The Book of Days

The book “Daftar-e Ayam” (The Book of Days) by Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub is a collection of his essays, speeches, thoughts, and research. Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub was a prominent literary scholar, historian, literary critic, writer, and translator of contemporary Iran. His works are recognized as major references in the study of Sufism and Rumi studies. He stands as one of Iran’s distinguished historians, with well-known works on Iranian history as well as Islamic history. These works rank among best-sellers in Iran due to their literary and epic portrayal of history. Zarrinkoub taught Persian literature, Islamic history, and Iranian history for over four decades at Tehran University. After the Iranian Revolution, he collaborated with the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia and notably donated 6,500 books and journals to the encyclopedia. He also authored another book titled “The History of Iran After Islam” in 1343 (1964) and two other books in 1348 (1969) named “Bamdad-e Islam” (The Dawn of Islam) and “Karnama-ye Islam” (The Accomplishments of Islam). In “Bamdad-e Islam,” he examines the history of Islam from its inception up to the end of the Umayyad dynasty. In “The History of Iran After Islam,” he dedicates an entire chapter to analyzing the sources on Islamic history and critiquing them. The second volume and the last chapter of the first volume of “The History of Iran After Islam” were confiscated by SAVAK (the pre-revolution Iranian secret police), and only the first volume was published incomplete. The last chapter of the first volume (which after the revolution was published in the book “Daftar-e Ayam” and itself named “Daftar-e Ayam”) begins with a harsh tone against monarchy. In this chapter, Zarrinkoub condemns the world’s kings for constantly bringing bloodshed upon the world; he also makes references to Islamic governance in this text. According to Zarrinkoub, the second volume of this book was destroyed by SAVAK and was never published. Years later, following the revolution, Zarrinkoub authored the two-volume “The Social History of Iran” (Tarikh-e Mardom-e Iran), incorporating the content intended for the second volume of “The History of Iran After Islam” into the second volume of this later work.