Editing and Recovering a Few Couplets Based on Rasael al-Oshaq va Vasael al-Moshtaq Manuscript

text of the 6th century AH and was written in a collection of one hundred love letters. The presence of poetry throughout this book is so remarkable that each letter contains fifteen couplets from different poets on average. This manuscript was transcribed in 685 AH, and holds a significant value in the fields of poetry studies, linguistics, source attribution, and poem editing due to its antiquity. In this article, while searching for the sources of all poems in Rasael al-Oshaq, common couplets were identified in other manuscripts or poetry texts. These couplets were either inaccurately transcribed or left incomplete due to their lack of authenticity or damage to those manuscripts. With the assistance of the Rasael al-Oshaq, these couplets were edited or recovered. Moreover, 11 quatrains and 3 couplets from important texts such as Nozhat al-Majales, Divan-e Anwari, Divan-e Moezzi-e, Divan-e Sanaei, Divan-e Azraqi, Divan-e Kamal al-Din-e Esmaeil, Divan-e Razi al-Din-e Neyshaburi, Majmoey-e Robaeiyat-e Kohan (Istanbul University manuscript), and Jong-e Sayyed Elahi have been edited and retrieved. The edited couplets in this study should be presented to researchers for future editing of each of the mentioned texts. 
 
Keywords: Rasael al-Oshaq va Vasael al-Moshtaq, Manuscript editing, Poem editing, Quatrain editing, Poem recovering.
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction
The Rasael al-Oshaq va Vasael al-Moshtaq is a book by Masoud-e ibn-e Aḥmad-e Sayfi-e Neyshaburi whose only manuscript (preserved in the Library of the Elmali in Turkey, manuscript No. 3005) has recently been published in the facsimile form with the efforts of Javad Bashari. The title of this book is recorded as “Rasael al-Oshaq va Vasael al-Moshtaq” on page 2r of the manuscript, and the name of the author is mentioned as “Abol al-Ma’ali Masoud-e ibn-e Aḥmad al-Sayfi” on page 1v.
This version, as indicated in its final page, was transcribed in the year 685 AH and due to its large number of poems (approximately 1500 couplets) and its antiquity, has substantial value in the fields of poetry studies (especially quatrain studies), stylistics, linguistics, poem editing, and source-searching attribution to the poets whose names are associated with the poems.
This book includes an introduction, a chapter on the nature of friendship and its various forms, one hundred love letters, and a concluding chapter. It is written in a decorative prose adorned with literary devices. In each letter, the author intersperses couplets from contemporary or earlier poets within the text. The presence of poetry throughout the book is exceptional to the extent that no letter exists without poetry. On average, each letter contains fifteen couplets cited as evidence from poets. While the thematic context often necessitates romantic poetry, various poetic forms are included, with quatrains being the predominant form.
This book remains the oldest known Persian prose work in which the states and various types of relationships between lovers and their beloved ones are discussed in detail. It provides insights into earthly love and its diverse aspects throughout the entire text. From a literary perspective, it can be considered one of the most important poetic texts in Persian literature. Saifi Neyshaburi portrays specific aspects of love from both the lover’s and beloved’s perspectives in each of these one hundred letters, making it highly valuable for historical and social studies of that era.
 
Discussion and Methods
After tracing the sources of all the poems in this ancient manuscript during the completion of the author’s master’s thesis entitled “Source-Searching and Editing the Poems of Rasael al-Oshaq va Vasael al-Moshtaq” (refer to Ashayeri, 2024), and discovering many couplets in various divans, anthologies, historical accounts, and prose texts, a few couplets were found in Divans and texts (including printed editions and manuscripts). These couplets had been inaccurately recorded due to their lack of reliability, were later additions, or were damaged in the manuscript versions. In some cases, words from these couplets were placed in a way that did not convey the correct meaning, or the corrected form lacked proper meter and rhyme. These couplets were rectified and completed based on Rasael al-Oshaq manuscript. Additionally, there were some couplets found in multiple versions that were incomplete due to damage to the manuscripts (or a series of those manuscripts) or the shortcomings of the scribes (or a series of scribes). These couplets were also recovered with the help of Rasael al-Oshaq manuscript. For example, consider the following quatrain by Moezzi-e Neyshaburi, which was inaccurately recorded in his Divan:




 


چون بدعهدی نخست گشت از تو درست


گ
گک
 
گ
گ




 


در سستی دست از تو چرا بودم سست؟






 


گر دست نشستمی ز تو روز نخست




 


امروز به خون روی بایستی شست






It was edited in the correct form and as it has been narrated in Rasael al-Oshaq:




 


چون بدعهدی گشت نخست از تو درست


گ
گک
 
گ
گ




 


در شستن دست از تو چرا بودم سست؟






 


گر دست بشستمی ز تو روز نخست




 


امروز به خونْ روی نبایستی شست






Below, you’ll find two examples of couplets that were incomplete in the Majmoey-e Robaeiyat-e Kohan (Istanbul University manuscript) and have been retrieved in this article:
 
 
Majmoey-e Robaeiyat-e Kohan (Istanbul University manuscript), page 227r.
 
 
Majmoey-e Robaeiyat-e Kohan (Istanbul University manuscript), page 256r.
 
Conclusion
Through tracing the sources of all the poems in the ancient manuscript of Rasael al-Oshaq in various sources, a few couplets were found to be inaccurately recorded, having issues related to meter, rhyme, or incomplete meaning. With the assistance of Rasael al-Oshaq, these couplets were edited or retrieved. Among them, 7 quatrains and 3 couplets from important sources such as Nozhat al-Majales, Divan-e Anwari, Divan-e Moezzi-e Neyshaburi, Divan-e Sanaei, Divan-e Azraqi, Divan-e Kamal al-Din-e Esmaeil, Divan-e Razi al-Din-e Neyshaburi, and the manuscript of Jong-e Sayyed Elahi were edited, and 4 quatrains from Majmoey-e Robaeiyat-e Kohan (Istanbul University manuscript, and Divan-e Kamal al-Din-e Esmaeil were retrieved. The rectification and especially the retrieval of these poems was an attempt to complete the mentioned texts and align the recorded couplets with the original poets. Furthermore, this research facilitates more precise investigations in the fields of stylistics and linguistics related to ancient Persian texts through presenting the complete form of a poem and verifying its presence in other sources.