File:Sayyid Nurullah ibn Sharif al-Mar'ashi al-Shustari (d AH 1019 1610 AD) Majalis al-mu'minin (The Assemblies of Believers) and Suwalat i shaitan, Safavid Iran, AH 1043 i.e. 1633-4 AD.jpg

English: Sayyid Nurullah ibn Sharif al-Mar'ashi al-Shustari (d.AH 1019/1610 AD): Majalis al-mu'minin (The Assemblies of Believers) and Suwalat i shaitan

Safavid Persia, AH 1043/1633-4 AD

The lives of eminent Shi'as, Persian manuscript on paper, 431ff. with 27ll. of black naskh, some parts of text in red or gold, text outlined with gold, opening bifolio with text within gold clouds and with gold and polychrome illuminated heading, and with twelve other similarly illuminated headings at the start of each section, f.413 verso with colophon dated 1043, with note in margin giving names of scribes and information on the cost of production of the manuscript, generally good condition, light staining, in black morocco binding with gold tooled medallion and spandrels, probably original boards, restored, brown morocco slip case Folio 13 x 8in. (34.2 x 21.5cm.); text 9 x 5.3/8in. (24.7 x 13.5cm.)

The end of the main text of Majalis al-mu'minin is dated 1043. Below in shikasteh is a note recording the names of two calligraphers involved in the writing of the manuscript. One is described as a brother of Muhammad Baqir Mashhadi, who received 5000 Tabrizi Dinars for writing a thousand couplets. The other is named as Mirza Muhammad Qasem. A further note records the amount of money that was spent on preparing the manuscript and lists the separate amounts spent on the paper, calligraphy, binding, and illuminated chapter headings.

This work is in twelve parts each dealing with various eminent persons, such as the companions of the Prophet, scholars, poets and sufis, among others. At the end of the main work is a short treatise, Suwalat i shaitan. The author was flogged to death on the orders of the Emperor Jehangir for his extreme Shi'a views and is known as the Third Martyr.