Some of The Oldest Manuscripts in The Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi
1: A commentary of the poetical work of "Tamim Ibn Moqbel", one of the poets of "Makhtharm" (died in 37 A.H)-, which dates back to the month of Safar in 380 A.H. This book has been written by "Ali Ibn Abi Talib Al Abbas Ibn Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Jaafar Ibn Mohammad Ibn Al Imam Zaid Ibn Ali Ibn Al Hossain Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib."
2: The precis of "Kitab Al Ain", compiled by "Abul Abbas Mohammad Ibn Al Husain Ibn Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Farrash" about etymology. The mentioned precis has been driven and summarized by "Abu Abdullah Mohammad Ibn Abdullah Al Khatib" with the old "Naskh" script, imprinted in the month of "Rabia al-Thani" in 383 A.H.
3: "Sahifah Sajjadiyah", a prayer book related to the prayers of Imam Sajjad (A.S.), enclosed with the book collection of "Fi Qawarea Ul Qur'an", compiled by "Imam Ali Ibn Al Husain (A.S.)", and written by "Hasan Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Mohammad Elzami Al Heysami", in the month of Shawwal in 415 A.H.
4: "Nahjul Balaghah", compiled by Sayyed Razi, and written by "Mohammad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Al Naqib" in 544 A.H.
5: "Ways Leading To Madinah", No. 575. This book is about the situation and condition of the Mosque of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), together with some of the signatures of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), and some narratives about the distinguished religious persons who resided in the mentioned regions, and also about the ways which leads to the city of Madinah. This book has been written in about the fifth century of Hijrah.
6: "Nasr ud Dor" which is the last volume of this book. This book is about notary offices, admonitions, drolleries, rarities and reports of some of the poets, literary men, and elegants. This book has been compiled by "Abu Saad Mansoor Ibn Al Husain Al Abi", entitled "the grand vizier- Zelmoali Zayn Al Kefah - , minister of "Majd ud-Dawlah Abu Talib Rostam Ibn Fakhr ud-Dawlah Ibn Ruknuddin Ibn Buyeh". He has also compiled the books entitled" Nozhat Ul Adib" and "The History of Ray". This volume contains 20 chapters, and its writer is "Ahmad Ibn Ali Al Katib Al Baghdadi", and dates back to 565 A.H.
7: The translation of "Tarikh Tabari (History of Tabari), known a "Tarikh Balami": This book, translated by" Abu Ali Mohammad Ibn Mohammad Balami - minister of Mansoor Ibn Nuh Samani (one of the monarch of the Samanid dynasty)" - has been written in "Naskh" script. "Fakhruddin Abul Muzaffar Bahram Shah Ibn Dawood" - one of the kings of Mangoojak Dynasty in Arzanjan (center of Seljuqids in Asia Minor)- undertook financial factors related to translating this book. The writer of this book is "Issac Ibn Muhammad Ibn Amir Ibn Muhammad Sherwan". It dates back to 586 A.H (Moharram month), in Arzanjan.
8: "Sannat Ul Jabr (Lemasael Al Adadiyyah)": It is a mathematics book, 6 copies of which are preserved in the distinguished libraries of the world. This book, compiled by "Dufentoos Eskandarani" from Greek, has been translated from Greek into Arabic by "Qusta Ibn Loqa Al Baalbaki" in 595 A.H. The writer was "Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr Ibn Jagir Al Monajjem".
9: "Khawas Ul Ashjar or Mofradat" or Five Essays (properties of trees): This book, compiled by "Disquridoos" - distinguished physician and botanist of the first century A.D-, is in Greek language, translated into Syriac. Later, "Disquridoos" added two essays to this collection, and increased it to 7 essays. These latter two essays were translated into Syriac by "Hunain Ibn Issac" - distinguished translator and scientist of the world of Islam. Two translated copies of this book have been found till now. The first copy has been translated into Arabic by "Salem Maliti" with the order of "Qotleq Inanj" - the ruler of "Diyar Bakr" -, and the second one was translated from Syriac into Arabic by "Mehran Ibn Mansoor". This last one, preserved in the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi, dates back to the sixth century of Hijrah. It is worth mentioning that, the first five essays, and the second two essays of this book. in original Syriac, are preserved in one of the not very so mush famous preserved in one of the famous libraries of the world. The present copy of the "Khawas Ul Ashjar" (properties of trees) is about herbs and the method of planting them throughout the world.
10: "Makhrutat (Conical Shapes)": This book, compiled by "Hakim Ablotius" is about mathematics. This book under the title of "Story of Qafti", was translated from Greek into Arabic. The compiler of this book died in 259 A.H. According to this date, it is clear that it has a long history.
The prestige of the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi depends on the precious and valuable manuscripts of the Glorious Quran and the other hand written books which have been granted to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.) by people in the last years and centuries who registered their names in the indexes preserved in the library for ever.
Some of these names are as follows:
1: "Abul Qasim Ali Ibn Nasir ud-Dawlah Abul Hasan Mohammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Simjoor" who dedicated the manuscript of the Glorious Quran No.3004, written in "Kufi script" on the deer skin in 363 A.H.
2: "Abul Qasim Mansoor Ibn Mohammad Ibn Kathir", who dedicated the manuscript of the Glorious Quran No. 96, in 393 A.H.
3: "Abul Barakat Ali Ibn Husain Razi", who dedicated the manuscript of the Glorious Quran No. 18, in 421 A.H.
4: "Ali Ibn Faramarz" in 511 A.H (this endowment deed has been written in Persian).
5: "Abul Fatah Saeed Ibn Sayyed Jamaluddin Rawesani". The date of endowment: 515 A.H.
6: "Jamaluddin Ali Ibn Ismaeel". The date of endowment: 535 A.H.
7: "Shahresti Bentul Amir Abul Abbas Khosrow Firooz Ibn Rokn ud-Dawlah" (beginning of the fifth century A.H).
8: "Ali Ibn Abul Fazl" in 614 A.H.
9: "Jalaluddin Shaykh Abu Saeed Qezel Arsalan" in 861A.H.
10: "Torkan Zommorrod" - daughter of Mahmood Ilak Khani": (one of the families of the Afrasiyab dynasty) and sister's daughter of "Sanjare Saljuqi", dedicated several precious booklets of the Glorious Quran to the Astan Quds Razavi, which have been probably written by herself. Some signatures related to her, can be observed in the manuscripts of the Holy Shrine.
11: "Khajah Mozaffaruddin Tababchi Astarabadi". The date of endowment; 820 A.H.
12: "Sayyed Mohsen Ibn Muhammad Razavi". The date of endowment: 925 A.H.
13: "Amir Sayyed Ali Hosseini", The date of endowment: 940 A.H.
14: "Ayesha Alhola" - daughter of "Abdullah Ibn Abdur Rahman Al Tajer". The date of Endowment: 954 A.H.
15: "Qadhi Jahan Saifi Husaini Qazwini". The date of endowment: 960 A.H.
16: "Sultan Ibrahim Qutb Shah" (King of Golcunda,Hyderabad Deccan,India). The date of endowment: 970 A.H.
17: "Amir Muhammad Reza Astarabadi". The date of endowment: 1011 A.H.
18: "Abul Mozaffar Nooruddin Mohammad Jahangir" -Monarch of Timurid dynasty in India-. The date of endowment: 1014 A.H.
19: "Mohammad Ali Shirazi".The date of endowment: 1014 A.H.
20: "Nooruddin Kootral Isfahani". The date of endowment: 1020 A.H.
21: "Khajeh Shir Ahmad Ibn Abul Malek Ibn Shir Ahmad Toni" who was living during the last years ot the tenth century A.H.
22: Shah Abbas Safavi ( the monarch of the Safavid dynasty) who gathered the books of the library, and endeavoured to restore it after the invasion of Uzbecks. He himself dedicated some of the most distinguished and famous manuscripts of the Glorious Quran, and some of the other precious books in 1005, 1008, 1017 A.H, to the Library of Astan Quds Razavi.
23: "Sayyed Muhammad Zaman Husaini Aaroji Semnani" who has been prolably one of the distinguished Ulema (religious authorities) in his time. The date of endowment: 1024 A.H.
24: "Qazi Nurullah Shushtari".The date of endowment: 1011 A.H.
25: "Bahauddin Mohammad Ameli" known "As Shaykh Bahai" , who dedicated some of his precious books in 1030 A.H.
26: "Hakim Ul Malik Amir Gabriel Husaini", one of the physicians resided in "Hyderabad Deccan". The date of endowment: 1037 A.H.
27: "Mirza Hyder Ali Qandhari" known as "Zamindawari". The date of endowment: 1034 A.H.
28: "Abu Turab Aalepad Khan Mirza Ghiyathuddin Mohammad Razi". The date of endowment: 1040 A.H.
29: "Mir Zein Ibn Khajah Yar Mohammad Charkhais". The date of endowment: 1044 A.H.
30: Fathullah Hamadani. The date of endowment: 1062 A.H.
31: Mirza Nezam Ul Malik, Nezam Ul Maleki. The date of endowment: 1062 A.H.
32: Fadhel Khan, Alaul Malik (Toni) Ferdowsi - the founder of Fadhel Khan school-. The date of endowment: 1064 A.H.
33: Ibn Khatoon, Shaykh Asadullah Ibn Shaykh Moomen. In addition to dedicating 400 copies of books, he dedicated a manuscript entitled "Faraedul Qalaed (No.119 in Grammar) to the library in 1067A.H. This book has been written for Shaykh Mohammad Ibn Khatoon Ameli in 1040 A.H.
34: Mirza Nurullah Ibn Diyanat Khan. The date of endowment: 1071 A.H.
35: Mirza Abul Hasan Mustawfi. The date of endowment: 1088 A.H.
36: Mohammad Mehdi Sharif Ul Malik. The date of endowment: 1091 A.H.
37: Agha Qanbar Ghulam. The date of endowment: 1096 A.H.
38: Ali Ibn Najaf Quli Khan Zanganeh. The date of endowment: 1098 A.H.
39: Shah Sultan Husain Safavi. The date of endowment: 1108, 1119 A.H.
40: Mirza Mohammad Masum - the late minister of Mazandaran. The date of endowment: 1119 A.H.
41: Nazar Ali Qoollar Aghasi. The date of endowment: 1119 A.H.
42: Mirza Sayyed Ali. The date of endowment: 1120 A.H.
43: Nader Shah Afshar. The date of endowment: 1145 A.H.
44: Khodayar Khan Bahadur Thabet Jang Abbasi. The date of endowment: 1154 A.H.
45: Fakhr un-Nisa Khanom Esfarayeni. The date of endowment: 1154 A.H.
46: "Mohammad Hossein Khan Biglar Baygi", families of Cheshmgazak and Qabooshan. The date of endowment: 1155 A.H.
47: "Aqa Zainul Abedin Khadem Sharif Isfahani". The date of endowment; 2nd. Rajab. 1155 A.H.
48: "Mohammad Amin Sharif Bin Mohammad Fadhel Neishaburi". The date of endowment: 1171 A.H.
49: "Mehr un-Nisa Khanom"- Daughter of Diyanat Khan. The date of endowment: 1184 A.H.
50: "Fath Ali Shah Qajar"- monarch of Qajarid dynasty. The date of endowment: 1233 A.H.