The Islamisation of Anatolia project

Mirṣād al-ʻibād min al-mabdaʻ ila al-maʻād

Mirṣād al-ʻibād min al-mabdaʻ ila al-maʻād (Najm al-Dīn Rāzī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, d. 1256 or 7)

Title: Mirṣād al-ʻibād min al-mabdaʻ ila al-maʻād; مرصاد العباد من المبدء الى المعاد
Notes: A Sufi work treating of the spiritual progress (سلوک) of the soul through its three Stages: a) the original state (المبداء), b) the present life (المعاش)and the world to come (المعاد); The author says in the introduction, that, while several works had been written on the above subject in Arabic, none existed in the Persian language, and that, although repeatedly urged by his disciples to supply that deficiency, he had been prevented from doing so by the disturbed state of Khurāsān (Iran) and Iraq, which culminated in the Mongol invasion, 617 AH [1220-1221 CE]. Finding his dwelling place, Ḥamadān (Iran), threatened, he fled, with some disciples, 618 AH [1221-1222 CE], to Ardabīl (Iran), from whence, seeking for a country in which the true faith, safety and regard for merit, still prevailed, he was advised to go to Rūm (Anatolia); Having reached Kayseri (Turkey), he found there sufficient leisure to write the present work, which, as we learn from the conclusion, he completed in Sivas (Turkey), 620 AH [1223-1224 CE], under the auspices of Sultan Kayqubad I (1188-1237)
Main language of text: Persian
Bibliography
Catalogue: Rieu, Charles. Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum. London: The British Museum, 1879-1883, 38-9.