Ajaib-al-Makhluqat

The Ajaib al Makhluqat wa Gharaib al Maujudat or Wonders of Creation, and Miraculous things in Existence is an Arabic compendium on astrology, cosmogony and various other forms of knowledge composed in the 13th century by the Iranian scholar Zakaria bin Muhammad Al Qazwini. The Ajaib begins by praising Allah and Prophet Muhammad in the Islamic tradition. Following this, the author describes his process of compiling the manuscript and collecting information from various sources. Various chapters describe the things that exist in the heavens, including the angels, the planets and the constellations, as well as the things that exist on earth from its landforms and seas to animals, plants and insects. This is an outstanding manuscript that acts as an encyclopedia of the varied and rare creatures of the world.

The text was very popular throughout the Islamic world and was translated into several languages. The present manuscript is a Persian version. It is written in a neat hand in the Naskh script and there are 257 illustrated folios among its 307 folios. Many of these are small illustrations and several folios have more than one illustration.

The colophon of this manuscript is present, but is difficult to decipher. The name of the scribe is given clearly; he was Noor Muhammad. The date of completion is 977 AH which is equivalent to 1569-70 AD. The cover page has a seal reading ‘I’maduddin Husain,’ the name of a previous owner. On the basis of the style of illustrations, one may assign this manuscript to the Deccan, and to the Bijapur school.