature and components of knowledge, et al.