''Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ fī sīrat al-anbiyāʾ w-al-mulūk w-al-khulafāʾ'' (, ‘The Gardens of purity in the biography of the prophets and kings and caliphs’) or ''Rawdatu 's-safa'' is a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-language history of the origins of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, early Islamic civilisation, and Persian history by Mirkhvand.Imamate
The text was originally completed in seven volumes in 1497 AD; the eighth volume is a geographical index. The work is very scholarly: Mirkhvand used nineteen major Arabic histories and twenty-two major Persian ones as well as others which he occasionally quotes.Elliot, ''History'', 129 His work was the basis for many subsequent histories, including the works of

Hajji Khalifa Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

Style

Mirkhvand made little attempt at a critical examination of historical traditions and wrote in a flowery and often bombastic style. It comprises seven large volumes and a geographical appendix; but the seventh volume, the history of the sultan Hosayn, together with a short account of some later events down to 1523, cannot have been written by Mirkhvand himself, who died in 1498. He may have compiled the preface, but it was his grandson, the historian Khvandamir (1475–1534), who continued the main portion of this volume and to whom also a part of the appendix must be ascribed.

Manuscripts, editions and translations

There are various different Persian manuscripts in Iran, Vienna, Paris, and London. A Persian edition was published in Paris in 1843 as ''Histoire des Samanides par Mirkhond''. It was published fully in Persian in 1843 (Paris) and lithographed in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

(1848 or 1852). The standard edition used in scholarship is the Persian edition ''Tarikh-i Rawzat al-Safa'' (7 vols) by Abbas Parviz (Tehran, 1959).

Translations

Owing to its popularity, the ''Rawzat as-safa''' has undergone several editions and translations. Around 1596,

Pedro Teixeira Pedro Teixeira (b.1570-1585 - d.4 July 1641), occasionally referred to as the Conqueror of the Amazon, was a Portuguese conquistador and military officer, who became, in 1637, the first European to travel up and down the entire length of the Am ...

prepared a Spanish translation of the ''Rawzat as-safa. The book was partially translated into English in 1715, the Tahirid and

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conque ...

portions (of chapter 2.3-4) into Latin in 1782, and the Sassanid portion (of chapter 1.2) into French in 1793. A section was translated as ''Mirchondi Historia Seldschukidarum'' (1838) by Johann August Vullers. From 1892 to 1893, a translation of the first book (up to the Rashidun caliphs) into English was prepared by the Orientalist Edward Rehatsek and edited by

Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot (21 May 1833 – 25 May 1901) was a notable British Orientalist and translator. Biography Arbuthnot's early career was spent as a civil servant in India; his last post was as Collector for the Bombay government. ...

for the Royal Asiatic Society, in two parts. The ''Vie de Mahomet d'après la tradition'' by E. Lamairesse and Gaston Dujarric was translated from the English (1897).

Mentions of Jesus

Mir Khvand makes mention of Jesus from the Quran. Mir Khvand records a number of miracles related to Jesus, including those mentioned in the Koran, such as Jesus speaking from the cradle, healing lepers, and raising the dead. The text in Edward Rehatsek's translation of the Garden of Purity contains a version of the Abgar legend, regarding the conversion of King Abgar of

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

(called Nassibin or Nasibain in the Persian text) before the crucifixion: Ghulam Ahmad (Urdu 1899, English 1978) and later publications of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

such as '' Review of Religions'' give a paraphrase of the Abgar story from Mir Kvand's ''Rawzat as-safa, also apparently placing the story of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

’s travels to Syria during his ministry and before the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, though later Ahmadi writers infer the events are after the crucifixion. Ahmad considered that "If the report in the Rauzat-us-Safaa is correct, it appears that, by travelling to Nasibain, Jesus intended to go to Afghanistan through Persia, and to invite to the Truth the lost tribes of Jews who had come to be known as Afghans."Almadiyya Muslim Community, ''Review of Religions''
/ref>

Editions

*English (re-print) via Zavia Books, with translation by Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Jilani Hashimi (2005). *English in 1832 – “no oriental work that stood higher in public estimation than this”. *

Nawal Kishore Press The Nawal Kishore Press (also spelled Newal Kishore Press) was a publishing house founded by Munshi Nawal Kishore in Lucknow, British India, in 1858. It grew rapidly between 1865 and 1872 from its modest beginnings as a small printing press, ad ...

, Lucknow, (n.d.) *Arabic (1988) – روضة الصفا في سيرة الأنبياء والملوك والخلفاء - محمد بن خاوندشاه - الدار المصرية للكتاب؛ المحقق السباعس محمد السباعي, أحمد عبد القادر الشاذلي

Style

Manuscripts, editions and translations

Translations

Mentions of Jesus

Editions

Notes

Work online

See also