DO NOT MAKE A NECKLACE OF THESE PEARLS OF WISDOM,
TO PUT ON THE NECK OF A DONKEY: LUTUFULLAH MUHANDIS,
WARNING HIS DESCENDANTS ABOUT HIS KHULASATUL HISAB.

Professionals in Indo-Pakistani region needed back up of Mathematics for their work. This was mainly true for architects. The great mathematician Bahauddin Amili In Isfahan wrote a book namely Khulasat ul Hisab and he wrote it in Arabic. Very shortly different versions of same came up but the versions were mainly in Persian. Arabic versions were rarer. One person who wrote both in Arabic as well as Persian, was Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis. He wrote a popular book on Hisab, mainly Munthakab, at the request of Saiyyad Muhammed Said son of Mir Yahya. But a rarer version in Arabic was written for his children. Only three copies are so far known. One is in the India Office library, Loth 761, and the other is a later copy in Rampur library, mainly Riazi no 45, which has no date on it. No details known. However, one important copy is with us. It seems that both the copies in IOL and with us were written for family members. For in the IOL the notes are by Imamuddin Riazi, son of Lutufullah Muhandis,. The copy with us was written for Nur Muhammed, son of Attaullah Rushdi, brother of Lutufullah Muhandis. For son and nephew. Both carry scholarly notes by both persons.

WARNING BY LUTUFULLAH MUHANDIS
At end of the Manuscript there is a small note of warning by Lutufullah for his descendants. Lutufullah says that he has distilled pearls of wisdom in his SHARH, and he would not like his children to make a necklace out of it and put it on the neck of some donkey. Strange assertions by a scholar about his work and warning of things not falling in uncapable hands.

​Continued