Illustrated Shia Qajar Persian Folio Depicting Jesus – *thawāb Al-aʿmāl Wa ʿiqāb Al-aʿmāl*

Illustrated page from a Persian manuscript, Iran, Qajar period, first half of the 19th century, circa 1800–1850. Gouache, opaque pigments, and ink on paper.

The front side features a narrative miniature depicting ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (Jesus) in a Persian garden and architectural setting. The composition features several figures wearing turbans, a horseman, a horse, flowering plants, trees, and a pavilion with geometric decoration.

The Arabic text has been identified as a passage from the *Thawāb al-Aʿmāl wa ʿIqāb al-Aʿmāl*, a work attributed to the Twelver Shiite scholar Shaykh al-Ṣadūq (Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī). The episode recounts Jesus’ encounter with the inhabitants of a doomed village and his inquiry into the cause of their punishment. It forms part of a moral discourse concerning attachment to earthly life and obedience to an unjust authority.

The verso bears an extensive Arabic text in cursive naskh script, with ancient marginal annotations and chains of transmission characteristic of hadith literature.