Copied in the author's lifetime: controlling lust in Timurid Herat

Harawi, Jalal al-Din al-Qayini al-. Qawami' al-dhunub fi Bayan Afat al-Shahwah al-Kubra [The Supressor of Sins: Explaining the evils of lust and desire].

€ 45.000,00

A 15th century manuscript on the great perils of sexual desire, copied in the author's lifetime and by his own student. Jalal al-Din al-Qayini (d. 1434/5 CE) was an important Hanafite traditionalist and teacher in Timurid Herat. His work stressed the importance of controlling sexual desire, the sanctity of marriage, and, relatedly, the evils of adultery and fornication. Much of his discussion is based around relevant hadith narrations on the subject.

His student, Muhammad ibn Shihab al-Athari, made a copy of his master's work in 1430 CE (completed 19 Dhul Qadah 833 H), while both were living and working in Herat. Herat was the capital of the Timurid Empire during the 15th century, placing al-Qayini in the heart of the empire in the midst of the Timurid Renaissance. That this manuscript itself is extant from this particular moment in Herat, and can be traced to the author's own student, is quite remarkable.